Sunday, July 21, 2019

Preview: The 5th Annual Singles Tournament - July 28, 2019


The world is facing a record heatwave across the surface of the earth right now, and it's only getting hotter on Sunday, July 28th, when 32 Duelers will meet in the North Village Community Center to play in the fifth annual Singles Tournament!

Long a favorite of regular Duelers and casual fans alike, this year marks the third in a row with a field of 32.  That is a lot of Dueling love!

THE DRAFT
Newcomer Beth got the first pick of the snake draft and gobbled up Obi-Wan Kenobi with the introductory choice and Boba Fett with the last.  Eight different characters were selected in the first round and everyone got their first pick.  Lil' Miles, the youngest Dueler in this year's draft, was the only Dueler to get all four of his top picks (Vader, Luke, Anakin, and Jango)!

Here's the order of the characters who were off the board from first to last:

1.  Yoda
2.  Obi-Wan Kenobi
3.  Count Dooku
4.  Darth Maul
5.  Mace Windu
6.  Emperor Palpatine
7.  Anakin Skywalker
8.  Darth Vader
9.  Luke Skywalker
10.  Jango Fett
11.  Han Solo
12.  Boba Fett

THE BRACKETS
Feel free to click on the pics and see how it all stacks up...



KEY MATCH-UPS:
There is no shortage of personal rivalries and unsettled vendettas in this year's bracket, but here are a few of the battles worth paying attention to...

Emperor's Throne Room - Round one features an epic father vs. son pairing with two shooting characters!  Grant will pilot Boba Fett against his son Garrett, who will wield Han Solo.  And focus your eyes on the bottom of the bracket as three current/former HRC members (Kaleb/Maul, Alex/Jango, and Joel/Dooku) plus Ian/Yoda make up the prickliest quadrangle of the tournament!

Carbon Freezing Chamber - Brannon is the reigning champion with Darth Maul, but it's his first round match-up (Dooku) with brother-in-law JD and Boba Fett that is sure to spark some bad blood at this year's Thanksgiving meal!

Kamino Platform - There are a lot of intriguing battles over on the Kamino Platform, but one pairing that looks particularly tough is Courtney's Yoda (who she took to the elite eight last year) vs. Ryan C.'s Count Dooku.  That one could go either way!

Geonosis Arena - I swear the first round match-ups are randomly selected, but you have to LOVE the fate involved to see mortal enemies Joel (Anakin Skywalker) and Riley (Yoda) squaring off in a rematch that caused a lot of tension in last year's tournament.  And that character pairing...this is the best first round battle of the tourney!!!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
The Force will Awaken next Sunday - the chaos starts at 1PM - feel free to come by and root for your favorite Duelers!!!


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