Formerly known
as the “Pepsi Cup”
The Annual Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey tournament was established in 2012. Between 2012 and 2022, the tournament was held 12 times. Now, after 10 years, its name has officially changed.
In 2012, the first ever Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey Tournament was held in Spring Valley. The four teams competing that day were drafted on the morning of the tournament, and the Dusty Dublin Chiefs, were victorious. The names “Adam James” (C), “Chad Caskenette”, “Dylan Larocque” and “Matt Sheets” were added to the Cup.
In 2013 three tournaments were held in Toledo:
The first tournament sparked a great deal of controversy, and eventually led to a change in the tournament’s rules. The four teams were drafted prior to tournament day in a snake draft, which provided the captains with an opportunity to make trades. Nathan Gonyou (captain of the Dekes of Hazard as they then were) traded himself to the Multiple Score-Gasms (captained by Chad Melbourne). The Multiple Score-Gasms went onto win the tournament, and the trading of captains was immediately added to the Pepsi Cup Rule Book following the tournament. The names “Chad Melbourne” (C), “Nathan Gonyou”, “Riley Armstrong”, “Jordan Flood” and “Cameron McLean” were added to the Cup. Chad Melbourne and Nathan Gonyou would then become the official co-commissioners of the Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey Tournament.
The second tournament in 2013 (3rd overall) saw the first ever two-time and back-to-back Pepsi Cup Champion, when the Cape Horn Climax emerged victorious (pictured below). The names “Cory Morrell” (C), “Parker Grant”, “Zack Shankar” and “Isaac Scott” were added to the Cup for the first time. The name “Riley Armstrong” [2nd time] was added to the cup for a second consecutive tournament, this time playing for a different team.
The third tournament in 2013 (4th overall) saw Riley Armstrong complete the three-peat of three straight Pepsi Cup Championships on three different teams, as the Dekes of Hazard won the tournament. The names “Nathan Gonyou” (C) [2nd time], “Riley Armstrong” [3rd time], “Justin Collett” and “Alex Cornell” were added to the Cup.
In 2014, the Multiple Score-Gasms became the first franchise in Pepsi Cup history to win multiple Championships, and Chad Melbourne became the first player to captain his team to multiple Pepsi Cup victories. The names “Chad Melbourne” (C) [2nd time], “Adam James” [2nd time], “Jordan Flood” [2nd time], “Jake Shankar”, and “Cameron Smith” were added to the Cup.
In 2015, no tournaments were held.
In 2016, Prestige WorldWide won the tournament (pictured below). The names “Zack Shankar” (C) [2nd time], “Jake Shankar” [2nd time], “Riley Armstrong” [4th time], “Cameron Smith” [2nd time], and “Seb Gauthier” were added to the Cup.
In 2017, the Long Horn Islanders (Formerly the Dekes of Hazard) were victorious (pictured below). The names “Nathan Gonyou” (C) [3rd time], “Seb Gauthier” [2nd time], “Cole Edgley”, “Tyler McFayden” and “Andrew Evans” were added to the Cup.
In 2018, the Multiple Score-Gasms captured the franchise’s third ever Pepsi Cup victory (pictured below), and became the first franchise to win three times. The names “Chad Melbourne” (C) [3rd time], “Riley Armstrong” [5th time], “Adam James” [3rd time], “Tyler McFayden” [2nd time] and “Casey Abrams” were added to the Cup. Mere weeks after this tournament, the Boys in the Booth Podcast was created by Chad Melbourne, Harper Cotie and Casey Abrams.
In 2019, the Prescott Rangers won the tournament (pictured below). The names “Carson Pickup” (C), “Cameron Smith” [3rd time], “Harper Cotie”, “Jordan Dodge” and “Ryan Green” were added to the Cup. Harper Cotie became the third member of the Boys in the Booth Podcast to win a Pepsi Cup. However, he was the first member of the podcast to win the Cup as a member of the podcast, after its creation in 2018.
In 2020, the FloodWater WorkHorses (Formerly the Long Horn Islanders and the Dekes of Hazard) captured the franchise’s third ever Pepsi Cup Championship, doing so under three different team names after relocating and rebranding several times (pictured below). This tournament marked the first time in Pepsi Cup history where every single player on the winning team had already won a Pepsi Cup Championship in the past, and will perhaps be remembered as the most experienced Pepsi Cup team in history, given the fact that after they won, their players combined for the most collective Cups on any single team in tournament history. The names “Nathan Gonyou” (C) [4th time], “Riley Armstrong” [6th time], “Jordan Flood” [3rd time], “Seb Gauthier” [3rd time], “Carson Pickup” [2nd time] and “Ryan Green” [2nd time] were added to the Cup. Additionally, with his sixth tournament victory in 2020, Riley Armstrong officially became the only player in Pepsi Cup history with more Championship rings than fingers on one hand - truly an incredible, dominant feat. This was also the first year that the Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey Tournament was officially powered by and presented by the Boys in the Booth Podcast.
In 2021, with help from a video team led by Luke Sheridan, the Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey Tournament was captured and documented like never before. On the Boys in the Booth Podcast (Season 2, Episode 11), Chad was joined on the show by the other three Pepsi Cup Captains to explain the importance of the tournament, explain the rules of the new Auction Draft format, and make some bold predictions. Additionally, on the Boys in the Booth YouTube Channel, the guys posted a “Road to the Pepsi Cup” video, as well as the “2021 Pepsi Cup Media Availability” following the tournament.
