Flashpoint Finchley XIV

by Andrew Davidson

Attendance was down a little, perhaps because of the relocation to the Catcher in the Rye. Still, there was a respectable showing for Shadowfist while the Magic tournament was just a shadow of its former self. A third shadow was Shadowrun which diverted a couple of novelty-seekers - Jonathan Pickles and Steve Salmon. This seemed to work but inspired no great enthusiasm.
The players were:

Player Faction Theme/Name
Andrew Davidson      .D..J.. Yuit Goes Shopping
Andrew Trickett      .D.H... Comrades in Carnage
Andy Holt            ..F..LM Vital Spark
Bill Dawbarn         ADF.... Assassins
Colin Burton         ADFHJLM Cannon fodder
Daniel Vandenburg    ..F..LM Don't call us...
Dave Martin          .....LM Reprocessed Spirits
Hedley Coppock       .D.H... Oranjeboom (guns)
Ivan Hartley         ..F...M Cuddly Toys
Nithiyan Thiruudaian ...H... Tomorrow's Immortals
Robert Lee           .D.H... Fusion Kid
Tom Kassel           .DF.... Return of the Man
Yuit Sum Vong        ....J.. Two-horse banger
                     1654234

Faction popularity
6 Dragon
5 Architects of the Flesh
4 Guiding Hand
4 Four Monarchs
3 Eaters of Lotus
2 Jammers
1 Ascended
1 All factions (aka Peacock)

To avoid an odd number, I watched the action until the consolation round. The rounds proceeded fairly slowly - averaging 2 hours each. A new time limit system - waiting until all but one game had finished before setting a short time limit accommodated these lengthy games well and they all finished properly.

Round 1

Ivan Hartley beat Andrew Trickett, Daniel Vandenburg, Robert Lee
Tom Kassel beat Nithiyan Thiruudaian, Yuit Vong, Dave Martin
Hedley Coppock beat Andy Holt, Colin Burton, Bill Dawbarn

Round 2

Tom Kassel beat Andy Holt, Andrew Trickett, Bill Dawbarn
Dave Martin beat Yuit Vong, Colin Burton, Ivan Hartley
Nithiyan Thiruudaian beat Hedley Coppock, Daniel Vandenburg, Robert Lee

Final

Nithiyan Thiruudaian beat Tom Kassel, Ivan Hartley, Dave Martin, and Hedley Coppock.
A 12-player double-elim works well, reducing to a single table after two rounds. Tom Kassel, EuroGencon champion for two years running, was the only double winner but his winning streak stopped in the final. The final was hard-fought and, at one point, we had the following in play:
Fong Sai Yuk, White Ninja, Shih Ho Kuai, Orange Monk + a stack of guns, Evil Twins of Fong Sai Yuk and White Ninja, Golden Gunman and, last but not least, Ting Ting.
Nithiyan and Hedley made the running and they each burnt three sites for victory. Ivan's Cuddly Toys was the only deck which was not in contention. He nearly got back in the game when the White Ninja attacked his only site. His Avenging Thunder was announced too soon though - before the fate of the site had been declared and this premature ejaculation cost him the 6 power. Eventually, Nithiyan's big three, Fong Sai Yuk, White Ninja, Shih Ho Kuai made an unstoppable attack to win the game.

Consolations

Andrew Davidson beat Andrew Trickett, Bill Dawbarn.
Yuit Vong beat Colin Burton, Andy Holt, Robert Lee.

Nithiyan's prizes were a signed copy of his favourite card - Blade Palm, a Ting Ting miniature and a Pfister chocolate. This is Nithyan's first tournament victory - well done. Thanks to the others for coming and better luck next month.

Last modified: October 1, 1998.
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