Apterous Masters (formerly COMA) 2010

Andrew Feist · Post by **Andrew Feist** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:44 pm

Pre-qualifying:
Feist 98-57 Seymour
Seymour 81-78 Feist
Seymour 72-89 Feist

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:11 pm

Qualifying game against Adam:

Adam Gillard 65-116 Jim Bentley
Jim Bentley 82 - 52 Adam Gillard

I'm in the tourney proper now, so watch out! as I go out in the first round

Edward McCullagh · Post by **Edward McCullagh** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:37 pm

Qualifying game against Ian:

Edward McCullagh 99-60 Ian Dent
Edward McCullagh 94-67 Ian Dent

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:17 pm

Pre-qualifying:

Chris Philpot 0 - 2 Matt Morrison
104 - 109 - great game, won from behind on crucial.
53 - 86 - less great.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:50 pm

Adam Gillard wrote:My qualifying games v Jim Bentley have been put on hold due to rounds frequently not popping up on my screen, which leads to nothing being declared and is obviously a disadvantage for me. I have sent some data to Charlie and he's trying to sort it. If it isn't fixed soon, then we can try to play and just ignore any games when this happens, eventually coming out with 2 or 3 complete games.

There's not much I can really do that about it, you're experiencing a bug that neither I nor anyone else can reproduce. I would guess it's a Mac problem but AFAIK our other Mac users are getting along just fine. Is there some other computer you can play from?

Edwin Mead · Post by **Edwin Mead** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:53 pm

3 close games:

Edwin Mead 72-87 Andrew Feist
Edwin Mead 100-72 Andrew Feist
Edwin Mead 97-74 Andrew Feist

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:58 pm

Only two qualifying games remain- Matt Morrison vs Matthew Tassier (which to be fair there's not been much opportunity so far to play) and Bob De Caux vs Henry Meier. First round proper draw tomorrow at 8pm.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:23 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:Only two qualifying games remain- Matt Morrison vs Matthew Tassier (which to be fair there's not been much opportunity so far to play) and Bob De Caux vs Henry Meier. First round proper draw tomorrow at 8pm.

Me and Tassier are playing tomorrow lunchtime, have done my best to keep it to schedule.

Bob De Caux · Post by **Bob De Caux** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:46 am

Henry and I played last night.

Henry 72-105 Bob
Henry 84-111 Bob

Thanks for the games, Henry!

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:04 pm

Qualifying:

Matt Morrison 2 - 0 Matthew Tassier
90 - 84 - nice close game, VELOCITY swung it for me which was a bonus considering I only had CITY til about 28 seconds
101 - 81 - so so, another crucial (is a conundrum called crucial when one player is precisely 10 points ahead?)

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:28 pm

Matt Morrison wrote: 101 - 81 - so so, another crucial (is a conundrum called crucial when one player is precisely 10 points ahead?)

I think semi-crucial is the official term.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:36 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Matt Morrison wrote: 101 - 81 - so so, another crucial (is a conundrum called crucial when one player is precisely 10 points ahead?)
I think semi-crucial is the official term.

As in "that game was so close, it ended with a semi"?

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:09 pm

The first round draw is done. Just drawn live on apterous, here are the match-ups (with some cracking draws in there for good masure)-

Mark Tournoff vs. Matt Morrison
Steven Briers vs. Dale Levell
Martin May vs. James Robinson
Paul Howe vs. Phil Makepeace
Ryan Taylor vs. Karen Pearson
Junaid Mubeen vs. Ian Volante
Andrew Hulme vs. Lloyd Pettet
Kai Laddiman vs. Bob De Caux
Jimmy Gough vs. Jim Bentley
Oliver Garner vs. Edwin Mead
Nick Wainwright vs. Matt Bayfield
Richard Priest vs. Edward McCullagh
Chris Davies vs. Hugh Binnie
Innis Carson vs. Charlie Reams
Jon O'Neill vs. Jack Hurst
Dinos Sfyris vs. Kirk Bevins

Games are best-of-3 standard 15 rounders and to be completed by Sunday March 7th please. Enjoy!

