As day 2 winds down, we had one last game to offer up to "Upset Monday".
 
#6 Ahaiceman vs #11 Nightmare.
 
The game began with a couple of firestorms of action, with pieces getting removed from the board in short order. Then, something happened that put NM in position to feed "upset Monday" another victim....after a quick killing spree against each other, an open lane was exposed for a quick scout and that scout found ahaiceman's spy. ahaiceman rallied and took a lead in Colonels but Nightmare strengthened his draw by taking a lead in Majors, Captains, and Sergeants. It looked as if a Nightmare was about to come true for the Iceman, until he called a bluff and captured a spy, then he evened it up on Captains. This opened up a lane and Iceman mounted a three piece attack that included a miner, and that was all she wrote. Nightmare was in position for the upset, but Iceman reminded him how it's never over until it over. Great game guys, congrats Iceman and best of luck next round.
 
more to come.....

Last Minute Monday Night Match between #1 NE-Pats and #16 Manofwar.  
 
At 200 moves, the game was pretty much even with Mano up a Major while Pats was up by two Captains.  This changed three quarters of the way through the game when Mano lost his Major to the General and Pats maintained a two Captain lead.  At this point in the game the Marshall, General and one Colonel were still on the battlefield for both opponents.  The turning point of the game came when Mano bluffed his miner through and removed the bomb covering the flag.  Mano then came in with his unrevealed Marshall, which Pats discovered with his General.  Mano, taking a bold risk of losing his Marshall to a bomb, went in for the kill and captured the flag with his Marshall. This game was officially played on day 3 but it's apparent that "upset Monday" was not finished yet. After the match, Pat's comments said it all. "I can't believe I lost track of those pieces, I never forget". So now everybody's "PICK'EM" brackets are turned upside down, as on Day 2, we're seeing an 11th seed, a 14th  seed, and a 16th seed advance into the second round.
 
It was a suspenseful game that kept us viewers on the edge of our seats!  Great game, guys! Best of luck in the next round Manoward!

Congrats on the win Rumbleseat, and best of luck in the next round.  
 
My "PICK'EM" brackets look like they went 12 rounds with Holyfield or something.......Beaten down black and blue!  
 
More to follow.....

We've just completed a few more games, and are now well past the halfway point of the 1st round. I'm going to add bracket to this post so people can see a current bracket without having to go back to page one to see it.
 
 

 
 
In today's battles, we've seen a slight upset and the end to a dance that I've watched for three days now.
 
I was caught in the shower when #7 VENOM and #10 TheRumbleseat faced off. I could here the turn bell dinging and the sound of soldiers dying. I emerged from the shower just in time to see Rumble take the win and feed the upset machine again. Congrats Rumbleseat and god luck next round. I had picked VENOM to go a few more rounds so my "PICK'EM" bracket is sinking like the Edmond Fitzgerald.
 
Now, for a dance as intricate as mating sand hill cranes. I watched #5 Badmofo and #12Comba dance in and out of the gameroom  as if on cue for almost three days now. One would be here for hours then leave and the other would come in right on cue. The game finally went down to day and while it was exciting, comba kindly let it out of his grasp when he challenged a protected piece with his General. Unfortunately for comba, it was protected by a Marshall, and while this alone didn't win it for mofo, it did set him on his way to victory. The rest of the game was just a metter of piecing down.
 
Congrats on your games guys and good luck to you Rumbleseat in the next round.  
 
 
I hope mofo plays well next round.....just not well enough!
 
More to follow....

Rocky,  
 
 you are doing a great job, I only wish I could have played better and stayed in the darn thing, oh well maybe next year.  

i definitely agree with lenny. while playing stratego is good and all, and a very good way to pass the time at work, it is much more exciting and enjoyable when big tournaments are put together, escpecially when all of the best players are involved. rocky is doing a sweet job of keeping it exciting, and letting everyone know whats going on and when. thanks again to rocky for taking the time and energy to put this thing together.
 
all that being said, i probably wont give a rats ass about this tourny when i lose, but until then.....VIVA LA MADNESS!

madmax defeats jmrbonzo in the first round.
Cu

Hey guys, I appreciate the kind words. This tournament has been very exciting for me and I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying it.
 
