Gameroom Rock/Paper/Scissors Tournament III

[GeneralHankerchief]

Day 8 results

In the aftermath of the Sigurd-The King showdown yesterday, everyone is adjusting to the new order of things. The King wants to pad his lead, Sigurd wants to rebound. Farther down, Visorslash, only a half-point behind Sigurd, wants to capitalize off of Sigurd's misstep. classical_hero, Ishmael, and edse are all in good position to take the final first-round bye. As for the rest of the contestants, they all want to do well, but they're all in a tricky position as the #5 seed will almost assuredly face issaikhaan in the knockout round. issaikhaan, who, despite throwing Rock at every single opportunity, is now looking like the most dangerous opponent of all because he has given his potential opponents no data to go on.

With four days to go in the round robin, the game is truly afoot. The margin of error, if there ever was one, is decreasing. It is to a very tense atmosphere that the referee walks out, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his hand in the air.

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

The first match is Visorslash against issaikhaan. While most people at this stage would want to avoid the #5 seed, Visorslash has his sights set on loftier goals. He's currently the #3 seed, has a solid cushion between him and the people directly below him, and is gunning for even higher. After Sigurd's loss yesterday, the Dragonslayer is only half a point ahead. The #2 seed has never looked closer. And so, Visorslash isn't fooling around. He promptly throws Paper, which of course triumphs over khaan's Rock.
Visorslash defeats issaikhaan

The match between LazyMcCrow and Zaccino is next. Zaccino, for the first time in a while, feels free. For once, he is not beholden to scoring clone atheotes's results, as Zaccino is now going first. Plus, while Lazy is certainly no slouch, he's not a heavyweight in the tournament and has been somewhat unlucky, having recorded more draws than anybody aside from Ishmael so far. At first, it looks like Lazy might pick up a third draw, with both him and Zaccino throwing Scissors. On the rethrow, though, Lazy succeeds, his Paper covering Zaccino's Rock. Afterwards, Zaccino mouths "sorry" to atheotes, shaking his head.
LazyMcCrow defeats Zaccino

atheotes, playing BSmith, just shakes his head. For whatever reason, he has never been as bothered as Zaccino about their weird connection. Perhaps it was because atheotes always used to go first, maybe he felt less responsible about upholding the connection. One thing was sure, though: he certainly wasn't going to let the result of another match influence his way of thinking for this match at all. Zaccino can go rot near the bottom of the standings. He's going to make a run for a bye. Staring down BSmith, he throws Paper, only to see that his opponent has done the same. On the rethrow, he switches to Rock... and sees BSmith's Scissors. The crowd gasps in surprise. At last, the connection is broken.
atheotes defeats BSmith

Up next is edse vs. Ishmael in a match that has playoff implications. edse has been perhaps the most quiet player in the tournament so far but has secured exactly the even amount of points so far, 3.5 out of 7. Ishmael, meanwhile, has survived a cracker of a schedule so far, defeating BSmith and securing two very respectable draws against classical_hero and Sigurd. If he can get by edse today, Ishmael's schedule for the final three days of the round robin is very doable and he'll probably have the inside track to the final bye. edse doesn't care about any of this. He just wants to get the win and keep on plugging. In the end though, Ishmael roars in triumph as his Scissors takes down edse's Paper. None of his next three matches are against people in the top six.
Ishmael defeats edse

Montmorency is next, playing Sigurd who is seeking to reverse course after yesterday's defeat to The King. Thanks to Visorslash's victory from earlier today, Sigurd is actually in danger of sinking to #3 for the first time in the tournament if he loses against Monty. Sigurd is determined not to allow that to happen. However, Monty, smelling blood, comes out firing, throwing Rock. Sigurd looks down and sees Scissors. The truth is now undeniable: After five straight wins, Sigurd is now in a freefall, having drawn one and outright lost the other two of his last three matches.
Montmorency defeats Sigurd

On the other side of the coin, classical_hero is looking to do anything he can to stop the freight train that is The King. classical has seen Ishmael, his closest competition for the final bye, win earlier today and knows Ishmael's easy schedule for the rest of the tournament. If there's ever a time to win and avoid the #5 seed, it's now. The King, though, has absolutely no sympathy, matching classical's initial Paper with his own. classical_hero grits his teeth and sweats it out on the rethrow, finally throwing Rock, but sees The King has once again done the same. Ah well, he supposes that considering the opposition, a draw is about as much as he could have hoped for. After all, the half-point he needs to get back into fourth is very easy to make up.
classical_hero and The King draw

Standings through Day 8:

The King: 7
Visorslash: 6
Sigurd: 5.5
Ishmael: 5
classical_hero: 4.5
Montmorency: 4
LazyMcCrow: 4
edse: 3.5
atheotes: 3.5
BSmith: 2.5
Zaccino: 2.5
issaikhaan: 0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is now Day 9!

Day 9 matchups:

issaikhaan vs. Zaccino
Visorslash vs. BSmith
LazyMcCrow vs. Ishmael
atheotes vs. Sigurd
edse vs. The King
Montmorency vs. classical_hero