wilderness war  

Updated Jan. 17, 2015

2014 WBC Report     

 2015 Status: pending 2015 GM commitment

Grant LaDue, NY

2014 Champion

Event History
2002    Rob Winslow     50
2003    Paul Gaberson     30
2004    James Pei     35
2005    Ron Fedin     40
2006     Keith Wixson     30
2007     Paul Gaberson     35
2008    James Pei     27 
2009     James Pei     23
2010     Paul Gaberson     23
2011    James Pei     26
2012    Keith Wixson     22
2013    Michael Ussery     17
2014    Grant LaDue     20

WAM Event History
2003    Tom Drueding     20
2004    Bruce Monnin     18
2005    Tom Drueding     20
2006    Keith Wixson     13
2007    Pete Reese     17
2009     Sean McCulloch     14

PBeM Event History
2005    James Pei      64
2006     John Buse      50
2008    James Pei     62
2012     Keith Wixson     50

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  James Pei          VA    14    372
  2.  Keith Wixson       NJ    13    289
  3.  Paul Gaberson      PA    14    216
  4.  Ron Fedin          PA    08    141
  5.  George Young       VT    13    131
  6.  Peter Reese        VA    08    111
  7.  John Buse          IL    12     99
  8.  Tom Drueding       MA    09     98
  9.  Grant LaDue        NY    14     82
 10.  Michael Ussery     MD    14     72
 11.  Rob Winslow        NY    05     70
 12.  Bill Peeck         NY    14     54
 13.  Bruce Wigdor       NJ    05     48
 14.  Adam Deverell      au    12     42
 15.  Bill Edwards       VA    08     42
 16.  Stefan Mecay       TX    12     42
 17.  Bruce Monnin       OH    09     38
 18.  Al Owen            au    12     36
 19.  Gary Phillips      MD    10     32
 20.  Randall MacInnis   NJ    14     23
 21.  Bryan Thompson     NY    12     21
 22.  Don Chappell       TX    08     21
 23.  Jonathan Miller    DC    06     20
 24.  Jim Gutt           TX    04     20
 25.  Phil Burgin-Young  VT    08     19
 26.  Roger Taylor       VA    02     18
 27.  Doug Mercer        MD    13     17
 28.  Riku Riekkinen     fi    09     16
 29.  Ken Gutermuth      TX    07     15
 30.  Bari Wigdor        NJ    04     15
 31.  John Haas          PA    02     12
 32.  Sean McCulloch     OH    09     10
 33.  John Vasilakos     VA    02      9
 34.  Paul Haseler       au    10      8
 35.  Kevin Worth        ab    12      6
 36.  Andrew Maly        MD    07      6
 37.  Dennis Culhane     PA    03      6
 38.  Doug Smith         PA    03      6
 39.  Michael Sosa       FL    09      3

2014 Laurelists
Repeating Laurelists:

James Pei, VA
2nd

Michael Ussery, MD
3rd

Bill Peeck, NY
4th

Paul Gaberson, PA
5th

Randy MacInnis, GA
6th

Past Winners

Rob Winslow, NY
2002

Paul Gaberson, PA
2003, 2007, 2010

James Pei, VA
2004, 2008-09, 2011

Ron Fedin, PA
2005

Keith Wixson, NJ
2006, 2012

Michael Ussery, MD
2013

Grant LaDue, NY
2014
     

The defending champ Michael Ussery and four-time champ James Pei, both 3-0, meet in the 4th round.

Grant LaDue finally gets over the hump - if "The Master" can be described as a "hump" as the last unbeatens meet in Round 5.

Up from the ranks ...

The new single elimination/mulligan Tue/Wed format was a success and was well received, with both the total number of players and games played increased. There is still room for improvement and our Century status is still tenuous at best, but assuming we survive for another year, I expect to be back with the same format and schedule next year.

