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Swiss Format.
Three heats were played during this phase. Participants could
play one game per day, however, additional wins after the first
did not confer any special benefit other than that of additional
experience. A total of 35 games were played this year during
the swiss segment, up from 27 in 2004. More players were able
to participate this year due to a bank of loaner games provided
by Queen's Gambit supporters. The moral - bring games to play!
Don't depend on the kindness of others. In any case, thanks to
those who were willing to trust the tournament with your games.
After the Final was completed, each loaner game was inspected
and brought up to full inventory, if necessary.
The victory totals during the Swiss segment saw the Jedi winning
19 to Darth Maul's 16. The game continues to play at close to
50-50. The time limit rule did not come into play during the
Swiss segment. Results were as follows:
Tuesday Heat: Darth Maul, 6 wins - Naboo, 8 wins.
Wednesday Heat: Darth Maul, 4 wins - Naboo, 6 wins.
Thursday Heat: Darth Maul, 6 wins - Naboo, 5 wins.
Notable events during the Swiss included three games in which
Quigon, Obiwan and Darth Maul were each eliminated. In one of
those games, Darth Maul and Obiwan were eliminated on the same
card play - one via the attack and the other by a Riposte.
Single Elimination.
A total of 21 games were played during the SE segment with
Darth Maul winning 12 and the Naboo nine. The final tally for
all 56 games played was Darth Maul 28 - Naboo, 28. The elimination
rounds were played successively every two hours with neiher breaks
or byes. A time limit pressure was added to the single elimination
round this year in order to recreate the time pressure situation
the Naboo faced during the movie - i.e., Anakin must shut down
the Droid army lest the Gungan diversion be dispelled before
Queen Amidala and Captain Panaka capture the throne room and
Nute Gunray.
The time limit constraint resulted in one unexpected win for
Darth Maul, played by Nute Gubbay. In that game, Anakin (Gino
Sinigaglio) was at the last circle and there were no extra Droid
fighter cards in play. Darth Maul was dead, the Naboo had control
of the throne room and a slightly injured Obiwan was on the third
floor of the palace. Gubbay, in a show of genuine sportsmanship,
passed on 12 consecutive card plays as the time limit approached
in order to allow Gino a fair opportunity to advance, but it
was not to be.
There were no byes during the single elimination rounds. When
an odd number of participants advanced to a following round,
an eliminator was pressed into service to preclude a bye. During
the 1st elimination round, 20 qualifying winners squared off
for battle to the death. Darth Maul won seven of the ten games.
Among the ten winners were two past champs, Larry Lingle and
Brian Sutton. During the second elimination round, Darth Maul
won two of the five games; however, past champion Lawrence Lingle
was crushed like a dead opossum on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
by Phil Rennert. During the thirrd elimination round, Darth Maul
won two of the three games played with defending champ Brian
Sutton still in the hunt. During the semifinals (4th elimination
round), Karl Henning playing the Naboo defeated young Alex Bell
and Brian Sutton playing Darth Maul defeated an eliminator to
advance.
The Championship pitted Karl Henning's Droids against champ
Sutton's Jedi. The game went Brian's way early and it looked
as if he would be the first champion to repeat. While the two
Jedi were keeping Darth Maul busy in the generator core, Queen
Amidala and Captain Panaka were dismembering all of the droids
in the palace. Eventually, the Naboo gained control of the throne
room and all of the transport hexes on the first floor of the
palace. As a result, the Federation had no droids in the place
and no reinforcements could be brought over from the Gungan battlefield.
It looked like a sure win for Brian - all that remained was for
Anakin to shut down the droid control ship. But then Yogi Berra
was sighted. In a flurry of Darth Maul attacks, both Jedi were
killed and Darth Maul exited the generator core. The Sith quickly
dispatched all the Palace Guards on the first floor, then sprinted
up to the third floor and sliced a host of Naboo into history.
It was an awesome finish to a game well played by both finalists
with Karl Henning becoming the new Queenís Gambit Champ.
24 little Naboo were enrolled into the longest of the Juniors
events which was played with two-kid teams on each side. Though
it went long into the night, the team of Carolyn Strock and Brian
Pappas emerged triumphant over the squad of Thomas Strock and
Jack Doughan. GM Frank Sinigaglio provided a variety of special
matching prizes for the kids which, all told, made this one of
the most popular events in the Junior's competitions.
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