Doubleheader #2 - August 27, 2022

The Naboo Reactor Pit

Thank goodness the Trash Compactor held to its reputation as a fast board, because we actually started the second Duel of the night on time!  Some folks don't realize the Doubleheader, which we play in late August every year, is actually a top secret birthday party for Rob.  Rob doesn't like people to know that, but his wife Jessica made sure it was BURNED into our memories this year:

They should have put a toy Darth Vader on top...

The league would like to formally recognize Jess for all her support over the years, and not just for cooking us all those Padawans in a Blanket.  She does a lot of things behind the scenes to let us nerd out once a month.  And she's a great Dueler too, if you can get her to sit down and play...

Elliot looks like a little centaur.

Round two was played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, and though it was designed to force mini-confrontations all over the board, many of the games have turned into a prolonged battle between those stuck in the hallway and those in the reactor pit area.  That's kind of how things started in this game too.

The open area of the board aligned together quickly, led by the real life alliance of Michael (Fennec) and Julia (Rey).  Curtis/Mandalorian talked his way into joining their team by getting out of the hallway.  Andrew/Krennec and Elliot/Beckett even made way for Riley E.'s Darth Vader to move to the back corner to commence distance attack.  TEAMWORK!

From resident-CL, to peers, to mortal enemies.

Duncan's Kylo Ren found himself stuck in the middle of the hallway, so he started to rally his end of the board by going on the offensive.  Riley B., playing in his second career game and second game of the night, made the eyebrow-raising move of charging his Yoda to the front lines too.  His strong defense and the frequent protection of the laser walls turning on guarded him well.

The reactor pit side of the board focused their attacks on the hallway, and soon the hallway was starting to in-fight with each other as they had no one else to attack but the person next to them.  Kevin tried to flip on Duncan's Kylo, and eventually retreated into a killbox of his own making when he didn't heed the warnings offered by said killbox.  Julia/Rey, Michael/Fennec, Elliot/Beckett, and Rob/Luke chopped him up quickly.  Poor Kevin was done in 12th!

Though most of the reactor pit alliance thought Riley B/Yoda and Duncan/Kylo were the next targets, Andrew made a stunning play by trapping The Mandalorian with Krennec's Death Troopers.  This was just Andrew's second game, but both times he's played, he's piloted Krennec.  That's why we shouldn't have been surprised when he played Peace and Security, gutting our hands and helping him against Mando.  But on the redraw Curtis secured Disintegration!  He mortally wounded Krennec, and Riley E. finished him off with a Throw Debris.  Andrew was a real trooper, though, and hung around to operate the lights for the board the rest of the night.  Thanks Andrew!!!

Krennec was gone, and now the attention turned back in full to Riley B.'s Yoda.  The Doubleheader was Riley's first two games in our league, but he's already bought a copy of the board for himself so it's clear he's all in.  And I'm glad, because it was a rough night for him!  Though he held his own for a good chunk of time, the hits from everywhere took their toll, and Cara Dune used a 2-point attack to but the lil' green Jedi to bed in tenth.

The feel-good alliance on the open end of the board couldn't last long.  Elliot/Beckett whispered to Rob/Luke what he thought about Rey or Fennec.  Rob shared he was down for Michael's Fennec, and that's the direction it went.  Michael implored his wife to fight with him, but Rob played an I Will Not Fight You on both Rey and Fennec.  Rob assured Julia she wasn't the target, and that play was to protect himself as others hounded Fennec.  That's exactly what happened.  Michael had little time for recovery, and yet another Throw Debris from Riley E. parked Fennec in ninth.

It was around this point in the night something truly loopy happened.  Corona/Anakin and Duncan/Kylo were high-carded at the end of the hallway with nobody to attack but each other.  That's when they mutually agreed to a Kylo vs. Anakin battle to the death.  So much teen angst!  Meanwhile Grant, playing with Boba in the hallway but never able to do anything because the laser walls were up EVERY...TIME...HE...ROLLED, could only look on and watch, confused by the shenanigans around him.

Duncan feeling the effects of all that Yoda Soda

Though Duncan and Corona definitely traded punches, they eventually got sucked into playing against the rest of the board too.  Anakin's wounded state enabled Rob's Princess Leia to use a Latent Force Abilities attack to eliminate Corona in eight.  Meanwhile, the laser walls were finally down and Grant was making himself known.  He launched a vicious Thermal Detonator and was landing other hits too.  That's when Elliot took a play from the department of redundancy department handbook and used double Double Blasters to smoke Boba in seventh.  It was a long strange night for Grant.

