Hail James Pei! 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | Caesar History | Consul History | Info 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.

The Line of Succession for Caesar 2004

James Pei 1st - TX	Jeff Mullet 2nd - OH	Arthur Field 3rd - SC	Bruce Reiff 4th - OH	Peter Staab 5th - PA	Nicholas Anner 6th - NY

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.

The Line of Succession for Consul 2004 

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,

Key: d = D-Day mini-con, e = email (PBeM), E = Enlightenment mini-con, eq = Euro Quest mini-con, w = WAM mini-con, W = Waterloo mini-con