Narrator (Juju Chang) (2:18)

Anthony told officers that about a week before Sarah went missing, he had a conversation with Liam, a conversation that he thought might they needed to know about. Anthony said he stopped by Liam's house at around 11 o' clock on the night of Thanksgiving to hang out and play video games. He said Liam told him he'd been drinking throughout the day. So by the time Anthony came over, he said Liam was a little drunk. Anthony told police it was just the two of them. Liam's roommate, Preston Taylor, wasn't home. Anthony said they sat on bar stools in Liam's kitchen. Cracked open a couple beers and started talking. Anthony said it wasn't unusual for Liam to pitch him movie ideas.

Anthony Curry (3:07)

I make movies. I'm a filmmaker. He used to tell me ideas all the time about, you know, films I should make and all that stuff. And he, like, told me about this idea he had to like, kill this girl.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (3:22)

That girl was Sarah Stern. According to Anthony, Liam told him Sarah found a huge amount of cash, about $50,000. So Liam said he was going to her house to help Sarah count the money. Anthony noticed how amped up Liam was getting as he kept talking.

Anthony Curry (3:41)

He was like, hyped. He was an energetic kid. It was like watching like his performance. Like he would like, explain it in a way that was like, energetic.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (3:52)

Then Liam told Anthony how the movie ends. Detective Weisbrot again.

Detective Weisbrot (4:00)

Liam had informed him that he was going rob her of her money, kill her and throw her remains over the Belmar Bridge.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (4:08)

It was a bombshell allegation. Anthony was telling investigators that Liam talked about killing Sarah. Liam, Sarah's childhood friend who'd been searching for Sarah and cooperated with police, who'd given police an alibi for the time Sarah was killed. Before Anthony could fully process what he just heard, he told police that Liam laughed and said, wouldn't this be a great idea for a movie? So Anthony shrugged it all off. Besides, he thought Liam was drunk and that this was just another one of Liam's horror movie pitches.

Anthony Curry (4:47)

I was like, yeah, he's a little nuts, but I don't know, I just thought it was a movie. Like he would tell me ideas all the time about stuff.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (4:54)

The moment came and went, Anthony said. The pair moved on to playing Xbox and Anthony crashed at Liam's place that night. A week passed and Anthony never gave Liam's movie pitch a second thought until he saw a bunch of posts pop up on his social media feed. They all said, Sarah Stern, missing car last seen on the Route 35 bridge, whereabouts unknown. Anthony's mind started to race. He told police he was shocked and somewhat in denial. There was no way his friend could have actually killed someone. Liam was drunk. They were just messing around. His funny, light hearted friend wasn't capable of something so evil, right? According to investigators, Anthony realized this crazy movie idea might have been some kind of plan. When he got a chilling Snapchat message from Liam. Liam asked him, did you talk to the police? From abc audio and 2020, I'm juju chang and this is bridge of lies episode 4 the sting. Anthony told police that Liam messaged him on Snapchat in January 2017, almost two months after Sarah disappeared, Asking if cops had talked to him, Anthony told him no. Liam replied by saying word. They talk to almost everybody I know. If they haven't already, they won't. The exchange alarmed Anthony enough that he decided to get a record of it on Snapchat. When you open a message, it disappears when you close it. And if you screenshot the conversation, the other person would know. So Anthony said he took a picture of Liam's message with his digital camera. Authorities said Anthony told them the constant messages from Liam didn't stop. The two usually talked or texted, but Liam kept reaching out over Snapchat. He wanted to get together with Anthony in person, and he was persistent.

Anthony Curry (7:19)

Where you at? What are you doing? You gotta tell each one.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (7:23)

Anthony said he just kept telling Liam that he was busy or working. But the truth is, investigators said Anthony was terrified. He couldn't sleep or eat. He kept thinking, if Liam really did hurt Sarah, who's to say Liam wouldn't come after him?

Anthony Curry (7:42)

Felt like my family, you know, if somebody's capable of doing that, could, like, try to hurt my family or somebody I knew.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (7:50)

There hadn't been any new movement on Sarah's case in weeks, and police were desperate for any new leads. But when Anthony came forward with this story, well over a month after she went missing, investigators admitted that it sounded too crazy to be true.

