Gameroom Rock/Paper/Scissors Tournament III

[Csargo]

Aww

[LazyMcCrow]

I can't believe I missed this chance to reclaim my rightful crown :(

Some of the best write ups on this forum were from these games, I'll be watching for sure.

CA! Didn't even know you were still around. I'll try to work you in this one, somehow.

Waiting on classical. If he gets them into me within the next hour or two I might be able to resolve these before I go to bed.

If there are no other options, I am totally willing to step down in favour of a defending champ. Let me know

[Montmorency]

Why was it capped at 12? Why not expand it to 16?

[atheotes]

Instead of expanding and waiting for new players...why not just include CA. You can just have one of the players play 2 matches each round (keeping the current fixtures and the second match will be against CA). Just thinking out loud.

[Montmorency]

There were 3 or 4 members who expressed desire to play, after the quota was reached. Just give it a day - a quick one!

[classical_hero]

If we can get four more it would be great. I have sent my order in.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Going from 8 to 12 was a pretty big leap for me in the second tournament. I'm not sure if I want any more than 12 right now.

All orders are in, things will be resolved shortly.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Day 1 results

After over two years of being dark, the stadium experiences signs of life again. Ever since the tournament was announced, the local crew turned the lights on and worked to get it ready to handle the tournament, but that wasn't the same thing. The lights may have been on, the doors may have been open, but it was still empty, still waiting to be used for its exact purpose. That purpose would be fulfilled today. Once again, the seats are all full. Once again, the crowd is screaming in anticipation. Once again, the players are about to put it all on the line to determine who is the Rock/Paper/Scissors champion of the world.

There are a few familiar faces, but not many. Most of these players have never quite experienced anything like this tournament. Will they be able to stand up to the immense pressure that builds on them as the tournament progresses? The only thing everybody knows is that one of them has to. The question is, who will that be?

This question hangs in everybody's mind as the referee walks out, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his hand in the air.

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

Up first is a match between two of the three tournament veterans: issaikhaan and Sigurd. In the previous tournament, khaan, seeded 11th, made some ripples by upsetting the #6 seed Sasaki Kojiro in the first round before falling to #1 Centurion1 in the quarterfinals. He is facing Sigurd, who is the most experienced player of the entire group, having made it to the semifinals in both previous tournaments but failing to advance in either of them. Sigurd, hoping the third time is the charm, gets out to a good start by throwing Paper, which triumphs over khaan's Rock.
Sigurd defeats issaikhaan

Up next are two of the many rookies in the tournament: The King and Ishmael. While both are eagerly excited to participate, neither of them knows quite what to expect on the first day of proceedings. It doesn't help things when both men throw Scissors initially. However, upon the tiebreaker throw, it is The King who gets a better read on his opponent, his Paper covering Ishmael's Rock. The King pumps his fist in triumph while Ishmael shakes his head, smiling; he knows there will be plenty of opportunities to catch up.
The King defeats Ishmael

The third match of the day is between BSmith and classical_hero. Both of these men, having watched the prior match, have expressed their desire for avoiding a draw, at least at this stage in the tournament. It would solve nothing. They both get their wish, however, the problem is with having a clear winner and loser, as BSmith quickly figures out, is that there is a clear loser. His Paper has come up short against classical's Scissors.
classical_hero defeats BSmith

The streak of matches without a draw continues in the next match, where Zaccino faces down Montmorency. The two rookies to the tournament face each other and stare each other down professionally before finally throwing, their concentration blocking out everything that is not essential. It is only after both men have thrown that their concentration breaks; Zaccino has dispatched Monty with a throw of Paper to Monty's Rock.
Zaccino defeats Montmorency

The "no draws" outcome is given a major test in the next match of the day between Visorslash and edse, who have both initially thrown Scissors. The crowd roars in anticipation of the final outcome, while Visorslash tries to act above it all. In the end, Visorslash and his facade of coolness, whether real or imagined, triumph. Once again there is no draw as he has adjusted, his new Rock defeating edse's repeat throw of Scissors.
Visorslash defeats edse

The last match of the day features the last returning player, atheotes, vs. another rookie, LazyMcCrow. In the very first tournament, atheotes held the #1 seed until he was passed on the final day of the round robin. Getting a tougher draw than anticipated, he ran into the eventual champion CountArach in the first round of the knockout round, and just like that his tournament was over. atheotes took the next tournament off, collecting his thoughts and vowing to become better, and at last he has joined competitive play once again. Despite Lazy putting up a good fight, atheotes shows no signs of rust, throwing Scissors to Lazy's Paper.
atheotes defeats LazyMcCrow

Standings through Day 1:

Sigurd: 1
The King: 1
classical_hero: 1
Zaccino: 1
Visorslash: 1
atheotes: 1
issaikhaan: 0
Ishmael: 0
BSmith: 0
Montmorency: 0
edse: 0
LazyMcCrow: 0

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

It is now Day 2!

Day 2 matchups:

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

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Good start.. for me!

[Ishmael]

I'm curious to see if I can achieve a clean sweep of defeats.

[GeneralHankerchief]

It's a lot harder than it looks.

