Semi-finals results
"...his legs together as Buster's landing these - Oh, nice uppercut by Buster Douglas - look at this! He's knocked Mike Tyson down for the first time in his career! Mike Tyson hits the canvas! He's in big trouble! He may not be able to recover! It' up to seven, and eight! HE'S NOT GOING TO MAKE IT! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE!!!"
~ Broadcast announcer, Tyson-Douglas fight, November 2, 1990
Well, here we are: The final four contestants left standing in the tournament preparing to do battle. For once in the tournament, the favorites have actually held up, with all four top seeds advancing to the penultimate round. Some of them have had easier paths than others, however. Centurion1 had to overcome his own struggles in the later days of the round robin and then defeat a suddenly-unpredictable Yaseikhaan. Sigurd had to overcome his old nemesis CountArach and dethrone the defending champion to get here. Stildawn advanced to the semis with literally no opposition, first earning a bye and then benefiting from Death is Yonder's unfortunate withdrawal. Thermal Mercury had to claw his way into the top four and then defeat the very hot Csargo in order to secure the final berth.
Now, they prepare to face each other, in the final step before their destiny awaits. For two of them, it will not be so glorious - they will prepare to salvage their tournament by competing for third place. But for the other two, a place into eternity awaits them if they only win today.
The tension is palpable as the referee enters the stadium, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his arm in the air.
"Rock... paper... scissors... shoot!"
#1 Centurion1 vs. #4 Thermal Mercury
Thermal has already proven that he can tangle with the heavyweights by defeating Centurion and Sigurd on successive days to finish off an excellent round robin phase. He carried this momentum through the bye phase and used it to cool off the formerly hot Csargo. Unquestionably on his second hot streak in the tournament, Thermal believes it is the perfect time to face down the heavy favorite. However, this is a reformed Centurion. After briefly losing his first-place spot, Centurion reclaimed it with a final victory on the last day of the round robin, and then did the dirty work that nobody wanted to do by removing khaan. He has vowed not to lose to Thermal again. With everything on the line, the two face each other down and then throw. Centurion decides to go the route of Scissors, but Thermal continues his hot streak by throwing Rock. The crowd is absolutely stunned. After a subpar second part of the round robin, Centurion looked like he had turned it around and was regaining his former aura of invincibility. It was not to be, however, and once again Thermal emerges victorious. This time, however, he is facing no mere opponent the next day: He is facing his challenger for the championship.
Thermal Mercury advances
#2 Sigurd vs. #3 Stildawn
Quietly obscured in the tournament has been Stildawn's astounding run in the second half of the round robin. Ever since his loss to Jolt on Day 5, Stildawn has lost precisely once since then - to Csargo on Day 11. While none of those wins were over fellow semifinalists, a streak of consistency like that is impressive in any tournament. What recognition Stildawn was beginning to gain for his run, however, evaporated with first the loss to Csargo and then his breeze to the semis. The ultimate accounting of his tournament takes the form of Sigurd, quite possibly the most consistent player of all and the only person with the distinction of knocking CountArach out of the playoffs. He is looking to cap off an excellent tournament with a finals berth, and there is absolutely no way that the beneficiary of scheduling quirks and extreme luck is going to stand in his way. Ready for action, he eyes his opponent briefly and throws Paper - only to see it cut down by Stildawn's Scissors. Just like that, his stellar tournament is over. Sigurd will once again be playing for third. Stildawn, meanwhile, in the span of five seconds has erased all doubts about his worthiness. He will face the ultimate test tomorrow and be in a position that ten other contestants would kill for. He is going to the finals.
Stildawn advances
With the final matchups set, there is little left to do but see how they turn out. For the players, there is no time to celebrate their accomplishments so far. To do so would mean settling for second and forfeiting an advantage. The moment of truth is upon us all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is now the F I N A L S ! ! !
Matchups:
#3 Stildawn vs. #4 Thermal Mercury
#1 Centurion1 vs. #2 Sigurd (consolation game)
Bookmarks