Byrd, Chris - Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage: In our game of Hannibal, after fighting a battle in which Chris won, we realized we skipped the step to randomly see which of his two consuls in the same space would lead his troops in battle. We quickly rolled a die to see which consul would have fought (to see if it would have made a difference) and the roll indeed would have resulted in his more unfavorable consul fighting. Chris graciously allowed us to refight the battle which led to his loss this time. Losing the battle put him in such a dire position that he shortly thereafter conceded the game. Nominated by Opponent.

Dickerson, Bill - Versailles 1919: Bill was at my table in Versailles, and I think is a great nominee. He was friendly and patient with all of us, especially someone who was relatively new to the game, who we had to go over the rules with. He told us he'd re-read the rule book and found a new rule(about how you can trade exhausted influence markers) and made sure to tell us all about it so that we all knew.

When mistakes happened in the game (we forgot to do an event once, for example),he worked hard to rewind things and make sure we were all cool with the way it shook out. He looked for input from everyone and made sure everyone was heard and valued.

He made a deal with me that ended up not helping me (we both thought that if he owned a fleet with my flag, I'd get a point. Turns out, no), and when we found out about it at the end of the game, he was legitimately upset and apologetic about it- he wasn't taking advantage of me and was upset that it looked like it was.

As the game went on, 2 of the players were mainly on their phones, and he worked to keep things moving, explaining things about the resettlement rules to the new player and all of that.

In the last round, one of my issues got resettled, and he pointed out to the new player that it _was_ going to be the last round (because Bill was going to end it), and that the new player should bid more on the issue to win it. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have without that advice, and as it turns out, the points he got from winning that issue won him the game by 1 or 2 points over Bill- despite him not knowing what was going on for most of the game. When that happened, he was cheerful and congratulatory.

Anyway, that attitude of "let me help you play the game well, even if it hurts me" is the kind of sportsmanship I think we could see more of at WBC and in general. Nominated by Opponent.

Gates, David - Twilight Struggle: Red Sea : David remained stoic in the face of a round 1, turn 1, action round 1 victory combo played by Peter Card. Outstanding Sportsmanship. Nominated by the GM.

Jamelli, Bob - Kremlin: I was in a game of Kremlin with Bob and the game also included a new player who was just learning. In the second year, there was a pivotal moment where Bob's 7 on the Foreign minister was outbid by 8 from the new player who then used them to put many of Bob's known politicians under investigation

In the middle of the third round, it occurred to the new player that they had not placed influence on the Foreign Minister at all, and that their 8 was an illegal action. The resolution from the GM was to allow the new player to replace their existing "8" with this politician.

Bob got totally screwed in this game, but kept up a cheerful attitude despite how difficult his position became. He even continued to help the new player learn the game. I thought it was a wonderful example of maintaining sportsmanship even when another player's actions unfairly cost you a chance to win the game. Nominated by Opponent.

Moquin, Casey - Innovation: Casey had made it to the elimination bracket in Innovation. During her first-round game in this bracket, she was playing exceptionally well leading 5 achievements to 0 and needing only one more to win. Her opponent had been blocking her, but Casey figured a clever move that threatened both the Age 6 and Age 7 achievements, making it impossible for her opponent to block both. Knowing Casey was about to win on her next turn, her opponent ended his turn.

Casey took her first turn, scoring the needed points by removing some cards from er board. She then proceeded to her second action, achieving Age 6 to win the game. However, her opponent pointed out that she no longer had a top card of Level 6 as she had removed it during her first action. Since no new information had been gained, her opponent suggested that Casey undo her first move and score a different card, which would still give her the points needed a win the game with here section action. Casey declined, feeling that it wasn’t right to make such a change.

The game continued and started to look like it would be close. Once again, her opponent offered to concede, but Cassy declined the offer. The match extended significantly, and after a hard fought battle, she eventually lost and was eliminated. Casey remained focused on the game throughout, never complaining and graciously accepted the results. Nominated by the GM.

Munchak, Stephen - Wooden Ships & Iron Men: Stephen continued playing in the multi-player Fleet Action for hours having a disadvantaged position. His doing so made the game enjoyable for the other players. Nominated by the GM.

Schlosser, Erik - Terraforming Mars: A young player entered a heat and was struggling with some of the game mechanics and unfamiliar with the cards. Erik volunteered to sit with the young player and provide assistance on reading cards and interpreting symbols, enabling all players to enjoy the three-hour game. Nominated by the GM.

Smith, Doug - MBT: In the first round, Doug played a brand new player who had learned the game at the demo and coached him through the game well enough that the new player almost won in a comeback victory. Nominated by the GM.

Stankey, Matt - MBT: Kelly Vo wanted to have a final game to play for the third place plaque. Matt agreed despite not really wanting to, in order to make Kelly happy. As a result, Matt missed Liar’s Dice and, by losing to Kelly lost the third place plaque he would have gotten based on the normal advancement rules. Nominated by the GM.

Honorable Mention: David Amidon, Nancy Arsenault, Todd Carter, Ben Gardner, Jef Halberstadt, Joe Harrison, Paul McConkey, Kieran McNay, and Bill Morse,