Queensland Championship Results

Last weekend on Saturday 20th of October 2012, the very first Queensland Armwrestling Championships took place in front of a vibrant and packed crowed at the Brisbane Fitness & Health Expo, with Ryan Phillips, Phil Rasmussen, and Jason Deng heading home QLD State Champions.

With eager competitors travelling from all over Australia the competition was always going to be stiff, and with a strong contingent travelling from both NSW and VIC the state rivalries ran high on social media channels in the weeks leading up to the event. All the talk was around the lightweight and heavyweight classes with current Australian heavyweight champion Nick Tiliacos eager to stamp his authority on another big competition though QLD heavyweight favourite Ryan Phillips had ideas of his own. In the Under 80kg class all the talk was about Jesse "the armbreaker" Johnson fresh back from successful trip to the World Championships and his nemesis Amir Singh the former Indian lightweight champion, while in the heavyweights the clear favourites were national champion Nick Tiliacos from Sydney and Ryan "big sexy" Phillips from Queensland.

Left Arm Results

Under 95kg	95kg +	OVERALLS
1. Phil Rasmussen	1. Ryan Phillips	1. Ryan Phillips
2. Daniel Tesch	2. Nick Tiliacos	2. Phil Rasmussen
3. Jesse Johnson	3. Sean Hennessey	3. -

Right Arm Results

Under 80kg	80kg - 95kg	95kg +	OVERALLS
1. Jason Deng	1. Phil Rasmussen	1. Ryan Phillips	1. Ryan Phillips
2. Grant Goddfrey	2. Daniel Tesch	2. Nick Tiliacos	2. Phil Rasmussen
3. Amir Singh	3. Ermin Sator	3. Ryan David Scott	3. Jason Deng

A big thanks to Brisbane Fitness & Health Expo who were kind enough to give us prime real estate at the Expo over the weekend along with main stage time, and to our new major sponsor Bulk Nutrients for the prizes and award presentations.

Light Heavyweight Left (95kg)

First off the ranks was the under 95kg left hand class featuring a 11 total competitors. Hot favourites Phil Rasmussen and Jesse Johnson were expected to meet in the finals and but after routinely dispatching the initial opposition, Jesse hit a brick wall in the form of a very solid Daniel Tesch. It's not often Johnson's left hit gets stopped in his weight class but Tesch stopped him dead and put him away without breaking a sweat which clearly had Rasmussen worried by this point. The much anticipated Rasmussen vs Tesch match came around and as expected this was a war centre of table for almost 20 seconds before a strategic slip to straps saw Rasmussen able to finish the match with a quick flash pin. The finals proved to be dejavue for the 3 finalists, with Johnson again being beaten by Tesch to take 3rd place, and the Rasmussen vs Tesch finals resulting in another wrist on wrist war and a strap match finish that would see Rasmussen take 1st place undefeated and Tesch 2nd.

Super Heavyweight Left (95kg+)

Nick Tiliacos was coming in confident off a 3rd place in the Californian State Championships a few months earlier and little was known of how the other main contenders in this class Ryan Phillips and Doug Fatafehi would fare against him. Phillips wasn't there to muck around though and a huge flash pin against Fatafehi sent a message to all competitors that Phillips meant business. As expect both Phillips and Tiliacos breezed through the competition and set up their first of 2 finals encounters and the first time they had met on the table in almost 2 years. The GO sounded and Phillips easily top rolled Tiliacos to the pad, with Tiliacos then going into the B side draw to face off against Perth outsider Ryan David Scott in the finals on stage. Tiliacos was hungry for a second shot at Phillips and with the state title on the line he made short work of Scott with a huge top roll and prepared for his final matches. Phillips was too strong on the day and a powerful drive straight to the pad sealed his first State Armwrestling title, with Tiliacos taking 2nd and Scott taking 3rd.

Super Heavyweight Right (95kg+)

With 12 competitors and the biggest guys in the competition this was the class the crowd had been eagerly waiting for. Again Ryan Phillips and Nick Tiliacos went into this draw as clear favourites, but 130kg Brendan Borg from NSW and QLD teammates Steve Carter and Doug Fatafehi weren't going to make it easy for them. A routine first few rounds of easy wins for the favourites, Doug bumped heads with big Brendan Borg in what everyone thought would be a war, but this match was over quicker than it started with Borg wondering how his shoulder press was beaten so easily. Doug then made sure he at least lasted more than a few seconds against Phillips by just getting in a slip off the huge opening hit and taking the match into the straps. Another big hit and Doug was given a few seconds reprieve while Phillips adjusted his finger position and finished off the match. Unfortunately for Doug he ran into newcomer Sean Hennessey in the B side draw who took Doug by surprise off the start and ended his finals aspirations. The crowd was again treated to a big match up in the A side finals between Nick and Ryan, and again Ryan proved just too strong on the day and dispatched Nick off the start with his trademark high hook.

Another big hit and Doug was given a few seconds reprieve while Phillips adjusted his finger position and finished off the match.

The finals was a carbon copy of the left hand supers with Nick taking out his first opponent with ease to setup a final match with Ryan, but instead of a quick finish this time Phillips decided to give the crowd some additional entertainment and held a helpless Tiliacos for a few moments while smiling to the crowd and then pummelling him into the pad for his 2nd State Title of the day.