Duncan had no allies at that point, so he fell not long after, with the kill shot once again delivered by Elliot.  That left a final five of Curtis/Mando, Rob/Luke, Julia/Rey, Riley E./Vader, and Elliot/Beckett.  Curtis finally vocalized what everyone else was thinking:  Rey was the most powerful character left on the board, by a longshot.  Everyone agreed to go after Rey, but everyone was scared she was lulling us into a false sense of security, waiting patiently to deploy the healing powers of Rise of Skywalker.  Alas, it ended up that Julia had lost it on the Peace and Security, and had yet to re-draw it.  Curtis offed her in fifth with This Is The Way.

Things got interesting as Curtis advocated going for Rob while Rob advocated for going for Curtis.  Elliot was on the fence.  Riley said she had NO interest in two shooters being on the board in the final three.  Rob proposed they work together to kill Curtis, and then the other two could take down Luke in third place.  Elliot finally decided he would stick with Riley, and that's what they did.  The Mandalorian could only defend so long before Beckett hit him with a 4-point knockout.  Fourth place was a nice rebound for Curtis, after finishing eleventh earlier in the night.

The Three Amigos

Rob assumed Riley and Elliot would go after him next, but unbeknownst to Elliot...Riley gave her father a secret wink!  Rob decided to go whole-hog after Elliot, who had been his table bestie all night.  He stayed aggressive, using multiple I Will Not Fight You's on him to keep him unbalanced.  Then the game got stuck because there were multiple turns without the walls coming down.  When Rob/Luke finally reached Beckett, he used a Justice to knock Elliot within two of dying.  It was Riley's turn next, and Rob said she better use a distance attack or he'd be cranky.  She Wrathed Elliot, who was out in third.  It was a great night of Dueling for Elliot, who was in the top five for both matches.

And then there were two!  Father and Daughter.  Father (Vader) and Son (Luke).  While Rob had been chasing down Elliot, Riley had been slowly healing and stocking up on distance attacks.  Rob had no idea she had gathered so many, but soon his health indicator card was down ten points.  He reached Vader with a Justice to help even the odds.  He intended to use an attack-I Will Not Fight You on his next turn, but Riley sensed the ploy and used Your Skills Are Not Complete!  Rob had to drop both his I Will Not Fight You and his Children of the Force!  Rob's stomach sunk as Riley came in for the attack.  He didn't have enough defense...and he fell to his daughter!!!  What a huge win for Riley!!!  She bounced back from a last place finish in game one and took down game two!!!  This marks her second career victory, and she's only 14 years old!  #prodigee  This win also pushed Vader's career best win total up to 15, giving him a little more cushion from Darth Maul's 13 trophies.  Vader winning was also Plush Poe's pick!  As for Rob...thank goodness that jerk didn't win twice in the same night.  He's the worst!

Winner Winner, Tie-Fighter Ties Dinner!

The final order of finish:

12.  Kevin/Grievous

11.  Andrew/Krennec

10.  Riley B/Yoda

9.  Michael/Fennec

8.  Corona/Anakin

7.  Grant D./Boba

6.  Duncan/Kylo

5.  Julia/Rey

4.  Curtis/Mando

3.  Elliot/Beckett

2.  Rob/Luke

1.  Riley E./Vader

  

This coming Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the very first 12-Way Duel, which was played up in Muncie, Indiana.  I can't believe it's still going, and going stronger than ever.  To all current and past Duelers...thank you for making this a part of your life!  PEW PEW!!!

Dates aren't final yet, but it looks like the September Duel (THE FALL BRAWL) will be played on Saturday, the 24th.  More info to come on that, but guard your calendars now!  And we'll need THIRTEEN Duelers because we're playing in...THE RANCOR DUNGEON!

Doubleheader #1 - August 27, 2022

 

The Trash Compactor

Two Duels in the same day?  Who is foolish enough to sign up for that kind of misery...?

These knuckleheads!!!

"Smile if you like chasing tie-fighter ties with Yoda soda!"

