Three-peat!
Rebel Survivors capture their 3rd consecutive KanJam World title
Eric Klavoon & Dan Klavoon
On Saturday, August 13th, exactly 101 teams traveled to North Tonawanda, NY to compete in the 2011 KanJam World Championship. In total, players from 10 different states and one Canadian province participated in the tournament: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Ontario (Canada).
In one of the most competitive divisions, Rebel Survivors, composed of brothers Eric & Dan Klavoon from Lockport, NY, dominated the competition, posting an 18-2 record through the playoffs en route to their 3rd consecutive KanJam World Championship title. They defeated Milo's Minions (Adam Williams & Nate Schutt) four games to none in the finals to capture the crown. In doing so, they are the 4th KanJam team to win the title three years in a row. Coincidentally, Eric had already accomplished the feat in the past with his former partner Steve Wojcik as "Sole Survivors" from 2005-2007. This was Eric's record breaking 6th overall KanJam World Championship title, moving him ahead of Kevin Shaffer & Scott Punter from the Rochester Killer Bees as the all-time KanJam World Champion.
Official Ranks including Playoffs
| Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rebel Survivors | 38 | 6 |
| 2 | Milo's Minions | 35 | 16 |
| 3 | Throw It In Her Butt | 30 | 16 |
| 4 | Formidable Baby Crushers | 29 | 14 |
| 5 | No Big Deal | 28 | 11 |
| 6 | Hook and Slice | 31 | 10 |
| 7 | Hissing Cobras | 27 | 12 |
| 8 | Shitkanned | 27 | 17 |
| 9 | Dorkus Malorkus | 28 | 7 |
| 10 | The Schlotzskys | 26 | 7 |
| 11 | PAPiO | 26 | 8 |
| 12 | Salty Nutz | 27 | 5 |
| 13 | Kardiac Kids | 26 | 8 |
| 14 | The Hammer Bros. | 23 | 10 |
| 15 | Team Domination | 23 | 11 |
| 16 | Slot Machines | 23 | 14 |
| 17 | Excuse me, Flo? | 21 | 9 |
| 18 | Big & Rich | 20 | 10 |
| 19 | The Italian Stallions | 18 | 9 |
| 20 | Pounding Kan | 22 | 8 |
| 21 | PhiLEEp | 20 | 9 |
| 22 | Da Bubs | 22 | 10 |
| 23 | Bald n Balding | 19 | 11 |
| 24 | Tang | 21 | 12 |
| 25 | Superman That Throw | 19 | 14 |
| 26 | Fulton | 18 | 14 |
| 27 | That's ALL!! | 16 | 13 |
| 28 | Northtown Titans | 18 | 13 |
| 29 | 4X the Steak! | 17 | 14 |
| 30 | KAC ZEBRA MAMBAS | 16 | 16 |
| 31 | Copper Crew | 19 | 13 |
| 32 | Mikey Nice | 19 | 13 |
Determined by regular season seedings, playoff records, and regular season records against other playoff teams.
Regular Season Standings - DINGER DIVISION
| Seed | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PAPiO | 22 | 3 |
| 2 | No Big Deal | 19 | 6 |
| 3 | The Hammer Bros. | 19 | 6 |
| 4 | Formidable Baby Crushers | 19 | 6 |
| 5 | Not Kan Cuddle | 19 | 6 |
| 6 | Slackers | 18 | 7 |
| 7 | Shake-n-Bake | 18 | 7 |
| 8 | Bald n Balding | 17 | 8 |
| 9 | 21 & DONE! | 16 | 9 |
| 10 | Fulton | 15 | 10 |
| 11 | 4X the Steak! | 15 | 10 |
| 12 | Copper Crew | 15 | 10 |
| 13 | Big Macs | 14 | 11 |
| 14 | Just Give Us The Trophy | 12 | 13 |
| 15 | Labatt Buffalo Jumanji | 12 | 13 |
| 16 | Skillz that killz | 11 | 14 |
| 17 | The Yur-a-peein' Champions | 11 | 14 |
| 18 | The Dirty Lories | 11 | 14 |
| 19 | Optimal Jammers | 9 | 16 |
| 20 | Blueberries and Cream | 7 | 18 |
| 21 | Topper Team | 7 | 18 |
| 22 | The Arrogant Bastards | 6 | 19 |
| 23 | More Like Kan't Jam | 6 | 19 |
| 24 | Pandemonium | 5 | 20 |
| 25 | Team Kanada | 2 | 23 |
Ties decided by head-to-head play and shootouts.
