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Games were played as 3-, 4- or 5-player.
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The Finalists battle for wood. |
Renaissance in half the time
This year it was winners only for the Vinci tournament.
31 players generated 12 games in 49 starts to determine the
rightful owner of the wood. Nine games were played in the two
heats to advance nine players to the semi-finals. One winner
declined to pursue other options so only eight advanced. Two
semi-final games were played with the winners and single closest
runner-up advancing to a 3-player Final.
The introduction of the "winners only" rule was
new this year and I believe it made the tournament more exciting
and competitive. This only applied to the preliminaries since
I had to advance the closest second from a semi-final game to
fill the Final table. This worked well since no one could coast
because the runner-ups were in competition with each other to
determine which would advance. There were also three pieces of
wood at stake this year. I planned for a 3-player Final so that
everyone at the table knew they were getting a prize. They just
had to fight it out to see what color they got.
At semi-final table #1 was Jack Stalica, Jason Levine ('00
Champion), Bruce Bernard ('05 & '06 Finalist, '07 Semi-Finalist)
and Ed Kendrick ('07 Semi-Finalist).
At semi-final table #2 was Brian Farrelly ('07 Semi-Finalist),
Brandon Bernard ('07 Finalist), Boaz Gura, Curt Collins II.
Rick Dutton had also earned a spot in the semi-final round
but had a scheduling conflict. If all nine semi-finalists had
been available then I would have used three 3-player semi-final
games with only winners advancing .
The finalists were Bruce Bernard and Boaz Gura who each won
their semi-final games and Curt Collins II with the best 2nd
place (one point behind Boaz). The final was about as close as
it could be. Curt & Bruce were tied with Boaz just one point
behind. The tie breaker (reverse turn order) worked in Curt's
favor.a
I did like the addition of the "winners only rule this
year for the preliminary rounds. If this remains in effect it
might be wise to have three heats instead of two. I've had a
great time GMing Vinci the last four years. Although
I am still hoping to attend WBC in 2009 I'm not 100% certain
that I'll be able to make it. Since I can't guarantee my attendance
I'll be stepping down as the Vinci GM. Someone else will
need to step up to bring it back. |