san juan

Updated Nov. 16, 2015

2015 WBC Report

2016 Status: pending 2016 GM commitment

Jeff Mullet, OH

2014-15 Champion

Event History

2004 Jeff Mullet 123
2005 Bill Salvatore 48
2006 Bruce Reiff 43
2007 Peter Stein 42
2008 Tom Browne 44
2009 Tom Browne 74
2010 Raphael Lehrer 102
2011 Greg Thatcher 99
2012 Jason Levine 97
2013 Bruce Reiff 98
2014 Jeff Mullet 106
2015 Jeff Mullet 94

Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Jeff Mullet        OH    15    152
  2.  Bruce Reiff        OH    13    104
  3.  Rob Kircher        RI    15     85
  4.  Tom Browne         PA    12     69
  5.  Raphael Lehrer     MD    10     46
  6.  Jason Levine       NY    12     38
  7.  Andy Latto         MA    14     30
  8.  Greg Thatcher      CA    11     30
  9.  Bill Salvatore     MD    05     30
 10.  Mark Kennel        DE    15     27
 11.  Eric Brosius       MA    13     27
 12.  Derek Glenn        KY    15     24
 13.  Nick Page          on    10     24
 14.  Lexi Shea          CT    15     20
 15.  Rich Meyer         MA    14     20
 16.  Pete Stein         OH    07     20
 17.  Bill Murdock       NY    05     18
 18.  Tom McCorry        VA    04     18
 19.  Bill Edwards       VA    13     16
 20.  Debbie Gutermuth   NC    15     14
 21.  Nick Ferris        MD    12     12
 22.  Jeremy Billones    VA    11     12
 23.  Eric Freeman       PA    08     12
 24.  Nate Hoam          OH    04     12
 25.  Kate Fractal       MA    14     10
 26.  Eric Lenhart       PA    05      9
 27.  Alan Kaiser        OH    04      9
 28.  Curt Collins II    PA    13      8
 29.  David Platnick     NY    07      8
 30.  Arthur Field       SC    06      8
 31.  Adam Fetzer        NY    12      6
 32.  Ken Schlosser      PA    11      6
 33.  Trevor Bender      WA    05      6
 34.  Mark Giddings      NY    14      5
 35.  Bob Wicks Jr       CT    10      4
 36.  Peggy Pfeiffer     FL    09      4
 37.  Richard Irving     CA    09      4
 38.  Ken Richards       SC    06      4
 39.  Sean McCulloch     OH    12      3
 40.  Jennifer Gorman    PA    05      3
 41.  Chris Kamm         NY    04      3
 42.  Suzanne Tuch       NY    06      2
2015 Laurelists Returning Laurelists: 2

Derek Glenn, KY
2nd

Rob Kircher, RI
3rd

Mark Kennel, DE
4th

Debbie Gutermuth, NC
5th

Lexi Shea, CT
6th

Past Winners

Jeff Mullet, OH
2004, 2014-15


Bill Salvatore, MD
2005


Bruce Reiff, OH
2006, 2013

Pete Stein, OH
2007

Tom Browne, PA
2008-09


Raphael Lehrer, CA
2010


Greg Thatcher, CA
2011


Jason Levine, NY
2012

David Metzger vs Kevin Broh-Kahn

GM Lexi Shea chaperones her finalists.

In Defense of the Crown ...

San Juan dropped below its triple digit standing with 93 players participating early Monday morning.  More people are arriving on Sunday afternoon, but there is also more competition from early Monday heats. However, the demo on Sunday afternoon garnered more attention than ever.

There were four continuous rounds of 2-player games. There was a twist this year with the second edition games making a first-time appearance after being published late in 2014. This edition features ten new buildings (including one 6 and one 7 cost end-game buildings), and three rule changes to existing cards in addition to new artwork. This version also gives many more strategic avenues for garnering cards and victory points than in the previous edition. Players had the option of playing either edition, with about four to five of the new games included in each round. It will be interesting to see how popular this new version becomes in the future.

After the initial four rounds, there were 28 players that garnered the required three wins to advance. The playoff field included three of 2014’s top four (defending champ Jeff Mullet, Rich Meyer, and Mark Kennel plus former champ Bruce Reiff. Because only 28 advanced, four random byes were drawn to create a 32-person elimination bracket. Therefore, Marvin Birnbaum, Mark Kennel, Christopher McCurry, and Lexi Shea had the good fortune of avoiding the initial elimination round. 

In that opening round, there was a high-scoring battle between Rich Fetzer and Reiff. At the end of the game, Rich had in play nine production buildings (including four Silver Smelters) and the Palace while Bruce had all three monuments plus the Palace. The final score was 50 to 42, leaving Bruce still a Former champion.

The quarterfinal round featured close contests. Three games were decided by two, one, and zero points. Lexi Shea and Derek Glenn were tied at 21 and the decision went to Derek on the second tiebreaker. The difference was one additional building built.

The semifinal featured two very different games, one between Jeff Mullet and Rob Kircher, and the other pairing Derek Glenn and Mark Kennel. Mark attempted to play the production strategy by ending the game early with many cheap indigo and tobacco builds. However, an early quarry build left him short of cards even with acquiring the smithy and prefecture He ended the game with Guild Hall and 29 points, but that was not enough. Derek featured a purple building strategy, and early Carpenter and Chapel builds paid off along with his Library. Derek ended with two monuments, City Hall, and Palace giving him a hefty 45 points to advance.

The other side of the bracket was not so clear cut. Rob came out of the gate strong with a production strategy, building the smithy first then racking up every production possible thereafter. Like Rich Fetzer in earlier rounds, he put out four silver smelters to aid in garnering cards. He ended with ten production buildings and the Guild Hall, producing 42 points. On the flip side, Jeff put up a good fight with a purple building strategy. Early on, he was able to put out the Carpenter, Quarry, Library, and Prefecture in succession to build a formidable engine of his own. He then was able to start putting out 6-cost buildings which included both City hall and Triumphal Arch. The game came down to the last round, with the final Councilor and Builder phase. In a turn of events, Jeff built a Hero, which gained him eight points (5 base points +1 for city hall, +2 for the Triumphal Arch) for a tie. Jeff won the tiebreaker because of his extra 6 building built (the third tiebreaker).

Jeff, unlike his previous game, rolled out the production strategy in the Final with an early Smithy build. Derek fell several build phases behind, focusing more on quality than quantity. Derek had a first round Prefecture build (always a strong choice) but ended up having to build the Palace soon afterwards in order to keep pace. This, along with following Quarry and Hero builds, depleted his cards and prevented acquiring a strong engine. Jeff pushed for a quick end with nine production buildings (only two Silver Smelters this time!) and a Guild Hall to tally 37 points. Derek ended with only eight buildings including a last-minute City Hall to go along with his early Palace. However, his 25 points was not enough to keep Jeff from successfully defending his San Juan title. Congratulations! 

GM Lexi Shea [1st Year] NA
soccerymusic58131409@Gmail.com NA

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