The Road to Worlds 2012, Week 11

by James Hoskin, Director of Organized Play

7th June 2012

This is a weekly series that aims to preview upcoming Regional tournaments, review Regional tournaments that have just taken place, highlight winning decks, interview players, and more. Last week's article was The Road to Worlds 2012, Week 10.

How can you contribute to this series? First and foremost, I am relying on results and deck lists being promptly entered into this site. I can't write about them otherwise. Other ways you can help include: taking photos, interviewing players, writing previews, and providing background information. Any other way to help the community be a part of your Regional tournament would be appreciated, too. Contact details are at the end of this article.

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Week 10 Review

Saturday 2nd June		Sunday 3rd June
Second Edition (Standard) Loyalitetsbueauet Jens Baggesens Vej 47 8200 Aarhus Municipality Denmark [Results]	Second Edition (Standard) Battlezone Games Suite B5 4333 Czech Lane NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 United States [Results]	First Edition (Block Sealed) Claytons Hobbies and Collectables 5 Paul Court Baulkham Hills, NSW 2153 Australia [Results]	Second Edition (Standard) NordCon Pachthof Schule Beim Pachthof 15 22111 Hamburg Germany [Results]
Second Edition (Standard) Jagerhaus 1209 S. Hillview Road Sioux Falls, SD 57110 United States [Results]		First Edition (Block Constr.) Pizza Italia 34765 Ardenwood Boulevard Fremont, CA 94555-3654 United States [Results]	Tribbles (Standard) Pizza Italia 34765 Ardenwood Boulevard Fremont, CA 94555-3654 United States [Results]
		Second Edition (Virtual) Cranberry Cafe 115 West 45th Street New York, NY 10036-4005 United States [Awaiting Results]

Loyalitetsbueauet: This Second Edition Omarion Nebula Regional attracted five players for some round-robin action. The highlight of the tournament happened in round four, between the top two rated players in Denmark: Soren Ramme Nielsen (s_ramme), playing a Klingon deck titled "Best Hope Of Success, Probably."; and Peter H. Moller (Peukon), playkng a Romulan deck titled "Everything that was human in me died that day". Soren lost a ship full of Klingons to Peter's Romulan "solver", yet somehow managed to hold Peter off and win the game despite that huge setback. Following that game, the final round game was between Soren and Jakob Madsen (jakob), playing an Original Series deck titled "Scotty, I need more power (and a salad pizza)". Both players were undefeated going into the match, so it was to be for the title. Considering these two players had played so well and beaten all of their other opponents, they struggled with dilemma plays against each other. All three missions completed in the game (one for Jakob and two for Soren) were completed on the first attempt. Soren was able to hold Jakob at his planet mission though. That turned out to be enough to win the game, and give Soren his first Regional title on home soil. Four deck lists and three tournament reports can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Loyalitetsbueauet:

Total achievements awarded	15
Most achievements won	Soren Ramme Nielsen (s_ramme) with 7
Average achievements per player	3.0
Biggest ratings gain	Jakob Madsen (jakob), up 57 points to 1509
Average rating of all 5 players	1580

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Soren Ramme Nielsen	Peter H. Moller	Soren Ramme Nielsen	Soren Ramme Nielsen

Battlezone Games: Cedar Rapids, Iowa was the home of the seventh largest Regional this year, with twelve players in attendance. The field featured players from four states, and a visiting player won the title again. Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), playing an Earth Space 9 deck titled "Vastly Inyo IA 2012", was undefeated over four rounds to defend the title he won last year. This also marked Al's third Regional win in the past six weeks. Al extended his winning streak to twelve games; and in doing so, his rating has shot up 141 points during that time. Congratulations Al! Three players ended up with just one loss: Edward Pigman (jindrak), playing a Romulan deck titled "Ahh, mediate peace treaty, my old friend!", was runner-up. Michael O'Shogay (shagg08), playing a Romulan deck titled "Secret Garden", was third; and Casey Wickum (MrCub21), playing a Deep Space 9 / Klingon deck titled "Benjamin Sisko and Martoks War Machine", finished in fourth place. Other decks being played included Cardassian, Dominion, Original Series, Starfleet, Next Generation and Klingon / Starfleet hybrid. Twelve deck lists and five tournament reports can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Battlezone Games:

Total achievements awarded	15
Most achievements won	Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), Michael Van Breemen (The Ninja Scot) and Everett O'Shogay Jr. (nickybaby); with 3 each
Average achievements per player	1.3
Biggest ratings gain	Al Schaefer (ltkettch17), up 46 points to 1745
Average rating of all 12 players	1586

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Al Schaefer	Casey Wickum	Michael O'Shogay	Al Schaefer

