⏪ Season in review

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where Daylight Saving Time marks the start of my seasonal depression.

Let’s get into it.

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DISCUSSION
Season Storylines

I’ll be honest… This week’s disc golf news was drier than the overcooked turkey I made last Thanksgiving. (I came. I saw. I failed.)

So rather than talking about Gannon Buhr’s Legos or pros’ favorite music festival, let’s do some quick storylines that popped up this season:

1 - A new era of MPO: Parity & Youth.

After 29 tournaments, there were a total of 18 unique MPO winners. With Heimburg always in the hunt, Isaac Robinson winning 2 Majors, and Buhr securing the most events, this season proved how hard it is to win.

Every week someone new was in contention, and younger pros broke through. In previous years, podiums had repeat names but now it’s crowded with competition.

Because of that, it’s no surprise that the Player of the Year debate is the hottest it’s ever been. The era of McBeth’s & Wysocki’s domination is over, and the “Modern Era” has begun.

2 - Kristin Tattar: A level of greatness rarely seen.

While the MPO POTY remains contested, the FPO side has been decided for months. Kristin Tattar had a season that many consider the best ever.

Not only did she show a level of dominance reminiscent of legends like Elaine King & Julianna Korver, but she did it against the most competitive field. From sweeping the Majors to receiving awards from Estonia’s President, Tattar’s season was impactful, put more eyes on FPO, and will never be forgotten.

So as we look toward 2024 and beyond, the GOAT status of Tattar will be put to the test. Can she maintain this level of consistency and dominance? Will she prove doubters wrong?

3 - Paul McBeth’s Euro tour.

Jumping the gun a year early, McBeth took the path less traveled with an extended Euro tour. For 8 weeks, he traveled through 6 different countries to win 4 out of 8 events.

While thousands of miles away, McBeth still dominated headlines and demanded attention. As a result, he finished #1 in the Euro Tour standings and has a docuseries coming out soon.

Now as a new dad, his priorities may have shifted. But with DGPT Europe established, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him focus his attention there in 6 months.

4 - The year of lawsuits.

Not to be forgotten, this year saw 2 major lawsuits. Now, litigation and attorney-at-law are common phrases amongst pros.

Back in February, Prodigy filed a lawsuit for breach of contract against Gannon Buhr. Then after 3 months of speculation and court documents, they reached a resolution with Buhr throwing Prodigy through the end of 2023.

Also in February, Natalie Ryan began her litigation against the PDGA & DGPT. Starting in CA and then adding on MN, she was granted allowance to play in FPO.

After months of fighting for its policy, the DGPT waved the white flag and canceled FPO events. But they quickly reversed the decision with the “United Series” where transgender women could compete.

As for next year, the DGPT has said, “Plans for the continuation of the United Series will be made available during the off-season.” No matter your stance, we can all agree that DiscGolf.Law had his best year yet.

NEWS
A Unified Euro Tour

When people said there were going to be more consolidations, most didn’t think it would happen this soon. Last week, the DGPT announced their latest step towards world domination unifying Europe’s pro scene.

This season, there were 2 separate tours. One was run by the PDGA called the Euro Tour (ET), while the other was run by Prodigy called the European Pro Tour (EPT).

Now this is where it gets confusing, so stick with me…

• The ET had 7 events aired live on Disc Golf Network. These awarded DGPT points for the standings which culminated in the Tour Championship won by Wysocki & Gannon 3 weeks ago

• The EPT had 8 events aired live on its streaming site - Disc Golf Stream. These events were independent of the DGPT & PDGA

Moving forward, there will be one singular tour overseen by the DGPT with support from the PDGA and EPT’s team.

• 5 events have been announced that will award points toward the US finale

• 5 more events will be announced as “Silver” that will award separate points towards European standings

• All live coverage will now be only on DGN

It may not seem like it, but this is a big deal. On one hand, this is a giant leap for growing viewership and player opportunities. On the other, it could segment touring pros who must choose between the West Coast Swing, a fruitful Euro trip, or extra time off.

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OFF EVENTS, PENNYWISE & HOT STOVE
Random Triples

1️⃣ As many of you went to Halloween parties and nursed hangovers, several of your favorite pros competed over the weekend. Here’s a quick roundup of notable wins:

Battle for Bedford (VA): 🥇Chris Dickerson (-12) 🥈Matt Hammersten (-5) 🥉Brodie Smith (-2)

Playing on the 2 courses for 2024 Worlds, this was a great preview. New London Tech & Ivy Hill proved to be incredibly challenging with only a handful of players shooting under par.

Halloween Classic (NV): 🥇Jacob “Cupcake” Courtis (-29) 🥈Parker Welck (-23) 🥉Cameron Messerschmidt (-22)

Keep your eyes peeled on Terry “The DG Guy” Miller’s channel for post-produced coverage of this event.

Hub City Halloween Open (SC): 🥇Ezra Robinson (-12) 🥈Andrew Marwede (-11) 🥉Jake Monn & AJ Carey (-7)

2️⃣ Halloween may be over, but it’s still spooky season. We’ve all had our fair share of weird interactions on the course, but this one from Redditor u/Left_Ticket5464 takes the cake…

Apparently, Pennywise doesn’t prey on disc golfers.

3️⃣ It’s still early in the off-season for player moves. But hot-stove speculations are in full swing, and 2 players are in the hot seat.

1/ While at EPT All-Stars with Prodigy’s Media Manager (Seppo Paju), Alden Harris joined the Discmania Collector’s Facebook group. Could he also be joining his good friend Gavin Babcock as a Discmaniac?

My gut reaction is no. Harris and his crew aren’t dumb, and they know a thing or two about feeding the rumor mill to their amusement.

2/ On Monday, The Nick & Matt Show stumbled upon an Instagram username change by Chris Clemons. For years, he’s been sponsored by Dynamic Discs and has used @ddclemonade as his username.

But recently, he changed it to @dgclemonade. A single letter isn’t much to write home about, but it certainly raises some eyebrows.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and play this week!

- Charlie