Nick Berg's name will be the second engraved on Pappy's Jug. Photo courtesy of Larissa Walkiw.

Nick Berg Follows In Brother's Footsteps, Wins Title

By Dave Snipes

The 2009 Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Champion has been crowned. Nick Berg, brother of 2008 Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Champion, took the title from his older brother Jerad on Saturday, October 17th in Chicago, IL. Along with the title of 2009 Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Champion, Nick won the top prize of $10,000 and his name will be enshrined onto Pappy's Jug as the second World Champion for Big Buck Hunter® Pro.

There were players from all over the country that competed in the World Championship. There were men and women, young and old, true hunters and video game hunters and after the grueling five hour tournament came to a close, Nick Berg from Otsego, MN faced off against Trevor Floren from Lake Villa, IL in the championship match. This is the second time in as many years that the Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Championship had a player from MN. This is also the second time that the player from MN won it all.

The 2009 Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Championship came with a little twist. The players gathered the night before at a cocktail party put on by Play Mechanix™/Raw Thrills™ to find out that they were going to be competing against each other the next day on Big Buck Hunter® Pro Open Season™, a newly released update to Big Buck Hunter® Pro. Open Season™ has three brand new animals complete with new bonus rounds along with all of the original 6 animals. The games were on free play and the players were given the opportunity to practice the new animals all night in preparation for the tournament the next day.

During the actual World Championship, the animals for each round were randomly drawn from a hat. Bison, a new Open Season™ animal, was drawn twice and Mountain Goat, a second new Open Season™ animal was drawn twice. Mule Deer, the final new Open Season™ animal was not drawn. Mountain Goat was drawn in the semi-final round where Nick Berg beat Trevor Floren, sending Trevor to the Reload Bracket (losers bracket). Trevor worked his way back to the Championship Match against Nick and Mountain Goat was drawn again. Trevor kept it close but was not able to top Nick in their second straight meeting playing Mountain Goat.

The competition was high and there was plenty of prizes, money, and trophies given away. However, the event was more than just a tournament, it was a gathering of Big Buck Family and Friends. Players brought their friends and family to cheer them on, the people behind the creation of the game came out to witness the crowning of a new champ, and everyone also got to meet some of the other players from across the country that constantly have their names plastered on the tournament leaderboards. The Big Buck Girls were on hand, there was great food and an open bar, and Alex Derhohannesian let us all in on the proper pronunciation of his last name.

The Big Buck Hunter® Pro World Championship was a great success and a huge congratulations and thank you goes out to all of the players, friends, and family that came out to compete and support the event. Next year is going to be just as big. Don't miss your opportunity to compete. Get to an online game and start practicing up on tournaments today!!!