Apr 28, 2025 | Bout News

Bout of this World Recap

Game 1: Minnesota Nice vs. Philly Roller Derby

Season 21 closed on Saturday with an All-Star doubleheader, with the first bout pitting Minnesota Nice (#29 NA Northeast) against Philly Roller Derby (#36 NA Northeast). The two teams had never previously faced off, though Minnesota Nice won its only meeting with Philly’s B-team in 2017. Meanwhile, Philly is 4-2 all-time against the Minnesota All-Stars, but they had not won a bout against anyone since 2022. 

Antidote started the bout with a 7-0 jam for Philly, which was quickly followed by 3 points by Stef Leopard to put Philly up 10. In the next jam, BooBoo was penalized while jamming for Minnesota, giving Poison Ash a power jam. She took advantage to score 8 points before calling it off, giving Philly an 18-0 lead with BooBoo still in the box. Antidote used the power start to score 4 points, bringing the total to 22-0 after four jams.

Needing to spark an early rally, Twisted Transistor gave Minnesota their first lead jam of the night and scored 12 points, cutting Philly’s lead back down to 10. Poison Ash responded with a lead jam of her own, but she only scored 2 points to Fanny Smack’s 1. Antidote fared better in the next jam, posting a 6-0 score to put the visitors back up by 17. Minnesota responded, though, as Annaconda and BooBoo posted consecutive 4-0 jams to bring the deficit back to single digits. Twisted Transistor then used an Antidote penalty to score 5 points, cutting Philly’s lead to 4.

Hoping to swing the momentum back in Philly’s favor, Stef Leopard was the first jammer out of the pack in the next jam, but because she passed a Minnesota skater while they were both out of bounds, she was ineligible to be the lead jammer. Minnesota’s Bunnicula wasn’t, either, after receiving a star pass from Fanny Smack, so the jam went the full two minutes. Although Stef Leopard finished the jam in the penalty box, she did just enough to keep Philly in the lead while being outscored 10-8 by Bunnicula. 

Only trailing by 2 and as the only jammer on the track, Lefse 4 Dead had a chance to put Minnesota Nice in front for the first time all night. She couldn’t secure lead before Stef Leopard left the box, but a Stef Leopard penalty while trying to get past the last Minnesota blocker gave Lefse 4 Dead another power jam. She ultimately scored 8 points as Stef Leopard committed yet another penalty, giving Minnesota a 44-38 lead and Annaconda a power start. Annaconda extended Minnesota’s advantage with a quick lead and a 12-0 jam to go up by 18.

Antidote tried to claw back for Philly with a 3-0 jam, but Twisted Transistor responded with a 4-0 jam of her own. Fanny Smack then outscored Stef Leopard 4-2 to put Minnesota’s lead above 20 for the first time. After that, Antidote got a lead jam for Philly, but they had to call off the jam after only scoring 4 points when the wheels fell off their skate. Annaconda then nullified that jam by scoring 4 points herself, putting Minnesota up 68-47. 

BooBoo then extended Minnesota’s lead by 3 points, but two jammer penalties for Twisted Transistor helped Stef Leopard score 8 in the next jam. Poison Ash then got lead jammer for Philly, but she lost it by committing two track cuts, allowing Fanny Smack to outscore her 15-6. After starting the next jam in the box, Poison Ash committed two more track cuts – four in a span of two jams – and got outscored 12-2 by Lefse 4 Dead. The half ended with both jammers in the box (something that is not allowed to happen per WFTDA rules, but was rectified before the start of the second half) and Minnesota Nice up 98-63. 

Poison Ash was still in the box when the second half started, but she eventually became the lead jammer and called off the jam without scoring. That finally allowed Philly to send out a new jammer, and they chose Antidote, who scored 1 point. Stef Leopard followed that with an 11-0 jam that included an apex jump on her second scoring pass. Twisted Transistor then gave Minnesota their first lead jam of the half, but she thought she was penalized and headed to the box. While she was informed that she didn’t need to serve a penalty, the confusion allowed Poison Ash to outscore her 7-4. With that jam, Philly cut Minnesota’s lead to 102-82.