Hugh Binnie · Post by **Hugh Binnie** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:38 pm

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:54 pm

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:37 pm

Updated and still questionable odds from the Eye of Apterous:

Bevins 8/11
Davies 2/1
Carson 14/1
Levell 60/1
Howe 500/1
Mubeen 1000/1
Everyone else: 10000/1 or longer

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:27 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:Updated and still questionable odds from the Eye of Apterous:

Bevins 8/11
Davies 2/1
Carson 14/1
Levell 60/1
Howe 500/1
Mubeen 1000/1
Everyone else: 10000/1 or longer

I'll have a tenner on Howe in that case.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:01 am

Phew, at least I didn't get drawn against a champion th...oh wait. Bugger.

Hugh Binnie · Post by **Hugh Binnie** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:10 pm

Chris Davies 2 - 0 Hugh Binnie

Chris Davies 94 - 84 Hugh Binnie
Chris Davies 107 - 85 Hugh Binnie

Luckily (?) for Chris, he buzzed in with an incorrect condundrum guess in the second game, which saved him the agony of a 14-max game, having not risked HUMPIER in round 9.

Edwin Mead · Post by **Edwin Mead** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:36 pm

Edwin Mead 99-103 Oliver Garner
Edwin Mead 51-92 Oliver Garner

Well played Oliver. After the first game, I thought I was going to be thoroughly thrashed, but I surprised myself by leading before the conundrum in the following game.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:09 pm

First round match:

Ryan Taylor 92-85 Karen Pearson
Ryan Taylor 92-67 Karen Pearson

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:40 pm

First round:

Junaid Mubeen 93 - 69 Ian Volante
Ian Volante 76 - 110 Junaid Mubeen

No surprises there, well played Junaid.

Junaid Mubeen · Post by **Junaid Mubeen** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:52 pm

Yeah cheers Ian, decent standard if not Earth shattering stuff.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:53 pm

Sadly Ben's computer has died so the mantle of Tournament Director passes to me. I'll just be carrying on in largely the same vein, except I probably won't be so nice about people failing to play their games.

Steven Briers · Post by **Steven Briers** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:48 pm

First round:

Steven Briers 103 - 98 Dale Levell

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=198624

Dale Levell 103 - 106 Steven Briers

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=198634

Two really close games that could've gone either way, and I have to say that Dale was one of the most courteous players I've played on Apterous. Now to have a darn long lie down.

Richard Priest · Post by **Richard Priest** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:19 pm

Richard Priest 104-85 Edward McCullagh
Richard Priest 76-78 Edward McCullagh
Richard Priest 109-106 Edward McCullagh

I'm on a mission against Irishmen after the series 58 finals......

Seriously though, I cannot put into words how relieved I was to get through this one.IMO Edward is a very promising player with a real future.After the first 2 games I figured I had the slight edge in terms of conundrum-solving ability, so my plan when I went behind in game 3 was to stick in there and hopefully go in for the kill at the end, which I did, but it was mighty close.Unlucky Edward.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:00 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:Sadly Ben's computer has died so the mantle of Tournament Director passes to me. I'll just be carrying on in largely the same vein, except I probably won't be so nice about people failing to play their games.

To update briefly, I've managed to get accessto my mum's computer and whilst it's good for little more than web-browsing and painfully slow games on apterous, it should be enough to keep the event running for now (assuming Charlie doesn't mind

). Well, until I get my new behemoth of a machine on the 16th.

James Robinson · Post by **James Robinson** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:58 pm

First Round:

James Robinson 0-2 Martin May

James Robinson 81-91 Martin May
James Robinson 72-98 Martin May

Well annoyed with myself, especially the 2nd game, missing some sitters there, especially rounds 3, 9 & 13.

Still, fair play to Martin, a deserving winner.

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:38 pm

2-0 to Kirk who scored 12 maxes and 14 maxes respectively while I managed a mere 10 and 11! Both times I just failed to take him to a crucial (which he solved anyway and I thought was PENBUCKRY!)