Jagerhaus: Four players took part in this Andoria Regional in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Pre-tournament favorite, Kevin Jaeger (Hoss-Drone), didn't disappoint; winning all three games on the way to his fifth Regional title in five years. Kevin was playing a Deep Space 9 / Klingon / Next Generation triple headquarters deck titled "Allied Invasion", that "has a strategy for any deck out there: solver or jank." With 228 Second Edition Regional players in the system up to this event, Kevin is only the second player to use a triple headquarters deck. Shawn Colson (rengar) was runner-up, with just one loss to his name. More gaming following the Regional saw the other players take revenge on Kevin for his win. The end result being each player winning something, be it Tribbles or Zombie Dice. One deck list and one tournament report can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Jagerhaus:

Total achievements awarded	6
Most achievements won	Kevin Jaeger (Hoss-Drone) with 6
Average achievements per player	1.5
Biggest ratings gain	Kevin Jaeger (Hoss-Drone), up 20 points to 1775
Average rating of all 4 players	1578

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Kevin Jaeger	Kevin Jaeger	Kevin Jaeger	Kevin Jaeger

Claytons Hobbies and Collectables: This Block Sealed tournament saw eight players contest the Kazon Collective Regional title. Mike Nugent (Iron Mike) was undefeated over five rounds, and took the title - his first in the Continuing committee-era. He puts his win down to finding Ferengi Military Operations in one of his boosters. The free additional card play making a big difference to his games. Ben Dillon (Broshak), playing a Klingon deck titled "1E Regional #2 2012", couldn't quite make it a third Regional win in three weeks. He did finish runner-up though. Not bad for someone who flew in for the tournament that morning! Six deck lists and three tournament reports can be found on the tournament results page, and an interview with Mike Nugent is below.

Statistics from Claytons Hobbies and Collectables:

Total achievements awarded	6
Most achievements won	Daniel Waller (Walzo) with 2
Average achievements per player	0.8
Biggest ratings gain	Mike Nugent (Iron Mike), up 67 points to 1652
Average rating of all 8 players	1515

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Mike Nugent	Greg Dillon	Ben Dillon	Mike Nugent

NordCon: In the fourth year this Vandros IV Regional was organized, it attracted its largest ever attendance of five players. They played round robin, and the deciding game took place in the fifth and final round. Former World Champion Tobias Rausmann (garetjax), playing a Maquis deck titled "Maquis Tyler style v1.2"; and  two-time past winner of this Regional Michael Mittelstedt (Roga Danar), playing Cardassian; were both undefeated up until that point. There can't have been much between them as they drew the game. This meant that first place was decided by the tiebreakers, with just 50 differential between the winner and the runner-up. They went in the favor of Tobias, giving him his sixth Regional title in the Continuing committee-era. Other decks played included Earth Space 9, Original Series and Dominion / Ferengi. Three deck lists can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from NordCon:

Total achievements awarded	5
Most achievements won	Tobias Rausmann (garetjax) and Thorsten Wanek (JaglomShrek), with 2 each
Average achievements per player	1.0
Biggest ratings gain	Michael Mittelstedt (Roga Danar), up 44 points to 1612
Average rating of all 5 players	1555

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Tobias Rausmann	Tobias Rausmann	Tobias Rausmann	Tobias Rausmann

Pizza Italia (First Edition): This Block Constructed Risa Regional attracted six players. Klingon was by far the most popular affiliation, played by four players. The other two decks were Federation and Ferengi / Starfleet. Stephen Lee (grendelX), playing a Klingon deck titled "30 Card Deck Design Series #117 Klingon Mercenaries BLK REG", won all three of his games, and then had to contest a final confrontation to claim what would be his first Regional title in three attempts this year. Mike (Oddler) was runner-up and Rich Joakimson (Outsider) took third place. Both played Klingon as well, and their only losses were to Stephen. Three deck lists and one tournament report can be found on the tournament results page.

(more photos from Pizza Italia in the Regionals 2012 Photo Gallery)

Statistics from Pizza Italia:

Total achievements awarded	21
Most achievements won	Mike (Oddler) with 7
Average achievements per player	3.0
Biggest ratings gain	Mike (Oddler), up 38 points to 1429
Average rating of all 6 players	1522

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Stephen Lee	Jeremy Commandeur	Jeremy Commandeur	Stephen Lee

Pizza Italia (Tribbles): This Tribbles Regional, following the First Edition Regional earlier, formed the second half of the Risa Region double header. It was contested by four players, two of them actually scoring points, and the other two ending up with the dreaded pity Tribble. Jeremy Commandeur (Commandeur) made up for sitting out the First Edition Regional to avoid a bye, by winning this title instead. He scored 374,475 Tribbles in what must have been a series of fast-finishing rounds. This was his first Tribbles Regional title, but his third overall Regional title this year. Mike (Oddler), the only other player to score points, scored 212,242 Tribbles to take the runner-up spot. Four deck lists can be found on the tournament results page.

