Rick Northey, Daniel Barnes, Herbet Gratz and Tom McCorry try their hand in an opening round game.	Craig Reece, Mark Geary, Lane Newbury, and Ken Gutermuth enlist in the futile attempt to stop Bruce Beard.

All Hail the Champ VI

Forty railroad gamers came early this year to play 18xx series games on Saturday and Sunday of the Pre-con weekend, a 25% gain over the 2009 WBC numbers. 13 entered their first 18xx tournament, with three of them winning preliminary games. However, sweeping through the tournament with six straight wins, Bruce Beard prevailed for his sixth straight 18xx tournament championship - thus maintaining his claim to the longest current WBC winning streak.

As in past years, there were four preliminary rounds, with 18EU and 1846 (chosen in an on-line poll) added to the more widely available 1830, 1856, 1861, and 1870. 1830 was again the most popular preliminary round game, by 9-4 over both 1861 and 1846. There were three games each of 1856 and 1870, and only one game of 18EU played during the weekend. Three of the nine 1830 preliminary round games ended in bankruptcies, as did (surprisingly) one 1856 game.

A record nine tables of 34 players, including at least one game of each selection, were featured in the first preliminary heat Saturday morning. Six tables continued on in the second preliminary round, immediately following the first on Saturday afternoon. Every game but 18EU was played in this round, contested by 26 players. The third round concluded play Saturday evening with five tables, each with a different game, totaling 18 players as attrition took its toll. The last preliminary round started anew on Sunday morning with the last chance to win a slot in the semi-final. The first three rounds already had fifteen winners; so only one guaranteed spot remained for the semis.

The 24 preliminary round games produced a quadruple winner, five double and ten single winners. Two of those 16 winners declined to advance, allowing two alternates to move up for the semi-final. The 16 were seeded based on the results of preliminary round play and the multiple entry, single elimination tie-breaking criteria established by the WBC. Players were allowed to pick which game to play in the semi-final by secret ballot, and after considering second choices, a game of 1856 and three 1830 games got underway.

The first 1830 semi-final scores stood in marked contrast to the other semis, as it was the only one to avoid bankruptcy. Andy Roosen's end value was over $10,000, and his $633 margin of victory over Mark Geary propelled him into the Final. Newcomer Avi Appel took on three past champions in the 1856 semi. Faced with a losing position, Avi opted for bankruptcy rather than continuing, giving defending champion Bruce Beard an easy win over David Fritsch. The second 1830 semi had two newcomers, and again, one went bankrupt, allowing Daniel Barnes a close ($177) win over Chuck Krueger to advance. The last 1830 game had four returning players and another bankruptcy. Either Mark Neale or Lane Newbury would go bankrupt buying another train, or both would enter a "death spiral" train swap, but since Mark had more paying shares, Lane decided to go bankrupt to end the game. Lane allowed Jeremy Vipperman to dump a trainless company on him to ensure the end, which added to Jeremy's victory margin.

The Final matched Bruce Beard, Andy Roosen, Daniel Barnes, and Jeremy Vipperman. Bruce had swept his four preliminary rounds, with Andy, Daniel, and Jeremy posting records of 2-2, 2-0, and 1-3 in the prelims. Daniel and Andy were in their first Final, but Jeremy and Bruce were both returning Finalists with Bruce reaching the championship game for the 8th time.

In the private auction, Bruce took the CSL for $45 and the M&H for $135, Andy got the SVN for $20 and the D&H for $75, Daniel got the C&A for $208, and Jeremy got the B&O private for $220, then set the B&O share price at $90. Daniel's initial B&O investment backfired when Jeremy bought four 2 trains, then dumped it. Other first companies were the NYNH and Penn. Jeremy swapped his initial B&O holding for shares of NYC. Daniel had three 4 trains and a 5 train between his two companies, but he ultimately went bankrupt on the diesels. Andy ended up with all three 5 trains (after stealing the Erie) and Bruce had both 6 trains. In the end, it was close, $160 out of $1560, but Bruce once again emerged the victor over Jeremy.

I would like to thank everyone for coming early to play in the Pre-con, and I hope we can continue to use the early start to increase our numbers.

"Can't anyone here give me a game?" ... Let's try bulletin board material to stop the streak at six ...	Bruce Beard repels Msr's Roosen, Barnes, and Vipperman in the Final to claim his sixth straight 18xx title.