Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 7 - Major League Fishing

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 7

Today’s matchup: Toshinari Namiki, Vic Vatalaro, Jeremiah Kindy and Chad Grigsby
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Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 7
July 5, 2005 • MLF • Archives

With the 2005 FLW Tour Championship quickly approaching, FLWOutdoors.com once again will be hosting our own version of the “virtual championship” – a featured daily poll where readers can make their own picks and weigh in on exactly who they think will be crowned champion during the July 13-16 year-ending event in Hot Springs, Ark. In the final days before the championship, FLWOutdoors.com will be asking readers to vote each day on who they think will advance in each of the daily bracket challenges.

Polls are located in the lower right-hand corner of FLWOutdoors.com’s home page and in the same area of the FLW Tour page. After each day’s votes are tabulated, the virtual championship bracket will be immediately updated to reflect the readers’ choices. Full details of Virtual Championship 2005 are provided underneath that bracket layout.

Today’s featured four-man bracket matchup – Toshinari Namiki, Vic Vatalaro, Jeremiah Kindy and Chad Grigsby

Toshinari Namiki caught limits both days of the finals and finished in fifth place with 25 pounds, 12 ounces.Toshinari Namiki – No. 2 seed: Pro Toshinari Namiki, a resident of Hachioji-City in Japan, put on an exhibition this season that few anglers have ever done. He narrowly missed the Angler of the Year title this year by a mere eight points. Namiki notched not only his first top-10 this season on Lake Okeechobee but three more on top of that, including a win at the third stop of the season on the Ouachita River. A meticulous and painstakingly precise angler, Namiki has already earned $171,000 on the tour this year and joined the select company of Denny Brauer, Clark Wendlandt, Rick Clunn, David Fritts and Jerry Williams as the only anglers to notch four top-10s in one season. If Namiki finishes in the top 10 at Lake Hamilton, he will join Denny Brauer as one of the only two professional anglers to ever record five top-10s in a single FLW Tour season.

Pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, recording a 13-pound, 5-ounce catch to finish the day in 15th place.Vic Vatalaro – No. 47 seed: Pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, is an up-and-coming angler who’s had success at the BFL and EverStart Series levels and is already making a name for himself on the tour. Barely missing the championship in 2004 by four places – his first year on the tour – Vatalaro scratched and clawed his way into the brackets this year, beating out big names in the sport like Scott Martin and last year’s winner, Luke Clausen. Vatalaro is proving he can hold his own at the professional level, and with four wins in BFL and EverStart competitions already, it’s only a matter of time before Vatalaro is holding up the winner’s check in an FLW Tour event. The championship would be a great event to jumpstart his FLW Tour career. Overcoming the likes of Namiki, however, won’t be easy.

Ninth place: Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark., 9-15, $22,000Jeremiah Kindy – No. 23 seed: Pro Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark., posted back-to-back top-10s this year on the Ouachita River and Beaver Lake. He’s proven he can catch bass in muddy water and clear water alike. Having fished Lake Hamilton a number of times, Kindy will have a home-field advantage against his competitors in this tournament. Making his first championship in his third year on the tour has Kindy poised to have a breakout performance at this year’s event. Kindy made more than $50,000 on tour this year, but the chance at $500,000 will have him putting in the overtime hours preparing for this event.

Seventh-place pro Chad Grigsby, Colon, Mich., 10 bass, 31-8Chad Grigsby – No. 26 seed: Pro Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., also notched two top-10s this season at Lake Okeechobee and Wheeler Lake. As consistent as any competitor on tour, Grigsby has an uncanny knack for scouting a fishery and mining out the biggest bass in an area. At the Lake Toho event, he posted the third-largest catch in the tournament and the largest limit of his career at 22 pounds, 6 ounces. He’s versatile and can catch bass shallow and deep with consistency. If flipping docks plays a role in the outcome of the tournament, Grigsby is sure to be near the top of the heap when it’s all said and done.

Poll results

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 6

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 5

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 4

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 3

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 2

Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 1