Vegas Baby – Final 8 Set to Make a Run at Title of 3GN Champion and $50,000

Vegas Baby – Final 8 Set to Make a Run at Title of 3GN Champion and $50,000
By Chad Adams

GLENGARY, WV-(Ammoland.com)- Eight competitors punched their tickets to Las Vegas for the 3-Gun Nation Championship Shoot-Off Finale by winning their elimination round match-up during the 3GN Championship Shoot-Off here Nov. 13.

The winner of the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale will be awarded the title of 3GN Champion and receive an unprecedented payday—$50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports.

Tommy Thacker, Phil Strader, Jeff Cramblit, Rustin Bernskoetter, Mark Hanish, Tyler Payne, Taran Butler and Mike Voigt all qualified for the 3GN Shoot-Off Finale via wins during the elimination round.

In the first match-up, FN’s Tommy Thacker squared off against defending 3GN Champion Daniel Horner, from the U.S. AMU.

Horner jumped out to a good lead during the rifle position and was first to the stop plate, beating Thacker by a couple of plates.

However, upon review of 3GN video, Horner failed to knock down one of the MGM ReCon targets, and was incorrectly declared the winner. Upon seeing the footage, Horner conceded that he lost the bout, therefore Thacker moves on to Las Vegas.

In the second match-up, Phil Strader, who needed a third score at the preceding FNH USA 3-Gun Championship just to qualify for the 3GN Championship Match, defeated James Casanova, who put up an impressive fourth place finish in the four-stage match. Strader will face Thacker in Las Vegas.

Jeff Cramblit knocked off Stag Arms’ Kalani Laker in the next bracket, setting up a Las Vegas showdown with Rustin Bernskoetter, who came from behind on the pistol to knock out Adam Popplewell.

In the lower brackets, FN’s Mark Hanish laid down arguably the most impressive one run of the match, a blistering pace that knocked off Kelly Neal, who had a good run in his own right.

Hanish will square off in Las Vegas against the U.S. AMU’s Tyler Payne, who just edged breakout 3-gunner Greg Jordan, who knocked down his stop plate with one pistol plate still standing—a wild finish to what was a very exciting run.

In a match-up of titans, Taran Butler laid down an extremely impressive run on his way to knocking out Jerry Miculek. Butler and Miculek were neck-and-neck through the shotgun and rifle positions before Butler took off with the pistol to seal the win.

In the final match-up, arguably the most exciting bout of the day, Mike Voigt narrowly defeated Open division rival Clint Upchurch to advance to Las Vegas. In an impressive display, Voigt worked through a shotgun malfunction to run down Upchurch with the pistol. With both stop plates falling nearly simultaneously, it was Voigt’s that edged past Upchurch’s plate first for the win. Only one day earlier, Upchurch outlasted Voigt to narrowly win the 3GN Open Division title, picking up a $5,000 payday from Hornady. Fittingly, as the two have battled back and forth all season long, Voigt turned the tables the next day to advance to Vegas.

The road to the 3GN Championship began last September, as competitors have compiled series points at major 3-gun matches across the country. The top 64 competitors were invited to compete in the 3GN Championship Match, a one-day Tactical Optics event that featured four stages of fire—each with all three guns.

In what most are calling the deepest 3-gun field ever assembled, the top 16 advanced into the Shoot-Off elimination round. Now the Las Vegas eight move on to compete for what will be the highest cash payout in the history of the sport, with $50,000 going the 3-Gun Nation Champion, courtesy of Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports.

3-Gun Championship Shoot-Off Finale Match-Ups

• Thacker vs. Strader winner faces winner of Cramblit vs. Bernskoetter
• Hanish vs. Payne winner faces winner of Butler vs. Voigt

3-Gun Nation Championship Match Results

Points	Rank	First	Last
379.47	1	Daniel	Horner
336.37	2	Mike	Voigt
328.45	3	Greg	Jordan
325.23	4	James	Casanova
324.17	5	Rustin	Bernskoetter
319.45	6	Kelly	Neal
319.29	7	Jerry	Miculek
312.86	8	Jeff	Cramblit
309.97	9	Kalani	Laker
309.93	10	Taran	Butler
304.20	11	Mark	Hanish
301.20	12	Adam	Popplewell
300.89	13	Phil	Strader
298.38	14	Tyler	Payne
298.29	15	Clint	Upchurch
294.91	16	Tommy	Thacker
294.32	17	James	Darst
287.68	18	Bruce	Piatt
285.63	19	Patrick	Kelley
282.04	20	Keith	Garcia
274.32	21	Andrew	Daun
273.36	22	Rob	Romero
271.73	23	Jason	Tielke
271.14	24	Jeremy	Parker
268.99	25	Tony	Holmes
266.56	26	Travis	Gibson
266.35	27	Ben	Fortin
260.29	28	Jesse	Tischauser
259.92	29	Matt	Burkett
259.01	30	Ryan	Zamberlain
257.92	31	Barry	Dueck
255.53	32	Dean	Deturk
252.87	33	Bryan	Ray
252.39	34	Ting	Sun
251.16	35	Chuck	Anderson
247.95	36	Erik	Lund
232.41	37	Chris	Andersen
230.41	38	Maurice	Griffin
229.47	39	Brian	Vaught
224.48	40	Scott	McGregor
223.83	41	Chad	Drewery
206.09	42	Jansen	Jones
196.15	43	Joe	Satterfield
190.08	44	Kerry	Dematos
173.26	45	Jerry	Bonura