We were back at Rob's house for the Doubleheader for the first time since COVID.  The snacks and treats were abundant, as was the anxiety from cramming 12 Duelers into a literal trash heap with closing walls and a rabid dianoga.

There was heavy conflict right out of the gate.  Neither side secured a flip, meaning it was all-out war to control the center of the board, the only safe space to be once main characters start dropping.  The dark side managed to chop down a lot of the light side minor characters, including heart-wrenching deaths of Wicket and Jar Jar (ok, maybe not Jar Jar so much).

Shame on the Empire for not emphasizing recycling.

It looked like the light side was close to losing the battle, but that's when a serendipitous turn of events occurred with Kevin's Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He intended to use a Force Attack to run back to his secured corner of the board, but he layed down Force Control instead...the card that allows Obi to move every character in play up to 3 spaces each!  The light side entered a prolonged discussion on how to maximize the card.  They settled on boxing in Curtis/Snoke, Riley B./Emperor, and Michael/Moff Gideon.  However, the dark side was clever and immediately started untangling the knot.  The unexpected victim in all of this was Riley E.'s Qui-Gon Jinn.  She followed along faithfully in the kill box order of attack, but before she knew it, the dark side was raining down attacks on her.  She couldn't hold out forever, and just like that, she was out in last place!

The light side looked doomed, but Ian/Han started sweet talking Michael's Moff Gideon into flipping!  The dark side tried to point out to Michael they were already up on the numbers, but Michael couldn't resist and the tide suddenly swung back against the dark side alliance.  Curtis' Snoke thought he had escaped the light side punishment, but Elliot/Leia came in with a wicked Speeder Bike - Camouflage - Speeder Bike combo to bump Curtis off in 11th!

Victims of the Trash Compactor

Characters on both side were banged up, missing their minor characters, or both.  But through the chaos, Rob/Count Dooku saw an opportunity to drastically alter the game.  He negotiated with both Michael/Moff Gideon and Ian/Han to set up a chain reaction of wall closures to eliminate most of the board!  It started with a weakened Grant/Jyn (the new Han Solo) Erso.  Rob used a Taunt to eliminate Grant, and that triggered the walls to close, where a Dark Trooper from Michael had trapped the Emperor and Corona/Jango was still stuck from the Force Control.  Michael, Ian, and Rob were on the middle row - the only safe place to be - when Rob realized he could kill Ian too.  For his second action he played Taunt again...and the walls closed again!  This time Julia/Lando, Elliot/Leia, and Kevin/Obi were squished to death, along with Duncan's Cad Bane!

Just like that...the final two!

Rob and Michael were quite pleased with themselves.  Michael was no rookie to Epic Duels, but this was his first official 12-Way Duel.  He was already in the top two!  However, there was another factor he had to contend with...the dianoga!  He must have done something to tick that thing off, because two of his minors got dragged into the muck pre-walls closing, and he got hit three more times in the final two.  That was a big advantage for Rob's Dooku, who had spent most of his big attacks clawing his way to the middle row.

Michael and Rob couldn't run anywhere, so they started knocking each other silly.  Both were taking significant damage.  Rob had one last card before he'd need to shuffle, and had no defense in his hand.  He drew Dooku's last 5-point attack, and went for it.  Michael couldn't withstand it, and Rob won his second Duel in a row, and for the 23rd time in his league career.  That's re-dang-diculous!  It was also his first career win with Count Dooku, making him the first Dueler in league history to win with all six of the original dark side characters.  Michael deserves a HUGE round of applause too - his defection and Kidnapping of Riley B. was super slick.  What a debut!

 The final order of finish:

12.  Riley E./Qui-Gon

11.  Curtis/Snoke

10.  Grant D./Jyn

T8.  Carona/Jango

T8.  Riley B/Emperor

7.  Ian/Han

T4.  Julia/Lando

T4.  Elliot/Leia

T4.  Kevin/Obi

3.  Duncan/Cad

2.  Michael/Moff

1.  Rob/Dooku

But this was just the first game of the night...on to round two!

  

Preview: The Doubleheader - August 27, 2022

 

We kicked off season nine of our Epic Duels league at CL Training, and we're right back at it with the Doubleheader!  That's right folks, we play two games for the price of one.  And that price is fairly cheap - just a small piece of your sanity and a slight decrease in your ability to trust others in a relentless, cruel world.  Cha-ching!

