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2004 Caesar / Consul James Pei

If it was a fight, they would have stopped it. James Pei used his domination of the CDW PBeM events to build a large lead going into WBC and managed to increase it during the summer conference. His predicted domination of For the People (which he won for the fourth straight year) was enough to seal the title, but he added the Wilderness War crown, as well as laurels for Hannibal and Paths of Glory to ensure his meta victory. Runner-up Jeff Mullet made a valiant try, scoring a double win in Attika and San Juan, while adding laurels in three other events to make sure no one would approach him for second. The real race was for third where just five laurels separated Arthur Field, Bruce Reiff and Peter Staab.

The inclusion of PBeM events and mini-con results increased the overall scoring, as predicted, with Pei more than doubling the 2003 winning total. 108 of his mind-boggling record 293 laurels were earned in email tournaments, while he stayed in practice for face-to-face matches. A dominating performance at the WAM mini-con contributed another 76 laurels, so James had a total worth 3rd place honors before WBC even started. Only six of 2003’s Top 25 remained ranked in 2004. Ken Gutermuth and Keith Wixson joined Pei, Field, Reiff and Anner in remaining in the Top 25. Only Field and Reiff have managed it all three years.

 

Line of succession for Caesar 2004
Jeff Mullet
2nd - OH
Arthur Field
3rd - SC
Bruce Reiff
4th - OH
Peter Staab
5th - PA
Nicholas Anner
6th - NY
   
Competitor - From Laurels/2003  Tally Board
 1. James Pei - TX 293 / 12th WTP-wam 4th 6, HRC-wam 1st 30, FTP-wam 1st 40, WNWe 1st 60, FTPe 3rd 24, AOA 5th 4, POGe 3rd 24, FTP 1st 50, HRC 6th 5, WNW 1st 50
 2. Jeff Mullet - OH 210 AOR-enl 1st 60, AORe 3rd 20, LOST-eq 1st 20, UNP-eq 5th 4, HOS-bkp 3rd12, WZK-bkp 1st 10, ATK 1st 30, AUC 2nd 12, BCY 4th 9, LID 6th 3, SJN 1st 30
 3. Arthur Field - SC 145 / 2nd AMR 6th 3, AUC 4th 6, AMR-eq 1st 20, TKL-eq 1st 20, UNP-eq 1st 20, BAT 1st 20, MEX 3rd 8, PRO 5th 12, TKL 2nd 18, UNP 2nd 18,
 4. Bruce Reiff - OH 143 / 10th POF-eq 6th 3, PRO-eq 4th 12, HOS-bkp 1st 30, LIB-bkp 3rd 12, WZK-bkp 2nd 6, ALH 1st 30, BCY 5th 6, LIB 1st 30, MED 6th 4
 5. Peter Staab - PA 140 AORe 2nd 30, UNP-eq 6th 2, MMSe 1st 30, AOS 2nd 18, GRD 6th 2, MED 1st 40, TYX 2nd 18,
 6. Nicholas Anner - NY 128 / 3rd POG-wam 2nd 24, AMR 3rd 12, POG 1st 60, OW2 6th 2, TJM 1st 30,
 7. Tom Gregorio - PA 126 TRCe 4th 18, BTB-wam 1st 30, U43e 1st 10, BTB 2nd 18, TRC 1st 50,
 8. John Emery - SC 114 NW2-wat 1st 40, ATS 5th 4, BRI 6th 4, NW5 2nd 36, UPF 1st 30,
 9. Devin Flawd, PA 111 PDT 2nd 4th 27, PGF 1st 30, SLS 1st 30, SSB 5th 4, TTA 1st 20,
10. Nick Henning - CT 103 ADV 4th 9, FDE 5th 6, GSR 1st 50, MRA 1st 30, PRS 3rd 8,
11. Lyman Moquin - DC 101 PRO-eq 1st 40, BCY 2nd 18, DIM 4th 3, HOS 1st 40,
12. Ken Gutermuth - TX   93 / 8th TAM 2nd 12, AORe 4th 15, Med-eq 6th 2, WC-eq 5th 10, AOR-enl 5th 12, MMSe, 2nd 18, WPS 2nd 24,
13. Rob Winslow, NY   92 ACS 1st 50, GXY 3rd 12, WNW 2nd 30
14. Aran Warszawski, Israel   90 E&T 1st 30, SET 1st 60
15. David Gantt - SC   90 ACQ 1st 30, NW5 1st 60,
16. Bruce Monnin - OH   90 NVW 6th 3, WNW-wam 1st 30, 812-bkp 5th 2, WAS 1st 50, WNW 6th 5,
17. Bill Crenshaw - VA   88 AORe 1st 50, AOR-enl 4th 18, AOR 3rd 20
18. Harald Henning - CT   85 ACV 1st 50, AOR 6th 5, TKL 1st 30,
19. Bruce Young - SC   85 NW5-wat 1st 50, AOA 1st 20, ATS 2nd 12, UPF 6th 3
20. Barbara Flaxington - NJ   84 PRO 1st 60, Pro-eq 2nd 24,
21. Hochboim, Haim - Israel   84 E&T 5th 6, HWD 1st 60, SET 4th 18,
22. Wixson, Keith - NJ   84 / 19th HRC 2nd 36, WNW-wam 3rd 12, WTP-wam 2nd 12, SUC 5th 6, WNW 4th 15, WTP 6th 3
23. Chris Byrd - CT   81 HRC 1st 60, HRC-wam 4th 9, NW2 3rd 12,
24. Robert Ryan - MI   81 ANZ 1st 40, B81 4th 9, BWD 1st 30, FSE 5th 2,
25. Sirianna, Scott - NY   80 CMS 1st 60, M44 3rd 20,

