Second Round results

"On any given Sunday, anything can happen."
~ American football, traditional

As the contestants progress through the knockout round, the stakes get progressively higher. After the matches of the first round, the novelties, the underachievers, those who could not live up to the pressure, have been weeded out. In their place come the four top seeds of the tournament, all of them powerful players who will take serious effort to knock out. At stake in each of these matches is a berth in the semi-finals, where a mere two match win streak stands is needed to grant the contestants eternal glory.

First, however, they must take care of business today. And with that in mind, the crowd noise builds to a fever pitch as the contestants take their places in the stadium. There will be no pushover matches for the rest of the tournament.

The referee walks out, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his hand in the air.

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

#1 The King vs. #11 LazyMcCrow
LazyMcCrow scored the one upset of the previous round, having defeated #6 atheotes. His reward is a date with the man who put together the greatest round robin performance in tournament history and the heavy favorite to go all the way, #1 The King. The King, like he did to all but two players on his way to a 9-0-2 record, defeated Lazy on Day 10, but the #11 seed figures that he is playing with house money and has nothing to lose anyway. It is with this in mind that he meets The King's gaze and matches his Scissors with the same throw. However, The King isn't worried. After all, three of his victories, including the one against #2 Sigurd, came after the first throw was a draw. However, nobody expects what happens next. The audience makes a noise it hasn't made all tournament, something like a cross between a shout and the world's loudest collective intake of breath. After a split second of silence, confirming what they have just seen, the stadium explodes in bedlam. For the first time in the entire tournament, The King has fallen, his Paper defeated by Lazy's repeat throw of Scissors. It is easily the greatest upset in tournament history. Lazy can't believe his luck, shaking his opponent's hand with a bemused expression on his face. A minute later, The King walks off, saluting the crowd. They respond with an extended standing ovation. Even though his tournament run ended prematurely, no one will ever forget what The King accomplished to this point, and they are acknowledging him for it. However, among all the cheers and the acknowledgement is a note a finality: the ovation, after all, signals that his tournament is over.
LazyMcCrow advances

#2 Sigurd vs. #8 edse
The defeat of #1 The King suddenly makes this tournament a wide open affair, truly anyone's game. #2 Sigurd, a two-time semifinalist but never able to get over the hump, is smart enough to know that he's just been given a gigantic opportunity, one that would be terrible to waste. His opponent, #8 edse, would seem like nothing more than the first step on the way to glory, but Sigurd knows better. edse is one of the most unpredictable players in the entire tournament and is the hot hand, having just beaten #9 BSmith yesterday while Sigurd was resting. Everyone has just witnessed firsthand how easy it is to trip up a higher seed and knock him out of the tournament just like that. Sigurd takes his opponent very seriously as they both initially throw... and both come up Paper.
Of course this wasn't going to be easy. Sigurd gives edse a little smile as they both move to throw again. This time, the result for both is Rock.
Sigurd's smile disappears. In round robin play, this would mean that both contestants would have earned a draw, but this is the knockout round, where play continues for as long as it has to. He has been in situations like this before, in the first-ever tournament semifinals against CountArach. The two of them got two tied throws before CountArach defeated him on the third and went on to become champion. Sigurd does not want that happening again. He rears back to throw, as does edse... and both show Paper.
The crowd's fervor, already at a fever pitch, becomes even greater. With this third tie, Sigurd and edse are officially entangled in the longest match in tournament history. Neither is particularly enthused about being a part of this piece of history. They're too busy gritting their teeth, trying to gain the advantage over their opponent and finally winning the opportunity to move on. For the fourth time, they rear back to throw: Paper for each.
By this point, sweat is pouring down both contestants' faces. The constant mental stress of trying to figure out what your opponent is going to throw can really get to you, and both Sigurd and edse have been pushed beyond the limit. There's really nothing left to say to or acknowledge to each other, so each man simply prepares to throw again. At last, there is separation: Sigurd's Rock smashes edse's Scissors. The audience explodes with cheers. Sigurd and edse, meanwhile, embrace. There is no way you can go through a match like that and not have the utmost of respect for your opponent. edse's tournament may be over, but he went out like a warrior.
Sigurd advances

#3 Visorslash vs. #7 classical_hero
Two matches into the round have brought the most shocking upset in tournament history and the longest match in tournament history. Visorslash, comparatively, is hoping for a nice and easy match, just a boring defeat of his opponent, #7 classical_hero. However, it will not be easy. After a terrible second half of the round robin, classical has acquired something of a hot hand, having won two straight matches. One of those two wins came against Visorslash himself on the final day of the round robin. Because of this, the oddsmakers have set the match as "too close to call". Through the first throw, it looks as if the drama of the two previous matches is going to continue as both men throw Scissors. Visor steps back and starts talking to himself, psyching himself up for the throw that's to come. classical, meanwhile, stays put, brimming with cool confidence. His tournament problems are well behind him now, and he knows it. After a minute, Visorslash steps back in, deliberately looking at anywhere but his opponent. This unorthodox strategy appears to work, as his Scissors cut through classical's Paper on the second throw. Visorslash's primary emotion is one of relief more so than jubilation that he's making the semi-finals. classical's, not surprisingly, is of disappointment. Just when he thought he had it turned around, he faltered again. Such is the way of the tournament.
Visorslash advances

#4 Ishmael vs. #5 Montmorency
Order has finally been restored. Maybe. Hopefully, thinks Ishmael. Like Visorslash, he too is looking forward to a boring, simple victory after putting together an extremely solid round robin performance to secure the #4 seed. However, with The King's defeat, #5 Montmorency is unquestionably the hottest player left in the tournament, having won five out of his last six matches. Ishmael's victory over Monty on Day 2 seems like a lifetime ago, and both men know it. Ishmael, for his part, closed his round robin with three victories in four days, but they were mostly against lower seeds. His signature performance was probably only a draw against Sigurd on Day 6, while Monty's was meanwhile a huge sigh-of-relief victory against a man who had absolutely no data at all to go on, #12 issaikhaan. However, none of that matters when both men step into the stadium and prepare to throw... unless, of course, it does. In a bit of a letdown after the past three incredibly-tense matches, Monty dispatches Ishmael in one move, his Paper covering Ishmael's Rock. Ishmael shakes his head in disappointment. There will be no repeat tournament victory coming from the #4 seed. Meanwhile, Montmorency is going into the semi-finals as the man who nobody wants to face, a position he seems to have inherited from the man he vanquished in the first round.
Montmorency advances

Speaking from a host's standpoint, I've run three of these things now and this was without a doubt the craziest day I can remember. Big thanks to everyone who took part for making it like this; it's things like this that make me love the Gameroom. Congrats to our semi-finalists, of course, on a job very well done (as well, naturally, for their gallant opponents for making it this far). And finally, I'd like to make a special mention to The King. Even though he's out at the hands of Lazy, I'd just like to recognize his absolutely incredible run he had through the round robin to get him the #1 seed. Nine wins and no losses through 11 days of play. I think I can say with 100% certainty that we'll never see anything like that again.

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It is now the semi-finals!

Matchups:

#2 Sigurd vs. #11 LazyMcCrow
#3 Visorslash vs. #5 Montmorency