Before I get to the recap, I have to set the record straight. The Capital Combo is a reputable news organ, and as such, we correct all errors of fact. Jason pointed one out in last time’s recap, when I said that to my surprise we had never played a Tuesday Night Smackdown on Rush. I based that on the fact that my list of what games we had played so far in Season 16 (to avoid duplicating them) did not show we had played Rush, and I mistakenly thought that this was the first season during which Rush had been in the venue. Jason pointed out that we did have Rush as a Smackdown game, but it was during Season 15. It’s been around longer than I thought. I should have remembered, though, because that Smackdown was the one in which a catastrophic malfunction forced three of the four players to replay an entire game which had already gone on for ages. Jason certainly would have remembered, because he had blown the game up and was far in the lead when it happened, so it was very unlucky for him.
August 23 was our eighth league night of Season 16, which means that it was our last qualifying night. The positions at the end of the night would determine who went to A division and B division and what the seeding would be for the finals on September 13. The most contested positions were for the top seed and for the bottom seed in A.
After a season which saw a record turnout and therefore the largest A division finals we have ever had, a surprising inversion happened. This was our least attended season in the time I have been the league director, and we ended up with only 15 people qualified to play finals. We thought it was going to be 14, but then Wolff reappeared after a couple of weeks absent, and since it was his fourth night, he was just in time to squeak in for finals. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a difference for how many people could go to A division, because the IFPA requirements mean that we have to cut at least half the field going into finals. We will therefore be having a 7-person A division, with the rest of the people who attend playing B. This makes the top seed especially attractive, because that person gets a first-round bye while the other six play off. The question was, who would this be: Mike, or Danny? They were very close going into the final night.
The dividing line between A and B was also a very competitive position, with several people only a few points apart. I was sitting in 8th place, 4 points behind Joseph in 6th and 1 point behind Josh in 7th. Jason was relatively far behind me in 9th, as I had 13 points on him.
At the end of the night when we got home and Joseph put all the scores in (which he always does surprisingly quickly), I got to see how the dust settled, and there was good news and bad news for me. Good news? I ended up in 7th place. (Meanwhile, Jason had an incredible rally – after a couple of underperforming nights, he jumped up from 9th to 6th with a very strong finish.) Bad news? Mike won the top seed spot. Bad news for me because that meant I would be playing Danny in the first round.
We had our usual Tuesday Night Smackdown, of course. The main game was Game of Thrones. Joseph often writes little quips above the rules sheet that he posts, and this one in small letters said “You’re welcome, Mike.” Mike certainly loves his Game of Thrones and this time it also loved him. Predictably, he won the A division. Tim continued the tradition of being the “Best” division champ on Metallica. Jason, as usual, wanted a true “Smackdown” photo and this time he had the idea of sparring with “swords.” He ran off and then reappeared holding two pool cues to use for a mock swordfight, followed about 7 seconds later by a semi-disgruntled person who said, “We were using those” and collected them back again. Jason went off again to find different cues and this time no one showed up demanding them back, at least not before I got the photo.
And that was that: Season 16 was all over except the final battle. Will Mike defend his title again or will the league have a new champion? In about 24 hours we’ll know. I hope to see you tomorrow at finals.