Dinos 95 - 118 Kirk
Kirk 116 - 91 Dinos

Cheers for the games Kirk

[/bowsout]

Andrew Hulme · Post by **Andrew Hulme** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 8:10 pm

I beat lloyd pettet 2-0, both games were good and 1st was particularly close, lloyd came back from 20+ (i think) points down only to narrowly get pipped on a crucial.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:03 pm

Jono 2-0 Jack

I managed to win all THREE crucial conundrums. That goes to show you what kind of games they were.

Jon O'Neill 112 - 102 Jack Hurst
Jon O'Neill 102 - 91 Jack Hurst

Well played Jack, but at the end of the day, if you know what I mean.

JackHurst · Post by **JackHurst** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:31 pm

Great games with Jono. I can't really complain about any fuck ups, he was just the better player. GL with the rest of it PAL.

Matt Bayfield · Post by **Matt Bayfield** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:43 pm

The now perennial tournament fixture between Nick and I went thus:

Nick Wainwright 111 - 72 Matt Bayfield
Matt Bayfield 84 - 88 Nick Wainwright

In game 2, whilst I was part-way through completing my Conundrum answer RESELLING, the Conundrum window disappeared from my screen (a combination of Windows 7's stupid "select when mousing over" functionality and perhaps me brushing my palm on the touchpad on the laptop I've just started using). Windows 7 being an arse to switch between Java windows, I wasn't able to get the window back up before the Patience bar ran out, so I lost the game. I expressed my frustration at this in the in-game chat window, at which point Nick instantly offered to play a third game as a decider, as if I had won game 2. Purists would argue that being able to use one's own computer properly is part of apterous, so I was quite prepared to accept the loss (if a little annoyed) and there was certainly no need for Nick to offer a decider. So much respect to Nick for top notch sportsmanship.... and apologies for my mini-rant at Windows 7 following the incident!

Fortunately, justice was served and Nick won game 3 convincingly, although when I was picking the letters in round 13, realistically needing a 9-letter word to claw back a deficit, I was gutted when E appeared rather than the U which would have given me the word I was fishing for - PORCUPINE!

Matt Bayfield 54 - 94 Nick Wainwright

Well done Nick, good luck for round 2.

Edward McCullagh · Post by **Edward McCullagh** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 4:45 pm

Rich Priest wrote:Richard Priest 104-85 Edward McCullagh
Richard Priest 76-78 Edward McCullagh
Richard Priest 109-106 Edward McCullagh

I'm on a mission against Irishmen after the series 58 finals......

Seriously though, I cannot put into words how relieved I was to get through this one.IMO Edward is a very promising player with a real future.After the first 2 games I figured I had the slight edge in terms of conundrum-solving ability, so my plan when I went behind in game 3 was to stick in there and hopefully go in for the kill at the end, which I did, but it was mighty close.Unlucky Edward.

Thanks for the kind words, Rich!

You probably deserved to win it on balance. I was a bit nervous during the first 2 games (and I was surprised to even win the second game!) but the decider was a quality game - though I was absolutely gutted to lose in that way!

Best of luck for the rest of the tournament

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 7:32 pm

Howe 77 - 70 Makepeace
Makepeace 69 - 115 Howe

Cheers for the games Phil, a couple of very unfortunate phoneys there that could've turned the match in a completely different direction.

Mark Tournoff · Post by **Mark Tournoff** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 7:54 pm

Hi Ben,

Just letting you know that I managed to hold off a strong challenge from Matt yesterday. I'll check to see who my next opponent is.

Regards.

Mark

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:44 pm

Just waiting on 3 games now- Laddiman/De Caux, Gough/Bentley and Reams/Carson. Thus far masters are 11-0 against qualifiers!

Bob De Caux · Post by **Bob De Caux** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:26 pm

Kai 101-120 Bob
Kai 81-107 Bob

Just sneaked home in the first after Kai came back from missing the early nine. Then very nearly got my first ever max in game 2, but mistyped the last numbers (although I didn't do it Kai's way, which was awesome). Two very enjoyable games.

