RESULTS

WINNERS (INDIVIDUAL)

1. Tony Zaldua (KB)

2. Josiah K (BS)

3. Cyrus H (BS)

WINNERS (TEAM)

1. Tony/Nate

2. Josiah/Cyrus

PROMOTIONS & RE-GRADES

1. Josiah K promoted to D (tentative)

CREDITS:

Director: Kevin Fournier

-Score Keeper: Joli Rosier

-Chef: Joli Rosier

-Streamer: Jasmine Wats

Darkness arose. Two prevailed.

Basin Saber Academy’s Dark Ascension introduced the Lightspeed Saber Fencing community to Annihilation, a tactical team format where teams strategize between encounters to eliminate their foes one by one. Instead of winning points, each team member has hit points. Take a hit, lose hit points. When things get desperate, counter attacks can revive you and your allies.

Four 2-person teams comprised the team event: Josiah Kupitz and Cyrus Hamilton, John Kupitz and Oliver Rosier, Kevin Fournier and Travis Pace, and Tony Zaldua and Nate McCroskey-Izzet. Rank and experience predetermined one teammate as Master and the other, Apprentice. To everyone’s surprise and delight, the format's atypical scoring system brought unexpected strategies. Even veteran Tony Zaldua couldn’t bring his team to more than one victory. Josiah and Cyrus were the most formidable team, ranking first in the Annihilation round robin, with John and Oliver only a few points behind.

The team format moved into single-elimination using a best-of-3 format. In each match, the first round pitted Master against Master while the second round positioned Apprentice against Apprentice. If a third round was required, the losers of the first two rounds fought to determine the outcome. A team is only as strong as its weakest member.

Josiah and Oliver eliminated Kevin and Travis in the only match that went to a third round. Travis ended his round with a textbook counter attack, but his rusty teammate Kevin got shutout by Cyrus’ swift hand picks. Tony and Nate exterminated John and Oliver. John couldn’t score a single point against the Lightspeed Strikes Back champion, and Nate proved too elusive for Oliver. The finals were much closer, but Tony and Nate ultimately prevailed over Josiah and Cyrus.

In a cruel twist of fate, the tournament director was about to award Master and Apprentice medals to the winning team when he stopped to ask Nate who the Master really was. With peer pressure from the crowd, Nate challenged his master Tony for a chance at the Master medal. Though he did not succeed, he proved himself a true Sith in the attempt, and Nate accepted the loss and his Apprentice medal with honor.

Dark Ascension held a sanctioned C2 rated Lightspeed Saber League tournament during the latter half of the evening. Six competitors duked it out in a round-robin: Cyrus Hamilton, Josiah Kupitz, Nate McCroskey-Izzet, Travis Pace, Oliver Rosier, and Tony Zaldua.

Tony dominated the qualifiers by winning all five of his matches, leaving the remaining five to determine who would advance to the Top 4. Josiah and Nate both won three of their matches, securing second and third seeds respectively. Cyrus and Oliver both won two matches, but Cyrus’ performance helped him squeak into the fourth spot.

Unfortunately, that meant Cyrus’ only chance to win was to beat Tony Zaldua in the first bout of the quarterfinals, but he was simply no match for Tony’s quick blade and varied strategies. Josiah faced off against Nate for a much closer match, managing to take the win and move on to the finals. Cyrus and Nate then engaged in combat for third place. Cyrus’ quick snipes won him the bronze.

Tony and Josiah went head-to-head in a best-of-3 final match. Much to Josiah’s consternation, he could not match blades with Tony, losing in two rounds. Still, Josiah was pleased to win the silver medal and earn his D ranking! Tony, already a B rank, couldn’t do much with a C rank, but he was going home with a cool custom black Master medal and the coveted first place gold medal.

It was a great night. Jasmine Wats kept the stream focused and entertaining during the whole tournament without taking a break. Joli Rosier kept score and stats for every single bout and brought some amazing pulled pork sandwiches to feed the athletes! Without these fine people, the night could not have happened. Even a dark lord of the force can't do everything!

As for the fights, we had some dramatic blade breaks, a tip that hit director Kevin Fournier right in the stomach, and some crazy attempts at General Grievous cosplay. During a qualifier match Josiah and Cyrus re-enacted the finale from Episode III between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. They may have wasted time and points and earned a yellow card, but it it was worth it for the memes.

Thanks to Tony for making the long trip up. When you hear what Tony endured to make it, you’ll appreciate his great attitude even more. Special thanks to the spectators who came and hung out with us for the entire evening. The support from other bases and local family and friends means more than we can put into words. Your enthusiasm makes these events worth all the time and energy.

Stay tuned. Basin Saber Academy’s next tournament will take place in April.

KEVIN FOURNIER

Tournament Director