Mind Games

by LEAH PIETRUSIAK
TIME OUT CHICAGO

Rock, paper, scissors is not just a way to decide who takes the garbage out—although if you’re good at the game, you may never have to tote trash again.

“You have to really know who your opponent is—to know what they’re going to throw before they know—it’s a Zen moment,” says Matti Leshem, who founded the USA Rock Paper Scissors League in January 2005. “And when you see that happen, you know you’re in the presence of a great rock, paper, scissors player.”

Since January, Bud Light has sponsored RPS competitions in more than 100 bars in Chicago, and on Friday 6 finalists will face off at North Beach to see who will represent Chicago in the national championships in Las Vegas. The compeition, which will air on ESPN, features a $50,000 cash prize.

“We’re getting big in the world—rock, paper, scissors is all the rage,” Leshem says, citing the Super Bowl Bud Light ad featuring the “sport” where one guy throws an actual rock at his opponent and runs off with the beer. “The sport’s really growing up…people are coming out of the woodwork, we’re seeing more sophisticated players.”

Leshem has competed against his fair share of good players. “I’m pretty good—I can beat children,” says Leshem, who often plays his eight-year-old son. “Kids are very good—they’re close to their intuition, they haven’t been muddied with too much strategy.” He adds, “You start looking at life as more of a three-part system, instead of just black and white…the mystery of life can be seen through rock, paper, scissors.” Leshem once met a Mongolian monk, taught him how to play the game—and then lost 100 straight rounds to him. “He could just smell what I was going to throw…it’s being able to read people, what they’re saying.”

One Chicago finalist named Gary—who was recruited to play while drinking at Messner’s on Southport—has been playing since he was three years old, but he attributes his win to his relationship with his girlfriend. “That’s how we make all our decisions…when it comes to little decisions, I let her win so she thinks she’s good, but when it comes to big decisions, that’s when I really play,” he says. “It’s about losing when you need to lose and winning when you need to win.”

But some players, like Len Grimaudo, also use more direct strategy. “Everybody does rock first for some reason,” he says. “It seems like a wimpy thing to throw out paper—but it nukes rock.” In fact, there’s nothing wimpy about the sport. Leshem once suffered from a dislocated wrist after a round of best-of-500 throws (a paramedic was standing by). “There’s a seedier side to [it]…there are people playing for money and people get hurt—you need to be in good shape."

Leshem got the idea for the national league after reading about a similar group in Canada, but wanted to have a more “rock & roll” version of the game, so he teamed up with the beer company. Strangely enough, alcohol helps some players find their Zen. “I think I was on beer nine when I started playing,” Gary says. “I think I won because I wasn’t thinking about it too much.”

The Chicago finals for the USA Rock Paper Scissors Championships are Friday 6.