Chris Decker (8:06)

Someone's saying that he told me he was going to kill her before he killed her, and we're looking at it investigatively, and knowing that she's missing, it's obviously something that it sounds a little far fetched.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (8:20)

That's Chris Decker. He's an assistant prosecutor for Monmouth county who got assigned to Sarah's case. As wild as Anthony's story sounded, could it be true? Investigators noted how specific and detailed Anthony's story was, like how he said Liam told him Sarah found the money in an orange envelope and had a safe at a bank in Bradley Beach. But it was Anthony's demeanor that really convinced detective Weisbrot that his allegations might be the real deal.

Detective Weisbrot (8:56)

He was scared. He was scared. And Liam was aggressively trying to communicate with him, more wanting to see him. And that bothered Anthony.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (9:06)

Investigators decided to take a chance on Anthony's story because it was basically his word against Liam's. They needed to prove that Anthony was telling the truth. So they asked him if he was willing to go undercover.

Chris Decker (9:21)

You can't hide the truth on a wire. You know, if he's saying, Liam told me these things and then he gets Into a car wearing a wire, a recording device with him, and he brings it up, it's going to be completely clear whether or not the kid's telling the truth.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (9:36)

With Anthony's help, police were hoping to record Liam implicating himself in Sarah's murder. Over the next few days, they worked together to set up a meeting between Anthony and Liam. Investigators said Anthony was driving back and forth between Brooklyn and Monmouth county. He let detectives monitor and record any communication he had with Liam, Any phone call, snapchat, picture or message. On January 31, 2017, investigators brought Anthony into the county prosecutor's office and asked him to call Liam on a recorded line. Anthony was going to try to get Liam to talk about Sarah's murder.

Detective David Sidorak (10:21)

This is detective David Sidorak of the Monmouth county prosecutor's office. Narcotic strike force electronic surveillance unit. Purposes recording device to electronically record conversation between Anthony Curry and Liam mcatasney for voice identification purposes. Anthony curry. Would you please state your name?

Anthony Curry (10:37)

Anthony Curry.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (10:39)

It's been almost a month since the two friends have talked on the phone.

Liam McAtasney (10:48)

Good.

Anthony Curry (10:48)

Hey, how you doing? How you doing?

Liam McAtasney (10:50)

I'm doing all right. I'm double all right.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (10:53)

Anthony's voice is calm and controlled. He even laughs at one of Liam's quips. For a few minutes, it sounds like a normal conversation between friends, but in reality, police are closely listening to every word. And they have a plan. The ruse is that Anthony needs money. His camera broke, and he doesn't have the money to replace it. Anthony's in a real bind, so he asks Liam for help.

Anthony Curry (11:21)

I gotta shoot on Thursday. I'm like, I have, like, no cash to pay for anything.

Liam McAtasney (11:26)

Sucks.

Anthony Curry (11:27)

You can, like, spot me some cash from that girl's money, right?

Narrator (Juju Chang) (11:32)

Anthony says, that girl. The hope is that this will get Liam to talk about Sarah. Liam pauses.

Liam McAtasney (11:42)

I don't think I could do that. We need to talk about that, too. Come see me in person.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (11:47)

Sometimes Liam doesn't want to talk about it on the phone, But Anthony presses on.

Anthony Curry (11:54)

How much? Like, do you have, like, anything left from it or no?

Liam McAtasney (11:59)

Yeah, I don't know. I don't really want to talk about it right now.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (12:04)

Liam shuts Anthony down again.

Liam McAtasney (12:07)

Let's just say I'm not as good off as I thought I was going to be.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (12:12)

He doesn't elaborate. And this time, Anthony backs off for a second. The two envision what their future in Hollywood could look like. Anthony jokes that Liam will be his Leonardo dicaprio. They say in two years, they'll make the move. Liam breaks from the daydream to ask Anthony when he's free. He wants to meet up. So before the two hang up, they make tentative plans for later that week.

Liam McAtasney (12:38)

All right, boss, I'll talk to you later.

