NATIONS was designed to allow the top competitors to go all out and showcase the best flair they had. With a format designed with very few deductions to give the freedom for competitors to let loose, this year's competition did not disappoint. Not only did NATIONS 2008 bring the toughest and deepest Pro Division ever to a single competition, it also allowed them to go balls out and show us what they had. The competitors that did not make the NATIONS 2008 finals might be a more impressive list of people than other competitions have in the finals. Our hats go off to everyone that made the big show because you earned it.
To win this event meant you had to not only bring nasty hard stuff, but it also had to be original as well as you had to stick your routine. If you were off just a bit, you would be eaten up by the other competitors. At the end of the night the winner was clear cut and unanimous among both panels of judges. Tomek Malek from Poland brought his A+++ Game for sure. After his round it was pretty clear that he won the competition to the entire room. Not only did Tomek bring hard and original stuff, he also nailed AND put on a show at the same time. This was by far the best I have ever seen Tomek. I can't wait to see him again in Cologne Germany and Moscow Russia this October to see if he can do it again. SPECTACULAR TOMEK!!! WELL DONE!
Coming in second was Rodrigo Delpech. Rodrigo definitely came to play this year and in any other competition I am pretty sure his routine would have cinched up the victory. He was not spot on this year but by no means was he off. Just a few little mistakes were enough to slide him down to second. Rodrigo demonstrated some classically hard Delpech patterns but also masterfully mixed in bartending skills and a very balanced routine. I will never get tired of watching Rodrigo D. breakdown the boundaries of flair. Step it up Rodrigo, the world is on your heels!!
At the beginning of 2008 Justin Keane had a baby boy. (Yeah... congrats... yippie) This made it hard for him to practice for Best in the West, so he decided to judge. While he did not have an official judge's certification meeting, he did have a few chances to have some one on one with FBA Master Certified Judge Ken Hall and other FBA Certified judges. Just like every other competitor that has sat down and watched a competition through a judges eye with a judging score sheet in front of them, Justin benefited 10 fold as a competitor. He was not the best at any one category, but he did not give up many points in any category either. Justin put together an extremely well rounded routine that maximized every point he was capable of getting. With talent that showed up to Las Vegas this past July, he needed every point he could get to land 3rd place!! Well done Justin! We can't wait to see what you put together next.
Coming in fourth was Tom Dyer. Tom had a great routine but unfortunately was a bit dropsy (9 drops). He was slightly off of his normal performance and thus we did not have the Dyer Magic we are accustomed to. Tom is one of the few competitors in the world that has the ability to actually pull off a routine with 9 drops and still rock the judges, but this was not his event. The sparkle was not there... but the SICK SICK FLAIR WAS! We know Tom will come to Germany and Russia with that spark and the focus to show the rest them what's what.
In Fifth place was Danilo Oribe. Similar to Tom, Danilo did not have his mojo with him. He pulled out the highest points in several categories, but with 7 drops Danilo's style just can't shine. What we all know and love about Danilo's flair is how clean, solid, and precise it is. He is typically the best in the world at this... just not this evening.
Marek Posluszny pulled down sixth place at NATIONS. His flair was great and his show was spectacular, but you just can't come to an event like this at anything less than 100%. With 12 drops Marek just could not get it together. We all know how exciting Marek is to watch. He has such creative flair and a crowd catching show... but this year the drops got the better of him and he just could not make up for it. We will see him again very soon and he will redeem himself for sure!
Rodrigo Cao had a GREAT round in qualifying... he was so full of energy and fun that he really got the room and judges into it... but that was qualifying. Finals were not as kind to Rodrigo. He did have several drops, but more importantly Rodrigo Cao did not have the magic that typically makes us say "HOLY CAO". We are not sure if the pressure got to him or if he just was off his game, but 7th place was all that Rodrigo Cao was able to muster this evening.
8th Place goes to Eiji Narita of Japan. Eiji has showed us extremely powerful rounds that solid flair and top notch execution... at other events. NATIONS however he was not able to deliver. With 8 drops Eiji seemed to really get frazzled with his mistakes... we only know this because typically Eiji has a smile the size of Levi Donaldsons head... but not tonight. He really had great composure, but his round really never was able to come together. We have all been there and we were hurting with him as his round came to a close. We will see you again Eiji!
Bringing up the end of the Pro Division in 9th place was Katsumi Ushiki from Japan. Katsumi was probably the most controversial competitor for this event. In Qualifying Katsumi came out of the hole with 5 objects and kept running from there. He really nailed one of the hardest routines we have ever seen in flair bartending on qualifying day. He did things with live glass bottles that nobody has ever done in a competition before. What makes all this so controversial is that his entire routine was 100% juggling.... We don't mean what Delpech, Dario, Oribe, and the other greats do.... Katsumi flat out did sick sick sick sick juggling patterns... Difficult, Technically Executed, some Originality as they have never been brought to flair bartending, and extremely entertaining... There is 1 major flaw with a routine like this, and it came to bite Katsumi in the finals. When your entire routine is filled with hard hard juggling... if you drop, you simply wreck your routine. Katsumi just could not keep it together for finals and it really hurt him more than others due to the style of routine he came up with. We hope Katsumi will incorporate some tins and bartending skills the next time we see him so he can really shine as a flair bartender! I can't wait to see him again!!