Philly’s run came to an end in the next jam, as Antidote was penalized mere seconds after the jam started. Fanny Smack used the power jam to score 5 points and extend Minnesota’s lead back to 25. After that, Stef Leopard and Annaconda traded 4-0 jams, but Annaconda was assessed a penalty right after calling off the jam. That meant she started the next jam in the box, and Antidote raced out to a quick lead and scored 7 points to cut Philly’s deficit to 18.

Annaconda remained in the box at the start of the next jam, but she eventually got a power jam of her own and scored 2 points. Poison Ash responded with an 8-0 jam, then Antidote added 4 more for Philly to cut Minnesota’s lead to single digits. However, Fanny Smack answered with a 1-0 jam, then back-to-back 4-point jams by Lefse 4 Dead and Annaconda re-extended the Minnesota lead to 122-105. 

With Philly needing to respond, Stef Leopard did just that, posting a 7-0 jam to pull the visitors back within 10. Twisted Transistor and Poison Ash then skated to an 8-7 jam, only extending Minnesota’s lead by a point. Antidote got that point back in the next jam despite not being the lead jammer. After that, Lefse 4 Dead outscored Stef Leopard 5-4 to put Minnesota back up by 11.

Poison Ash secured lead jammer for Philly in the next jam, where she scored 4 points despite wiping out on an apex jump. Antidote then erupted for 11 points, silencing the crowd and giving Philly a 139-135 lead, their first since early in the bout. Trying to extend the lead, Stef Leopard was the first jammer out in the next jam, but she was ineligible to be the lead jammer after passing Bunnicula while they were both out of bounds. That kept Twisted Transistor in contention for lead, which she secured before calling off the jam with each jammer scoring 4 points. After that, Poison Ash raced out to a quick 4-0 jam, extending the Philly lead to 147-139.

Antidote gave Philly yet another lead jam after that, and while she only scored 1 point, that extended their lead by another scoring pass. Stef Leopard was penalized in the next jam, though, allowing Annaconda to score 7 points before running over Philly pivot Bourbon. Bourbon immediately signaled that there was contact to her head, which ended the jam, but an official review determined that the contact originated in a legal area and was not a penalty. 

With 2:24 remaining in the bout, Minnesota found themselves down 2 points with Stef Leopard still in the box. They turned to Twisted Transistor, who used another Stef Leopard penalty to score 12 points and put Minnesota Nice back in front. Philly called a timeout after the jam, stopping the clock with 1:15 left and Minnesota up by 10. Fanny Smack thought she raced out to a quick lead to potentially ice the bout, but she was incorrectly assessed a penalty. By the time the mistake was fixed, Stef Leopard had scored a point, pulling Philly to within 9 with one jam remaining.

Needing 3 scoring passes to win the bout, Poison Ash raced out of the pack, but she was assessed another track cut penalty and sent to the box. Lefse 4 Dead got lead instead, calling it off after scoring 2 points and securing a 160-149 win for Minnesota. Minnesota Nice got their first win of 2025, while Philly’s losing streak increased to 13 bouts. Still, the 11-point loss was Philly’s closest during the streak.

Game 2: Minnesota All-Stars vs. Ohio Roller Derby

After that, it was the Minnesota All-Stars’ (#6 NA Northeast) turn to play, where they took on Ohio Roller Derby (#11 NA Northeast). Ohio returned to the Roy for the first time since their first-ever WFTDA-sanctioned bout, where Minnesota beat them 142-55 on November 11, 2006. The teams have played each other since then, though, and Minnesota entered this bout 3-1 all-time against Ohio.

Ohio won the most recent encounter between these teams, and they looked to keep that momentum going as Tailspin opened this bout with a 2-0 jam. The lead was short-lived, though, as Sintripetal Force used a power jam to score 15 points and give Minnesota the lead. Whoopsie Daisy, who the All-Stars seldom used as a jammer last year, wore the star in the next jam and scored 2 points to extend Minnesota’s lead to 17-2.

Tailspin answered with a quick lead and 3 points, then Bigg Rigg followed with another Ohio lead jam but failed to score. After that, Lexi Cuter posted a 12-0 Minnesota jam, putting the All-Stars back in control. Sintripetal Force then outscored Tailspin 7-2 despite committing a penalty, and Minnesota had a 36-7 lead. In the next jam, Bigg Rigg got lead, but lost it when she committed a penalty. That gave MadLibs a power jam, and she scored 16 points – including 4 right as the whistle blew – to Bigg Rigg’s 6, putting Minnesota ahead 52-13.

