RESULTS

WINNER

Dakota Eggert (ST)
Elias Kirthi (SB)
Troy Curtsinger (SB)

PROMOTIONS & RE-GRADES

Dakota promoted to B rank
Elias re-earns his C
Troy promoted to D

The teams of North Texas met to test their skills in Addison Circle Park, heating up the night after a week of icy weather. Six fighters from Starbird Saber Academy and Star Temple, plus one unknown, clashed for domination.

Newcomer Chris Nyabicha was catapulted almost immediately into action in the Blue Squadron, facing against Starbird's more experienced Troy Curtsinger, who demonstrated the importance of practice and experience, winning their match 8-1. Starbird Brendan McGill was the standout fighter for the first squadron, displaying clean and technical fencing that saw him undefeated in all three matches. Another standout was Star Temple's Travis Whitcraft, bringing his signature speed and aggression and winning two of his three bouts.

The Red Squadron saw the return of last tournament's victor Elias Kirthi, who energetically demolished the competition while continuing to use his clean defense to good effect, winning a hard-fought battle with Star Temple's captain Dakota Eggert 8-7, making himself also undefeated in his squadron.

All fencers throughout the tournament displayed good sportsmanship and grace, honorably noting when they had been struck. Clean fencing was the order of the day, with very few double hits early in the tournament.

At the end of pools, Elias stood with a commanding first place lead, followed by Brendan and Dakota. All fighters were promoted to eliminations, and now the pressure was on.

Elias advanced automatically thanks to an eleventh-hour dropout from the roster. Having no one to fight, he would have to wait until the semi-finals. Travis and Troy battled for their chance to challenge the victor, and in a close and intense match, Troy won the day. Brendan and Dakota also won their elimination rounds, and now it was time for semi-finals.

A close-fought match between squad mates Elias and Troy ended with victory for Elias on a return. Dakota and Brendan squared up for their bout, and it seemed at first that Brendan's victory was assured, but after one warning for excessive force Brendan again struck hard enough that it was uncertain whether or not Dakota could continue, and he was asked to step out of the tournament.

After a short break Dakota recovered enough to continue, and now his path to the Grand Final was clear. He and Elias faced each other for best 2 out of 3 bouts. Both fighters brought their utmost skills and speed, but even Elias's clean and practiced parry-riposte game was no match for Dakota, and after two close and intense bouts Dakota won the day.

The final result was Dakota in first place, earning a level up to B rank, Elias in second maintaining his C ranking, and Troy in third, leveling up to D.

Thanks go out to all our fighters, most especially Chris for bravely competing at his very first meetup, to head referee Russ Mitchell, assistant referees Troy, Travis, and Dakota, to Susan Eichor for keeping track of match times and scoring, to Starbirds Grace Suarez, Juan Torres, and Riva Amyett for photography and snacks, and to everyone else who came to watch and cheer and make this a fun event.