Down in Flames ...
This year's tournament was a great success. Even after undergoing
a name change (last year's event was based on the first game
in the series "Rise of the Luftwaffe"), the
title was clear enough to draw 30 participants; a 42% increase
in attendance.
Beyond the change in the name, several modifications were
made to the tournament format to allow for the addition of expansion
aircraft as well as to cut down on the length of the event. Last
year's tournament took close to 14 hours to complete, whereas
this year's struggle was finished within seven. Most participants
were done in four hours, and free to enter other events.
The tournament consisted of three rounds. The first was a
round-robin, where players were free to purchase their elements
of aircraft for 12 build points. Each pairing of players had
to complete two dog fights, one as the Axis and one as the Allies,
before pairing off with different participants. Within this first
round, players had to complete as many dog fights as possible
during the three-hour time limit, dishing out as much damage
as possible. The four players with the highest scores proceded
to the second round, where 18 points were available to purchase
aircraft. This second round was two hours long, with the two
high scorers proceding to the final round. The final round made
enough build points available for the finalists to bring out
the Me-262 jet fighter.
To make things interesting, players could only use one type
of aircraft, once during the course of the tournament. Last year's
event was dominated by the FW-190A Wuerger chewing up anything
and everything in its path, over and over again. This year, the
Wuerger could only be flown once. It was up to the players to
decide whether or not it should be used in latter rounds or as
a tool to get into latter rounds. In addition to this limitation,
players had to decide whether or not to fly two elements of weaker
aircraft or one more powerful element, often enhanced with pilot
abilities (ace status, extra horsepower, extra bursts, etc).
Opting for a single element would result in handing over less
points to your opponent if shot down in flames, whereas taking
two elements would make it more likely to shoot your opponent
down. Decisions, decisions ...
A few of the players proved these roadblocks to be little
more than small speedbumps, as they piled up a surprising number
of kills during the first round. Andy Maly gets the Ace of Aces
award this year for accruing 108 points in the first round. Unfortunately,
this record did not translate into the second round where the
third and fourth placers (Mike Lam and Roger
Taylor) managed to upset Andy and the second highest scorer,
George Young, and make it into the finals. In the finals, Mike
proved himself capable to fly the new Nazi Me-262 "wonder
weapon," while showing himself able to deal with the same
while flying for the RAF. Congratulations Mike!
And thanks to all who participated. Next year's event promises
to be better yet!
RANKING (points in first, second, and final rounds
as noted)
01. Mike Lam (81, 42, 17)
02. Roger Taylor (79, 34, 10)
03. Andrew Maly (108, 26)
04. George Young (91, 22)
05. Winston Forrest (103, dropout)
06. John Elsworth (75)
07. Stefan Hess (67)
08. Bill Alderman (66)
09. Dennis Nicholson (64)
10. John Emery (60)
11. Stuart Smart (60)
12. Dallas Hoag (60)
13. Greg Courter (59)
14. Rich Phares (57)
15. Jeff Spaner (57)
16. Bill Edwards (53)
17. Charles Fiore (49)
18. Chris Janiec (47)
19. John Setear (45)
20. Peter Card (45)
21. Dewayne Curry (44)
22. Rob Mull (43)
23. Jeff Finkeldey (37)
24. Ed Kardowicz (36)
25. Steve Arcidiacono (34)
26. Dan Lawall (33)
27. Sue Ellsworth (27)
28. Chris Lefevre (27)
29. Peter Reese (25)
30. Keith MacFarland (15)
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