Here are some highlights of the tournament:

~ For the second year in a row there was a new first time champ, Grant LaDue, a perennial laurelist who finally won the big prize. Grant lost in the 2009 Final and has been a semifinalist twice since. The #7 seed, LaDue defeated newcomer Michael Wilding, #2 seed Keith Wixson, Randy MacInnis and #8 seed Bill Peeck en route to the championship game with top seeded James "The Master" Pei.
~ Pei defeated newcomer Rod Coffey, #3 seed George Young, #4 seed Paul Gaberson and the defending champ and #6 seed Michael Ussery.
~ The tournament was offered as a Class B event attracting five new players, four of whom attended the demo.
~ Attendance was up to 20 from 16 last year. The Tuesday night Mulligan round was well attended (12 players), and all six Mulligan losers returned the following morning to play in the official first round.
~ Three of last year's laurelists made it into the top six again this year.
~ The games split evenly with the French and British winning 12 games each (compared to 56% French wins last year, 54% French wins in 2012, 50% French wins in 2011, 69% French wins in 2010, 65% French wins in 2009, 67% French wins in 2008, 61% French wins in 2007, 52% French wins in 2006, 56% French wins in 2005, 71% French wins in 2004 and 62% French wins in 2003). The French won swept the semifinal and Final games.

Additional Prizes: The Champ took home a Ball Head Warclub and the runner-up won a Black Hawk Style Warhawk. Peeck was awarded a hand painted tin soldier for graciously playing as an eliminator in the semifinal round against LaDue after having been eliminated in the previous round (there were only three undefeated players entering the round).

I expect to start a PBeM tournament for this game before the end of the year.

Here is an AAR of the Championship game between LaDue and Pei. This game was a rematch of the 2009 Final, with LaDue avenging his loss in that game.

Early 57
The French main army under Montcalm builds up at Ticonderoga, while the British main army under Loudoun sets up opposite them at Ft. William Henry (HCN). The French otherwise concentrate on raiding while the British concentrate on building raider defenses. No British reinforcements arrive.

Late 57
The first British reinforcements arrive under Bradstreet at Alexandria. This is another turn of French raiding and British defensive reactions. The French main army withdraws to Winter Quarters at Montreal, while the British main army withdraws to Albany. Johnson and Provincials attempt a late stab at Ft. Carillon (Ticonderoga) but is repulsed and killed. Vaudreuil sends Montcalm out West on an inspection tour at the end of the turn. VP's at Turn's end are FR5 (three successful raids for the year).

Early 58
The French main army under Levis returns from Winter Quarters to siege Ft. William Henry. The British main army counterattacks and is repulsed (VP's to FR6). Ft. William Henry falls (VP's to FR8). The Highlanders arrive at three locations (Amherst arrives at Halifax, Forbes at Alexandria). More British Regulars arrive under Wolfe at New York. Wolfe takes over the British main army and forces Levis to retreat back up the Champlain valley. Ft. Carillon is destroyed along the way (VP's to FR7). Montcalm makes his way back East. French reinforcements arrive at Quebec.

Late 58
Montcalm returns to command main French army at Crown Point while Wolfe builds forts at HCN and Ticonderoga. The British western army under Forbes moves to Laurel Ridge North. Ft. Duquesne is destroyed by the French and Ohio Forks is abandoned (VP's to FR6). Bradstreet and a small force detaches to destroy a Marine Detachment (VP's to FR5), but fails to make it back to Winter Quarters and suffers attrition. The French main army withdraws to Winter Quarters at Montreal, while the British main army withdraws to Albany. VP's at Turn's end are FR6 (one successful raid for the year).

Early 59
Montcalm and the main French army besiege Ft. Ticonderoga. Wolfe counterattacks with the main British army and wins a victory despite French fieldworks (VP's to FR5). The French destroy Ft. St. Frédéric (VP's to FR4) and pull back to Ile-aux-Noix. The British play Bigot and use the end of turn card windfall to redeploy Wolfe's army to the Mohawk valley theater. Villiers makes a critical interception to save a French stockade garrisoned by marines at Oswegatchie.

Late 59
The British attempt a two-pronged offensive against Niagara with a small force under Bradstreet moving up from the French Creek region while Wolfe's forces attempt to secure a supply line from Albany. A small British force also moves to Cataraqui to block any relief efforts by the French. A British courier is intercepted. Bradstreet's first attempt to besiege Ft. Niagara is prevented by a Lake Schooner, but he makes it into the space on his second attempt. Unfortunately, the French main army crosses the Adirondacks and is able to cut the British supply line at OCW with time running out by overrunning an intercepting British force under Webb. With no means to complete the siege, Pei resigns with VP's at FR7.

 GM      Keith Wixson  [11th Year]   NA 
    Keith.wixson@verizon.net    NA

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