2016 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs: The Championship

The Final Round

The final matchup of the 2016 Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs is set, with AT&T's Brooks McCorcle squaring off with Ruckus' Sandra Glaser Cheek. Voting for the fifth and final round of Channel Madness begins today at 4:00 pm ET.

The road to the championship has been well documented, as both McCorcle and Cheek battled through their brackets with impressive wins over chiefs at Datto, Dell, Eaton, Lenovo, StorageCraft, and VMware. But it wasn't an easy road to the final.

McCorcle drew Sophos' Mike Valentine in her Field of Four matchup, handing the defending champ his first-ever Channel Madness loss. Cheek's Field of Four matchup proved even more difficult, as she narrowly escaped Extreme's Bob Gault by two points.

Voting for the championship round will remain open until Wednesday April 6, at 10:00 AM ET. Take a closer look at the final matchup and cast your vote today at CRN.com/madness.

The Field Of Four

Representing the Cloud Region, AT&T's Brooks McCorcle jumped out to an early lead over Sophos' Mike Valentine and never looked back. McCorcle took a massive 68 point lead into the weekend and ultimately locked down a 58 percent to 42 percent victory over the defending champion. The defeat marked the first loss for Valentine in the Channel Madness tournament, dating back to last year's championship run.

After suffering a Round 1 loss to VMware's Frank Rauch in the 2015 tournament, McCorcle came out on fire in the first round of 2016. She quickly laid waste to StorageCraft's Mike Kunz, 79 percent to 21 percent. The win tied her eventual Field of Four opponent, Valentine, for the largest margin of victory in the round.

In Round 2, McCorcle got a shot at revenge, again drawing Rauch. Despite multiple lead changes, McCorcle gained enough support in the final day of voting to move on with a 51 percent to 49 percent win.

To capture the Cloud crown, McCorcle would have to get through Datto's Rob Rae. And she did just that, offing the storage company's channel chief in a 54 percent to 46 percent win.

Topping the reigning champion in the Field of Four is quite the impressive feat for McCorcle, as Valentine had only trailed once in this year's tournament. McCorcle will look to keep the momentum rolling as tries for the Channel Madness crown against Ruckus' Sandra Glaser Cheek.

The Field Of Four

Ruckus' Sandra Glaser Cheek has proven that resiliency is what championship runs are all about. Despite falling behind in her Enterprise 8 and Field of Four contests, Cheek bounced back in each one to advance.

Things were easier for Cheek in the early rounds of the tournament, drawing a favorable matchup in Round 1. Despite an early deficit to Eaton's Curtiz Gangi, Cheek managed to come out on top, winning 61 percent to 39 percent.

Things should have been more difficult in Round 2 for Cheek, as she drew channel veteran Frank Vitagliano of Dell. Cheek, however, managed to come out unscathed, winning the contest by a comfortable 46 points.

The smooth sailing hit a rough patch in Round 3, as she quickly fell behind to Lenovo's Sammy Kinlaw. But the only score that matters is the final one and Cheek came from behind in the final day of voting to secure a 56 percent to to 44 percent win.

In the Field of Four, things got scary for the Hardware representative. As of Friday, Cheek trailed Extreme's Bob Gault 69 percent to 31 percent. But again, Cheek proved to be resilient as she drummed up enough support in the final hours of voting to secure a 51 percent to 49 percent win.

Cheek has a chance to take the Channel crown as faces off with the Cloud region representative in AT&T's Brooks McCorcle.

Tale Of The Tape

Brooks McCorcle, AT&T

President, AT&T Partner Solutions

Region - Cloud

Round 1 vs. Mike Kunz of StorageCraft - Won 79 percent to 21 percent

Round 2 vs. Frank Rauch of VMware - Won 59 percent to 41 percent

Round 3 vs. Rob Rae of Datto - Won 54 percent to 46 percent

Round 4 vs. Sophos' Mike Valentine - Won 58 percent to 42 percent

McCorcle and her team launched multiple portfolio and program additions throughout 2015 to help resellers transform, innovate and grow their businesses. In AT&T Partner Exchange, this included the Mobility Employee Sponsorship Program, Investment Development Funds, Certification Achievement Program, Enablement Playbook and more.

Tale Of The Tape

Sandra Glaser Cheek, Ruckus

Vice President, Worldwide Partner Sales

Region - Hardware

Round 1 vs. Curtiz Gangi of Eaton - Won 61 percent to 39 percent

Round 2 vs. Frank Vitagliano of Dell - Won 73 percent to 27 percent

Round 3 vs. Sammy Kinlaw of Lenovo - Won 56 percent to to 44 percent

Round 4 vs. Extreme's Bob Gault - Won 51 percent to 49 percent

The channel remains Ruckus Wireless' primary route to market. In the past year, the company has expanded its channel leadership with several key hires including a new global channel vice president, new vice president of global strategic partners, and a new global channel marketing leader.

Vote Today!

Voting in the final round will remain open until Wednesday April 6, at 10:00 AM ET.

Visit CRN.com/madness to cast your votes and choose your champion!