Yay!  I had dave in the pick em.  Rock on.  (or should I say "ric" on)  hahhaa

3/1/09 12:23 PM  Classic  Pendragon falls to XtraStar in 286 turns,
 
XtraStar

A little bit of reporting from Day 1.
 
The first game I saw this morning was a big matchuo between #8 Hardrain_Lenny vs #9 Iliketheesauce. This was a very exciting game with several swings of momentum. It looked at times like both had it wrapped up. In the end, Saucey pulled mild upset after a couple of costly mistakes by Lenny. Great game guys.  
 
The second game I caught was a matchup between #7 trotsky and #10 Machiavellia78. The game was fast and furious, as Mach came out with guns a blazing. Trotsky's defense was set up tight and scored him an early piece lead, that grew quickly as Mach hammered on attack. Eventually Trotsky's forces over powered Mach and the #7 seed moved on. Again, great game guys and good luck in the next round Trotsky.
 
I had to step out during the middle of the day and a couple games were slid in under the radar. Were still awaiting details but we can report that one #1 seed has advanced as Lightwing, the overall favorite amongst "pick'em" entries, eliminated leechboy. Thanks for playing leechboy, you had one of the toughest draws in the tournament.
 
In another match that I missed. #7 Xtrastar defended his seed and moved on to the second round against #10 seeded Pendragon. Congrats Star and we appreciate you guys playing. Best luck in the second round Star and good luck to you Pendragon with your bracket picks. If it's any consolation, mine are not doing quite so well right now.
 
Returning from my raid on Circuit City, I found one of the most exciting games going yet. It was very late when I came in =to the viewing area and was surprised to find a barn burner going on between #3 Apollo and #14 GoldGrizzly. Both players were short on men and it was basically deadlocked with both players holding an advantage in different ranks. Grizzly had a better position of attack on an obvious flag encampment, but the veteran Apollo also had a decent position as he had placed several of his pieces around Grizzly's back row. In the end, Grizzly looked to be a move or so slow with miner as Apollo started hitting the unbombed flag targets, finding the flag just in time. Great game guys, so far I'd say it was the game of the tournament. Congrats to both of you on a fine game and best of luck in the next round Apollo.
 
In an controversial game, #8 Audi_08 beat #9 TARASBOULBA. No details are available at this time as the game was played with public viewing off. This was against the intended tournament settings and after a committee vote, we've decided to let the result stand, viewing it as an easy mistake . However, let us stress to get those settings right guys. Thanks for playing and best of luck next round Audi.
 
In the last game I saw pieces of, #2 power house PUNISH, pulled out an expected but tough fought battle of 15th seeded Street_Sweeper. This game was another long slug fest with PUNISH slowly building small piece advantages in some of the lower ranks. Eventually Street ran out of pieces and bowed out. Great game fellows and good luck Punish in your game against Trotsky. Which by the way can proceed as soon as you guys see fit.
 
more to follow.

Well, We've got an hour left in day one competition and all in all it was a fairly good day. Not quite as many games were played as I'd hoped for but we did get a fair amount of games in for our opener.
 
To update the controversial game won by Audi_08. The Tournament Committee voted and a majority decision was to let the game stand, as it was most likely a simple mistake. But we would like to remind everyone to make sure those settings are correct before you start. Part of the fun of March Madness is being in the crowd and watching the competition.
 
Also, to update another game that was played today. #4 TNRockyraccoon versus #13 Ka_Mate. The game was finally played this evening after I spent most of the day monitoring the gameroom, and then bailing to take the wife out to dinner. Thanks for your patience Ka_Mate. Our game started off with a good amount of posturing on both sides, and then my Marshall was discovered. I was able to get a slight lead in lower ranked pieces as we came to a few fierce stand offs in the middle of the zone with my Marshall clogging the middle. Ka_Mate managed to snake a Captain from me as I tried to get through. He did a good job of spy bluffing my Marshall and at one point I was faced with trading my Marshall for his general. I turned it down, but I did manage to slide my general through his blockade after I found his Marshall.  This turned out to be the turning point as I was able to hit a few moved pieces and two were majors. The game ended in a victory for me after a very hard fought game. Well played Ka_Mate, thanks for the scare. Also, thanks a lot for playing in the tourney.
 
Stay tuned for more updates.

Sounds like some great matches.  I'm feeling good about my picks so far!
 
Hey Rock, any way we could have an updated bracket showing winners posted like once per day or so?

Oh yea, it's the bracket at the tops of the threads that's updating.

Currently, I'm just editing the file and uploading it as the same name. So it should automatically update, as long as everyone's browsers auto refresh.  
 
Good point about the game replays.

Actually the USA Stratego Wiki would be a great place for this info too.
 
See: http://www.strategousa.org/wiki/index.php/2009_Metaforge_March_Madness

Big news from Day 2.
 
The Northern Bracket has been turned upside down as Day 2 has turned into "Upset Monday".  
 
Earlier today Thunder pulled off a big upset knocking off #5 LBboss, and just now we saw a huge upset after #14 seeded supersour knocked off #3 major_force who was a favorite amongst "PICK'EM" hopefuls.  
 
The game started out as a slug fest as both players traded out several high ranking pieces, yet they still remained relatively even, until Major took a slight lead on Captains. Sour overcame and despite a deficit in lower ranks, he managed to gain a lead by taking a major. Major was still in a fair position and he made it even stronger as he took a lead by capturing Sour's last Colonel. However, in doing so he left himself open to a strong attack that found a miner in position to attack a obvious looking flag encampment. The gamble paid off for SS as he found the flag and pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament this far. Great game guys, and congrats to you SuperSour after your big win! Best of luck in the next round.
 
More to come.....

Could it be that a leg of the second round could contain a #14th seed and an 11th seed?
 
Our latest completed game in the March Madness tournament was #6th seed DevoidofRuth vs #11 seed arrowhead. The game was fast and furious from the get go. AH had booby trapped his left lane with a couple of bombs and it appeared to really slow D down. DofR maintained an attack on the left flank, while a major blood bath was occurring on the far flank. Both players were attacking and trading pieces as that side of the board quickly became less crowded. In the process of maintaining both attacks, DofR found himself down to one miner, yet he held a slight piece advantage in lieutenants. As the pieces began to dwindle, arrowhead managed to sneak a miner into the back field and he found a bomb that was closely guarded. This opened the game up as he also held several scouts and with pieces low, finding the right pieces to target was easy. The end game was quick and just as "Upset Monday" continued to claim higher seeds. Very entertaining game guys and thanks to both of you for participating. Congrats on the upset victory in a well played game arrowhead.
 
Now how about that. Who would have thought that #11 arrowhead would be playing #14 supersour in the second round with a trip to the Sweet 16 laying in the balance.  
 
Now that's what March Madness is all about!
 
More to follow...