The FloodWater WorkHorses (formerly the Long Horn Islanders and Dekes of Hazard) entered the tournament as the reigning Pepsi Cup Champions, yet they severely underperformed and finished with a record of 0-4. The franchise rebranded once again, and are now called the Local Labourers.
GM/Captain Chad Melbourne and the Multiple Score-Gasms entered the tournament missing a key piece of their team's core. Despite a solid performance in the round robin, they were bounced rather easily in the semi-finals.
The Cape Horn Climax entered the tournament as one of the tournament's all-time great round robin teams, but had yet to prove that they could get over the hump and win. Ultimately, despite a miraculous goal-scoring performance by Harper Cotie (who shared the tournament goal-scoring title with No Name's Jake Shankar), the Climax fell short to the No Name Nailers in the finals.
The No Name Nailers (Formerly the Dusty Dublin Chiefs) made light work of the competition, and swept their way to a Pepsi Cup Championship, finishing with a record of 5-0. This is the second Pepsi Cup Championship in franchise history. The names “Adam James” (C) [4th time], “Seb Gauthier” [4th time], “Jake Shankar” [3rd time], “Cameron McLean” [2nd time], “Andrew Evans” [2nd time] and “Cole Edgley” [2nd time] were added to the Cup.
2021 Pepsi Cup YouTube video
2021 Pepsi Cup Post-Tournament Interviews
In 2022, the new tradition of capturing the Pepsi Cup on video continued. Leading up to the tournament, the Boys in the Booth posted an episode on all platforms (once again featuring Chad and the three other captains) explaining the rules of the tournament and making bold predictions. Then after the tournament, the Boys in the Booth posted a YouTube video similar to the year prior, detailing all the action.
Coming into this tournament, Local Labourers Captain Nate Gonyou strategically added to his team's core and put together what he believed to be the "best Pepsi Cup team ever assembled" (in his own words). While they hoped to prove that last year was nothing but a fluke, they fell short of that goal and were bounced in the semi-finals.
After losing to the No Name Nailers in the finals in 2021, Cory Morrell and the Cape Horn Climax were looking to stay the course and capture their first Pepsi Cup Championship since 2013. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful yet again, and were upset in the semi-finals.
Despite losing some of the team's core players in the off-season, No Name Nailers Captain Adam James managed to add some talent to his group, and entered this tournament ready to defend their title with a new look Nailers team. Unfortunately, they fell just short and lost in the finals to the Multiple Score-Gasms.
Finally, after deciding to run it back with the same core for one Last Dance due to the team's impending salary cap crunch, the Multiple Score-Gasms truly believed their team was capable of finally winning it all for the first time since 2018 - and that’s exactly what they did. The names “Chad Melbourne” (C) [4th time], “Seb Gauthier” [5th time], “Cameron Smith” [4th time], “Casey Abrams” [2nd time], “Andrew Peski” and “Emerson Cotie” were added to the Cup. Emerson Cotie also won the goal scoring title, keeping the trophy in the Cotie name for back-to-back tournaments.
2022 Pepsi Cup YouTube video
Heading into the 2023 tournament, two important changes were made:
First, while the Multiple Score-Gasms looked to defend their title, they faced a new challenge: an expansion team joined the fray. The Mighty Drunks, captained by Camren Murray, became a fifth team in the tournament which usually consists of just four teams. This meant that the last place team in round robin missed the playoffs, and the top four teams competed for the championship.
Second, and most importantly, the name of the tournament changed from the “Pepsi Cup Ball Hockey Tournament” to the “Boys in the Booth Ball Hockey Classic”. This wasn’t an easy decision, given the lengthy history outlined at www.boysinthebooth.com/history, but the co-commissioners of the the tournament and the board of captains have agreed that it’s the right decision going forward.
Amidst a great deal of controversy surrounding the game-winning-goal in the finals the No Name Nailers were able to edge-out a controversial victory over the Toledo Gators, by a score of 4-3. The names “Adam James” [5th time], Cameron McLean” [3rd time], “Chad Caskenette” [2nd time], “Jake Brayton”, “Nick Brayton”, and “Andrew Garven” were added to the Cup. Jake Brayton won the Most Valuable Player Trophy, with a record of 4-2-0 and a 1.50GAA.
2023 Boys in the Booth Ball Hockey Classic Video
In 2024, the Mighty Drunks announced that they temporarily folded until further notice. However, according to the co-commissioners, the Drunks will be given the first opportunity to buy back into the BITB Ball Hockey Classic Tournament.
This year, against just 3 other teams, the reigning champions, the No Name Nailers, tried their best to defend their title and to become the first team in tournament history to win 3 championships in the span of 4 years. However, that proved to be a very difficult task because all three members of the Boys in the Booth Podcast were on the same team this year, so of course it was rigged in their favour.
As a result, the Multiple Score-Gasms and their team of podcasters were able to upset the Nailers, and now have 2 of the past 4 championships, just like the Nailers. The names “Chad Melbourne” (C) [5th time], “Riley Armstrong” [7th time], “Seb Gauthier” [6th time], “Casey Abrams” [3rd time], “Andrew Peski” [2nd time], and “Harper Cotie” [2nd time] were added to the Cup. Casey Abrams also won the Most Valuable Player Trophy; he scored 7 goals, including the overtime game-winning-goal in the finals.