In order to fit two games into one night, we're starting game #1 with the fastest board in the league - The Trash Compactor!  Each time three main characters die, the walls close in and create even less room to maneuver.  If your character is caught on a space the walls cover, you're eliminated too.  It's brutal in all the best ways.  Our second game will be played in a crowd favorite - the Naboo Reactor Pit!  This was the famous setting for the Maul vs. Obi/Qui-Gon battle from Episode I, and the board changes colors depending on if the laser walls are activated or down.  

But the best news for the Doubleheader is Rob is hosting it at his house again for the first time since Covid!  Wookie Cookies, Tie-Fighter Ties, Kernel Detonators, and his world-famous Yoda Soda will all be served.  And for those who die early, you get to hang out in the infamous Loser's Lounge and watch Disney+ as you try and figure out where it all went wrong...

THE DOUBLEHEADER HISTORY:

2021 Game #1 - JD M. won with General Grievous in the Trash Compactor

2021 Game #2 - Curtis won with Anakin Skywalker in the Ewok Village

2020 Game #1 - Stephen won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena

2020 Game #2 - Ben won with Anakin Skywalker on the Kamino Platform

2019 Game #1 - Alex C. and Yoda won on the Kamino Platform
2019 Game #2 - Rob and Emperor Palpatine won in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 Game #1 - Alex C. and Darth Vader won in the Emperor's Throne Room
2018 Game #2 - Joel and Darth Maul won on the Kamino Platform

2017 Game #1 - Rob and Jango Fett won on the Kamino Platform
2017 Game #2 - Nathan and Jango Fett won in the Emperor's Throne Room

2016 Game #1 - Grant and Count Dooku won on the Kamino Platform
2016 Game #2 - Stephen and Jango Fett won in the Emperor's Throne Room

2015 Game #1 - Ryan and Jango Fett won in the Geonosis Arena
2015 Game #2 - Grant and Yoda won in the Emperor's Throne Room

2014 Game #1 - Alex R. and Darth Maul won on the Kamino Platform
2014 Game #2 - Curtis and Yoda won in the Geonisis Arena

MEET THE DUELERS:

Andrew R. - playing game #2 - Andrew made his rookie debut at the CL Training Duel, where he learned a painful lesson on what it means to be trapped in a "kill box."  He'll try and avoid the same fate in his second outing.

Corona - playing game #1 and #2 - Corona is still looking for his first career victory, and hopes to capitalize off his nice 4th place finish at the May the 4th Duel.

Curtis - playing game #1 and #2 - this seasoned veteran (fourth all-time in Duels played) hopes to defend his Boba Fett trophy, as he had a brilliant Doubleheader last year (second place in game 1, and the win in game 2).

Duncan - playing game #1 and #2 - this three-time winner is on a nice run of late.  He's finished in the top five in his past four Duels played

Elliot - playing game #1 and #2 - Elliot has logged 20 career Duels and is still seeking that elusive first victory.  He came painfully close in game 1 of this summer's Twin Sun Slam, where he finished second with Lando.

Evan - playing game #1 and #2 - Evan is in season two of his Dueling career, and he too is looking for his first win.  He had a nice third place finish with Han back in April's Duel of the Fates, but he's still stinging from his eleventh place stumble at CL Training.

Grant D. - playing game #1 and #2 - Grant will move into sole possession of second place in the all-time games played list after the Doubleheader.  The quiet warrior hopes to end a years-long drought by securing his eighth career victory.

Ian - playing game #1 - poor Ian lost the chance to defend his CL Training trophy from last year when he moved to the dark side of the housing department...ADMINISTRATION!  *shutter*  He's desperate to once again have gold hardware to display on his office shelf.

Julia - playing game #1 and #2 - only Yoda-aged Duelers know how momentous it is to have Julia back at the table!  She played in the very first, pre-league CL Training Duel, and the very first, pre-league Doubleheader!!!  After a decade away she's ready to teach the younglings a thing or two.

Kevin - playing game #1 and #2 - Kevin was coming off two top-five finishes before getting nailed in tenth place at the CL Training Duel.  He hopes to (force) rebound at the Doubleheader and maybe even win his first trophy.

Michael - playing game #1 and #2 - while this will be Michael's first official league Duel, he's quite familiar with the game and owns his own copy.  Gotta respect that.  Word has it he's ranked overseas...

