Preview: The 2025 Championship - December 6, 2025

 

I'm not sure how we've reached this point, but here we are, at the end of the year and rolling into December for the 12th annual CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL!!!  This is the biggest Duel of the year - the top Duelers of 2025 have earned a spot at the table to take home the best trophy in the league - the Darth Vader Championship Gold!

It's been an eclectic year of winners and good variety of winners to boot.  There's nothing like it!  Super Bowl?  World Series?  Daytona?  Psst!  They don't hold a candle to the pressure of the Championship Duel!!!  And did I mention it will be played on the Carbon Freezing Chamber...the scariest board there is?!?!

HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL:

2024 - Elliot won with Cad Bane in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2023 - Rob won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2022 - Evan won with Count Dooku in the Emperor's Throne Room

2021 - Rob won with Jango Fett in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2020 - Ben H. won with Boba Fett in the Naboo Reactor Pit

2019 - Ian won with Darth Maul in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 - Ben H. won with Jango Fett on the Kamino Platform

2017 - Austin won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2016 - Curtis won with Mace Windu on the Kamino Platform

2015 - Nathan won with Count Dooku in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2014 - Ryan won with Boba Fett on the Kamino Platform

MEET THE DUELERS:

Unlike the other Duels during the year, the seats at the Championship are seeded!  It's based on your wins during the calendar year and your spot in the rankings.  One of these 12 Duelers will be your 2025 Champion!!!

12th Chair - Eric.  The loveable and hilarious Eric turned professional this fall and squeaked into the Championship with a little help from a declined RSVP or two.  Don't take his talents for granted, though!  He has three top-five finishes in 2025, including third place at CL Training.

11th Chair - Josiah.  The HRC veteran played in eight different Duels in 2025, demonstrating his commitment to the league and the search for his first victory.  His season-best finish was in fourth place at the Valentine's Duel in February.

10th Chair - Justin.  He's been very active this fall, only missing one Duel so far.  He has two top-five finishes this year, including second place at Doubleheader #1, where he almost defended his trophy.  He knows what it takes to get to the winner's circle!

9th Chair - Jordyn.  The Teal mafia is in full effect at this year's Championship, including Jordyn.  She turned professional in 2025.  Her highlights include two top-four finishes this year, with the top finish being third place at January's A New Hope Duel.

8th Chair - Riley E.  The junior member of the league is in the last year of her high school eligibility!  2025 has been fantastic for Riley, with three top-three finishes, including second place at The Imperial March (w/ Han Solo!) and Doubleheader #2.  Will the Championship be career win number 3??

7th Chair - Michael.  The new dad only logged two Duels in 2025, thanks to the arrival of his new padawan.  But Michael is a league vet and not be trifled with.  He's especially thankful Fennec Shand won't be a featured character.

6th Chair - Ally.  She's the only amateur playing in the Championship...but with good reason!  She won Thanksdueling! last month with her expert play of Lando Calrissian.  The hotshot rookie and Teal mafia member is already making a name for herself on the Dueling circuit!

5th Chair - Jillian.  This marks Jillian's second career Championship Duel, and she's hoping it goes a lot better than her first!  She earned her spot in spectacular fashion, though, winning the all-new character Duel in October with Grand Moff Tarkin!

4th Chair - Grant.  Grant was scorching hot in 2025, with four top-four finishes.  The jewel in that crown, of course, was his first place finish with Bo-Katan Kryze at the May the 4th Be With You Duel.  He was also second place at October's Fight Night.

3rd Chair - James.  The best student Dueler in the league right now is undisputedly James!  He scored two wins in 2025.  His first was with Princess Leia at the Valentine's Duel in February.  His second was at CL Training with The Stranger.  Is he the Don of the Teal Mafia?!?

2nd Chair - Curtis.  Everyone's favorite facilities manager finished 2025 with five top-four finishes (and that's not even counting the 12x12-Way Weekend!), and he took home two trophies.  He won both The Imperial March (Tobias Beckett) and Doubleheader #1 (Clone Commandos).  Could Championship #2 be on his horizon??

