Kawano Wins Topanga Qualifier, Playoff Dates Revealed

The Topanga Championship 5 finals have been confirmed with all the participants now ready to get into action. There were three groups with 9 players in each group. The top two of each group automatically qualified for the finals with the third position making it into a final playoff mini tournament. 

Group A saw Kakeru turn things around with Bison on the final day and sweep his way to the top. He was joined by Ryukichi. The B block saw old heads Momochi, and former Topanga winner, Fuudo qualify as the top two, and finally in Block C it was Kobayan and Hikaru coming up trumps in the group. This left Moke, Kawano, and Hibiki fighting for the last slot in the finals. 

The three players played against one another with the player with the most wins as against losses taking it home. Hibiki won against Kawano 3-2, but lost to Moke 2-3 thanks to an input error in the first round of the final game. Kawano rallied against Moke defeating him 3-1. This meant that with 5 games won and four games lost, Kawano had a point. This put him on top and gave him the last spot. 

The finals will run between the 12th and 14th of July 2024 with players playing a first to seven and in the grand final, a first-to-seven with deuce rules up to 10. This means the winner must win by at least two sets, up to game 10. For instance, a player can win 7-1, 7-2 up to 7-5, but if the set gets to 7-6, an extra set will be played to see if the player ahead can get an extra game. 

Kawano and Fuudo are the only players that have won the tournament in prior editions while Kakeru, Kobayan, Ryukichi, and Hikaru are participating for the first time.