Chalk one up for the challengers at last!

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:45 pm

Mr Reams 2 - 0 Mr Carson

126-98: Wasn't expecting much from this game, and my old friend the Eye of Apterous did nothing for my confidence by giving me an 8% chance of winning. Much to my surprise, I got off to a dream start as I nailed STONEWARE to lead 18-0, but of course 18 points is nothing against Innis as Jono knows all too well... A flat few rounds helped settle my heart rate, as Innis remained relentless and I still couldn't extend my lead. In Round 7, I bottled PATTA and that ultimately cost me a max game, but fortunately I'd done enough to hold a decisive lead at the conundrum and finished with 14 maxes. Damn PATTA!

116-106: I felt I'd been lucky in the first game and knew I'd need to be patient to have a chance against such a strong opponent. Sure enough we both maxed 12 of the first 14, missing only the lovely BESTOWAL and NOTORNIS, to put the score at 106-106. I think we were both expecting a stinker of a conundrum to decide such a close encounter, although in fact it was a fairly bland -NESS word and I held my nerve to buzz on 2 seconds and take game and match. I then did a little dance around my room.

Thanks Innis, fantastic games both and I consider myself very fortunate, especially with six easy numbers rounds which played to my advantage.

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:21 am

Charlie Reams wrote:Mr Reams 2 - 0 Mr Carson

126-98: Wasn't expecting much from this game, and my old friend the Eye of Apterous did nothing for my confidence by giving me an 8% chance of winning. Much to my surprise, I got off to a dream start as I nailed STONEWARE to lead 18-0, but of course 18 points is nothing against Innis as Jono knows all too well... A flat few rounds helped settle my heart rate, as Innis remained relentless and I still couldn't extend my lead. In Round 7, I bottled PATTA and that ultimately cost me a max game, but fortunately I'd done enough to hold a decisive lead at the conundrum and finished with 14 maxes. Damn PATTA!

116-106: I felt I'd been lucky in the first game and knew I'd need to be patient to have a chance against such a strong opponent. Sure enough we both maxed 12 of the first 14, missing only the lovely BESTOWAL and NOTORNIS, to put the score at 106-106. I think we were both expecting a stinker of a conundrum to decide such a close encounter, although in fact it was a fairly bland -NESS word and I held my nerve to buzz on 2 seconds and take game and match. I then did a little dance around my room.

Thanks Innis, fantastic games both and I consider myself very fortunate, especially with six easy numbers rounds which played to my advantage.

Two high quality games against one of the best, well done!!

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:25 pm

Just waiting on the two Jims then. Any news on that front?

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 8:19 pm

I've left the Jimmy a message about it (admittedly only tonight when I realised we were the round 1 stragglers), but I've not seen him around on apterous at all this week. I'm sure he'll turn up before Sunday.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 7:53 pm

Draw will take place in about five minutes live* on apterous.

*Assuming my PC doesn't cave in under the weight of its own arthritis before then.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:09 pm

The draw is done. Bentley/Gough went uncompleted and was adjudicated in Jim (not Jimmy)'s favour.

Jon O'Neill vs. Andrew Hulme
Chris Davies vs. Nick Wainwright
Junaid Mubeen vs. Mark Tournoff
Bob De Caux vs. Jim Bentley
Ryan Taylor vs. Oliver Garner
Charlie Reams vs. Martin May
Steven Briers vs. Kirk Bevins
Richard Priest vs. Paul Howe

All matches will be best-of-5 standard 15 round games and to be completed by 8pm on Sunday March 14th. Have fun!

Steven Briers · Post by **Steven Briers** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:29 pm

Overall result: Kirk Bevins 3 - 2 Steven Briers

Game 1

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203393

After a couple of abysmal rounds for me I was very lucky to scrape the win in this first game, especially considering me and Kirk buzzed in for the conundrum within milliseconds of each other.