Anthony Curry (12:40)

All right, bye.

Liam McAtasney (12:41)

Later.

Chris Decker (12:43)

The phone call. Obviously, there is no significant, you know, admission on that phone call.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (12:50)

Assistant prosecutor Chris Decker says they didn't get a confession, but it was a start.

Chris Decker (12:57)

Other than it's abundantly clear when they're talking about him borrowing some of that girl's money that Liam is absolutely not denying it. All he continues to say is, I don't want to talk about it on the phone. We gotta meet in person.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (13:13)

According to investigators, shortly after the two got off the phone, Liam messaged Anthony. And detectives saw an opportunity to meet that night. Anthony told him that he found someone in Neptune who could sell him a new camera so he'll be in town that evening. Once again, Liam said he can't loan Anthony the money. He said, quote, my cash is low quality. They wouldn't take it. You understand how serious my situation is. I can't say anything on my phone. They settled on a time and place. 11pm Bradley Beach, a Jersey shore town just east of Neptune. A face to face meeting between two friends. And investigators are ready to record every word.

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Narrator (Juju Chang) (17:01)

It's 10:30 on the night of January 31st. Law enforcement from multiple agencies are gathered, hoping tonight is the night they finally break the case wide open. They've given Anthony a clear mission. Get Liam to confess to Sarah's murder and don't get caught. It's late and the streets are quiet as Anthony makes his way to the spot where he and Liam agreed to meet. Detectives have bugged Anthony's car with recording devices, including a camera hidden behind the steering wheel. On the recording, we see glimpses of Anthony's hand on the wheel, but it's clearly angled to focus on the person, soon to occupy the empty passenger seat. The camera quality isn't high definition, and the dark cabin of the car doesn't help. Anthony's windows are smudged or foggy in a way that makes the outside world a blur. We only see glimpses of the homes and Businesses he passes by spotlit by the yellow streetlights. Anthony's feeling a bit tortured about the situation he's found himself in.

Anthony Curry (18:17)

What made me decide to do. Went outside, smoked a cigarette, thought about it for a second. I was like, all right, let's it do. So it sucks, you know, whether, you know, he's still your friend, whether he did something sick or, you know, it's still just a tough situ. It's tough, it's just tough.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (18:35)

This operation depends on Anthony acting natural. That means detectives, for their part, don't want to over complicate an already stressful situation. Anthony is just catching up with a friend, only with an added objective.

Anthony Curry (18:51)

They did say, you know, you gotta act sorta like Donnie Brasco. You gotta ask him questions.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (18:57)

Ever the film buff, Anthony takes the inspiration seriously. Channeling the 90s film starring Johnny Depp as an undercover agent, He turns the radio on and tunes it to a rock station.

Anthony Curry (19:14)

Yeah.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (19:24)

Rockin Me by Steve Miller Band comes on. Anthony sings along. He says he sings when he's nervous. The lyrics are strangely befitting for the moment. Don't get suspicious now. Don't be suspicious. You know, you are a friend of mine.

Anthony Curry (19:42)

You know what was weird about that song too? Me and him used to play that song in a band together and that was on the radio when I was driving there. Weird. It's bizarre.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (19:55)

There's a lot riding on this operation, including Anthony's safety. Detectives are hiding in a vehicle just around the corner from the meeting spot.

Detective Weisbrot (20:04)

We were listening live through electronic equipment and we did that to maintain the integrity of the recording. And also paramount was safety. Anthony's safety was of great concern to us at that time.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (20:18)

They'll be close, but not that close. If things escalated or even turned violent, it's possible there isn't much they can do. In other words, Anthony is on his own.

Liam McAtasney (20:33)

Killer classic after another with seaman Zach Martin on the ultimate classic rock show.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (20:43)

Back in the car, Anthony is almost at the meeting spot. It's a place where he and Liam would often hang out in their cars and talk. A quiet street with a nice view of the ocean. Assistant prosecutor Chris Decker.

