CRN Channel Madness: Field of Four Winners And Losers

For All The Channel Marbles

The first-ever CRN Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs kicked off with 32 of the industry's most influential channel chiefs -- we're now down to two chiefs.

Despite dominating performances throughout the tournament, APC's Shannon Sbar and IBM's Marc Dupaquier will not be moving on to the championship. Instead, Sophos' Mike Valentine will square off against Verizon's Adam Famularo to see who will gain the bragging right of becoming the first-ever Channel Madness Tournament champion.

Voting for the championship round opens April 6 at 4:00 PM ET and will remain open until April 8 at 10 AM ET. Visit CRN.com/madness to cast your votes and choose your chief. Let's take a look at the Field of Four matchups and how the two remaining chiefs stack up in the championship round.

The Field of Four

Adam Famularo, Verizon (Cloud) vs. Marc Dupaquier, IBM (Software)

Marc Dupaquier, general manager of global business partners at IBM, had been drumming up Twitter support to tear through his matchups, notching wins over Red Hat's Mark Enzweiler and topping two Microsoft chiefs to get to the Field of Four. But Dupaquier ran into a buzzsaw in Round 4, in Verizon's Adam Famularo.

Famularo, vice president of global channels at Verizon, entered Round 4 as the top vote getter in the Enterprise Eight and he kept that momentum going. Famularo jumped out to a quick lead with Dupaquier finding himself trailing an opponent for the first time in the tournament. Things tightened up a bit over the weekend, as Dupaquier crawled back to get within 18 points with an hour left to go in the voting. But it wasn't enough, as Famularo secured a championship birth with a 62 percent to 38 percent win.

Famularo again led the round in total votes and, based on his performance in the last few rounds, seems to be shaping up as a the championship favorite. Let's take a look at how he found his way to the title round.

How We Got Here

Adam Famularo, Verizon (Cloud)

After spending 16 years at CA, Famularo surfaced at Verizon, where partners cheered his arrival. That enthusiasm followed Famularo to the tournament as he edged out NetSuite's Craig West in his Round 1 matchup in the Cloud Region. He then turned his attention to VMware, beating with Dave O'Callaghan in the Solutions 16. And then things really started heating up.

Coming into the Enterprise Eight, Frank Rauch was the top vote getter in the tournament and seemed prime to avenge the defeat of his VMWare compatriot. But the Verizon train was now officially rolling as Famularo jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, taking down Rauch by six points.

Famularo was now the top vote getter in the tournament and set his sights on IBM's Dupaquier. Dupaquier quickly found himself in a hole and never recovered as Famularo's supporters voted until the final buzzer to hold off a last minute surge from Dupaquier.

The Field of Four

Shannon Sbar, APC by Schneider Electric (Infrastructure) vs. Mike Valentine, Sophos (Hardware)

The other half of the Field of Four -- APC's Shannon Sbar squaring off with Sophos' Mike Valentine -- looked like it was shaping up to be a nail-bitter. Valentine, senior vice president of worldwide sales at Sophos, scored first, taking a 54 percent to 46 percent lead into the weekend. For Valentine, the lead was anything but comfortable. Sbar, vice president, channels at APC, was on fire, taking out Cisco's Edison Peres, HP's Sue Barsamian and F5 Networks' Jim Ritchings to punch her ticket to the Field of Four.

But the tides turned over the weekend and Valentine woke up Monday morning with a 56 point lead. Valentine never looked back and secured a huge 71 percent to 29 percent Round 4 victory. While Valentine notched some solid wins as he fought his way through the Hardware region, the Field of Four victory over Sbar was by far his best performance of the tournament.

Let's take a look at how Valentine got to the championship bout with Famularo.

How We Got Here

Mike Valentine, Sophos (Hardware)

Mike Valentine came to Sophos in 2013, bringing with him 30 years of channel experience and a plan of applying his own philosophies to the security vendor's focus on partners. Despite trailing early in the first round, Valentine surged through the final day of voting to stay alive with a win over Intel's Maurits Tichelman.

Things didn't get any easier for Valentine in Round 2 as he faced NetApp's Thomas Stanley fresh off of his huge Round 1 upset over Dell's Frank Vitagliano. Stanley held the lead throughout most of the contest but Valentine again proved to be resilient, storming back for a 58 percent to 42 percent win.

Perhaps sick of seeing Valentine sweat it out in the first two rounds, Valentine's backers ratcheted up support in a big way. Valentine rolled Ruckus Wireless' Ron Gill in the Enterprise Eight, securing a trip to the Field of Four with a 38 point win. The momentum continued as Valentine voters turned a tight contest with APC's Sbar into a 42 point blowout.

Valentine now gets his shot at Verizon's Adam Famularo for a chance to become the first-ever CRN Channel Madness champion. Let's take a look at how they match up.

Tale of the Tape

Mike Valentine

Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Sophos

Years In the Channel - 30

Valentine joined Sophos in 2013 where he is responsible for the company's global sales and channel organization. Valentine boasts more than 20 years of senior sales and channel experience at global IT security companies. This past year, Sophos launched a simplified partner program in North America, enabling its partners to grow their business with discounts, deal registration protection, joint lead generation and other programs.

Adam Famularo

Vice President of Global Channels, Verizon

Years In the Channel - 16

Famularo joined Verizon in 2014 where he is responsible for overseeing company's indirect enterprise distribution channels. Famularo boasts more than 16 years of leadership experience in sales, channels and general management. Verizon grew its partner base by more than 100 new partners in 2014.

The Championship

Voting for the championship round opens April 6 at 4:00 PM ET and will remain open until April 8 at 10 AM ET. Visit CRN.com/madness to cast your votes and choose your chief.