Gameroom Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament II [Concluded]

[Double A]

Unless you throw rock and they throw paper. Or you throw paper and they throw scissors. Or you throw scissors and they throw rock.

[CountArach]

Unless you throw rock and they throw paper. Or you throw paper and they throw scissors. Or you throw scissors and they throw rock.

Hmmm, I hadn't considered those contingencies. I see your point now.

ALL BETS ARE OFF

[Double A]

Course, there's still a 33 and 1/3% of your bet paying out...

[Jolt]

I shall bet my entire college loan on Stildawn.

[Sigurd]

Well... Its not me who is holding up this game. I posted my orders 24 hours ago...

[GeneralHankerchief]

Correct, it's Centurion we're waiting for now.

[Double A]

Cent hasn't been posting much lately.

Or at all.

[Thermal]

Centurion does tend to be the one we wait for every-time, but hes still usually pretty quick.

[Centurion1]

sorry you guys i sent in my orders.

i havent been posting lately because of rl (ie college apps deadlines approaching)

[GeneralHankerchief]

Consolation Results

"I'll be back."
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator

As the final day of the tournament dawns, the contestants with something left to play for are each in isolation, reflecting on their accomplishments. Each of them have come very far, clawing through the round robin in order to secure a precious first-round bye and then proving to the world that they earned it by advancing to the semi-finals. For two of them, the journey ended there, with losses in the semis resulting in a final, face-saving match for third place. Their reflection is a bit more sober and driven than that of their comrades who are battling for first, as they are wondering where they went wrong and need to incorporate changes into their strategy.

First is #1 Centurion1, who, more than anyone else, is wondering where it went all wrong. Formerly the golden boy of the tournament, he reeled off an astounding streak of five victories in a row before finally coughing up a loss to CountArach on Day 7. He quickly rebounded with a win over Csargo, but from there lost two in a row to Sasaki and eventual finalist Thermal Mercury before righting his ship and reclaiming the #1 seed on the final day with a win over Double A. A win in the second round over the dangerous Yaseikhaan finally convinced critics that he was back in his former glorious form, but then the second loss to #4 Thermal happened, shocking the world. And so, here is is, eternal glory denied, but still fighting for third.

His opponent is #2 Sigurd, who has been here before. He remembers this situation and feeling all to well, after getting knocked here by CountArach in the semifinals of the first tournament. Inconsistency issues plagued him that entire time, but over the offseason he worked very hard and resolved his issues. For all tournament, he was breathing down Centurion's neck, forcing his competitor to maintain his pace lest he slip up and finally lose first place. Eventually, of course, Centurion did trip up and Sigurd seized control, taking first. He was even within a heartbeat of holding onto it for the knockout round as well, before losing to Thermal Mercury on the final day of the round robin. Slightly disappointed that he got the #2, Sigurd nevertheless resigned himself to taking care of business in the playoffs. After his bye, he pulled off a very personally satisfying victory in the second round, getting his ultimate revenge over #8 CountArach, but from there he finally stumbled. His opponent in the semis, #3 Stildawn, lightly regarded because of his easy advance, pulled off the upset and outthought Sigurd, once again denying the Dragonslayer his ultimate prize.

For these two, they seek to earn redemption by defeating the other in the highly-anticipated rematch of their Day 1 draw, although it is not in the context that either of them would prefer. They walk out to the stadium, the sheer loudness of the crowd sharply contrasting with their quiet reflection.

In walks the referee, who takes some time quieting the audience down to acceptable levels. Eventually, he deems it so, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his arm in the air.

"Rock... paper... scissors... shoot!"

With third on the line, it is not about discipline, nor is it about mentally psyching out your opponent. They are beyond that at this point. Instead, it is simply about making the correct choice. If there is an ulterior secret, it has been lost. In the deepest part of their hearts, both Centurion and Sigurd know that it is coming down to luck.

And, as it turns out, luck is with Centurion on this day, as his Scissors cuts through Sigurd's Paper. As the crowd roars with neither approval nor dissatisfaction, Centurion and Sigurd professionally shake hands, a grin on Centurion's face and a subtle expression of disappointment on Sigurd's. He will shower off, and once again wait for the next tournament. Centurion's run has been redeemed with this win today, a compelling story indeed. However, it is nowhere near the most compelling of the day.

That story has yet to be concluded.

Centurion1 takes third place in the tournament! Congratulations to him and thanks to Sigurd for participating!

[Thermal]

Well done. Nice write-up as well.

[Stildawn]

Awww....

Man I was tense in reading that, and then it didnt have my match lol big sigh of relief. lol.

[Sigurd]

Good fight and deserving.

[CountArach]

Both warriors fought well. You can both be proud

[Death is yonder]

Congratulations for all the participants thus far, and the third place winner Centurion

Sorry for backing out, I was nearly late for a school trip flight

I thought I had 24 more hours from when I pmed GH, since I remembered the flight date as "tomorrow" though technically that was a few hours later...

Anyway, good luck to the finalists, the suspense is killing me

And stilldawn, I think I might have gone with a rock, paper, paper, with another (out of interest) choice being Scissors, Paper, Scissors.

What did you send in anyway?

Additionally, congratulations to arch rival () CA for his new green robes!



Finally, a big hand to GH, your write ups are as entertaining as usual.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Finals Results

"Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come."
~Tool

Across the massive stadium that is filled to capacity, there are four distinct groups of people:

First, there are the contestants that are finished. These include the just-completed players from the consolation match: Victorious Centurion and meditative Sigurd. They also include the people whose runs had ended prior to today: Jolt, Double A, Sprig, Sasaki Kojiro, Yaseikhaan, CountArach, Death is Yonder, and Csargo. Once their mandatory media session is finished, these people's official capacity in the tournament (save for Centurion, who is taking part in the medal ceremony) is finished. They make their way to their reserved front-row seats and join the second group.

