The Latest Greatest Diamond Quest!

[DoF Archive]

Date: 7/18/1999 11:52 AM Central Daylight Time
From: RDI Goon

On Saturday, July 17th, at 10 pm, 10, count 'em, 10 Emerald and Opal warriors beat each other senseless for the right to be the numero uno Buttkicker of the Outback. Sans Jesse Troyan, the tournament was guaranteed to end with a new titleholder.

The combatants!

(1) Avery Shiv Blade (Holder of Firestar)
(2) Harris D'Artanian
(3) Kelli Elan (Holder of Pathfinder)
(4) Huma Evilbane (Holder of Icedancer)
(5) Tareth Thorn
(6) Tarl Cabot (Holder of Moonberyl)
(7) Andrew Forcer
(8) Eros Hunrai Marzanhe DeBurgo
(9) Maetel
(10) Jake Thrash

Round 1-

Five duels going on at once is a lot of commotion, not to mention a lot of action for the spectators to take in. Fortunately, their jobs were made easier by the unbelievably quick duels that took place. All of the highest seeds wound up victorious, and with the exception of Tareth's 5-4, 14 round win over Tarl, no duel took more than 7 rounds. This included a perfect shutout by Bane over Andrew, and a near copy by Avery, who beat Jake 5-1. Other
fights: Kelli def. Marzan, 5-3 in 6 rounds; Harris def. Maetel, 5-2 in 7 rounds.

Round 2-

Again, five duels simultaneously took place, but these were determined fighters, not about to let the same unbelievably fast duels happen again (unless, of course, they were the winners). Not everyone was successful; in duels between unbeatens, Tareth knocked out Harris 5-2 in 7 rounds, while Bane gave up two more points to Kelli before winning in the same amount of time (that would be a 5-4 duel for the mathematically impaired). Avery, taking full
advantage of his number one ranking, was given a bout versus the inexperienced Maetel; despite her physical prowess, the game of tag which is the essence of dueling swung the balance in the number one seed's favor. Taking care not to be accidentally battered by his opponent's strength, Avery took his time in notching a 5-3, 12 round win, knocking Maetel from the tourney. Also taking an early exit were Jake, falling in 10 rounds to Tarl, 5-3; and
Marzan, dropping a close, 13 round fight with Andrew, 5-4.

Round 3-

Down to seven duelers, Avery's seeding again notched him an advantage- rest, via the tournament's first bye, as the highest ranked of the undefeated. Joining him in the realm of 2-0 were Bane and Tareth; while their duel certainly took some time, Bane was able to pull away in the 12th round for a 5-3 win. More dramatic was the brawl between Opals Kelli and Tarl; back and forth it went until the 12th, when Kelli's grip on Tarl's shirt proved not
strong enough for a takedown, allowing the opening for his final strike and a 5-4 win. Also falling, surprisingly fast, was Andrew, to his old rival Harris. No doubt he'll remember this 5-1 thrashing the next time they meet, especially since it put him on the outside looking in.

Round 4-

Down to two duels at a time, the pressure began to mount. With Avery coming back to action after his break, Bane was able to sit as the only other undefeated dueler left in the competition. Avery, though, saw his hot hand and another bit of luck shine in his favor; Tareth's loss in the previous round left him having to fight for the fourth straight round with little rest. Jumping on the opportunity, the top seed found a still-game competitor
across the ring, but enough openings creeped up despite the mistakes the bout was laced with to allow him to remain undefeated, while Tareth fell out of contention with another 5-3 loss. Meanwhile, Harris' loss in round 2 began to look like ancient history as he leveled another top dueler in Tarl, 5-2.

Round 5-

Despite being the only one with a loss, Harris earned the bye this round due to Avery and Bane already receiving theirs. As such, there was guaranteed to be no eliminations here in the battle of 3-0 fighters. However, not guaranteed was a battle to the end; despite surviving for 9 rounds, Bane could score but one point on the top Emerald's tight defense. Five points later, Avery took another seat.

Semifinals-

The paradox of victory awaited the winner of this fight; whoever advanced would still have to defeat Avery twice without losing to claim the Diamond, while losing once would leave them with nothing but memories; falling here would mean an end to the pain of the night's effort. Great fighters must be a tad masochistic, then, because both of these seemed to revel in the battle they waged. Despite his best efforts, however, Harris could not avoid
Bane's final strike, killing the chance for a 1-2 seed finals matchup. (Still, it should be noted, the tournament went rather to form as far as ranks go; anyone who remembers Dex Montoya's performances knows how crazy things can get if you expect the high seeds to win.)

Final-

Huffing and puffing from the exertion of a 4-1 night, Bane stepped into the ring again, knowing he would have to make it 6-1 to take anything tangible away from the Outback this night. Again, despite the odds, and despite falling behind, the adrenaline pushed him onward; not many people could summon the energy to perform his practiced super spinkick, nor would they have the courage to do it down 4-3; he did, and it paid off in a tie fight. Perhaps
in the best proof of why he deserved the title, though, Avery shook off the hit and scored the next point to end the night with, by far, his most difficult win against maybe the only person who could have even dreamed of stealing the Diamond from him.

Final Standings-
1st, new Diamond, Avery Shiv Blade
2nd, Huma Evilbane
3rd, Harris D'Artanian
4th, Tareth Thorn/Tarl Cabot
6th, Andrew Forcer/Kelli Elan
8th, Maetel/Eros Hunrai Marzanhe DeBurgo/Jake Thrash

As a final note, Avery's acceptance of the Diamond means he has to relinquish control of Firestar. Look for updates on a tournament!

The DoF Staff