What is Loser's Cook?

The tournament is open to the first 64 players (non-player adults & kids are also welcome) to submit their entry form and payment. The morning of the tournament we randomly select 16 teams. Play begins immediately thereafter and continues, with a break for lunch, until all games are completed. At the end of the day every team will have won at least one game, except for one team. That one team will have lost every single game it played and thereby earn the almost-desired title of “Losers.”

We say “almost-desired” title of Losers because, in a way, the Losers of this tournament become the winners. Upon losing the final game of the Losers Cook Tournament the Losers become instantly famous. All attention will be focused on them. They will be photographed countless times, they will have the distinct honor of running in the Passing of the Torch Ceremony, they will be given the opportunity to barbecue hundreds of hamburgers, veggie burgers and brats for their fellow competitors, they will forever enjoy a rare form of distinction with their names indelibly etched on the coveted Losers Trophy, and they will enter, and gain lifetime membership in, the Losers Cook Hall of Fame.

The tournament is a full-day event that generally begins around 8am and runs till sunset. Created for friends, and friends of friends of the organizers, the Losers Cook tournament is designed for all players, regardless of skill level. As long as you are above the age of 18 and you know the difference between a volleyball, a pumpkin and an ukelele you are invited to participate. Players are ranked by skill level by the Losers Cook Committee the night before the tournament (Asiago = pretty good, Bun = so-so, Condiment = pretty bad, Hamburger = bad to very bad), teams are selected randomly, and each team is composed of no more than one player from each skill level.

Bracket play begins immediately after teams are randomly selected and team members have had a few minutes to get acquainted and select a team name. If you lose your first game, you move down from the Winner’s Bracket to the 1st Loser’s Bracket. You still have a chance to win the whole thing. If you also lose your second game, you move further down to the 2nd Loser’s Bracket. Now you’re really on a roll. While you can no longer win the whole thing you still have a shot at 3rd Place. If you happen to also lose your third game, you join a relatively exclusive club including your team and one other. You are in the 3rd and final Loser’s Bracket and you are as close as possible to hitting rock bottom without actually being there. At this point you have just one game remaining, the Losers Game, and the best you can do is 15th Place. You may want to consider grabbing yourself a beverage as you will have a bit of a wait. The Losers Game is the last game of the day and it is played on center court in front of the entire group. Referees, line judges, cheerleaders and an official scorer are brought in for this game and the play-by-play is announced over the PA system. The team that wins this final game snatches 15th Place and is forever forgotten. The team that loses ends the day with a win-loss record of 0-4 and will never be forgotten. They are the Losers and they get to barbeque the burgers and brats for everyone else.

For all the merriment involved, Losers Cook also pays tribute to Francis Paul Trento, Jr., the siblings’ father, who died unexpectedly at the age of 40 of a heart condition. It is in his name that the Losers Cook donation to the American Heart Association is made, and it is on behalf of all of us touched by heart disease that we thank you for your support of Losers Cook.