Bri Zuss used an apex jump en route to scoring 8 points in the next jam, then Chippa Tooth added an 8-0 jam of her own to extend the Minnesota lead to 55. Lexi Cuter then tacked on 4 more before Sintripetal Force gave Minnesota yet another lead jam. However, a fast pack and hot pursuit by Tailspin forced her to call off the jam without scoring. After that, Whoopsie Daisy outscored Def Shepard 4-3 despite committing two penalties, increasing Minnesota’s lead to an even 60 points.

In the next jam, Bri Zuss raced along the outside to secure a quick lead, and a penalty by Bigg Rigg gave her a power jam. She scored 14 points to match her jersey number, putting Minnesota ahead by a whopping 90-16. Tailspin finally gave Ohio something to celebrate, posting a 9-0 jam, but it was quickly back to Minnesota dominance when Lexi Cuter scored 12 points to put the All-Stars over the century mark. In that jam, Ohio captain Betty T. KayO picked up her seventh penalty of the bout, fouling out of the contest. She was replaced in the box by BrutaChris. Sintripetal Force then added an 8-0 jam for Minnesota, putting the All-Stars ahead 110-25 at halftime. 

Lexi Cuter and Bigg Rigg traded 4-0 jams to start the half, then Whoopsie Daisy added 3 more points for Minnesota. However, Tailspin then posted Ohio’s largest jam of the night, scoring 14 thanks to 2 jammer penalties by Bri Zuss. Bri Zuss remained in the box at the start of the next jam, but the pack kept both jammers contained for most of the jam. Bri Zuss finally got out of the pack first with 22 seconds left, but a no pass, no penalty situation – the same thing that happened to Stef Leopard twice in the first bout, where she passed an opposing skater while they were both out of bounds – prevented her from being the lead jammer. Bigg Rigg finally became the lead jammer with 3 seconds left, but by that point, Bri Zuss outscored her 4-0.

After that, Minnesota added three consecutive 4-0 jams to take a 133-43 lead. In the next jam, Chippa Tooth raced out to a quick lead through the middle of the pack and scored 12 points, putting Minnesota’s lead over 100 points for the first time. Lexi Cuter then added another 12-0 jam, and the All-Stars were ahead 157-43. 7 more points by Sintripetal Force followed, increasing Minnesota’s edge to 121 points.

Whoopsie Daisy continued Minnesota’s dominance with a quick lead and a 9-0 jam, then Chippa Tooth used a power jam to post 16 points and give MNRD a 189-43 lead. After that, Bigg Rigg finally stopped the run with a 3-0 jam, scoring Ohio’s first points in 10 jams. However, Ohio couldn’t build on it, as Sintripetal Force quickly answered by scoring 8 points. The next jam was scoreless, leaving Minnesota with a 197-46 lead.

Chippa Tooth scored 4 points in the next jam to put Minnesota over the second century mark, but Bigg Rigg responded with a 3-1 jam for Ohio. Sintripetal Force then scored 3 points, but Ohio wasn’t disappearing quietly. Tailspin scored 4 points in the following jam, then Bigg Rigg added 2 more to take Ohio back within 150. However, it was too little too late, as in the next jam, Lexi Cuter secured lead as the game clock hit zero. She called it off without scoring, leaving the final score a 205-55 Minnesota victory.

The win was Minnesota’s third in a row (including a win over Black Diaspora Roller Derby that does not count in the WFTDA rankings), while Ohio was handed their first loss of 2025. It was also their largest loss in over a year. While MNRD has finished its season at the Roy, the All-Star program is back at home for the Have a Nice Day Tournament on June 6-8 at the Hopkins Pavilion. There, the All-Stars take on Red Stick Roller Derby (Baton Rouge, LA), Arizona Roller Derby (Phoenix, AZ), and the Texas Rollergirls (Austin, TX), while Minnesota Nice faces the B-teams from Arizona and Texas, as well as crosstown rivals North Star Roller Derby.

Written by: Aidan Hofstedt