Riley B. - playing game #1 and #2 - first-time Dueler Riley B. was so enthralled by the game at CL Training he immediately bought a copy (or two) off eBay and has already laminated his cards.  He clearly has DUELING FEVER!

Rob - playing game #1 and #2 - the newly minted "Dr." is coming into the Doubleheader on an insane hot streak, finishing in the top four in his last seven Duels.  That includes three wins, the most recent being CL Training where he was the first to secure victory with The Mandalorian.

??? PREDICTS THE WINNERS

Longtime readers of the blog know each season a new prognosticator predicts the winner of each month's Duel.  Last year it was a talking Monopoly game (don't ask).  Previous pickers included a Darth Vader Pez Dispenser, a Lego Admiral Ackbar, Trey Rey, remote control BB-8's... They're all very stupid.  And universally terrible at picking the winners.   So...without further adieu...let's introduce this season's gimmick:

Plush Poe!!!

 

"Permission to jump in an x-wing, and blow some picks up?"

*sigh*  I can already tell I don't like you, Plush Poe.  Who do you have winning the Doubleheader games?

Ok, Plush Poe likes Supreme Leader Snoke to win the first game, and Darth Vader the second.  Or that's who he wants to blow up with his x-wing, and he doesn't understand his role at all for these blog previews.  We shall see.

There's only one way to find out!  Saturday night we play two!  PEW PEW!!!

CL Training Duel - August 8, 2022

 

Kamino Platform

Holy smokes and gee whiz, we're off and running for our NINTH season of 12-Way Duels!  How is that even possible!?!

As always, we begin at the CL Training retreat, and this game was actually the TENTH time we've played in that environment (the league didn't start in full until the 2nd Training Duel).  12 brave souls rushed to the table after lip sync, and we had even more playing on the side table.  It was quite the turnout!

Where else would you want to be on a Monday night?

The Kamino Platform was the randomly selected board to kick off our season, and we had three brand-spanking-new Duelers debut, which made for a healthy mix of veterans and newbies.  John won the right to roll first, and we were off and running.  It didn't take long for Drue's Black Krrsantan to rip the arm off one of Parker's Dark Troopers!

The craziest move of the first round of play, however, belonged to the Godfather himself, Rob.  He was once again playing with The Mandalorian, and just like last season, he had Whistling Birds in his first four cards!  And once again...he couldn't resist playing them right out of the gate!  He used Rising Phoenix to defect deep into the dark side of the board, and unleashed 22 points of frustrating damage to the light side!  This time, though, he didn't die first.  (Rob stands by his actions in both cases - if you have Whistling Birds in your first four cards, YOU HAVE PLAY IT!)

Curse you, Jar Jar!!!

Drue's Fennec Shand was taking hits from all sides of the board, and it didn't help that Black Krrsantan died early too.  It would be a final Astute Panic card from Parker's Moff Gideon that left Drue frustrated but the proud, temporary holder of the Golden Jar Jar trophy, given to the Dueler who finished last.  Drue, you get him for a couple of weeks until we play the Doubleheader on the last Saturday of August!

Evan's Jyn Erso was also getting jacked up by the dark side, but in a surprise twist, he was attacked from behind by his supposed alliance partner Juan/Luke Skywalker.  Princess Leia dealt a lot of early damage, including a 3-point attack to park Evan in 11th.  Ouch

Half the lights still work!

The light side was in complete chaos at this point, as those remaining on that side were trying to flip to the dark side too.  Kevin's Obi-Wan Kenobi thought he was coming over for just that purpose when he was suddenly surrounded and attacked by the dark side alliance.  He was shook and perturbed when Kat's Beckett booted him in 10th with a 2-point attack.  

With nine Duelers left at the table, rookie Andrew learned the brutal lesson of the dreaded kill box.  He thought he was surrounded by a friendly alliance, but they quickly turned on his Krennec and attacked!  The final blow was delivered by one of Duncan's MagnaGuards.  Andrew, not too bad a job for your first Duel.  Play with us again!!!

Parker, another new Dueler, was turning paranoid as his Moff Gideon was bouncing from one flashpoint to the next.  But the remaining Duelers soon set their sights on him too.  Parker pulled some pretty good moves with Gideon, but he couldn't withstand the onslaught and was eliminated in 8th by a 5-point attack from Juan's Luke.

