Finals Results
"There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!
Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! YAYHOO!!!
~Russ Hodges, calling the 1951 NL tiebreaker game
Death is Yonder walks off to contemplate his run. Sigurd showers, composes himself, and prepares for the ceremony. The other contestants - Andres, Beefy187, atheotes, Warmaster Horus, and even woad&fangs - are all present as well, waiting backstage. They have been granted special access in order to witness this historic occasion.
The two men left, however, know of none of this. #1 pevergreen and #5 CountArach are kept in isolation beforehand, leaving them alone with their own thoughts. The two of them could be zoning out and relaxing to their favorite tunes. They could be watching the Consolation match on the TVs provided in their rooms. They could be going over their opponent's records, looking for a pattern or a weakness to be exploited. Or, they could be doing none of these, a barrel of nerves simply ready for the tournament to be over with. Nobody knows, as they are left well alone until the time comes to get them.
#1 pevergreen's performance this tournament has been nothing short of sublime. He breezed through both the Round Robin phase and early parts of the Knockout Round, compiling a 7-2 record and victories against both CountArach and Sigurd in the Round Robin. He has been notable for getting in the heads of his opponents and abandoning his patterns at just the right time. The only knocks against him are that he hasn't really put a streak together up until the later days, and that he hasn't played a decent opponent since Day 6 of the Round Robin phase. pever, however, has welcomed all criticism, saying that it simply fuels him to better, and is prepared to do what he has unable to do for the entire tournament: pull away from his opposition once and for all.
His opponent is #5 CountArach, who has had more of an up-and-down run. After starting slow by drawing #4 atheotes and losing to pevergreen, CA reeled off two quick wins before losing to eventual 3rd place finisher Sigurd. He rebounded nicely against #2 Andres before losing on the final day to #7 Death is Yonder; an embarrassing loss at the time since DiY had lost five straight at that point. This maddening inconsistency earned him the 5th seed in the tournament and a date against fallen star atheotes in the first match of the Knockout Round. However, CA stepped it up here by defeating the former #1 and then avenging his loss to Sigurd by defeating him in an epic match. CA has pointed to his more difficult Knockout Round run as a sign that he can tangle with the best, and is ready to prove it against the most dangerous opponent of all. Has CA finally gotten on a streak of any kind?
The referee walks in. The stadium nearly explodes from all of the noise. Around the world, billions of pairs of eyes are glued to their television sets and radios. This is particularly true in Australia, where there have been reports of fights breaking out between people from Queensland and New South Wales all day. To accentuate this divide, both are wearing their provincial colors: pever maroon, and CA blue.
Eventually, though, all dies down. The referee pauses, acknowledging his contestants and congratulating them on getting so far. He then raises his hand, and a hush falls over seemingly the entire world.
"Rock... paper... scissors... shoot!"
An eternity passes in the blink of an eye. The thinking, the intimidating, the obsessing, is finally done. All the two contestants have to do now is simply throw. And they do.
pevergreen starts out with good old reliable Rock, the hero of the marathon Sigurd/DiY match that just concluded. However, CountArach throws Paper.
He has a split second to comprehend what has just happened before bedlam takes over. The noise, later measured to be a Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise, is all-encompassing. Both contestants are swept up in it as well, with CA roaring in elation and pever screaming in fury. The referee too, points at CA and yells "Winner!", but nobody can hear him. He cannot even hear himself.
All over NSW, the victory celebration has already begun. Car horns are honked, windows are broken, and many drinks are ordered and summarily spilled.
In the stadium, it takes an hour and a half to restore order. Somehow, the medal ceremony is ready to begin. The three winners are all congratulated, as are the honorable-mention contestants (for it would not be a great tournament without them), but really, it is all about CountArach. He has persevered. He has defeated. And he is now the official Rock/Paper/Scissors champion of the world.
CountArach takes first place in the tournament!
pevergreen takes second place in the tournament!
Sigurd takes third place in the tournament!
Thanks to all for participating and making it a great tournament! We'll see you again sometime in the future!
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