Light Heavyweight Right (95kg)

The Right hand 95kg class featured 12 competitors including left hand champion Phil Rasmussen and runner-up Daniel Tesch who as expected both dominated the class and it was a dairy race straight to the finals. Newcomer Irman Sator did well in his first competition to take 3rd place, but Rasmussen again proved too strong and went through undefeated to take both left and right arm 95kg state championships with Daniel Tesch taking 2nd place, and Ermin Sator 3rd.

Middleweight Right (80kg)

In similar fashion to the WA Championships in June, the Under 80kg class brought plenty of lean and well built guys sporting huge guns that would have given most the 95kg guys a run for their money. With Jesse Johnson and Amir Singh the clear favourites to face off in the finals, and QLDer Todd Stratton looking to make an impact in his first competition, this was going looking to be a very predictable class until the very match first got under way. Amir Singh stepped up to his first match of the day against unknown puller Michael Cooper and was probably expecting a few easy matches to pave his way to the finals. After an extremely tediuos setup with both competitors fighting hard for grip, the GO was called and Amir got in first with the fast hit, only to be stopped almost dead in his tracks and brought back over by Michael into a losing position at which point the shock in his face was clearly evident and he dropped under the table in a desperate attempt to keep his arm from being pinned resulting in a foul.

With Jesse Johnson and Amir Singh the clear favourites to face off in the finals, this was going looking to be a very predictable class until the very match first got under way.

Another painfully long setup, this time with the straps applied the READY GO was called and once once Amir got in first with a fast hook and drive but Michael again proved to be too strong and quickly brought Amir back over to his side of the table with a repeat of the first match ending in a 2nd foul and loss for Amir for dropping his shoulder under the table. It was an ugly start to the 80kg class and suddenly one of the clear favourites looked visibly rattled.

But the shocks didn't stop there, the biggest was yet to come.

Jesse Johnson went through his first match as expected with relative ease and was then set to face an opponent he had never lost to and had no reason to fear in Jason Deng. Deng had come into the competition with relatively low expectations of his own performance due to injuries and he was definitely considered a rank outsider but what Deng lacked in strength and experience he made up for in speed, intensity and intimidation. Deng landed a big hit on an unsuspecting Johnson who struggled to gain any ground and and after a few seconds they slipped out with Jason demonstrating his newfound influx of confidence by smashing the table and roaring at the crowd. After they regripped Johnson wasn't looking as confident and the look of intensity and confidence in Jason's eyes was hard to miss even from a crowd 6 people deep. Another huge start from Jason into a superior top roll position and Jesse fighting to stay in the match and get behind his hand which ultimately resulted in Jason getting the pin and suddenly turning this entire 80kg class on it's head.

Deng landed a big hit on an unsuspecting Johnson who struggled to gain any ground and and after a few seconds they slipped out with Deng showing his sudden influx of confidence by smashing the table and roaring at the crowd.

We now had the 2 favourites in the losers draw is almost as many matches and fighting just to stay in this competition let alone win it. Jason Deng then proceeded to obliterate his next 2 opponents and pave his way to the finals undefeated, while Jesse Johnson headed into another tough match with Sydney sider Dominic who almost performed an exact repeat of the Jason/Jesse matched and top roll Jesse out of the competition completely. QLDer Todd Stratton did very well in his first competition to take 2 wins and 2 losses and narrowly miss out on a place in the finals, while Chris Brinley was very unlucky to lose a contentious match with Amir Singh for the finalist placing and was relegated to 4th place. Grant Goddfrey was the surprise package even though he looked every bit the part with his huge ripped guns and Over the Top style backwards cap. He beat everyone in the draw with relative ease and his only losses came in the finals at the hands of the relentless Jason Deng who put his body on the line to win their final match at take out his first State Title. At the end of a competition full of upsets and surprises, the results were 1. Jason Deng, 2. Grant Goddfrey and 3. Amir Singh.

Overalls Finals

Always a crowd pleaser the Overalls puts the champions from each weight class up against each other to find out who was the very best on the day with the crowd expecting the heavyweight winner to dominate. On the left arm Ryan Phillips was to meet his toughest match of the day against Phil Rasmussen with both competitors having not lost a match up until this point, though with Rasmussen coming in slightly worse for wear after wars with Daniel Tesch in his finals. A big opening hit from both competitors saw a clean slip and the straps were applied. The crowd was deadly silent at this point and the tension in the room was thick as nobody was sure who might win this match. A false start from Rasmussen saw the first foul issued, and he almost fouled again on the subsequent start but Phillips was able to take an advantageous high position and and after several drives to the pad and readjustments in the straps Ryan Phillips was victorious and overall left hand winner for the day!

With the trophy presentation over Ryan Phillips stepped up to the table for the right hand overalls even more confident than ever knowing he was significantly stronger than his 2 opponents. Rasmussen attempted to delay to inevitable by slipping out of Phillip's hit and taking the match into the straps, but once the straps were applied he stood no chance. Deng looked like a deer in headlights as he then gripped up against Phillips in the final match but decided he would leave nothing at the table and give the crowd a final display of Deng intensity. Phillips just held him centre of table smiling and the crowd knew that Deng stood no chance but applauded him anyways for his fighting spirit. Ryan Phillips was now both Queensland Super Heavyweight champion and overall champion of both arms with his sights now set firmly on the Nationals in Melbourne.

Keen on training in Brisbane?

Brisbane has two armwrestling clubs for anyone to go and practice, learn speed and technique.

Anyone and everyone is welcome so call:

RYAN PHILLIPS - (Gold Coast) - 0432 652 139 or
STEVE CARTER - (Brisbane) - 0412 023 886

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