Tournament Report

[DoS Archive]

From: hostdfcval@aol.com (HOST DFC Val)
Date: 12 Jul 2000 23:30:55 EDT

On the evenings of July 8 and 9, the special tag team tournament of the Arena was held. After the absences and substitutions were done, fourteen teams, twenty-eight duelers, were on hand to battle for the honor of wearing the Eleventh Baron's Ring.

The first round had six matches, with one team, Lucian and Gunthar O'dwyer, receiving a bye due to the tournament draw, and another team, Seregill and Stefen Tiralis, receiving a second bye due to the forfeiture of their opponents.

The first bracket had Andur Salsinger and Harbinger facing Lupton and Zen Rising. This match was stricken with problems before it even began. Lupton wasn't able to make it on time, and at the last moment, a Baron, Drey Starke, was allowed to take his place. Baron Starke would never set foot inside the ring, as Zen would only battle a few rounds before inexplicably vanishing from the ring. Lupton arrived a bit later, but Zen never resurfaced,
thus causing his team to lose by forfeit. Andur and Harbinger found themselves advancing to the second round because of it.

In the second bracket, the team of Ariadne Angeles and Kaji Mistuhiro went up against Daegarth Mithmellon and Lyon T'Gar. Lyon began the match for his team, and initially faced off against Kaji. Starting quickly, Lyon was able to score four quick points against his opponent before Ariadne stepped in. Daegarth switched places with Lyon as well, and proceeded to exchange blows with Ariadne for several rounds to where they each had three points
against them until Lyon stepped back in again. The former Baroness was able to exchange cuts with her new opponent for a few rounds, before finally being eliminated by Lyon when they both thrust to end the match. Lyon and Daegarth advanced to the second round after the eighteen round contest.

Elijah Basia-Uhr and Daryl Kyle met Damien Mortis and Magnus Eques in the third bracket of the opening round. Damien and Elijah began the match, but a series of quick substitutions by the Elijah/Daryl team had Damien squaring off against both of them within the first few rounds. Damien was able to score the first point of the match against Elijah before Magnus came in, who promptly notched two more. Before more damage could be done, Daryl was
able to enter the melee to go head-to-head against the returning Damien. After several rounds of action, Damien had taken the upper hand, causing Daryl to step out and bring Elijah back in. A brief flurry of offense from the four-time former Baron resulted in a pair of hits on Damien before he retreated to make room for Magnus. A thrust and a low cut later, the former Overlord defeated Elijah to eliminate his opponent, advancing the Damien/Magnus
team after a grueling twenty-one round battle.

Stefen Tiralis and Seregill were the lone contestants in the fourth bracket due to a rush of last minute substitutions. Having no team to face, they gained a first round bye into the second round.

Lord Gwydion and his mysterious partner, wanting to be addressed as Unknown, battled the only pairing without a Warlord in the team of Kheldar Drasinia and Xerzes Maureen. Kheldar and the Unknown one began for their respective teams, but neither was overly effective against the other before Gwydion stepped in. The only Warlord in the contest, Gwydion displayed his skill by connecting with a pair of offensive maneuvers. A beleaguered Kheldar was
able to tag out to Xerzes, but he could fare no better. In only six rounds, Gwydion rallied with a clever combination of offense and defense to eliminate his fresh opponent, propelling his team into the second round after thirteen rounds.

The sixth bracket held the contest between the team of Reod Daii and Anubis Karos against Damien Cetran and Alexis Blue. Damien, a recently returning Warlord, opened the contest against Reod. His absence may have resulted in some ring rust which allowed Reod to score a quick two points to open. Alexis stepped in for her partner to engage in a brief exchange of attacks with Reod before quickly making way for Damien once more. In similar fashion,
the two duelers traded blows, pushing Damien to the brink of elimination and facing a fresh Anubis after a successful tag. Anubis was unable to finish the match, and instead had to face Damien's partner. Alexis notched a quick point against him, but was then battered by rapid tags between her opponents and fast offense. Reod was able to finish the onslaught, taking out Alexis with quick steps and advancing with a fifteen round victory.