Game 2

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203402

A not so close game. I was kicking myself over the first round as I convinced myself rather foolishly that there was only one 'A' in the selection. It wouldn't have altered the overall outcome though and with maxes in all the letters rounds, Kirk was the more deserving player.

Game 3

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203410

A second convincing win for Kirk here, though I was quite pleased with round 8 (LITERATI being a word I've been desperate to declare in a game for Christ knows how long).

Game 4

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203421

Another close game and a high scoring one to boot, with 12 maxes for Kirk and 13 for me. To keep the scores the same we both agreed to throw away the conundrum as the first one went unsolved (BRANNIGAN), but the first of many computer lags occurred and it never registered.

Game 5

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203453

This decider was chock-a-block with lags and miscommunications after the second numbers game (though that doesn't excuse my pitiful performance). Well done to Kirk for getting a max game in a performance that's worthy of a place in the quarter-finals.

So to summarise, 5 great games that were of a very high standard. Apologies if I've rambled on too much, but Kirk said at the end to produce a good commentary, and I hope what I've written justifies that. Well done Kirk and good luck for the rest of the tournament.

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:03 pm

Awesome games, well done to both!

Simon Myers · Post by **Simon Myers** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 pm

Yeah I spectated those games "live" and the matchup would've made a very worthy final. Well played both.

Chris Davies · Post by **Chris Davies** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:52 pm

Chris Davies vs. Nick Wainwright

Chris 117 - 78 Nick
Chris 99 - 68 Nick
Chris 105 - 75 Nick

Richard Priest · Post by **Richard Priest** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:36 pm

Paul Howe 109-77 Richard Priest

I thought I was quite well in contention in this game until Paul floored me with the 9.I'll never forget ACROBATS + E now .....

Paul Howe 100-87 Richard Priest

A couple of misses that I was annoyed with here, but Paul barely missed a thing.I think the lag helped me get the conundrum first.

Paul Howe 95-112 Richard Priest

I thought Paul went off the boil slightly at the start of this game,although after the first 2 games there was really only one way he could go.Nice to pull one back

Paul Howe 114-94 Richard Priest

Again a couple of misses that I was annoyed with, but Paul just had the edge and was a worthy winner.After suffering a couple of bad beatings from him at Co events I was desperate to at least make more of a game of it, and I think I did.But well done Paul and good luck.

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:43 pm

Game 1: Howe 109 - 77 Priest

Game 2: Howe 100 - 87 Priest

Game 3: Howe 95 - 112 Priest

Game 4: Priest 94 - 114 Howe

Thanks for some very enjoyable games Rich.

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:45 pm

Ha, I should learn to actually read the preview. You definitely had me worried, was even tighter than the scorelines suggest.

Bob De Caux · Post by **Bob De Caux** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:24 pm

Bob DC 3-0 Jim B

Bob 99-91 Jim

Really good game, with Jim and me getting all the maxes between us

Bob 93-79 Jim

Much scrappier this one, with me edging a crucial conundrum

Bob 101-86 Jim

Technical glitches meant that this game took over two hours to finish! Jim reeled me back in after a flying start, before I just nipped ahead of him to surprise myself and win another crucial conundrum.

Thanks to Jim for three very enjoyable, close games and amusing banter despite the heavy going!

Mark Tournoff · Post by **Mark Tournoff** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:38 am

Hi Junaid,

I see we have been drawn to play each other again this year!

I am around early this evening, or some of the time at the weekend.

Could you let me know when you are available, please?

Regards.
Mark

Junaid Mubeen · Post by **Junaid Mubeen** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:22 pm

Hi Mark,

unfortunately my availability is very limited. I am not around this weekend or early this evening. In fact, I feel I should probably withdraw because even if I do get through I'll be in Poland for the next few weeks, possibly with no connection to Apterous.

Sorry guys, but can Mark have a walkover please?

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:49 pm

Bob De Caux wrote:Bob DC 3-0 Jim B

Thanks to Jim for three very enjoyable, close games and amusing banter despite the heavy going!

And cheers to you too, Bob, I had excellent fun despite the result. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it was a pleasure to be beaten by you! Best of luck with the rest of the tournament, fella.