1st Chair - Rob.  Rob was the first to punch his ticket to the Championship...all the way back in January at A New Hope (Darth Vader)!  He followed that up with back to back wins at Doubleheader #2 (Emperor Palpatine) and the Fall Brawl (Mace Windu).  He would love to be the first Dueler with three Championships on his shelf!

MEET THE CHARACTERS:

Similar to the Duelers, only those characters who won a Duel or are top-ranked get to be used for the Championship.  And with all the new characters that have flooded the league, we had 11 distinct winners and...Rey!  (We still keep the balance of six light side/six dark side).  So here's who will be playing...

Oh doggie, that's a rogue's gallery for sure!!!  Which Dueler/character combo will be crowned Champion???  The match goes down Saturday, December 6th, at 7PM!!!

Until then...PEW PEW!

Thanksdueling! - November 8, 2025

Arvala-7

There was a quiet air around the board as we awaited Thanksdueling! to begin.  Perhaps tensions were high, knowing this was the last chance to qualify for the 2025 Championship.  Perhaps folks were nervous about which character they were going to pick.  Or perhaps the Duelers knew mom and dad were going to fight and wake the baby!!!

Grogu, is that you??

It's hard to believe it had been over a year since the married duo of Joe and Michaela had graced the table with their chaotic energy (ok - to be fair - it's Joe's chaotic energy, lol...), but they were back with their new padawan in tow!  And just as you would expect, Joe was fighting every urge to immediately attack his better half and mother to his first born!  Curtis/Fennec and Jonah/Obi convinced him to hold court with the light side, though, enabling the good guys to outmaneuver the "chill corner" and use a Force Control to pull Justin/Count Dooku into a light side kill box!  Justin countered by Force Pushing Joe's Saesee Tiin back to the dark side!!

Meanwhile, Nayshaun/Cad Bane made his own big play, turning against Eric/Moff Gideon and hoping Junior/Jod Na Nawood would join him.  It was all a whirlwind, especially when Junior didn't immediately follow suit.  But when the dust settled, it was poor Eric who was gone first, as Rob's Sabine Wren rushed through an alleyway to hit him with a Mandalorian Warrior attack.  Justin fell next, and give him credit - he tipped his hat to the light side for their tactics!  Jonah landed the parting shot.

The "chill corner" seems to be anything but...

Though the dark side was in tough shape, they still had Joe trapped...until James/Darth Maul turned on his alliance partner, Jordyn/Emperor!!!  Jordyn had just dumped Michaela/Sol's hand with You Will Die, making the betrayal that much more bitter.  Junior/Jod Na finally found his nerve too, landing the final blow on poor Jordyn.  She was gone in tenth, but this did mark her turn to the professional ranks.  Congrats, Jordyn!!!

Things were very topsy-turvy after that, as sides were in flux all over the board.  James took advantage and returned his focus to Joe's Saesee Tiin.  Joe chose not to defend an Athletic Surge, and that was all James needed to park the new dad in ninth.

James the big, bad, Sith.

It was Rob/Ahsoka's turn and Nayshaun was making it clear he wanted Maul off the board.  But he wasn't going to be able to immediately help in that pursuit.  Junior liked that idea too, but pressured Rob by turning one of the timers on him!  That made Rob very cranky, so he used both Jar'kai attacks on Jod Na Nawood!  Junior ran away...right into the blade of Jonah's Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Junior was done in eighth and hopefully learned a lesson or two in just his third career Duel.

With Jod Na Nawood eliminated the focus returned to Darth Maul.  Curtis used Black Krystalmeth Krrsantan to start hits on Maul.  But when James didn't defend the second attack...Curtis used CANNONBLAST for eleven points of damage!!!  Maul was blown off the board with a smoking hole through his sternum!!!

Sneaky Shooters

That left six Duelers in the game, and it slowly turned into the three shooters (Ally/Lando, Curtis/Fennec, Nayshaun/Cad) versus the three blades (Rob/Ahsoka, Jonah/Obi, Michaela/Sol).  Michaela was still reeling from the You Will Die and the clock striking 10PM, and decided to use every card as she got them.  That left her under-carded for Ally's Lobot attacks.  She was mercifully eliminated in sixth.  But not by her husband!  So, you know...improvements!