[Centurion1]

none of you shall match the eerie success i had in an iteration

until i got lazy.

[CountArach]

If there are no other options, I am totally willing to step down in favour of a defending champ. Let me know

No, no don't worry about it. Thank you though.

[Ishmael]

How about the winner of this tournament plays Count Arach in a best of 5 playoff?

[CountArach]

How about the winner of this tournament plays Count Arach in a best of 5 playoff?

I was dethroned last year, so I'm not even defending champion. I'm just a former champion resting on his laurels.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Waiting on Sigurd and atheotes, hopefully we'll have a resolution when I wake up.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Paging @atheotes. Hmm, this tag system could be useful after all...

[GeneralHankerchief]

Day 2 results

It is the second day of the tournament, and although the contestants for the most part have settled in, some of them still have frazzled nerves. It's to be expected of course; the pressure is intense and you never know what your opponent is thinking. In this early part of the tournament, it is the people who can best manage their nerves that will have the advantage in the early rounds.

The crowd is not helping things. As loud and all-consuming as ever, its continued cheering does little to put the contestants at ease. This cheering only settles down as the referee walk out, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his hand in the air.

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

The first match of the day is between The King and issaikhaan. Although khaan has experience, he stumbled out of the gate yesterday, taking a loss. The oddsmakers gave him a free pass as that loss was to fellow veteran Sigurd, but now the oddsmakers will have to reconsider their outlook on things. After both men initially throw Rock, The King adjusts by throwing Paper while khaan sticks with Rock. As The King is now 2-0 and khaan has no points yet, perhaps experience is overrated at this stage in the game.
The King defeats issaikhaan

In a battle of winners, Sigurd takes on classical_hero in the second match. As per their victories yesterday, both men are equally initially, with two Rocks. On the rethrow, however, Sigurd proves triumphant, his Scissors cutting through classical's Paper. classical_hero for the first time has experienced the pitfalls that this tournament can provide and is already looking to rebound with tomorrow's match. This is the right attitude to have.
Sigurd defeats classical_hero

The next match is Ishmael versus Montmorency. After initial defeats, both men are looking to get on the board and start a bit of a run - with both The King and Sigurd winning out, a loss would mean they're already two off the pace. After an initial staredown, it looks like Monty has gained the psychological advantage as Ishmael is starting to sweat, but he recovers nicely, his Rock smashing through Monty's Scissors. Ishmael is only one match back, a far better position to be in than his opponent.
Ishmael defeats Montmorency

edse and BSmith, who both fell short yesterday, are both looking to put themselves in Ishmael's position. Naturally, they can only do so at the expense of their opposite number. Such is the way of the tournament. Despite their losses yesterday, both men decide to stick with their previous throws. This is a curious strategy for BSmith as his Paper comes up short against edse's Scissors. In interviews following the match, BSmith is noncommittal about whether he is going to stick with this strategy from now on.
edse defeats BSmith

Up next is tournament rookie Zaccino against returnee atheotes. Both men triumphed in the previous day's match, and Zaccino is looking to catapult his way into the ranks of Sigurd and The King. However, atheotes proves ready to stop him. Both men initially throw Paper. Zaccino, smirking, eyes his opponent for a good while before getting ready to throw again. Eventually, they do, and the crowd gasps as they see that both have thrown Scissors. Eleven matches in and we have our first draw of the tournament.
Zaccino and atheotes draw

The last match of the day is between Visorslash and LazyMcCrow, and neither of them want to be in Zaccino's and atheotes' position of having to settle for a draw. Gamers the both of them, they're both pulling for a win today. However, it seems as if Lazy has been studying the earlier matches from the day. The match between Ishmael and Montmorency nonwithstanding, Scissors has proven itself the winning choice for the day. Lazy elects to continue this pattern and gets good results from it, as Visorslash has thrown Paper.
LazyMcCrow defeats Visorslash

Standings through Day 2:

Sigurd: 2
The King: 2
Zaccino: 1.5
atheotes: 1.5
classical_hero: 1
Visorslash: 1
Ishmael: 1
edse: 1
LazyMcCrow: 1
BSmith: 0
issaikhaan: 0
Montmorency: 0

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

It is now Day 3!

Day 3 matchups:

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

[atheotes]

Zaccino - you were lucky to get away with a draw! I did not have enough preparation time due to the weekend round!

Ishmael will not be so fortunate.

[LazyMcCrow]

BSmith vs. LazyMcCrow

Opens the wine to let it breathe.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I wish there could be a home field advantage...

[BSmith]

Opens the wine to let it breathe.

The question here is, do I change my strategy and pick rock to counter your scissors, or would I know that you would know that I would do that and pick scissors to counter your counter move of paper to defeat my rock? Or would I know that you would know that I would know that you would do that and just stick with paper in the first place?

[LazyMcCrow]

The question here is, do I change my strategy and pick rock to counter your scissors, or would I know that you would know that I would do that and pick scissors to counter your counter move of paper to defeat my rock? Or would I know that you would know that I would know that you would do that and just stick with paper in the first place?

I am certain the questions you have asked - being entirely too numerous - while providing an entirely adequate description of the scene before us (The table, the chairs, the exquisite cut crystal decanter etc.) - are the wrong ones.