Regular Season Standings - BUCKET DIVISION
| Seed | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Schlotzskys | 22 | 2 |
| 2 | Rebel Survivors | 20 | 4 |
| 3 | The Italian Stallions | 18 | 6 |
| 4 | PhiLEEp | 18 | 6 |
| 5 | Team Domination | 18 | 6 |
| 6 | no one of consequence | 17 | 7 |
| 7 | Little Lebowski Urban Achievers | 17 | 7 |
| 8 | Hissing Cobras | 17 | 7 |
| 9 | Jakapalooza | 15 | 9 |
| 10 | That's ALL!! | 14 | 10 |
| 11 | Northtown Titans | 14 | 10 |
| 12 | Our best guy isn't here today | 13 | 11 |
| 13 | Team Playas | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Spiller Instinct | 12 | 12 |
| 15 | Gilgo Gods | 12 | 12 |
| 16 | Cancel The Cobbler | 9 | 15 |
| 16 | G.M.P.S. | 9 | 15 |
| 16 | To Be Determined | 9 | 15 |
| 19 | Flick Off | 8 | 16 |
| 20 | Dirt N' Dirt | 7 | 17 |
| 21 | Keep It Classy | 6 | 18 |
| 22 | Drunkin Beefris | 5 | 19 |
| 23 | Just Add Water | 4 | 20 |
| 24 | All In | 3 | 21 |
Ties decided by head-to-head play and shootouts.
Regular Season Standings - DEUCE DIVISION
| Seed | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salty Nutz | 24 | 2 |
| 2 | Kardiac Kids | 22 | 4 |
| 3 | Hook and Slice | 22 | 4 |
| 4 | Pounding Kan | 21 | 5 |
| 5 | Milo's Minions | 19 | 7 |
| 6 | About 5 Yards | 19 | 7 |
| 7 | Fighting Cocks | 18 | 8 |
| 8 | The Tainted Goochies | 18 | 8 |
| 9 | Tang | 18 | 8 |
| 10 | Superman That Throw | 16 | 10 |
| 11 | KAC ZEBRA MAMBAS | 14 | 12 |
| 12 | Hoorny Toads | 14 | 12 |
| 13 | The Silver Mitz's | 14 | 12 |
| 14 | Horsepower | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | Predators | 12 | 14 |
| 16 | District 5 | 11 | 15 |
| 17 | Slippery Seagulls | 11 | 15 |
| 18 | Young Guns | 11 | 15 |
| 19 | G.S.B | 10 | 16 |
| 20 | Jo-Dan | 9 | 16 |
| 21 | Twisted Sisters | 7 | 19 |
| 22 | KBK | 7 | 18 |
| 23 | Yes We Kan | 7 | 19 |
| 24 | SoMo | 6 | 19 |
| 25 | The Tenders | 3 | 21 |
| 26 | Cannibal Chickens | 3 | 23 |
Ties decided by head-to-head play and shootouts.
Regular Season Standings - HAMMER DIVISION
| Seed | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorkus Malorkus | 23 | 3 |
| 2 | Excuse me, Flo? | 20 | 6 |
| 3 | Big & Rich | 19 | 7 |
| 4 | Throw It In Her Butt | 19 | 7 |
| 5 | Swamp People | 19 | 7 |
| 6 | Da Bubs | 19 | 7 |
| 7 | Canned Yams | 17 | 9 |
| 8 | NIGHTMAN COMETH | 17 | 9 |
| 9 | Slot Machines | 17 | 9 |
| 10 | Shitkanned | 16 | 10 |
| 11 | 5 cereals | 16 | 10 |
| 12 | Mikey Nice | 16 | 10 |
| 13 | When Did i Eat Corn | 15 | 11 |
| 14 | Sparkle Motion | 13 | 13 |
| 15 | Kielbasa Kings | 13 | 13 |
| 16 | Kan Jampions | 13 | 13 |
| 17 | ROCford Peaches | 12 | 14 |
| 18 | McDonough and Son | 10 | 16 |
| 19 | Playground Legends | 10 | 16 |
| 20 | Six Nine Boyz | 9 | 17 |
| 21 | Fred's Slacks | 8 | 16 |
| 21 | Im Batman | 8 | 17 |
| 21 | Put It In | 8 | 17 |
| 24 | Maroon Madness | 7 | 19 |
| 25 | Ebony and Ivory | 4 | 22 |
| 26 | CM Boys | 0 | 26 |
Ties decided by head-to-head play and shootouts.