Chris Decker (20:58)

It was a place where the two of them, I guess had hung out before on Ocean Avenue in Bradley Beach. You know, parked their pull in head on, facing the ocean. There's no one around. It's almost 11 o' clock at night. I mean, it's pretty desolate in the middle of the winter.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (21:12)

Anthony finds a spot, parks, and turns the radio down

Chris Decker (21:19)

and you know, that's Ultimately, where Liam enters Anthony Curry's car.

Liam McAtasney (21:27)

What's happening, bro? How you doing?

Liam McAtasney (21:28)

How you doing?

Liam McAtasney (21:29)

You want a cigarette?

Liam McAtasney (21:30)

No, I'm good.

Liam McAtasney (21:31)

I quit them. I was smoking. What were you doing?

Narrator (Juju Chang) (21:35)

Liam makes himself comfortable in the passenger seat and closes the door. He's got a thick workman's jacket on, zipped to the top. It's a cold winter's night. He seems happy to see Anthony. It's a familiar scene for the old friends. But for Anthony, nothing is the same. Liam feels like a stranger, but Anthony is a different person too. He's now a double agent, working with the police. It's a high stakes gamble. Anthony knows this hangout might put his friend behind bars. Not to mention the danger Anthony could be putting himself in, sitting alone in a car with a suspected killer. But he thinks it's the right thing to do for Sarah and her family. Their greeting is normal enough. Until it's not.

Liam McAtasney (22:33)

Dude, you can't blame me for doing this, right? I gotta feel you up real quick, all right? No disrespect.

Anthony Curry (22:42)

I'll show you no disrespect.

Liam McAtasney (22:44)

Okay, look.

Detective Weisbrot (22:46)

As soon as he got in the car, he patted him down for a wire. Highly alarming. Why is he patting him down for a wire?

Liam McAtasney (22:55)

Yeah, I got the FBI on my ass, dude. What are they questioning? Oh, yeah, A lot. About what? About killing Sarah.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (23:06)

Less than a minute into sitting in Anthony's car, Liam's getting straight to Sarah's death. He goes on saying he's been laying low. Police have been interrogating him, but Liam says everything is going exactly as expected.

Liam McAtasney (23:22)

But I had planned Sarah's situation. For me to be interrogated by cops, like that was the whole part of my plan to make me look not guilty.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (23:36)

He planned to be questioned by the police after Sarah's disappearance. He wanted them to. And he was confident in the story he had to tell law enforcement. Unprompted, Liam goes back to that December night he was last with Sarah. And without hesitation, Liam tells Anthony what investigators have been hoping to hear.

Liam McAtasney (24:00)

Dude, all right, so I'm hanging out with her. She has. We went to the bank. She took some money out. Not all of her money. We're counting out. And then she goes to walk out the front door. I choke her out, drag her. My biggest problem was the dog. And her dog laid there and walked. Watched as I killed her. Didn't do anything.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (24:29)

Her dog, remember Buddy, was Sarah's foxhound, her best friend. When police first visited the house after she went missing, Buddy was Locked in a cage. It struck her friends as one of the first signs something wasn't right. Sarah never locked him up. More details come pouring out of Liam.

Liam McAtasney (24:51)

But I pretty much hung her. Like I picked her up and had her just like dangling off the ground. And she just pissed herself because you lose control of your said my name and then that was it.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (25:10)

On the camera footage, you can see Liam bringing his arm up, showing Anthony how he wrapped his arm around Sarah's neck. He says it took him half an hour to kill her.

Liam McAtasney (25:22)

I thought I was going to be able to choke her out and have her out in like a couple minutes. I choked her out and then she was just laying there having a seizure or something. So then I just, I got a shirt and I just shoved it down her throat so she wouldn't throw up or anything and held my finger over her nose and set it. Timer. That's the only time I had my phone. And it took me like a half an hour after I hit start on the timer. This is the thing about, like, heists. There's so much that you can't account for. You don't know. Yeah, you don't know until it happens. And then the next month was just me getting interrogated by cops over and over and over again.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (26:14)

Anthony plays it cool. As Liam goes on describing his heist, as he calls it. Anthony chimes in with an occasional right. Or yeah, like a good friend does while listening to a story. But Anthony doesn't need to coax Liam. The story comes rushing out. Listening to Liam, he sounds eager, like he's finally able to talk to someone about what he did and how he got away with it. Detectives nearby cannot believe what they're hearing. This Liam that they're hearing in the car was not the quiet and concerned friend they spoke to back at the station.

