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twotime champ Ed Menzel vs Ted Drozd |
Jim Eliason vs Jeff Miller |
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Ray Freeman vs Henry Richardson |
Two-time champ Ed Paule vs Bob
Hamel. |
 If
at first you don't succeed ...
70 games were played during the 2013 Rising Sun Pre-Con, a
20% increase over last year's near record low numbers. The welcome
increase was accompanied by the return of original VIP
GM Glenn Petroski after a long absence to lift everyone's spirits
in a reunion of kindred spirits. Three games were played without
using any options while one was played using the NT1 variant.
The most popular options this year were 1 & 2B. The average
bid this year was 4.807; an increase from 4.654 POC last year.
Contrary to the increasing bids we also saw an increase in the
IJN winning %; up from 56% last year to 61% this year; the IJN
continues to hold a significant advantage in tournament play
despite the current optional rules in use.
An ongoing discussion has been taking place regarding the
current state of play balance and bidding; with several variants
being proposed. This year I plan to work with many highly respected
players to attempt to design a "recommended" set of
optional rules that will hopefully improve play balance. These
options will be encouraged to be used throughout the year so
that we can get feedback on what aspects of the adjustments are
working as intended.
After five rounds of swiss competition, the top eight players
advanced to a single elimination format. Jim Eliason was undefeated
at 5-0 and received the #1 seed, additionally there were three
individuals with records of 4-1; Mike Kaye, Daniel Blumentritt,
and Ed Paule. The last four places were filled from amongst the
seven individuals tied at 3-2; using strength of schedule tiebreakers
Scott Beall, defending champion Andy Gardner, John Sharp, and
Ray Freeman completed the top eight. Warren Day, Rob Drozd, and
John Pack in that order missed the cut at 3-2.
In the surprising Round 6 #8 Freeman's IJN upset #1 Eliason's
USN, #7 Sharp's USN upset #2 Kaye's IJN, #6 Gardner's IJN upset
#3 Bloomentritt's USN. The final game in the round between #5
Beall's USN and #4 Paule's IJN would determine whether all lower
ranked seeds would advance to the semifinals; in a hard fought
game #4 Paule was able to prevail, the only individual to advance
to the Semi's from the top four.
Round 7 saw the top surviving seed #4 Paule bid 7.5 POC to
play the IJN vs. #8 Freeman's USN. Paule was able to secure a
mathematical lock at the end of Turn 7 in a close game. In the
other semifinal Gardner bid 5.5 to play the IJN. In a nail biter
that went all the way to the last turn, #7 Sharp was able to
prevail over the four-time champion.
The Final thus pit 2011 Champion Ed Paule against perennial
contender John Sharp. Ed continued his high bidding and again
paid 7.5 PoC to play the IJN. Turn 3 proved to be decisive as
Ed's eight CV's and two LBA failed to convert Pearl Harbor vs.
just 6 Allied LBA. Ed soldiered on, but without Pearl Harbor
and having bid 7.5 the writing was on the wall. Ed conceded at
the end of turn 4. After 23 straight years of participation,
John Sharp had his first WBC Victory in the Pacific title.
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Tim Tow and John Pack meet across
the board after decades of email play. Both are prolific email
GMs of long standing. |
The Final pit 2008 champ Charlie Drozd
vs longtime contender John Sharp who finally grasped the brass
ring. |
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PBeM Super GM John Pack presents
wood to Daniel Blumentritt for winning the latest BPA VIP
PBeM tournament and to Andy Gardner for the invitational tournment
of champions and Ed Menzel for holding the fort on the VIP
ladder. |
  Play By Email 2013
Daniel Blumentritt's USN saved Pearl Harbor from conversion
on Turn 3 to keep the POC low throughout the game and put the
final nail in the coffin at the end of Turn 6 (with the score
already down to 14). Even the small NT1 bid of 1.5 was insufficient
to keep Tim Tow's IJN in contention. Daniel's victory prevented
the rare WAS/VIP combination PBeM championship as Tim
had claimed the 2013 WAS title the previous month. The USN won
a solid majority of the games during the final four rounds (6-3).
The rest of the top six were Robert Drozd, Greg Smith, Scott
Beall, and Rob Kircher. 39 admirals were part of the original
field; 38 total games were played before Daniel seized the crown!
In addition to the plaque, BPA laurels, and his name on the traveling
World Championship trophy, Daniel also wins a coveted invitation
to the 2013 Top Ten Invitational. See all of the details at http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_bpa/vitp_bpa_single_elim_11.htm.
Get the details of the new tournament that will begin Sept. 15th
at http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_format/vitp_bpa_format.htm.
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victory in
the pacific 
Charles Drozd [4th Year]
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