The format of the tournament was mostly the same as the past two years with a few key changes. For the first time since 2002, regular season games were played to regulation 21 points. In previous years, regular season games were shortened to either 11 or 15 points. It wasn't until the playoffs that games were played to 21 points. With a reasonable number of teams per division, all games for the regular season were played to 21 points for the 2011 KanJam World Championship.
Another enhancement to the KanJam World Championship in 2011 was the addition of official referees. The referees were instituted for the regular season and playoffs to answer questions over rules and resolve disputes. There were four official referees, one per division. All four referees have played KanJam for 7+ years and were all former players in the KanJam World Championship. In fact, one the refs, Greg Opalinski, was a member of Dooleys, the very first KanJam World Champions back in 1990. The other referees were Josh Tonn, Mike Matikosh, and Brian Devine. As the tournament went on into the playoffs, the refs were responsible for overseeing the action of each playoff round. Once the tournament got into the later rounds of the playoffs, the refs officiated the games. With the tournament growing and more inexperienced teams joining the competitive KanJam circuit, referees are a necessary and vital addition to assist teams with making calls and keeping order in competitive situations. Since this was the first year with referees, future tournaments may see more officiating throughout the regular season and all playoff rounds.
The 101 participating teams were divided into one of two conferences, with two divisions per conference (4 divisions total). In the regular season, the top overall team was Salty Nutz (Frank Owczarczak & Joe Collier) from the Deuce Division, posting a regular season record of 24-2. Last year's runners-up, The Schlotzskys (Scott Johnson & Trevor Cole), were the next best team overall from the Bucket Division, finishing the regular season at 22-2. The other number one seeds were Dorkus Malorkus (Bob Greenauer & Josh Greenauer) at 23-3 from the Hammer Division and PAPiO (Alexander Baker & Matthew Vescio) at 22-3 from the Dinger Division.
With completion of the regular season, there were a record number of ties that could not be decided by head-to-head play (more than two teams tied). These teams all competed in tiebreaker "shootouts" to determine overall seeds for the regular season. Each team in a shootout shot three rounds of throws; the team with the highest total placed the highest seed, the second most points placed the next best position, and so on. In the Bucket Division, three teams tied at 18-6 for 3rd place. The Italian Stallions (Jon Sandino & Brian Ellis) won the shootout to place 3rd, with PhiLEEp (Phil Schneider & LeeAnn Greenauer) finishing 4th and former World Champions, Team Domination (Mark Lopian & Bryan Irish-Jones) taking the 5th seed. This shootout ultimately decided which teams would receive a "bye" round, as only the top four from each division would earn the bye for the first round of the playoffs.
In the Deuce Division, there were two groups of shootouts. The first was a three-way tie for the 7th seed at 18-8, which was won by Fighting Cocks (Todd Lindbloom & Jeff Jachlewski), with The Tainted Goochies (Mike Domagala & Drew Lalewicz) and Tang (John Maxwell & Gregg Maxwell) taking seeds #8 and #9. With only 12 teams qualifying for the playoffs from each division, the other shootout decided which teams made the playoffs. A three-way tie for seeds #11-13 set up a shootout with only two of the three teams taking the last two playoffs spots. KAC ZEBRA MAMBAS (Zeke Schuerholz & Luke Lindner) won the shootout, placing 11th, while Hoorny Toads (Michael Hoorn & Jason Hoorn) took the last playoff spot. With finishing last in the shootout, The Silver Mitz's (Tammy Kulpa & Alex Cerny) barely missed the playoffs by placing the #13 seed.
team interviews from the 2011 KanJam World Championship!
There was a record of three shootouts in the Hammer Division. Throw It In Her Butt (Scott Silverman & Joe Smith) won their shootout to take the #4 seed, and earned the last "bye" for the first round of the playoffs. The other teams in this shootout were Swamp People (Jamey Finochio & Brett Laduke) at #5 and Da Bubs (Alex Reinecke & Sarah Burns) at #6. Canned Yams (Jakob Hebert & Kelsey Kotzur) won their shootout to take the #7 seed in the three-way tie with NIGHTMAN COMETH (Peter Simicice & Kevin Algozer, #8) and Slot Machines (Joe Genco & Ben Genco, #9). The last group was a tie at 16-10 for 10th place. Shitkanned (Keith Micciche & Greg Schollmeyer) won taking the #10 seed, with 5 cereals (Connor Powell & Connor White) and Mikey Nice (Mike Andrews & Mike Babcock) finishing at #11 and #12.