Detective Weisbrot (26:54)

I have never heard somebody talk about murdering someone like Liam McAtasney did. I have never heard someone provide such disturbing and cold, chilling and horrific details that he had provided as to what he did to Sarah Stern.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (27:17)

Then Liam starts to talk about how he got rid of Sarah's body. And this is when police get another surprise.

Liam McAtasney (27:26)

And the worst part is we threw off the bridge and the body never showed up.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (27:35)

We, Liam says we threw Sarah off the bridge, meaning he didn't do it alone.

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Liam McAtasney (28:32)

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It's not a standard murder.

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Narrator (Juju Chang) (29:10)

Investigators have been down the street listening to Liam tell Anthony how he killed Sarah Stern. But he says he didn't do it alone. Another one of Sarah's friends helped him. Remember when Liam told officers he lost his phone the day Sarah disappeared, Liam told Anthony he lost it at Sarah's house.

Liam McAtasney (29:33)

I lost it and I couldn't find it. So that. What did you. Why did you take your point? You should have left it in your. Dude, what were you doing? Strangling someone.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (29:44)

So he called on a friend to help him find his phone and hide Sarah's body.

Liam McAtasney (29:52)

But I choke her out, drag her into the back, put her in a bathroom, and then I had to go straight to work. So Preston came over, took the body, put it in the bushes.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (30:03)

Liam says Preston, as in Preston Taylor, his roommate and another friend of Sarah's. He knew about Liam's plan and agreed to help move Sarah's body. Detective Weisbrot.

Detective Weisbrot (30:18)

Liam had provided Anthony with very specific information that Preston had assisted him in throwing Sarah over the bridge.

Liam McAtasney (30:27)

And then I get off work that night, Preston, I go over to her house, take her safe, bring that over to my house before we do anything. Then we take her body out of the bushes and drag it over to her back fence. And I crawl, get into her car and I back up. There's a security camera across the street, so I had to back. I had to act like her. So I back backed out exactly like she did and drove off.

Anthony Curry (30:58)

Did you put her in the trunk?

Liam McAtasney (30:59)

No, I put her in the passenger seat of her own car.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (31:03)

From there, as the tape records, Liam tells Anthony the pair drove to the Belmar Bridge in separate Cars. Liam drove Sarah's silver Oldsmobile. Preston drove his own car. Liam describes how he positioned Sarah's body to sit up in the passenger seat to look like she was sleeping. They use walkie talkies to communicate. Liam even takes one out of his pocket to show Anthony. He says the plan was to throw Sarah off the bridge, then jump over the divider where Preston was waiting on the other side and drive off. But when they got there, Liam underestimated how much a body could weigh.

Liam McAtasney (31:44)

I see like, headlights coming. I try to get her over, and I. I can't. My leg up. So now I'm limping, my leg's up, and there's three cars coming up. So I grab her body. Dude, I had superhuman strength and I threw it in the car. And three cars go by, and I'm losing my. Because that easily could have been a cop.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (32:06)

So Liam says Preston drove to his side of the bridge to help, and together they threw Sarah's body off the bridge. On the recording, Liam goes on to say he spent six months planning Sarah's murder. He mapped out the security cameras in her neighborhood. He'd watch how she pulled in and out of her driveway. He planned how he would dispose of her body and how he was going to make the police believe they were better friends than they were. But what he didn't count on was walking away with so much less money than what he was expecting.

Liam McAtasney (32:45)

The worst part of it is I thought I was walking out 50 grand, 100 grand in my pocket. She had one safe, and she took money out and she only had 10 grand. And this money, I don't know if it was burnt or something. It's old money. Terrible quality. I don't even know if I can put any of it in the bank.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (33:10)

Not only was it not as much money as he'd hoped, he thought it was basically unusable. In the video, you can see Liam lean back in his seat and stare out the windshield. He's just told Anthony his biggest secret. That he killed his childhood friend for money.

