SFC INSIDER: How The Rest of the Gulf Makes ZGCP

No time for pleasantries here, there’s a lot to sort through. Many cans of energy drinks were crushed while crunching the numbers, blood was drawn, tears were shed. Chat GPT will learn the rules scenarios, the points system and the tiebreaker scenarios from the offseason. 

Like I said yesterday: Strap in. 

Let’s get some easy ones out of the way first…

Third Coast Renegades Angling Club: CLINCHED
No need to give the Renegades their flowers again. They haven’t finished lower than third all season. 

Alabama Angling Club: ELIMINATED
The angling club currently receiving bids for ownership made one appearance this year at the Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open. 

OK, deep breath in...deep breath out...

Let's go.

Texas Lone Stars Angling Club
As I mentioned yesterday, the Lone Stars have been hot since Gulfport. So hot that they jumped from as low as sixth in the point standings after week two to second at the end of the penultimate stop on the calendar. Being second in the points means Captain Spencer Johnson and the crew have several ways to make it an all-Texas lineup representing the Gulf in Cabo.

LONE STARS ADVANCE TO THE ZANE GREY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS BY:
- Winning the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club (MBGFC) Labor Day Invitational
- Placing second in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational should the Renegades or Cowboys win
- Placing third in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational should the Renegades with Canyons placing second, with help from a tiebreaker scenario
- Placing fourth in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational, ahead of the Canyons should the Renegades win
- Placing fifth in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational with a Renegades win, Gulf Coast Cowboys finishing second, Mississippi Blues or West Florida Black Flags third and Canyons fourth with the help of a tiebreaker scenario

Louisiana Canyons Angling Club
It feels as if the theme for Capt. “Stonewall” Hall Bohlinger, owner/angler Gus Rantz and GM/Mate Bobby Holderman all season has been: 

“You have to be in it to win it.”

While not winning any tournament stop on the calendar, the Canyons have done enough to be in contention, finishing as high as second at the Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open, and securing enough points with fourth place finishes in Gulfport and The Billfish Pachanga to stay in the hunt. The key has been avoiding placing at the bottom, which they only did once at the season opening East Pass Challenge, along with three other clubs not securing a billfish release. 

CANYONS ADVANCE TO THE ZANE GREY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS BY:
- Winning the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational
- Placing second in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational and the Lone Stars finishing third with the help of the blue marlin tiebreaker in Rule 7, section e, article ii: Most blue marlin caught in a season
- Placing third in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational with a Renegades win and Lone Stars finishing fourth, with the help of the same tiebreaker
- Placing fourth in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational with a Renegades win, Cowboys finishing second, Mississippi Blues or West Florida Black Flags finishing third and Lone Stars fifth, with the help of the same tiebreaker

My hands are getting clammy typing this out.

Mississippi Blues Angling Club and West Florida Black Flags Angling Club
These two clubs have reached the same point total in two completely different ways. Mississippi Blues started the season red hot, dominating the East Pass Challenge. Struggles at Hurricane Hole and Gulfport meant a slow descent from the top of the standings. A fourth place finish in Pensacola was a bounce back performance to get them within striking distance of that final playoff berth.

For the Black Flags, a third place finish in Hurricane Hole was followed up with two tough performances. In Gulfport, mechanical problems sustained while outrunning a gnarly storm home on Championship Saturday meant a substitute team was needed to represent them in Pensacola over Independence Day weekend. A strong finish was nullified when the fill-in team failed to return for video verification, resulting in a disqualification and last place points awarded. Nonetheless, a victory in The Billfish Pachanga by another substitute team has positioned Captain Danny Watts and crew with a puncher’s chance of scoring a spot in the playoffs.

BLUES OR BLACK FLAGS ADVANCE TO THE ZANE GREY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS BY:
- Winning the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational, even if Texas Lone Stars finish second based on tiebreaker rules
- Winning the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational with Lone Stars finishing third or lower
- Placing second in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational with Renegades Win, Louisiana Canyons placing fourth or lower and Lone Stars fifth or lower

Gulf Coast Cowboys Angling Club
It has been a rough season for the Cowboys, but a mid-season surge with a second place in Gulfport, followed by a third in Pensacola has given them enough points to have an outside shot at the playoffs. With tiebreak scenarios, the Gulf Coast Cowboys have more blue marlin releases than any club other than the division-leading Third Coast Renegades, meaning that any scenario involving Rule 7, section e, article ii is in their favor

COWBOYS ADVANCE TO THE ZANE GREY CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS BY:
- Winning the MBGC Labor Day Invitational, with the Lone Stars finishing 3rd or lower
- Placing second in the MBGFC Labor Day Invitational, with a Renegades win, Mississippi Blues or West Florida Black Flags placing third, Canyons 4th or lower and Lone Stars 5th or lower with the help of that trusty tie breaker

Are many of these scenarios far-fetched? Absolutely. But that’s the beauty of sports, there’s always a chance of something unpredictable happening. As we begin our coverage of the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Labor Day Invitational, the leaderboard will dictate which scenarios come into play, so expect this to be referenced multiple times over that weekend. 

Should be a wild ride.