While there were no shootouts in the Dinger Division, a crazy 4-way tie for second place (19-6) was won in the head-to-head matchups by No Big Deal (Matt Nelson & Shane Nelson).
As it was for most of the day, teams would need to battle the windy conditions in the playoffs. In arguably the most competitive route to the crown, the Bucket Division consisted of three of the Final 4 teams from the 2010 KanJam World Championship. In total, this division consisted of two KanJam World Champion teams, one runners-up, and two more Final 4 contenders from previous years. Twelve teams from each division qualified for the playoffs, with the top four receiving a "bye" for the first round. There was a large number of upsets in the Wild Card round (best of 3) - 11 of the 16 total matches were won by the lower seed. Check out the full playoff bracket below for all the results from this round and the rest of the playoffs.
In the Divisional Quarter-Finals (best of 5), the top seeds won most of the matches. The biggest upsets from this round included the #10 seed, Shitkanned, defeating the #2 seed, Excuse me, Flo? (Adam Obrokta & Corey Parker) in the Hammer Division and Hissing Cobras (Bradley Irish-Jones & Hassan Irish-Baker, #8 seed) taking down Italian Stallions (#3 seed).
A new record was set in the next round, the Divisional Semi-Finals (best of 5). All four #1 seeds were knocked out. Formidable Baby Crushers (TJ Burns & Rich Resig, #4 seed) defeated PAPiO, three games to one in the Dinger Division. Hissing Cobras (#8 seed) took out last year's runners-up, The Schlotzskys, in four games. In the other conference, Milo's Minions (#5 seed) shut out Salty Nutz, a former Final 4 contender. And in a series that went to a deciding game 5, Shitkanned defeated Dorkus Malorkus (4-time KanJam World Champions) in the 4th overtime round to advance. Also, in a series match between two World Champion teams, Rebel Survivors shut out Team Domination three games to none, in a rematch of the 2009 Final 4.
With just two teams remaining from each division, the Divisional Finals (best of 7) was held to determine which teams would advance to the Conference Finals. In the American KanJam Conference, Formidable Baby Crushers defeated No Big Deal in a close series that went to game 7. In just their first KanJam World Championship, No Big Deal played outstanding jam throughout the tournament to land a 5th place overall finish. Defending champions, Rebel Survivors took an early 2-0 lead in their series against Hissing Cobras after Dan Klavoon threw an Instant Win in the second game (Click here to watch video in POPUP or YOUTUBE). They went on to win the series 4-2, advancing to the Final 4 for the third straight year. In the National KanJam Conference, Milo's Minions eliminated Hook and Slice (Chris Doak & Jeff Johnson) in seven games. Throw It In Her Butt took out Shitkanned in a series that also went to a deciding game 7.
Her Butt, and Formidable Baby Crushers
Coincidentally, the Final 4 were all players from the Buffalo, NY indoor KanJam League, with the exception of Rich Resig from Formidable Baby Crushers. These teams were all too familiar with each other, setting up an exciting Final 4 (Conference Finals, best of 7). In the American KanJam Conference Finals, Rebel Survivors squared up against Formidable Baby Crushers. Although TJ Burns came very close to hitting Instant Wins on several throws, Rebel Survivors took down Formidable Baby Crushers four games to none to earn a trip to the finals for a chance to defend their title. In the National KanJam Conference Finals, Milo's Minions faced off against Throw It In Her Butt, both teams making their first Final 4 appearance in the KanJam World Championship. After getting out to a 3-1 lead in the series, game 5 went to overtime where Milo's Minions won to advance to the World Championship Finals for the first time.
By making it to the Finals, a rematch of the 2011 KanJam Klassic (indoor tournament) between Rebel Survivors and Milo's Minions took place. In their first World Championship Finals appearance, Milo's Minions have proven themselves as an elite team in KanJam. They started the series with The Hammer for Game 1. Out of the gate, Rebel Survivors started with double buckets, and continued on to win Game 1. In Game 2, Milo's Minions kept pace with the defending champions, and forced overtime on Adam Williams' clutch tip. In overtime, Rebel Survivors scored four points, which would be good enough to win and take a 2-0 series lead. Over the next two games, Rebel Survivors took commanding leads, forcing Milo's Minions to throw the Instant Win. After Milo's Minions took their final shot at the Instant Win in Game 4, Rebel Survivors swept the series to win their 3rd consecutive KanJam World Championship.