To win this event meant you had to not only bring nasty hard stuff, but it also had to be original as well as you had to stick your routine. If you were off just a bit, you would be eaten up by the other competitors. At the end of the night the winner was clear cut and unanimous among both panels of judges. Tomek Malek from Poland brought his A+++ Game for sure. After his round it was pretty clear that he won the competition to the entire room. Not only did Tomek bring hard and original stuff, he also nailed AND put on a show at the same time. This was by far the best I have ever seen Tomek. I can't wait to see him again in Cologne Germany and Moscow Russia this October to see if he can do it again. SPECTACULAR TOMEK!!! WELL DONE!
Coming in second was Rodrigo Delpech. Rodrigo definitely came to play this year and in any other competition I am pretty sure his routine would have cinched up the victory. He was not spot on this year but by no means was he off. Just a few little mistakes were enough to slide him down to second. Rodrigo demonstrated some classically hard Delpech patterns but also masterfully mixed in bartending skills and a very balanced routine. I will never get tired of watching Rodrigo D. breakdown the boundaries of flair. Step it up Rodrigo, the world is on your heels!!
At the beginning of 2008 Justin Keane had a baby boy. (Yeah... congrats... yippie) This made it hard for him to practice for Best in the West, so he decided to judge. While he did not have an official judge's certification meeting, he did have a few chances to have some one on one with FBA Master Certified Judge Ken Hall and other FBA Certified judges. Just like every other competitor that has sat down and watched a competition through a judges eye with a judging score sheet in front of them, Justin benefited 10 fold as a competitor. He was not the best at any one category, but he did not give up many points in any category either. Justin put together an extremely well rounded routine that maximized every point he was capable of getting. With talent that showed up to Las Vegas this past July, he needed every point he could get to land 3rd place!! Well done Justin! We can't wait to see what you put together next.
Coming in fourth was Tom Dyer. Tom had a great routine but unfortunately was a bit dropsy (9 drops). He was slightly off of his normal performance and thus we did not have the Dyer Magic we are accustomed to. Tom is one of the few competitors in the world that has the ability to actually pull off a routine with 9 drops and still rock the judges, but this was not his event. The sparkle was not there... but the SICK SICK FLAIR WAS! We know Tom will come to Germany and Russia with that spark and the focus to show the rest them what's what.
In Fifth place was Danilo Oribe. Similar to Tom, Danilo did not have his mojo with him. He pulled out the highest points in several categories, but with 7 drops Danilo's style just can't shine. What we all know and love about Danilo's flair is how clean, solid, and precise it is. He is typically the best in the world at this... just not this evening. 
Marek Posluszny pulled down sixth place at NATIONS. His flair was great and his show was spectacular, but you just can't come to an event like this at anything less than 100%. With 12 drops Marek just could not get it together. We all know how exciting Marek is to watch. He has such creative flair and a crowd catching show... but this year the drops got the better of him and he just could not make up for it. We will see him again very soon and he will redeem himself for sure!
Rodrigo Cao had a GREAT round in qualifying... he was so full of energy and fun that he really got the room and judges into it... but that was qualifying. Finals were not as kind to Rodrigo. He did have several drops, but more importantly Rodrigo Cao did not have the magic that typically makes us say "HOLY CAO". We are not sure if the pressure got to him or if he just was off his game, but 7th place was all that Rodrigo Cao was able to muster this evening.
8th Place goes to Eiji Narita of Japan. Eiji has showed us extremely powerful rounds that solid flair and top notch execution... at other events. NATIONS however he was not able to deliver. With 8 drops Eiji seemed to really get frazzled with his mistakes... we only know this because typically Eiji has a smile the size of Levi Donaldsons head... but not tonight. He really had great composure, but his round really never was able to come together. We have all been there and we were hurting with him as his round came to a close. We will see you again Eiji!
Bringing up the end of the Pro Division in 9th place was Katsumi Ushiki from Japan. Katsumi was probably the most controversial competitor for this event. In Qualifying Katsumi came out of the hole with 5 objects and kept running from there. He really nailed one of the hardest routines we have ever seen in flair bartending on qualifying day. He did things with live glass bottles that nobody has ever done in a competition before. What makes all this so controversial is that his entire routine was 100% juggling.... We don't mean what Delpech, Dario, Oribe, and the other greats do.... Katsumi flat out did sick sick sick sick juggling patterns... Difficult, Technically Executed, some Originality as they have never been brought to flair bartending, and extremely entertaining... There is 1 major flaw with a routine like this, and it came to bite Katsumi in the finals. When your entire routine is filled with hard hard juggling... if you drop, you simply wreck your routine. Katsumi just could not keep it together for finals and it really hurt him more than others due to the style of routine he came up with. We hope Katsumi will incorporate some tins and bartending skills the next time we see him so he can really shine as a flair bartender! I can't wait to see him again!!