The 2019 AATBL finals were played in glorious sunshine at Matilda Bay on 27 October.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for some and it accentuated the fact that, although the home-and-away season placings are important, much depends on how a team fares on the big day.

Go Dig Buzz, starting at fifth place in the finals, were represented by Gonad and Buzz Lightbeer, as Digger was unavailable (something about some farm animals, a Thai customs official and cash in a stuffed toy, but the details were unclear). In any event, Gonad and Buzz were on fire, winning the requisite five games to take out the Grand BOCCE title, a first for each of them.

Mother Reg finished atop the ladder after home-and-away season, but couldn’t quite get it together when it mattered most, and their season petered out to a 5-7 defeat in the grand final. This was Motherchucker’s fourth consecutive grand final appearance without taking home the silverware.

Unlike Go Dig Buzz, the home-and-away position of Storm Surge was a decent indicator of its finals performance. Storm Surge (Serge without Stormboy) started the finals from seventh place and went out in straight sets, losing to Cannonbra 2-8, before sealing its grasp on the Asti with a 6-8 loss to Superbarney (Barney without SuperMario). Sir Justice Airwick took home the silverware in 2018 as a member of Resurgence, but Serge was philosophical about his change of fortunes this time. When asked whether the Asti would occupy the same position on the mantlepiece, he answered, “Go fuck yourself.”

There were many fine shots played throughout the day and the TV commentators noted that an unusually large number of shots hit the jack.

The judging panel was unanimous in its decision that the Stolichnaya Trophy for shot of the day must go to Buzz Lightbeer. Buzz played many fine shots en route to the championship, and the top three nominations for shot of the day were all his.