Some notable achievements: Eric Klavoon (Rebel Survivors/Sole Survivors) continues his streak of Final 4 appearances, making it to at least the Final 4 nine years in a row and counting (2003-2011). He has also made it to the Finals eight times in the last nine years. Dan Klavoon (Rebel Survivors) has made it to the Finals four years in a row, the last three with Rebel Survivors (2009-2011) and in 2008 with Team Rebels. Rebel Survivors and Milo's Minions are only the second duo of teams to finish first and second place in both the KanJam Klassic and KanJam World Championship in the same year. The only other duo to achieve this feat was Dorkus Malorkus and Sole Survivors (2005 and 2006).
All-Time KanJam World Championship Titles
BY TEAM
| Rank | Team | Players | World Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester Killer Bees | Kevin Shaffer & Scott Punter | 5 |
| 2 | Dorkus Malorkus | Bob Greenauer & Josh Greenauer | 4 |
| 3 | Rebel Survivors | Eric Klavoon & Dan Klavoon | 3 |
| 3 | Sole Survivors | Eric Klavoon & Steve Wojcik | 3 |
| 5 | Igor & Sven | Glenn Colton & Dan Carnevale | 2 |
Click here for full list of KanJam World Champions
All-Time KanJam World Championship Titles
BY PLAYER
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | World Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Klavoon | Rebel Survivors / Sole Survivors | 6 |
| 2 | Kevin Shaffer | Rochester Killer Bees | 5 |
| 2 | Scott Punter | Rochester Killer Bees | 5 |
| 4 | Bob Greenauer | Dorkus Malorkus | 4 |
| 4 | Josh Greenauer | Dorkus Malorkus | 4 |
| 6 | Dan Klavoon | Rebel Survivors | 3 |
| 6 | Steve Wojcik | Sole Survivors | 3 |
| 8 | Glenn Colton | Igor & Sven | 2 |
| 8 | Dan Carnevale | Igor & Sven | 2 |
Click here for full list of KanJam World Champions
Upon conclusion of the 2011 KanJam World Championship, Dorkus Malorkus officially announced their "retirement." The father-son duo of Bob and Josh Greenauer will end their reign as one of the greatest KanJam teams of all time, compiling four consecutive World Championship titles from 2001-2004. They are currently the only team to have won four consecutive years in a row and are the second place team in all-time World titles behind Rochester Killer Bees (5). They have also made it to the World Championship Finals a team record seven consecutive years (2001-2007) and eight Finals total. In addition to the World Championship, they have also won a team record of four KanJam Klassic (official indoor tournament) titles, including three in a row from 2007-2009. Dorkus Malorkus started in 1999 under their original team name, "Hotter Than A Firecracker." Soon after, they switched to the team name of Dorkus Malorkus, a team name they made famous throughout the years. Both Bob and Josh will still continue to play in the KanJam World Championship and KanJam Klassic for years to come, just with different partners. Dorkus Malorkus played in the KanJam World Championship for 13 years from 1999 to 2011.
To make it easy for planning purposes year in and year out, the KanJam World Championship will always take place on the second Saturday of August. This date has been reserved, so teams can set their calendars in advance. The 2012 KanJam World Championship will take place on Saturday, August 11th, 2012. On behalf of KanJam, Charlie and Mitch would like to thank everyone involved for a great tournament and look forward to seeing everyone next year at the 2012 KanJam World Championship.
Playoff Bracket
(Click below for larger image of the completed bracket.)
Photos from the 2011 KanJam World Championship
(Click on a thumbnail below.)
Divisional Quarter-Finals (Best of 5)
Divisional Semi-Finals (Best of 5)
Divisional Finals (Best of 7)
Conference Finals (Best of 7)
FINAL 4
(Best of 7)
REBEL SURVIVORS vs. MILO'S MINIONS
Would you like to submit your team photo from the 2011 KanJam World Championship? If so, please email photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please include your team name, full player names, and let us know who is who in the photo. If you have separate player photos, please send both and we'll combine them. Please include the high quality original photos. No pre-tournament photos will be posted; only photos from the tournament will be used.
The 2011 KanJam World Championship was one of the most successful tournaments to date. We would like to say thank you to all the volunteers that helped in making it a great event yet again. Also, thank you to all the teams and spectators that traveled to participate in this event. Proceeds from the 2011 KanJam World Championship benefited Carly's Club at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (a childhood cancer research fund) and the North Tonawanda Police Athletic League.
Some of those involved in helping out with the 2011 KanJam World Championship:
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