At this point we should give a shoutout to Nayshaun, who could easily have been the first Dueler out after his coup against Moff Gideon didn't go as planned.  But his luck finally ran out in the final five.  Sabine and Obi were done with him, and Sabine got the final blaster round.  Nayshaun has certainly impressed this semester - he'll turn pro early next year!

Curtis' favorite board.

And then there were four!  Curtis and Ally both had their minors still in the game, meaning they had four shooters against Jonah and Rob's blades on a shooter's board.  That put Jonah and Rob in a tough spot.  They made the call to concentrated on taking out Black Krrsantan, knowing Curtis would continue to use him to retreat behind the single space passageways around the center of the board.  It took a lot of maneuvering, but they pinned Lando and Fennec in a corner and got Fennec down to her last two points of health.  That's when Rob proposed a crazy deal!  If Ally/Lando would finish off Curtis/Fennec, Rob would go after Jonah/Obi!

That was a little too out of the blue for Ally, so she passed.  Rob was using that as a bit of a red herring anyway, hoping to save shots on Curtis, but went after him anyway.  Jonah took more damage than he anticipated, so he played the tried and true Force Balance, dropping all cards.  Curtis some how top-decked his two 7-point attacks against Rob!!!  Rob went from full health to half dead.  He luckily pulled an additional attack card to finally knock out Curtis in fourth, though.

Epic Drooler!!!

Rob went from likely first place to the most vulnerable in the blink of an eye.  To save his backside, he told Ally he would join her against Jonah's Obi-Wan.  Jonah was aghast, but he was so far away he started healing up Obi-Wan to a point where Obi-Wan really was the primary threat again.  Rob recovered to a degree he could be helpful again, so he joined Ally in taking down Obi-Wan.  Jonah fought valiantly but finally succumbed to his wounds in third place.

The nuance of the next hour of Dueling is hard to describe in this recap, but Ally turned the tide of near certain death to flip the tables on Rob.  Everyone knows how hard Lando is to beat one on one, let alone on Arvala, but Rob got her to within two points of dying.  On his reshuffle, he top-decked his 8 point attack (I Am No Jedi).  He felty guilty as he played it, assuming he had just won.  But Ally had just drawn Evacuation - completely blocking it!  She spent the next dozen or so rounds slowly recovering while whittling down Rob's health and cards.  The absolute backbreaker was when she played Hello, What Have We Here?  She was able to discard BOTH of Rob's I Choose To Live defense cards!!!  A few turns later, she attacked and Rob couldn't defend...Ally won her first career Duel in just her fourth game played!!!  JUST IN TIME TO QUALIFY FOR THE 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  Way to go, Ally!

The final order of finish:

12.  Eric/Moff Gideon

11.  Justin/Count Dooku

10.  Jordyn/Emperor Palpatine

9.  Joe/Saeasee Tiin

8.  Junior/Jod Na Nawood

7.  James/Darth Maul

6.  Michaela/Sol

5.  Nayshaun/Cad Bane

4.  Curtis/Fennec Shand

3.  Jonah/Obi-Wan Kenobi

2.  Rob/Ahsoka Tano

1.  Ally/Lando Calrissian

We'll have more info coming soon on the December Duel - the 2025 Championship!  Those spots are reserved for the best and the brightest from the past year - stay tuned.  Congrats again to Ally on her first career win!!!

Preview: Thanksdueling! - November 8, 2025

Gobble gobble, fellow Duelers!  It's that special time of year...THANKSDUELING!  How in the world galaxy is it already November!?!  

This will be the 12th annual Thanksdueling!, and as it has in its previous eleven iterations, this marks the last Duel before the annual Championship match!  The December Championship is for all the marbles - the biggest Duel of the year!  You earn a spot at the table either by winning during that calendar year or being a top ranked Dueler.  Thanksdueling! is the last chance to qualify, so things should be extra spicy at the table on Saturday!