Statistics from Pizza Italia:

Total achievements awarded	1
Most achievements won	Mike (Oddler) with 1
Average achievements per player	0.3
Total Tribbles scored	586,719
Average Tribbles scored by all 4 players	146,680

Winner	James' Prediction	Kris' Prediction	Sean's Prediction
Jeremy Commandeur	David Holtmann	David Holtmann	Jeremy Commandeur

Cranberry Cafe: The results from this Second Edition virtual format Regional have yet to be entered. When they are, a review will be added to this article. If the tournament didn't take place, then it may be rescheduled for later this month. Keep an eye on the 2012 Regional Championships Schedule and the Regional Championships forum for more details.

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Interview

Before this week's interview, I should mention that The Road to Worlds 2012, Week 8 has recently been updated. The long-awaited interview with Jeremy Commandeur (Commandeur) has finally been added, and makes for some very interesting reading for anyone interested in sealed deck play.

This week, Mike Nugent (Iron Mike); the #1 ranked First Edition player in Australia, and winner of the First Edition block sealed Kazon Collective Regional in Australia this week, answers my questions.

James: Congratulations on your win. Were you hoping to be given (or not given) a particular virtual starter?
Mike: I was hoping to get the Federation starter, as I assumed it would be the most powerful.

James: Were there any cards you were hoping to receive in your booster packs?
Mike: I was hoping for good dilemmas primarily.

James: How did you customize your starter deck?
Mike: The deck list is here. We received a randomised booster at the end of every round. Round one was just the Block starter. Following the first round, I pulled Ferengi Military Operations. This was a huge coup for me, as nobody over the course of the day got their affiliation's play engine.

James: What was your most effective dilemma combo?
Mike: Gomtuu Shock Wave - Topological Anomaly 4747 - Magnetic Field Disruptions - Radioactive Garbage Scow. The prearranged combos were pretty good, so added dilemmas just helped out massively.

James: Can you talk us through your games? Were there any memorable moments?
Mike: Most games were an issue of outdrawing and outspending the opponent, thanks to Ferengi Military Operations. There were two key memorable moments from the day. First, Ben had self-seeded Q's Vicious Animal Things in order to prevent me from stealing the mission. But he forgot that it was there. So he lost a guy on turn one. The other one came from the match against Clayton's Klingons. One of the supplied dilemmas was Ferengi Ambush. I downloaded three Ferengi with Strength 6 each, and stunned the three scientists attempting with Captain Worf. As a result of the battle, the Ferengi killed Worf. An attempt to repeat this on my turn resulted in the Ferengi getting slaughtered.

James: Who was your toughest opponent?
Mike: I'm fairly certain that the name Dillon comes from the Gaelic for "terrifying opponent." Greg lives up to this name like no other. He knows his cards, and he knows your cards. He knew he had to outrace my Ferengi Military Operations, and I had to outrace him. Ultimately, a well-timed Radioactive Garbage Scow saved the day for me. We were each at our last missions. I needed a guy who was in my hand, and on his turn he went for the last attempt. The ship didn't have enough range to tow the scow, so that was it. Many sighs of relief.

James: What are your thoughts on the block sealed format?
Mike: As a concept, I think it's awesome. It's easy and fun to play, but with possibilities to expand the experience. The only issue is that the Ferengi deck is a bit more powerful than the others, but that's more of an implementation issue.

James: This was your first Regional title. Are you surprised it was in First Edition, given how little you have played compared to Second Edition and Tribbles?
Mike: Yes and no. At heart I'm still a First Edition player. Second Edition and Tribbles still mystify me on a quite few levels, but First Edition for me is incredibly intuitive.

James: Do you have anything else to add?
Mike: Steve Hartmann (Chompers) cut out and sleeved twelve virtual decks, and randomised boosters. That's a massive undertaking that made the day possible and easy for the players.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, Mike.

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Byes

This week, two players won a Day One, Round One bye into their local First Edition Continental Championships:

• Mike Nugent (Iron Mike), winner at Claytons Hobbies and Collectables
• Mike (Oddler), second place (bye handed down) at Pizza Italia

And, five players won a Day One, Round One bye into their local Second Edition Continental Championships:

• Jakob Madsen (jakob), second place (bye handed down) at Loyalitetsbueauet
• Edward Pigman (jindrak), second place at Battlezone Games
• Michael O'Shogay (shagg08), third place (bye handed down) at Battlezone Games
• Shawn Colson (rengar), second place (bye handed down) at Jagerhaus
• Michael Mittelstedt (Roga Danar), second place (bye handed down) at NordCon

And, one player won a 100,000 Tribble Headstart into his local Tribbles Continental Championships:

• Jeremy Commandeur (Commandeur), winner at Pizza Italia

Congratulations to all players, and I wish better luck to anyone who didn't make it this time. These bye winners have been added to the list of current bye winners for the Continental Championships and the World Championships here.