The audience is large, powerful, and overwhelming. They have seen their share of drama and epic matches in this tournament, but they are still not satisfied. They know that the best is yet to come, and they are restless and frenzied with anticipation.

The third group, the contestants themselves, can't hear the audience, but can feel their thunder in their isolation rooms, a hint of the intensity that is still to come. After a while, their thoughts of distraction or searching patterns become useless, and they each think about what they have done to get here, and what they still have to accomplish.

#3 Stildawn started out quite inconsistent in the tournament, his first six results being, in order: L-W-L-W-L-W. However, he broke this pattern on Day 7 with a victory against Sprig and hasn't looked back since. From Days 6-10, he logged five straight wins, with a loss to Csargo on the final day of the round robin finally cooling him off. From there, Stildawn had a lot of time to rest and make adjustments, as his well-earned first round bye was followed up with a victory by forfeit over #7 Death is Yonder. With his performance in the round robin going thoroughly under the radar, and his oppositionless advancement into the semis, there were questions on whether or not Stildawn truly belonged with the other giants. He answered these questions convincingly with a defeat over #2 Sigurd, and now finds himself on the world's biggest stage with everything on the line, one more match to go.

His opponent is #4 Thermal Mercury. While #1 Centurion1 had his hot streak at the start of the round robin and Stildawn had his at the end, Thermal's streak was in the middle. After starting off slow with a draw and a loss, Thermal reeled off three straight victories before losing to CountArach. Hanging in there for the next few rounds, Thermal began a second hot streak on Days 10 and 11 by replicating #6 Sasaki Kojiro's feat by defeating #1 and #2 Centurion1 and Sigurd on successive days, thereby securing the final first round bye. This streak sustained itself longer than his previous one did. After his well-earned bye, Thermal kept it going by registering wins over #5 Csargo and then, most spectacularly, a second victory over Centurion in the semis.

As the contestants leave their rooms and prepare to enter the stadium, their thoughts turn from themselves to each other, most specifically their first match on Day 2 of the round robin. Each man back then had failed to get a victory on Day 1 and was looking to beat the other to get back in the thick of things. They had proved evenly matched on that day, with Stildawn eventually emerging victorious after his tiebreaking throw of Rock trumped Thermal's Scissors after both initially threw Scissors. With that initial match on both their minds, they take their positions and wait for...

...the fourth group, which consists of solely one man: The referee, who enters the stadium, acknowledges the contestants, congratulates them on getting so far, and raises his hand. As the contestants wait for his call, the entire stadium drops quiet, as does seemingly the rest of the world.

"Rock... paper... scissors... shoot!"

It is over, then. There is no more thinking to be done; no more obsessing over trying to outmaneuver the opponent, no running through possible scenarios and motivations in your head, no nothing to do except throw. And so the contestants do so.

There is no tie. Unlike their previous match, the contestants do not need to rethrow.

Stildawn decides to throw Rock, good old reliable Rock, which Sprig for a time and Yaseikhaan for a much longer time subscribed to. After all, why wouldn't he? Even though throwing Rock only won the match for him once in the entire tournament, that one win came against Thermal. Thermal, though, throws Paper.

Pandemonium. This is all Thermal can comprehend. The audience screaming so loud that the very ground beneath them vibrates. Next to him, Stildawn yelling in fury and despair. The referee, about to get swept away beneath the tide of fans that have rushed the floor, futilely trying to signal Thermal as the winner.

Eventually, the pandemonium does subside, but it takes about 45 minutes to do so and restore order, and everyone in the building knows that it will erupt again once the medals are awarded. For now, though, Thermal Mercury is looking forward to the moment. After all, why wouldn't he? He earned this moment. Over the course of the game, he got hot at the right time and defeated serious heavyweights such as Sigurd, Centurion1, and, most importantly, Stildawn. And for that last victory, he is officially the Rock/Paper/Scissors champion of the world.

Thermal Mercury takes first place in the tournament!
Stildawn takes second place in the tournament!
Centurion1 takes third place in the tournament!

Thanks to all for participating and making it a great tournament!

I kind of like the idea of me running these over my large academic breaks, so we'll see you all again in the summer!

[Thermal]

Rock, paper....sausage?

Awesome, Great Game GH.

I'll be accepting donations for my win, so be sure to chip in.

This game was very addicting and is a great example of GH's contribution to the gameroom, I did actually check what people thrown in the past but it was mostly non-educated guessing, looking forward to the next one. Perhaps I won because the previous champion willed it.

[Stildawn]

Hehehe I used Random.org for the last match lol... Good win Thermal lol.

[Centurion1]

yeah well im happy about third place.

it was all total wifom. i had no probability matrix and i made a couple educated guesses but mostly made random choices. it was all about intimidation.

[Death is yonder]

Congratulations to the winner and the runner up, a good fought match

Many thanks to GH for hosting the sequel to a great game with good story writing

And also thanks to all the players who have made this game a success and an enjoyable one.

So Stildawn, what would you have played that round? Or maybe I should ask GH what you sent in

[CountArach]

Congrats to both of you! I gladly pass on my title of Champion to Thermal

[GeneralHankerchief]

In terms of the DiY/Stildawn match that never was, DiY had the following, according to the above post:

rock, paper, paper

While Stildawn's choices were:

rock, paper, rock

Meaning that, after an epic showdown, DiY would have been a semifinalist for the second straight year.

-edit- Hmm, looks like this bad boy was my 8,000th post!

[Death is yonder]

No matter, the striking resemblance to the past game in terms of my win-lose spree was gold enough for me

Congratulations to 8k GH!

[Csargo]

Congrats Thermal Mercury!