B5CCG::Black Omega Squadron::tournament reports
Triples 2000 - A VIEW FROM THE TOP TABLE
by Neil Gow
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 04.30
Woke up an hour after feeding Emma. Very tired. Feeling the irrational need to throttle Andrew for being so bloody nervous about travelling. Eat coco-pops and nearly throw up because stomach is still asleep. Collected by Peter in his swish Mazda convertible. Discover that Black Omega either needs to get some friends with practical cars or a merchandising trailer for GenCon.
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 06.00
Set off for Sheffield in Andrew's sub-zero Micra. Begin the abuse of Andrew and the hunt for bacon. Every McDonalds drive-thru is closed between Newcastle and Leeds (because they start work at a reasonable time…) but Andrew succumbs to the world's most expensive bacon sandwich at some half-built services on the M1. The rest of us abuse him some more. The feeling in the car is one of nervous confidence for the players and near blind panic for me as I realise I've forgotten more rulings than I can remember.
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 08.30
Finally manage to hit (literally) a McDonalds just north of Sheffield. Note - this is the very best McD's in the country - fast service, nice staff and bacon on-tap. Travel into Sheffield with Neil's Crap Maps ™ and traditionally get lost going up the wrong hill. Finally succumb to buying an A-Z and find the hotel - which of course isn't our hotel because Peter has taken us to the wrong one! After making lots of 'League of Gentlemen' references about the rather strange hoteliers, we decide that discretion is the better part of valour and head for the tournament, but not until parking next to the Church of Jesus Christ, Scientist - this was getting weird.
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 10.15
Phil is fretting slightly because we were initially given six tables for a 60 player tournament - generous! There are lots of familiar faces floating around the hall and there was a definite feeling in the air. Every few minutes another group would arrive and the total number would creep closer to the magic 52. The dutch lads were there in some cracking t-shirts and (eventually) the full compliment of 16 Newcastle players were gathered - even donating one to Team Portsmouth. The Black Omega merchandising wing was set up and the t-shirts disappeared as fast as I could get change. Finally, we closed registration with 63 players across 13 teams, smashing the world record for the largest B5 tournament.
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 11.30
Addressed the masses outside and explained the rules and the Credit Chip system. Everyone was obviously thinking about the tournament ahead because they didn't even heckle much. After a few moments they were all called in and we were Game On! ( and only tem minutes late…we're getting much better at this!)
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 13.15
The first round was underway and I had a chance to have a look around the rest of the hall and marvel at the B5 Full Thrust simulation going on at a nearby table. Whilst the soundtrack CD might have been a tad loud, it didn't half add to the atmosphere. Phil and I sat for a while and were smug at each other for breaking the record before we got down to some serious Black Omega work (honest). As the results came in it became obvious that the Newcastle teams were doing very well indeed whilst Team Pump were having a nightmare. At the end of the first round Newcastle B and A were in top slots, almost too good to be true. ( OK, so Andrew had decided to register Newcastle A as New castle C to confuse people…. As if he needed to annoy me any more??)
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 15.00
The second round saw more of the same - and now people were beginning to want rulings! Managed to field a few and gain some much needed confidence. Indeed I managed to go the entire tournament without ruling on Level and Attacking, Saboteurs and Participation and KiP conflicts after a replacement. Maybe people are learning? <g> Remembered to eat my packed lunch (Thanks Christine!) and tucked into a HUGE Scotch Egg. After the second round, the Newcastle teams had swapped places but it was still Geordie domination.
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 17.15
The Newcastle A&B teams were bunched on the top four tables, which was not to their advantage in the final round. I had to make an announcement to remind people that they were playing for their team not their region, just to underline the need for fairplay. Sorted out prizes with Phil and discussed the current WWF/WCW goings-on. Even did a bit of official 'floor-walking'. Managed to totally forget the no-cost rule, but Chris Hayes managed to remind me in time - bless him! The final was won quickly by Sven of Team Homer but other games dragged on. With a few results still to come in it wasn't obvious who had won and then Phil found out that we had twenty minutes to vacate the building. Time was called and I nervously calculated the final scores. It was difficult to remain impartial as I read out the results as I knew exactly the huge effort that the Newcastle teams had put into their preparation for this tournament. It was bittersweet that the bunched B team were pushed into 5th place by 0.5 pts but I must have had a grin like a Cheshire Cat when I announced that the A team had won by a considerable margin! With the event over, I could cast off the face of the impartial judge and join everyone for some considerable celebration!