A controversial participant and a surprising returning past Overlord were two of the participants in the match that was in the seventh bracket. Ellisa Morgan, who had won the Twelfth Baron's Ring less than forty-eight hours earlier teamed up with Fandral Kurgan, otherwise known as Bishop. Their opponents were Goph and Avery Shiv Blade, whose unexpected return caused a small stir. Avery's skill showed no sign of deterioration when he began the
match with a pair of quick points against Bishop, who in turn fought right back to even the contest. After changes were made on both sides of the ring, Goph got an early lead on Ellisa before she came back to close the gap. Bishop's return to action provided a quick point against Goph, and shortly thereafter Avery moved back into the contest. Bishop was unable to connect against his adversary, and three rounds later was eliminated by Avery's low
cutting staff to cap the seventeen round duel.

The final bracket in the first round had the team receiving the original bye. Lucian and Gunthar O'dwyer advanced automatically into the second round on a crash course with Goph and Avery.

The second round began after a few minutes of rest expired. In the first match Harbinger and Andur Salsinger would fight their first complete match against the Lyon T'Gar/Daegarth Mithmellon team. Once more Lyon began for his team and was pitted against a fresh Andur. The fact that Andur didn't have much of a first round match and was more rested didn't provide much help, as Lyon overwhelmed him early on. Three quick points were rallied against
his partner before Harbinger could step in, only to find himself face-to-face with the former Overlord Daegarth. Daegarth was able to score first, but Harbinger held his ground, trading blows for several rounds afterwards. Unfortunately for him, his attempted thrusts were unable to find their mark, and it was Daegarth's defense that finished the match and helped advance his team after thirteen rounds.

A second team was having their first match of the evening, as Stefen Tiralis and Seregill met Damien Mortis and Magnus Eques. Damien and Stefen began the match, with Damien getting struck only once before making room for Magnus. Stefen, too, didn't wait long before bringing in Seregill. The two inflicted punishment on each other for only a few rounds, scorching one another twice each before Stefen returned to the match. Magnus was able to avoid
any further hits until he tagged out to Damien, who wasted little time in chasing Stefen out of the ring with a pair of hits. A series of quick switches from Magnus and Damien had Seregill's attacks going awry due to his opponents' defensive tactics. Before he could make his way back to his partner, Seregill was eliminated from the match by a Damien high cut to end the battle after seventeen rounds.

The third match of the second round matched Lord Gwydion and his self-named partner Unknown against Anubis Karos and Reod Daii. Anubis and Unknown started the duel, with Anubis's offense taking a quick but short-lived lead. Nimble defense from the Unknown one evened the match with one point scored against each, until he shifted into an all-offensive posture. Unable to reach his partner for the tag, Anubis found himself the victim of four
successive cuts from his opponent, managing to return only one before he was eliminated. With neither Gwydion nor Reod having even stepped into the ring to duel, the match ended after only seven rounds, which would turn out to be the shortest duel of the tournament.

Gwydion and the Unknown one would have to wait a significant amount of time before finding out who their opponents would be. Lucian and Gunthar O'dwyer faced their first challenge in the form of Avery Shiv Blade and Goph. In stark contrast to the previous match, this would turn out to be the longest battle. Avery and Lucian would begin, with the only hit going against Avery before Goph was tagged in. Unfortunately for his team, Goph was unable
to have much more success, as Lucian rallied four quick points against him while taking only one. Before Lucian could end the match, however, Goph staved him off just long enough to switch places with Avery. Avery had to face Gunthar initially after a successful tag from Lucian, and found himself mirroring his opponent several times before his offense got working. Gunthar was unable to gain much ground before calling in Lucian, who found himself
on the end of Avery's thrust. Two quick tags between Lucian and Gunthar provided nothing, leaving it to Lucian to finally make contact with his offense. Two more tags from them had Avery on the brink of elimination, and it was Lucian's low cut that finally ended the struggle. Twenty-three hard-fought rounds passed before Gunthar and Lucian were able to advance to the third round.

With the first two rounds completed, the day was ended when members of two of the remaining four teams were unable to remain. Seven of the eight remaining duelists were Warlords, with the Unknown one being the lone exception. But all would have to wait until the following evening to continue.

