The battle for the title of Caesar in 2003 was fought entirely on the grounds of Hunt Valley Inn during WBC 2003 as only competions therein were to be considered for the 2003 award. All following BPA mini-con and email tournament results were held off to prepare for the 2004 ascension to the title. Scoring was down overall despite more generous laurel awards for trial events which often earned double, and sometimes triple, laurels over 2002 levels. The absence of any PBeM and mini-con results was the culprit in the scoring drought and it is expected that the 2004 Caesar race will rapidly dwarf current records. Nevetheless, 419 players recorded laurels in 2003 at WBC.
Despite the scoring drought, our new reigning Caesar, Nicholas Benedict (shown at right), managed to top the century mark with 113 laurels and was the only WBC competitor to do so. Nicholas was not among the top 25 contenders last year, but neither were 17 of the other members of this years Top 25. Only seven players managed to rank in the Top 25 both years, led by Arthur Field who rose from seventh to second as the top Euro player. Our departing Caesar, Marvin Birnbaum, did not go down without a fight - ranking 14th and maintaining his place in the line of succession.
Nicholas Anner proved his versatility by placing third with wins in major events in both the wargame and Euro categories while Jim Eliason took fourth by scoring in three wargame events. Josh Githers took a different tack to contention, placing fifth with three wins and all his points in "light" events. Alas, no ladies made the Top 25 this year, so for the time being at least, Caesar seems strictly a male title.
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