Now for some fresh updates.
 
In the first game after lunch, #4 Flyers7 took on #13 leon7. The game was one of great interest to some of us as it would be the first time we've seen Flyers in action in some time. Well, after watching the game, I must say that it looked like he never took any time off. The game started out close as both players exchanged a major and a few captains in an effort to find out valuable information. It looked as if the game would be a long slug fest of exchanging pieces, that is until Flyers busted it wide open by taking Leon's General and a Colonel in one fatal swoop. Leon tried to rebound but by this time it was too late. Flyers not only avoided the upset bug, but he also looked strong in doing so. Thanks guys for playing and best of luck next round Flyers.
 
I've got two more updates to do, but I'm going to need to take advantage of the "replay" feature here at Metaforge to enjoy these two games.
 
More to follow soon......

The stories and excitement of March Madness continue to amaze us all.
 
In another fascinating game, #3 miroeltg took on #14 jjbuck in their 1st round meeting. The game started out at a fair pace as both players made attacks and killed a few soldiers. After about 50 moves JJ had taken a slight lead in sergeants and then he added to it with an extra captain. Miro fought back and eventually captured a Major to take the lead advantage. Miro then added to his lead by equaling out the captains and sergeants. It appeared that all momentum was swinging to the favored Miro. However, JJ had mounted a flank attack that could be one of the best in history. A 3 piece charge down the right flank consisting of at least one miner, and a Field Marshall as well as another backing soldier. Once the trio hit the back row, they swung across the battlefield under the protection of a Marshall until the miner found the bombs. Miro had the bomb protected, but it was of little use as JJ's forces were too abundant and it wasn't long until Miro's flag fell.
 
Awesome game guys, and what can I say.....Congrats JJ on another huge upset in the first round. Best of luck next round.
 
In another game that needs little reporting because I think more people saw this game than the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, #6 Exponential took on #11 Knights_templar.
 
This game had more drama than any other game of the tournament. First, Expo sits silently for almost 3 days, without KT ever showing up. Then, like a gift from a long lost uncle, Knights shows up. But even then the drama was big as KT set a 8:30 timeline. But the real fireworks began as Knights demanded Remain Visible. Expo, within his rights, refused.....and the message bell began a constant "ding ding" as a gameroom feud broke out. Knights threatened to go on hiatus until the first round deadline. A time he knew Expo would not be available. Expo was in the right (and that's something you won't hear me say often....no offense expo) and after a lot of prodding and talking down, Knights agreed on RV off.
 
Whew.....what a story. Oh yea...they played a game too.
 
The game was a fireball of activity which lost a lot of it's fuel early on as Knights rammed his Marshall into a bomb, and Expo took a colonel lead. Knights somehow managed to hold a slight lead though in smaller ranks including an extra Major that he used to keep the game semi interesting. At one point KT made it into the endzone with a miner and that Major, he even took a couple swipes at possible flags, but Expo was just too strong.
 
Thanks for the fireworks guys.....Keeping it interesting for sure. Good luck in the next round Expo.
 
In the last game to report on today. #5 madmax vs. #12 jmrbonzo. The game started out tight and as soldiers died off in an equal fashion. In fact, after 100 moves both players were almost dealocked with both having lost Generals, and a Colonel, and Bonzo held the only real lead with an additional Lieutenant. Then within 20 moves madmax lost his Marshall to a spy while gaining a lead on Colonels and Majors. His two piece advantage in lower ranks proved to be more than JMR's Marshall could handle and the rest of the game was what I would consider slow posturing as pieces slowly dropped off the board until JMR offered the game up to madmax.  
 
Great game guys and best of luck next round Max

Another #1 advances as Underground gets by #16 Glandz. The game itself had a few surprising moments early as Glandz took a Colonel from UG, but UG used the knowledge that Colonel gained and proceeded to roll with it. Generals traded, remaining Colonels traded, and UG would pick up a piece here and there with a highlight on two Captains in a row. Eventually the odds grew too large and Glandz bowed out gracefully. Congrats guys and good luck next round UG.
 
More to follow....