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Chuck Stapp vs Chris Crane |
Dave Metzger vs Derek Landel |
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Anthony Curtis vs Dave Gubbay |
Greg Ottoman vs Riku Riekkinen with
GM Rick Young observing |
Blocks & Blades ...
The first round used the pod system wherein we divided into 4-player groups and each player played all the others in their group in the same scenario, Bagradas, with the best record in the group advancing automatically and the best runners-up completing the 16 slots. Side selection was handled by players bidding victory banners. Carthage held a slight advantage 31-26-5. This continues to remain the most balanced scenario from the base game so it will remain in use next year.
Round 2 was another group of pods. The battle was Trebbia. Only the winner of each pod would advance to the semis. Carthage won overall 16-8. Interestingly, the four pods offered very different balance views with Carthage going 4-2, 3-3, 3-3, and 6-0.
The semifinals were conducted as two-game matches, playing both sides of a battle against the same opponent. The battle was Sucro from the third expansion. In one bracket, three-time champ Bill O’Neal faced the mighty Finn, Riku Riekkinen. Riku took the first game 6-1 as the Sertorians and the second 6-2 as the Romans to end any immediate dreams of a fourth title. In the other bracket, Greg Ottoman eliminated defending champion Joe Harrison 6-5/6-4 as the Sertorians/Romans.
It was decided by the players beforehand that there would be a consolation match for third instead of normal tie-breaker rules. I found this to be awesome since even getting to this point meant you would have fought eight battles already. So the last round saw two more two-game matches. The battle for Round 4 was Mantinea (362 MC) from Expansion 6. In the consolation match between the 2014 finalists, Bill started led the Spartans to a narrow 6-5 victory. This left the door open in the riposte game, but Bill was able to win as Thebes also, this time 6-3, to claim third and add to his impressive CCA resume—having failed to earn laurels only once in 10 years. The fourth place finish for Joe nonetheless enhances his “contender” status.
Greg started the Final with the Spartans. He lost a general, costing him a close fought battle 5-6. The blocks lost were 26-28. The championship was on a knife’s edge. In the second game, it was Riku’s turn to lead the Spartans. Greg took a 5-3 lead, but in an instant, the Spartans were able to bag three units in one turn to give Riku his sixth WBC title. Even Riku was somewhat surprised by his sudden turn of fortune. So the reputation of the Mighty Finn grows. Greg will have to settle for telling stories about the one that got away. |