Mark Tournoff · Post by **Mark Tournoff** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:18 pm

Hi Junaid,

Sorry to hear that, as I was looking forward to our game, and the possibility of making a better fist of it than I did last year! Enjoy yourself in Poland.

Regards,

Mark

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:53 pm

Junaid Mubeen wrote:Hi Mark,

unfortunately my availability is very limited. I am not around this weekend or early this evening. In fact, I feel I should probably withdraw because even if I do get through I'll be in Poland for the next few weeks, possibly with no connection to Apterous.

Sorry guys, but can Mark have a walkover please?

Mark Tournoff wrote:Hi Junaid,

Sorry to hear that, as I was looking forward to our game, and the possibility of making a better fist of it than I did last year! Enjoy yourself in Poland.

Regards,

Mark

I'd be willing to reinstate myself as Junaid's last opponent

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:57 pm

Ian Volante wrote:I'd be willing to reinstate myself as Junaid's last opponent

I think that's fairer, personally.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:28 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:I'd be willing to reinstate myself as Junaid's last opponent
I think that's fairer, personally.

If Mark has no objections to this, I'm happy to make it so.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:52 pm

Ryan T vs Oliver G

Going into this match I had only won 1 of our previous 8 games and that was back in October, confidence was low.

Game 1: And sure thing, I am beaten in round 1 by a darrenic 7. Here we go...I think, but no! I went on to beat OG in four rounds (with 8's of RAMPAGED and TOMATOES) to leave him squashed. I got the conundrum too and ran out a comfortable winner by 31 points, only my second win against him.
Ryan Taylor 113-82 Oliver Garner
http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203015

Game 2: Once again an opening round darren and pencil gives OG the lead. Immediately he is pegged back and a poor ending from Oliver (not scoring in any of the last 5 rounds) gives me another, somewhat, shock victory.
Ryan Taylor 84-64 Oliver Garner
http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203024

Game 3: With me having one foot in the last 8, OG had to do something to keep his dreams of Masters Champion alive. Spots of COAXED, CAUTIONS, IMPROV and the 9 ASTEROIDS put Oliver 90-52 ahead with 3 rounds to go. Only a nine could salvage a glimmer of hope for me and I did indeed respond with DISLOCATE to set up the possibility of taking the game to a crucial, but those hopes were soon dashed with a correct numbers solution by both players.
Ryan Taylor 80-100 Oliver Garner
http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=203035

Game 4: Definitely the most entertaining game, and played 3 days after the previous 3. Oliver took an early lead in round 2 after the invalid submission of ERUVIMS by me. We then maxed the next 13 rounds apart from one when I had CRINOID to draw level. 98-98 going into a crucial conundrum. (I switched on my light at this point as the room was quite dark so I wanted to have a good view of the keyboard). FELWORTOP revealed and before I had time to correct my initial fumbling for the F key it was over in a Hansford-esque manner. Bit of a naff conundrum to have on such a tight game, oh well!
Ryan Taylor 98-108 Oliver Garner
http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=204558

Game 5: After being so close to the next stage of the competition I kind of felt I would never get there. With the tie poised at 2-2 Oliver kicked off strongly maxing the first 7 rounds to open a 52-38 lead. A spot of INTUBATES in the next round put me back in the game with a lead of 4 points. A tough numbers game gave OG the lead again before my error of thinking CAPITIOUS was a word, only to find out the darrenic 8 was CAPTIOUS. With Oliver offering COPITAS, this gave him a 10 point lead. This lead remained 10 points and so it was a crucial conundrum (or perhaps semi-crucial?). A great solve of BIOSOCIAL gave Oliver victory.
Ryan Taylor 87-107 Oliver Garner
http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=205178

So a 2-0 cushion was not enough for me, and Oliver stormed back to snatch the place in the last 8. A very enjoyable tie and pleasing 5 games played to a decent standard. The better player managed to pull through and deservedly so. Well played Mr Garner!

Ryan Taylor 2-3 Oliver Garner