FireStar Tourney Results (Article)

[DoF Archive]

Date: 5/21/2000 11:08 PM Central Daylight Time
From: HOST DFC Court


RUMBLE IN THE OUTBACK
- Courtnall Chambers



It started out with seven contestants on the night of Sunday, 21 May. Everyone was there for one thing: The Firestar Opal. Gathering in the near-ruined Outback, three women and four men sought to vie for the prize, knowing that only one of them would go home a hero. The rest would go home as goats. Today, the losers are second guessing themselves and the winner is polishing their Opal.
Of the eight people originally registered for the tourney, four failed to show up. With a backup field of only three, the tournament would have to continue with seven participants in a double elimination style of combat. Seedings were determined on the first come - first served basis of registration, with Anubis Karos (26-8) gaining the top seed ... and therefore, the first round bye.
The remaining six duelists were left to pair off in the normal seeding bracket fashion (2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5).
The (2) Seed was Veteran Emerald/Opal Tarl Cabot (71-1) met the relatively green Emerald and (7) Seed, Beck Weller (27-12-1) in the first match:
Tarl came out of the gates quickly, taking a one to nothing lead, but it would be his only lead of the match as the wily veteran was completely outmaneuvered by the newcomer. Cabot kept it close for a good while as the score at the end of six was two all, but he would only score one more point in the next six rounds, falling to Beck Weller 5-3 in 12 rounds.
Next up was (3) Seed Maetel (20-4) versus (6) Seed Janella "Jaded Death" Vallonia (22-7):
The match was closer than the final score makes it appear, as Maetel stayed neck and neck with Vallonia through most of the match, however, Vallonia dominated the last two rounds, keeping the cat-woman at bay to steal the match 5-3 in 7 rounds.
The final match of Round One involved (4) Seed Layne Jenkins (27-0) versus (5) Seed Alexandria Wells (16-1-2):
Another match that was closer than the final score would tell as the match was either tied or the lead was only one point for nine out of eleven rounds. However, Wells never allowed Jenkins to get a lead and, on some fancy footwork in round eleven, put the man to rest with a score of 5-3.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the First Round was dominated by the lower seeds. The Second, Third, and Fourth seed all walked out one win away from being eliminated.
---------

The Second Round saw Karos enter into the race and Wells take a breather as the highest seed remaining without a loss. The matchups went as follows:
In a requested grudge match, Maetel took on the fresh Karos, dishing out an impressive beating by defeating the man 5-2 in 7 rounds, leading by as much as 3-0 at the end of 4 rounds.
Cabot versus Jenkins became the second match and Jenkins became the first to be eliminated as Cabot dealt him a solid 5-2 in 9 loss on two quick and brutal points in the final two rounds.
The final match of Round Two came down to "Jaded Death" versus Weller and this match was about as close as any you would see in the tournament. At the end of 8 rounds, the score was knotted at three apiece and it would appear the two fighters were hunkering down for the long haul. However, a ferocious assault of brutal reversal moves by Vallonia perhaps caught Weller by surprise and, two rounds later, it was 5-3 with Vallonia came out undefeated.


With Jenkins eliminated, the field was reduced to six and no one would sit out for the remainder of the tournament.
---------

It was the battle of the undefeateds as Vallona (2-0 in the tourney) met the fresh-legged Wells (1-0) in the first match of Round Three. At the end of six rounds, Vallonia looked poised to tear through her opposition, standing with a commanding 4-2 lead over Wells. However, Wells was not to be denied and some quick thinking sent Jaded Death off of the Outback's Fern Ring with a loss as Alexandria "Ria" Wells scored the next three points to earn
her second win.
Karos (0-1) would face Weller (1-1) in the Third Round and this match would be a close one. Karos came out with a commanding lead, going up 3-1 after four rounds ... however, as the duelists entered round 9, the score was knotted at Four. It was a game of strategy then ... and Karos had the better of it, predicting that Weller would again attempt to complete a sweep - spin kick - sweep combination as he did just a scant four rounds before. The
speedy right hand of Karos cracked down on the sweeping Weller and another was sent to the showers.
The final match of the Third Round was Cabot (1-1) versus Maetel (1-1). No matter what, another duelist faced elimination in this match. Maetel sprung out for the early lead and never looked back, demolishing the former Yellow Opal 5-1 in 7 short rounds to send Cabot out of the tournament.

With Weller (1-2) and Cabot (1-2) eliminated, the field was reduced to four.
--------

In Round Four, Wells (2-0) was chosen to meet Maetel (2-1) to see if the catwoman could deal her a loss. It was not to be. Wells opened up a 2-0 lead after 2 rounds and left Maetel eliminated in a short 6 rounds, 5-2. The Fifth Round would begin the Finals.
Karos (1-1) was left to face the wrath of "Jaded Death" (2-1) in the remaining match of the Fourth Round and it would have seemed at first that moving on would not be an easy task for the man. After four rounds, Vallonia was up 2-1 and poised to send Karos screaming from the Styx Ring. Two rounds later, Karos would begin a series of four moves that saw him connect four times without allowing a single point ... and Vallonia was eliminated 5-2 in 9
rounds.

Karos (2-1) would move on to face Wells (3-0) in the finals. It would seem the byes each received in the earlier rounds gave them the energy needed to battle through the tiring field.
-------

Karos would need to win twice in order to claim the FireStar, and it was apparent that he fought with everything he had in the first possible match:
He opened by conserving energy, testing the waters with a feinted jab to move into an arm block. However, while Wells fell for the feint, she would not fall into the arm block trap. She feinted a chop of her own and landed a blow around the arm block, but couldn't get away in time to avoid a desperate return swipe from Karos. After two, the score stood at 1-1.
In the following round, Karos began to sew the seeds of his undoing, misreading Wells' movements and getting swept from his feet by the quicker woman. He managed to avoid taking a hit as he rose and sought to evade and Wells dropped back to her haunches, but one round later he was down two points - suckered once again by a feint from Wells, Karos threw up an arm block and fell victim to Wells' return strike.
With the score 3-1 after 5 rounds, it would seem Karos had a bit of work ahead of him if he wanted to stay in the game. Unfortunately, the sixth round put him further in the hole as he lashed out without thinking, getting caught by the acrobatic Wells' evade and strike maneuver.
Four to one now, and Karos was set a heavy task. He began the comeback with a quick snap kick to the upperbody of Wells, catching her in an attempt to end the match quickly with a sweep. But that would be his last point of the night.
The match went on for another two rounds, but a deflect-and-strike maneuver by the on fire Wells put Karos to the mat 5-1 in 9 rounds ... the woman was not to be denied.

Alexandria Wells (4-0) claimed the FireStar Opal at the end of the evening, giving a short statement that she would keep it safe to avoid the kind of problems it has caused in the past (see recent articles). The new Opal would have a heavy load on her shoulders, it would seem. If recent activities were any indication, the Outback would not be able to survive another Opal malfunction. Perhaps the management would like to give classes on the proper
use of magic stones?
Congratulations to the new Opal!



Court Chambers # 37
Jeria Synergy
RhyDin Cup Finalists 99-00
Duel of Fists Associate Referee