Willis Recaptures World Title
Posted: 07-01-2009

For three long games Sunday, Roofball Founder Adam Willis sat and wondered if his day was over early. An hour later, he hoisted the Susan J. Willis trophy for the second time in his career.

Willis defeated Travis Demers, 57-25, in the Championship Game of the 2009 Roofball World Championships, giving Willis his second career world title and fourth overall Roofball championship.

His destiny out of his hands, Willis sat and watched the last three games of the 2nd round, hoping his 30 points would hold up and earn him a wild card bid to the Semifinals. It did – barely.

Michael Verkest had the best chance to eliminate Willis. With 25 points through nine innings, Verkest needed a ping and catch in the 10th, but scored a zero.

Willis didn’t look back, winning his last 3 games, including a 3-around domination of Demers in the final, en route to the title.

“You know, I looked at these three trophies yesterday and I said, you know, I'd really like to win one. Just win one, just get up there,” Willis said, “and the opportunity to win the big one, that's pretty exciting.”

Demers’s 2nd Place finish marked a career best, and Roofball veteran Robert Saliski took home his second 3rd Place trophy.

Elizabeth Willis won her fifth women’s world title and eighth women’s title overall. She advanced to the 2nd round of a tournament for the first time in four years and posted a score over 30 for the first time since the 2002 Roofball U.S. Open. The Willis siblings also both won world titles at the 2007 Roofball World Championships.

Despite being eliminated in the Semifinals, Casey Campbell had a day for the Roofball record books. With a 2nd round score of 68, Campbell posted the 4th-highest score in Roofball history. The 68 came on the strength of nine marks, only the 13th game all-time to with at least nine. Campbell went on to average 53.67 points in his three games, the 2nd-highest tournament average all time.

Derek Weber, fresh off his 2008 Roofball U.S. Open title, won his 1st and 2nd round games before being eliminated in the Semifinals. Weber won his first seven career games, a Roofball record.

Willis’s 4th title ties him with Campbell for 2nd-most all time behind 6-time champ Daniel “Danno” O'Reilly, who posted a career-worst score of -4 while being eliminated in the 1st round.

NOTES: Campbell’s 68 was the 12th score of 60 or better in Roofball history. Willis went past 400 in career marks – his total of 424 is the only career mark of greater than 300. O’Reilly’s four overs in his 1st round game tied him for 2nd all-time in overs in a game. Demers wore a different jersey in each of his five games, winning while wearing a Deion Sanders Atlanta Falcons jersey, a Lawrence Taylor N.Y. Giants jersey and a Justin Tuck N.Y. Giants jersey. Demers finished 2nd in the Trophy Round while wearing a blank N.Y. Yankees jersey, and lost the title game decked out in a Portland LumberJax jersey.