The poo is about to hit the fan...

John's Qui-Gon and Jar Jar somehow survived multiple waves of attacks up to this point.  He also pulled off a crafty There's Always A Bigger Fish special that jacked up JD's Darth Maul hand.  But once Jar Jar was killed, it was open season on John's Qui-Gon.  It was a faster than anticipated elimination, though, because Rob used the 10-point Disintegration card from The Mandalorian for the kill shot.

At this point we were down to the final six, and Grant H.'s Darth Vader was in fantastic shape, lurking behind Jango's ship and running his portion of the alliance.  At the same time, Duncan's General Grievous, who was playing aggressively, became a target for the remaining Duelers. Grievous' frustrating retreat tactics caused Vader to finally move from behind the ship.  Rob immediately pounced on the attack angles and suggested he, JD/Maul and Beckett/Kat, work to take down Vader.  Duncan helped by not moving and forcing Vader to confront the multi-front attack.  Juan further backstabbed Grant by not killing off Grievous and letting Grant's Vader escape.  Grant was quite cranky, as he had been running up that hill all night, but it would be Duncan, playing for a higher finish, landing the elimination blow.

And then there were five!  Duncan's Grievous was the obvious target, and he was gone right after Duncan when Juan's Luke Skywalker diced him into 4th place.  The biggest moment of the game came next...who to go after next???

This is the way.

JD/Maul threw out Rob/Mandalorian as a target, but Rob immediately returned and said Juan should play I Will Not Fight You on JD and let Rob and Kat finish Maul off with their shooters.  But after the haggling the unofficial alliance of Rob/Kat/JD was formed, and they were united in getting Luke.  Juan was deft in running away from everyone else, but he eventually fell in 4th thanks to an Athletic Surge from Dark Maul.

This left it at three Duelers, and Rob/Mando and Kat/Beckett knew, as two shooters, they should stick together and go after JD's Maul.  Kat, however, would go on to experience one of the worst streak of minor cards in the draw deck EVER!  She counted 17 straight minor character cards between the end of the first deck and the reshuffled draw pile.  BRUTAL!!!  Kat got a pinch too close to JD's Maul, who had been hiding behind Jango's ship.  Kat was left mortally wounded, so Rob's Mandalorian took the final shot since he was at ten cards.  Poor Kat!!!

This left an EPIC final two of Rob/The Mandalorian and JD/Darth Maul.  Both players at different times chased and ran away from their remaining opponent.  Mando took damage but Maul really started to look worse for the wear.  Rob finally ended the evening by using a two-card action of another Disintegration and 5-point attack.  This bonkers win gives Rob 22 victories in his career!  It also marks the first-ever win for The Mandalorian!!!  Congrats to JD, whose Darth Maul did brilliantly too.

The final order of finish:

12.  Drue/Fennec Shand

11.  Evan/Jyn Erso

10.  Kevin/Obi-Wan Kenobi

9.  Andrew/Orson Krennec

8.  Parker/Moff Gideon

7.  John/Qui-Gon Jinn

6.  Grant H./Darth Vader

5.  Duncan/General Grievous

4.  Juan/Luke Skywalker

3.  Kat/Tobias Beckett

2.  JD M./Darth Maul

1.  Rob/The Mandalorian

Thanks again to all who came out to watch and/or play!  We'll play TWO games at the Doubleheader next, which should be the last Saturday of August.  Rob's hosting folks at his house, where there will be TONS of treats and his world famous YODA SODA!  More details to emerge.

Season 9 is up, up, and away!!! 

7th Annual Singles Tournament - July 31st, 2022

 

Friends, this post is late, but the 7th annual Singles Tournament did indeed take place!  32 folks gathered to whittle each other down until only one was standing!  History was made in two ways at the tourney!  First...Obi-Wan Kenobi finally won the tournament!  And that was because...secondly, a Dueler placed THREE OF THEIR FOUR CHARACTERS INTO THE FINAL FOUR!!!  That's right, veteran JD N. finally did what he never had.  He won it all!  And he didn't even have to play the last game, because both of his characters were in the final!!!  Congrats JD!  Here are some pics of him celebrating, the final brackets,  and the rest of us trying to make it to the end.