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 19.00
Settled into the Star and Garter and began to demolish a few pints with Team Homer and the players from Liverpool. Eventually we were joined by the victorious A team, Team Pump and the lads from Portsmouth, regaling us with tales of prostitution…? Chatted to the dutch lads about the state of the game in Holland and then made the big push for food. Personally I just wanted to grab a kebab and get back to the drinking but hungrier stomachs prevailed and we went on a Curry hunt. After dragging Andrew away from the extremely expensive hole we went to last year we ended up in a rather nice small place opposite the pub we were all going to meet in. Good comedy value from the Ali G lookalike waiter and the appetites of the Dutch team. I'm supposed to be the greedy one but they make me look positively picky!! Excellent banter with the lads although I showed my hideously poor knowledge of Dutch football ( "Errhmm.. I know Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord??)
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 22.00
The A Team took a few moments out to themselves to be officially and overtly smug. Apologies from me to anyone that was caught in their smug-field over the weekend. They don't get out much. What? My fixed grin? That was something different entirely….
Saturday 8th April 2000 - 23.00
Onwards to the Corporation, after managing to lose Richie Willis - and anyone that knows Richie will know that he is not an easy man to lose on a straight street! In the club, downed a few bottles of Brown Ale and stood with Ian watching the others watching the 'floor show' - Notes to B5 Community - 1. Two girls dancing together does not a lesbian floorshow make. 2. Phil always gets that attention, it's his pheromones. 3. Didn't your parents ever tell you that it's rude to stare if you don’t intend to pay for a dance! After a mixture of beer, exhaustion, crap music and embarrassment, we left, managed to wander all over Sheffield City Centre looking for a taxi rank only to realise that there was one outside the club - doh!
Saturday 9th April 2000 - 02.00
Finally got to bed, knackered but still thinking of cards….
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 04.00
Woke up suppressing the urge to stick a bottle in Andrew's mouth and then get him to burp his wind up. Went back to sleep.
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 08.00
Chicken Madras plus Brown Ale = Severe Bottom Problems, so my room was a tad 'clingy' when I woke up. After a wash and a dump managed to watch Match of the Day and keep up to date with the real world. Breakfast was an experience as we swapped hangovers and then remembered to be smug. Entertained the masses with my Delenn and Londo impersonations using the breakfast napkin. Everything hurts. Note again that five people, no matter how skinny, can not fit into a Micra if I am one of the people in the back seat. Chris Dick may never come out of therapy!
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 10.30
Gathered enough people for the charity auction to take place. Much humour value from the bidders with their £1 increments. Quick note to Precedence - NO ONE WANTS TOMB RAIDER <thank you>. Managed to raise over £320 for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf and £162 for the National Meningitis Trust, thanks to the donation of a Surprise from UK/BO Champion Stephen Gold which went for £125.
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 12.00
Started the sealed deck tournament with three teams - Newcastle A, Portsmouth and a Wales & West squad system. Whilst that was pottering on, even managed to drag Phil into a game for the first time in ages and had some fun with my G'Kar Forsaken deck. Despite his protestations I challenge Chris Hayes to explain how a Vorlon OOA deck is 'social'?
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 15.00
The final round of the Sealed Deck was the biggest turn around I have ever seen. Trailing by a huge margin behind the other two teams, it looked as if the Newcastle team was resting on it's laurels, but as team member Chris Dick said - " maybe the hangover's were wearing off?". Newcastle swept through the final round scoring maximum points and took the Team Sealed from under the noses of the Welsh who had a nightmare and ended up falling from first to last place in one round. Another victory, another notch higher on the smug-o-meter and at last, the end of Triples for another year. Hands were shaken, invitations made to tournaments and many thinly veiled threats of retribution cast around about GenCon and then everyone went home.
Sunday 9th April 2000 - 04.00
After squeezing all of our stuff back into the car, we set off back home, reveling in victory ( a first for anyone from Newcastle..) and building theme decks in our heads for the tourney next Sunday. Even the banning of the football from the car and the subsequent mobile calls to tell us we were knocked out of the FA Cup could dampen the spirits and we made excellent time getting home.
So now we have to look forwards to Wheel of Fire, a new league season and maybe even a diversion into Wheel of Time, should anyone stock the cards! All in all, it was a brilliant weekend and gave us some great memories - and marked a few people's cards for Gencon as well….?
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