In the first match of the third round, Daegarth Mithmellon and Lyon T'Gar were matched up against Damien Mortis and Magnus Eques. Damien and Lyon began for their respective teams, and wasted no time in taking to offensive tactics. Damien took a small early lead before Lyon was able to counter and bring the match to an even score before they both were replaced by their partners. Daegarth got the jump on Magnus, scoring two points upon him before
having to face Damien, who had much better success against his foe. Three points in three rounds against him caused Daegarth to move for the tag. Lyon stepped in and was caught by Damien's sword, affectionally named Plague, before having to face his partner, Magnus. Unable to finish Lyon off, Magnus soon found himself facing Daegarth, and was able to strike him successfully before stepping out himself to make room for Damien. An exchange of cuts
followed, with both getting struck, but Daegarth was the one to be eliminated. With all of the four duelists having at least four points scored against them, this was perhaps the closest match of the tournament, and provided for Damien and Magnus's advancement after nineteen rounds.

In the other match of this round, Lord Gwydion and his Unknown partner were squared against Lucian and Gunthar O'dwyer. Lucian found himself up against the Unknown one to start, and began quickly when he scorched his opponent for four quick points after five rounds. Gwydion stepped in to make the save, and traded blows with Lucian before he tagged out to Gunthar. Swift offensive maneuvers from Gwydion helped him battle back for his team, but then
his momentum stalled when several mirrored rounds with Gunthar prevented him from gaining anything with respect to the scores. A return by Lucian provided for only a double impalement with thrusts before his quick departure allowed Gunthar to return. A smooth defensive maneuver and a precise low cut later allowed Gunthar to eliminate Gwydion and end the contest after seventeen rounds of action. The stage was then set for the semifinal round, which
began shortly thereafter.

Lucian, Gunthar O'dwyer, Damien Mortis, and Magnus Eques all entered the semifinal round. All four of them had earned a higher title before. Both Lucian and Damien were two-time Barons, with Damien having a recent run with the Sixth Baron's Ring. Gunthar also was a former Baron, having held the Fifth Baron's Ring less than two months ago. Both Gunthar and Damien lost their rings in unofficial matches to Jesse Troyan, when they retired their
rings after losing. Gunthar also enjoyed a brief stint with the Overlord title, and ironically enough, was defeated by Magnus. Magnus's run with the Overlord position was longer, as were his three tours with the Thirteenth Baron's Ring. Whichever of the four ended up winning the tournament would be no stranger to holding titles.

Damien and Lucian began they match, but managed to produce nothing before Magnus stepped forward. Magnus was able to connect first before being touched with consecutive hits by Lucian. Rather than letting himself be put in a dangerous position, Magnus shifted positions with Damien after putting a stop to Lucian's direct assault. Instead of facing Lucian, however, Damien had to contend with Gunthar. The two rallied back and forth with offensive
and defensive combinations before cutting at each other to end the flurry with three points scored against each. Another hit later and Gunthar stepped aside for Lucian. Before he was able to exit the ring and get his partner in, Lucian was able to take his feet out from under Damien with a low cut to eliminate the Magnus/Damien team after a quick fourteen round duel.

The winning team of Lucian and Gunthar wasted no time before beginning the final round, where they would have to face each other. After the following Best of Three, only one would remain, and he would be the new holder of the Eleventh Baron's Ring. Lucian started quickly, taking an early two to nothing lead over Gunthar with a successful defense that preceded a sharp attack. A pair of mutual thrusts pushed Lucian closer to victory, but Gunthar
managed to even the score when his defensive skills pushed his opponent's attacks back. Swift movement from Lucian gave him the lead once more, and Gunthar responded with more defense to knot the score at four each. Another round where both were able to connect followed. As both looked to win, Gunthar went defensively while Lucian chose offense. An unfortunate decision for Gunthar had him defending the wrong area, and Lucian was able to slide a
clean cut through to take the final point, winning the first match by a six to five margin after ten rounds.

Once more the two wasted no time at all before continuing the Best of Three. This time it was Gunthar who struck first, but that victory was short-lived when Lucian was able to respond. The process repeated itself when Lucian took a slim margin with a thrust, only to watch it disappear with Gunthar's responding high cut. A pair of mutual connecting cuts followed, and both found themselves with three points after only five rounds. The match ended
three rounds later, after Lucian's offensive combination slipped past Gunthar's defenses and hit twice more. The second match lasted eight rounds, with Lucian emerging victorious with a five to three score and also taking the tournament win.

The former holder of the Second and the Fifth Baron's Rings, Lucian added the Eleventh to his storied history after defeating his own partner in two consecutive matches. Congratulations to Baron Lucian, and thanks to all those who participated in the tournament.

Val Evermeadow