Liam McAtasney (33:35)

I don't feel any different then. I don't think about it. You always think you're gonna try these new things and you're gonna change. It just doesn't do anything. It's weird. It's a movie, man.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (33:52)

Anthony says, it's like a movie.

Liam McAtasney (33:55)

It's your life. You might as well make it one. What, are you gonna live some boring ass life?

Narrator (Juju Chang) (34:03)

He asks Anthony to keep everything he just told him a secret. Liam thinks Anthony and Preston are the only people who know the truth. Little does he know there's a team of investigators listening in.

Liam McAtasney (34:17)

Preston doesn't know that you know. And if he knows that, you know, I don't want him. You know, I don't want there to be a chance. I'm not no rat, bro. Yeah. You don't have to question me. I'm in Brooklyn. They had.

Anthony Curry (34:29)

The cops haven't questioned me.

Liam McAtasney (34:31)

I know you. I know you're not a rat. But we gotta. We gotta play it safe.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (34:36)

At this point, there's nothing more to say. Anthony got investigators what they needed. He's ready to go home and put this all behind him, bro.

Anthony Curry (34:46)

It was good seeing you, bro.

Liam McAtasney (34:47)

Yeah. When I come back down, let's do something. Listen. Look at me. Be safe, all right? Yeah. Don't do anything stupid. Listen, I'm not gonna let Preston do anything dumb. I did something really dumb, and I planned it out for half a year. I. I have patience. I got it. It's good talking to you, bro. Good talking. Take it easy, bro.

Anthony Curry (35:11)

Safe travels, eh?

Liam McAtasney (35:12)

You too.

Anthony Curry (35:12)

You got everything?

Liam McAtasney (35:13)

Yeah.

Anthony Curry (35:13)

All right. Pe.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (35:21)

Anthony pulls out of his parking spot and lights a cigarette. He thinks about how easy it was to get Liam to open up. He barely asked any questions. He didn't have to push or pry. It was just a conversation between two good friends.

Anthony Curry (35:38)

I didn't really have to do much work like he wanted to tell me, you know? I think he wanted to get it off his chest. Some reason he trusted me. And he thought I. I don't know.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (35:51)

With Liam gone, the car is suddenly quiet. The camera is again recording just an empty passenger seat. Anthony grips the steering wheel.

Liam McAtasney (36:09)

Oh,

Narrator (Juju Chang) (36:14)

He put the radio back on. Movin on by Bad company starts playing as he drives away. Sarah's promising life was cut short. She'd trusted Liam enough to tell him about her secret money. And Liam trusted Anthony enough to tell him a big secret of his own. For detectives, the recording of Liam is a damning piece of evidence. But they don't rush to arrest him. They can't. They want more proof to keep building their case. So Liam's free to go home, Sleep in his own bed that night, and keep living his life. But officers will be watching.

Detective Weisbrot (36:59)

We needed to take the appropriate steps as to what we were going to do next. So we made a decision to conduct surveillance both on Preston and on Liam. We further made the decision that we were going to locate Preston and interview him.

Narrator (Juju Chang) (37:15)

Their new mission? Get Preston to fess up. That's next time. Bridge of Lies is a production of ABC Audio and 2020 hosted by me, Juju Chang. Produced by Sabrina Fang, Audrey Mostek and Camille Peterson. Fact checking by Annalisa Linder Tracy Samuelson is our story editor. Our supervising producer is Sasha Aslanian. Music and mixing by Evan Viola. Special thanks to Katie Dendos, Janice Johnston, Joseph Diaz, Avery Brook and Michelle Margulis. Josh Cohan is our Director of podcast programming. Eamonn McNiff is our executive producer.

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ESPN Advertiser (38:41)

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Narrator (Juju Chang) (38:44)

Ready or not, here I come.

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Narrator (Juju Chang) (38:50)

I could do what you do easy.

ESPN Advertiser (38:52)

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Narrator (Juju Chang) (38:53)

It's tournament time. It's win or go home.

ESPN Advertiser (38:56)

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