Key: e = email (PBeM), E = Enlightenment mini-con, eq = Euro Quest mini-con, w = WAM mini-con, W = Waterloo mini-con, p = Pre-Con

   
2004 Consul Standings - Hail Devin Flawd  

With such a dominating performance for Caesar honors by James Pei, much of the suspense was missing from this year’s competition going into WBC. Why not just make him Dictator for Life and give someone else a chance, one might ask. This has led, in turn, to the creation of a second yearly cumulative award—Consul—composed of just the results earned in the six days of WBC itself. All Laurels earned at WBC will still count for the Caesar Award, but only those earned at WBC itself will determine the Consul so as to give everyone an equal shot on a level playing field at the meta honors regardless of their event choices and budget.

We turned to Roman history for inspiration in creating our twin leader honors to keep one top honor always up for grabs at WBC. Should our Caesar winner also dominate WBC, no Consul award will be given and Caesar will rule alone. Otherwise, there will be two top dogs each year. As dominating as his year was, James Pei came up two laurels short of ruling alone atop the BPA empire. Young Devin Flawd, competing primarily in the sports genre which many lament as threatened at WBC, amassed 111 laurels while winning three events and placing in two others to become the first Consul.

His win is especially noteworthy for two reasons. First, it shoots down the the theory that the meta awards are just for those playing mainstream games. Poppycock! Laments that such and such a genre don’t stand a chance are mere whining—the laurels system reaches across all genres to measure relative dominance fairly. Anyone having a great week can win Consul regardless of what they play—save perhaps those playing the week-long World At War game that limits them to one event. Secondly, Devin’s win serves notice that youth will be served. Both he and third-place finisher Nick Henning are graduates of the WBC’s Junior competitions. Grognards beware. Make way for the Young Turks.

 
Line of Succession for 2004 Consul
James Pei
2nd - TX
Nicholas Henning
3rd - CT
Rob Winslow
4th - NY
Aran Warszawski
5th - Israel
David Gantt
6th - SC

 

 Competitor - From Laurels/  Tally Board
 1. Devin Flawd, PA 111 PDT 2nd 4th 27, PGF 1st 30, SLS 1st 30, SSB 5th 4, TTA 1st 20,
 2. James Pei, TX 109 AOA 5th 4, FTP 1st 50, HRC 6th 5, WNW 1st 50,
 3. Nick Henning, CT 103 ADV 4th 9, FDE 5th 6, GSR 1st 50, MRA 1st 30, PRS 3rd 8,
 4. Rob Winslow, NY   92 ACS 1st 50, GXY 3rd 12, WNW 2nd 30
 5. Aran Warszawski, Israel   90 E&T 1st 30, SET 1st 60
 6. David Gantt, SC   90 ACQ 1st 30, NW5 1st 60,
 7. Arthur Field, SC   85 AMR 6th 3, AUC 4th 6, BAT 1st 20, MEX 3rd 8, PRO 5th 12, TKL 2nd 18, UNP 2nd 18,
 8. Harald Henning, CT   85 ACV 1st 50, AOR 6th 5, TKL 1st 30,
 9. Jeff Mullet, OH   84 ATK 1st 30, AUC 2nd 12, BCY 4th 9, LID 6th 3, SJN 1st 30,
10. Hochboim, Haim, Israel   84 E&T 5th 6, HWD 1st 60, SET 4th 18,