HISTORY OF THANKSDUELING!:

2024 - Ian won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2023 - Julia won with The Mandalorian in the Naboo Reactor Pit

2022 - Penny won with Anakin Skywalker in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2021 - Kaleb won with Princess Leia in the Rancor Dungeon

2020 - Duncan won with Darth Vader in the Rancor Dungeon

2019 - Alex C. won with Darth Maul in the Geonosis Arena

2018 - Ben H. won with Luke Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2017 - Rob won with Boba Fett on the Kamino Platform

2016 - JD won with Yoda in the Emperor's Throne Room

2015 - Nathan won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena

2014 - Alex R. won with Boba Fett in the Geonosis Arena

MEET THE DUELERS:

It's customary in our Thanksdueling! post to list what each of our Duelers is thankful for this year.  What a great attitude to have right before the carnage and backstabbing, amiright???

Ally - she is thankful for...Ki-Adi-Mundi!  In her three career Duels, her highest finish was Doubleheader #1, where she piloted the newly added Jedi to her best-ever showing - third place.  Perhaps she'll do even better at Thanksdueling!?

Curtis - he is thankful for...the 12x12-way weekend!  This summer we took a long weekend and cranked out 12 Duels in a row, and the mighty Curtis won two of the battles.  You should ask him about the table he made for it...

Eric - he is thankful for...turning pro!!!  Rob somehow missed it when Eric played his sixth career Duel at Doubleheader #2, landing him in professional status.  Does Rob still feel guilty for not properly celebrating Eric's achievement?  Yes.  Yes he does.

James - he is thankful for...2025!  It's been a banner year for James, who won at both the Valentine's Duel and CL Training.  With two wins he'll be one of the top seated Duelers at the December Championship next month!

Joe - he is thankful for...baby padawans!!!  The Dueler known for his penchant of chaos at the table welcomed his first child into the world this summer, and the rumor is the midichlorian count was quite high!  This is also his first Duel since Fall Brawl 2024, so welcome back Joe!

Jonah - he is thankful for...R2-D2!  When Jonah played new character combo Old Ben Kenobi/young Luke Skywalker at the Fight Night Duel last month, he became the first Dueler in league history to play a character - R2-D2 - that doesn't have a damage indicator card!  Alex had a chance to do the same with BB-8, but you probably shouldn't ask him why that didn't happen...

Junior - he is thankful for...strong starts!  Junior started playing two months ago, and in his two Duels he's finished second (Wampa!) and fifth!!  That's an impressive way to launch your Dueling career.

Justin - he is thankful for...the fall!  It's been a good semester of Dueling for Justin.  He nearly defended his trophy at Doubleheader #1, where he landed in second.  He also scored a solid fifth place at the Fall Brawl.  He'd love to secure Thanksdueling! for his second win.

Michaela - she is thankful for...baby padawans too!!!  Michaela is now Dueling with super Force-sensitive mom powers.  You've been warned!  Joe might need to watch out, because she still owes him from the debacle at the 2024 Fall Brawl...

Nayshaun - he is thankful for...Dueling fever!  The rookie Dueler has already clocked four career Duels and he only wants more!  The only cure?  Winning Thanksdueling! to earn a spot at the Championship, where he would turn professional!  Can Nayshaun author that dream scenario?  

Rob - he is thankful for...teaching a section of Introduction to Leadership this fall.  How does that relate?  He's glad you asked!  He used the 12-way Duel league as his example of the three tiers of organizational culture with his class of freshmen on Thursday.  This is a credited class, people.  Dueling is now subtly imprinted on diplomas, bwahahahahaha!!!!!

MEET THE CHARACTERS:

Here's who's playing Saturday night!  This is a friendly reminder, the blog has a tab now where you can review the decks and even download them yourself to cut and play.   The page doesn't load well on phones due to the volume, but it works just fine on laptops.  

And the characters for Thanksdueling! are...

This is a powerful dozen characters to throw down!  We're playing on the Arvala-7 board, which is always guaranteed for some increased tension.  We play at 7PM on Saturday in the North Village Fine Arts Studio, swing on by to root for your favorite turkey!  GOBBLE GOBBLE!