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Scott Beal vs two-time champ Mike
Kaye |
Bob Jamelli vs Robert Hamel |
And then there were 12 ...
72 games were played during the third year of the revised
5/3 Swiss Elim format, up six from last year. Eight games featured
no bid while two were played using the NT1 variant. The average
bid in the remaining games was 4.879 POC; up from 4.525 POC last
year. With the increased bids we saw a decline in the IJN winning
%; dropping from 68% last year to 60% this year; however this
still leaves the IJN with a significant edge.
After five rounds of swiss, Jim Eliason was the only unbeaten
player and he was awarded the #1 seed while doubtlessly wishing
for a return to the days of the last man standing swiss format.
Four former champions manned the gauntlet standing between him
and his first VIP title. Ed Paule, defending champ Andy Gardner,
2006 champ Ed Menzel, and 2008 champ Charles Drozd manned the
next tier at 4-1. The remaining three places were filled by John
Sharp, 2009 champ Mike Kaye, and Jim Kramer who beat out four
other participants with identical 3-2 records based on their
strength of schedule.
In Round 6 #1 Eliason's luck ran out and he was denied glory
by #8 Kramer's hot Allied Dice. The other matches saw #2 Paule
defeat #7 Kaye, #3 Gardner top #6 Sharp, and #5 Drozd down #4
Menzel.
Round 7 found the new top seed, #2 Paule, bidding 6.5 POC
to play the IJN vs. #3 Gardner while #8 Kramer bid 5.5 vs. Drozd.
In both semi-finals the 7th AF did not survive the the Pearl
Harbor raid, putting both allied players in difficult positions.
Gardner's Allies surrendered to Paule after Turn 4 with both
Samoa and Pearl Harbor in IJN hands. However, Drozd's Allies
were able to keep the PoC low throughout the game, forcing Kramer's
concession after Turn 6 .
The Final pitted an IJN Specialist (Paule, 6-0 with the IJN)
vs. an Allied Specialist (Drozd, 5-0 with the Allies). True to
form, Paule bid 5.5 POC for the IJN. Turn 1 saw the IJN get excellent
results during the surprise air raids. With limited Allied forces
available for Turn 2, Ed played an aggressive strategy to force
the Allies into a costly battle. Charles decided to fight in
the US Mandate and won the preference rolls in the first two
rounds; but 12 shots on IJN CV's resulted in only one disabled
result. Meanwhile the IJN surface fleet crushed the USN screening
vessels. Turn 4 saw a pitched battle in the Marianas in which
the Allies managed to hold onto their base in the Philippines
at the cost of more ships but the IJN hit 29 PoC by the end of
the turn. Turn 5 was the beginning of the end for the Allies.
Charles sent his CV's on a catastrophic raid into the Japanese
Islands which ended with three USN CV's sunk and the POC still
firmly nestled on 29. With the writing on the wall, Charles tried
several desperate gambles the next two turns, but when none hit
the homerun he needed, he conceded to first time winner Ed Paule
who became the 12th different VIP champion.
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Don Tatum vs defending champ Andy
Gardner |
Ed Paule downs Charles Drozd in the
Final to win it all. |
Play By Email 2010-11
The sixth BPA PBeM tournament started with 28 hopefuls in
2009... By October, 2010 we were down to two - the 4th and 5th
seed, Michael Ussery and Jim
Eliason respectively. Both have earned plaques in WBC competition
before (78 and 42 laurels respectively), but both hungered for
the top spot and to be Cinderella no more. Both began the tournament
with nearly identical AREA ratings and played as the favorite
in all but one round. The contest was about as even as possible...
Michael took the IJN after bidding 4.5 (which is a pretty
typical bid these days). However, he gave Jim shelter from the
I-Boat and free passage out of the Central Pacific to Johnston
Island on Turn 1 plus an escape from the Hawaiian Islands for
trapped reinforcements (adjustments 1, 2b, and 3b).
Pearl Harbor raids let out two battleships and the LBA - a
bit better for the IJN than usual - while Indonesian raids let
the Repulse escape. The IJN attack was furious. By Turn 4, Michael
had secured everything needed for a Full Applebaum except Guadalcanal
and IJN flags in the Marshalls and Marianas. Guadalcanal held
on Turn 5 and brought the South Pacific under USN control to
give the Allies some hope against the IJN's 29 POC. However,
the Japanese had 8 aircraft carriers ready for defense.
The POC stayed at 29 with no additional forward bases for
the Allies. 12 USN CV lost to 6 IJN LBA in Indonesia to seal
the Japanese victory. Congratulations to Mike Ussery for emerging
from the shark tank with just a few bites to take the prize!
By winning, he's earned the right to compete in the next Top
10 Invitational!
The rest of the Top Six in order: Jim Eliason, Michael Day,
Nick Markevich, Robert Drozd, and Bryan Eshleman.
Read all about the entire tournament at http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_bpa/vitp_bpa_single_elim_09.htm.
Plan ahead to join the new tournament which begins this September
15. Contact john@gameaholics.com
to sign up. Get the details at http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_format/vitp_bpa_format.htm.
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