[classical_hero]

I nearly kept my rock, but I did not want to remain the same. Oh well.

[Sigurd]

I nearly kept my rock, but I did not want to remain the same. Oh well.

I of course knew that and adjusted appropriately.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Waiting on @Visorslash.

[LazyMcCrow]

Waiting on @Visorslash.

Probably still smarting after I cut him to ribbons :gloat:

[GeneralHankerchief]

Day 3 results

The natural logjam that always occurs at the beginning of the tournament is beginning to split apart. The people that are going on early runs are established as the favorites for the tournament; the more distance they can put on the rest of the pack, all the better. Everyone else is jockeying for position, looking to establish themselves as powerful foes. Everyone is gunning for the points, but of course it is a zero-sum game. The oddsmakers, always eager to get a better idea of the situation at large, are eagerly anticipating another day which will bring greater clarity to how things really stand.

In the stadium, meanwhile, the crowd cares nothing for this. They simply want another day of great Rock/Paper/Scissors action, which they are about to get. The referee walks out, acknowledges the contestants, and raises his hand in the air.

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

The first match of the day is between issaikhaan, still searching for his first points of the tournament, and classical_hero, who is looking to rebound and establish himself as a member of the upper tier after a loss yesterday. khaan, unyielding, throws Rock, but he can tell by a sharp cry of victory from his opponent that he has lost even before he sees what classical has thrown. Upon finally glimpsing, his suspicions are confirmed: it is Paper.
classical_hero defeats issaikhaan

Up next is a battle between two people going in different directions: Undefeated The King and winless Montmorency. Now, as the highly-educated contestants and audience (Rock/Paper/Scissors is the rare sport that appeals to the masses but still is very attractive to the intellectuals, you see) are all aware of the law of averages, which dictate that, all other things equal, Monty should be able to catch up to The King's point total. However, evidently, the law of averages has decided not to kick in quite yet, as The King's Paper covers Monty's Rock. The streaks continue.
The King defeats Montmorency

Sigurd watches this previous match and grits his teeth. He has been in this position before, trying to maintain pace with a leader. In the second tournament, Sigurd fell just short of matching Centurion1's blistering pace, drawing the #2 seed as a result and falling to Stildawn in the semifinals as a result. He has vowed not to let that happen again, though The King is proving a worthy opponent. Sigurd's match for this day, however, is against the equally capable edse, who logged his first victory of the tournament in high fashion yesterday against BSmith. However, it is quickly apparent that edse still has some work to do before being able to put on a run, as Sigurd's Rock smashes his Scissors. Sigurd has once again maintained pace.
Sigurd defeats edse

The next match is between Ishmael and atheotes. atheotes, a mere half-point behind the leaders, wishes too to maintain pace and hopefully start leapfrogging the competition starting with his match against The King tomorrow. However, perhaps atheotes is looking too far ahead for his own good. He receives a sharp rebuke when he sees that his Rock has fallen before Ishmael's Paper. Now it is Ishmael, incidentally, who is only one point off the leaders, but he notes that he is taking the tournament "one day at a time" in the press conference after the match.
Ishmael defeats atheotes

At the start of the day, there were three players that had not yet put points on the board. The first two of this group maintained their positions. BSmith is determined to leave that group - at this point, he'll take a draw. His opponent though, LazyMcCrow, is fresh off a victory against Visorslash and brimming with confidence. This will not be an easy task. However, BSmith is up to the challenge and cuts through Lazy's Paper with a throw of Scissors. Serenaded by cheers, BSmith smiles and sighs with relief. The monkey is off his back.
BSmith defeats LazyMcCrow

The last match of the day is between Zaccino and Visorslash. Having seen atheotes lose earlier today, Zaccino wants to establish himself as a clear-cut third, a mere half-point behind Sigurd and The King. Unfortunately for him, all he can accomplish is maintaining pace with atheotes for the third day in a row. Today, Visorslash's storyline has won out, courtesy of a throw of Paper to Zaccino's Rock. Visorslash smiles when he sees his name ahead of Lazy's - the man who defeated him yesterday - in the standings.
Visorslash defeats Zaccino

Standings through Day 3:

Sigurd: 3
The King: 3
classical_hero: 2
Visorslash: 2
Ishmael: 2
Zaccino: 1.5
atheotes: 1.5
edse: 1
LazyMcCrow: 1
BSmith: 1
issaikhaan: 0
Montmorency: 0

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

It is now Day 4!

Day 4 matchups:

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

[Visor]

How's it going Lazy?

[atheotes]

Day 3 results

The next match is between Ishmael and atheotes. atheotes, a mere half-point behind the leaders, wishes too to maintain pace and hopefully start leapfrogging the competition starting with his match against The King tomorrow. However, perhaps atheotes is looking too far ahead for his own good. He receives a sharp rebuke when he sees that his Rock has fallen before Ishmael's Scissors. Now it is Ishmael, incidentally, who is only one point off the leaders, but he notes that he is taking the tournament "one day at a time" in the press conference after the match.
Ishmael defeats atheotes

CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!!!!!