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Deck Statistics

There were 14 players at two First Edition tournaments this week, taking the total players at First Edition Regional Championships to 107 - an average of 5.9 players per tournament. The influence of The Next Generation continues, as 13 of the 14 decks played were either Federation, Ferengi or Klingon. These three affiliations have now won the last seven First Edition Regionals.

The best performing First Edition affiliations to date are Bajoran, averaging 11.0 victory points per tournament; Starfleet, averaging 9.7 victory points; followed by Ferengi, averaging 9.3 victory points. The worst performing affiliations are unchanged this week. The worst are Terran Empire, averaging 6.0 victory points per tournament; followed by Non-Aligned, averaging 6.8 victory points; and then Borg, averaging 7.3 victory points.

The most popular First Edition affiliations are currently:
1.	Klingon	Used by 25 (23%) players	5 Regional wins
2.	Federation	Used by 20 (19%) players	4 Regional wins
3.	Unknown?	Used by 18 (17%) players	1 Regional win
4.	Ferengi	Used by 12 (11%) players	3 Regional wins
5.	Dual Affiliations	Used by 11 (10%) players
6.	Triple Affiliations	Used by 7 (7%) players	1 Regional win
7.	Bajoran	Used by 3 (3%) players	1 Regional win
7.	Borg	Used by 3 (3%) players
7.	Hirogen	Used by 3 (3%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Romulan	Used by 2 (2%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Starfleet	Used by 2 (2%) players	1 Regional win
12.	Cardassian	Used by 1 (1%) player

There were 26 players at four Second Edition tournaments this week, taking the total players at Second Edition Regional Championships to 233 - an average of 7.3 players per tournament. There was a fairly even split among affiliations played this week, with just Bajoran and Terok Nor not getting played. Original Series was played the most (4 times), followed by Cardassian and Romulan (3 times each.)

The best performing Second Edition affiliations to date are Bajoran, averaging 12.6 victory points per tournament; followed by Voyager/Equinox, averaging 12.4 victory points; and then Earth Space 9, averaging 12.2 victory points. The worst performing affiliations are Non-Aligned, averaging 8.7 victory points per tournament; followed by Dominion, averaging 9.2 victory points; and then Deep Space 9, averaging 9.5 victory points.

The most popular Second Edition affiliations are currently:
1.	Next Generation	Used by 42 (18%) players	4 Regional wins
2.	Original Series	Used by 20 (9%) players	2 Regional wins
3.	Dual Affiliations	Used by 19 (8%) players	1 Regional win
4.	Klingon	Used by 18 (8%) players	3 Regional wins
4.	Starfleet	Used by 18 (8%) players	3 Regional wins
4.	Voyager/Equinox	Used by 18 (8%) players	6 Regional wins
7.	Cardassian	Used by 16 (7%) players	1 Regional win
7.	Romulan	Used by 16 (7%) players	3 Regional wins
9.	Deep Space 9	Used by 11 (5%) players
10.	Borg	Used by 10 (4%) players	3 Regional wins
11.	Earth Space 9	Used by 9 (4%) players	2 Regional wins
12.	Ferengi	Used by 8 (3%) players
13.	Dominion	Used by 7 (3%) players
13.	Maquis	Used by 7 (3%) players	2 Regional wins
15.	Bajoran	Used by 4 (2%) players
16.	Non-Aligned	Used by 3 (1%) players	1 Regional win
16.	Unknown?	Used by 3 (1%) players
17.	Triple Affiliations	Used by 2 (1%) players	1 Regional win
18.	Terok Nor	Used by 1 (0%) player

There were four players at one Tribbles tournament this week, taking the total players at Tribbles Regional Championships is 126 - an average of 6.3 players per tournament. Excluding preliminary heats, a total of 36,963,735 Tribbles have been scored to date, an average of 293,362 Tribbles per player.

The most popular Tribbles powers in each deck are:
1.	Go	Used by 24 (19%) players	5 Regional wins
1.	Unknown?	Used by 24 (19%) players	4 Regional wins
3.	Bonus	Used by 15 (12%) players	2 Regional wins
4.	Rescue	Used by 13 (10%) players
5.	Poison	Used by 10 (8%) players
6.	Clone	Used by 6 (5%) players	2 Regional wins
7.	Freeze	Used by 4 (3%) players
7.	Discard	Used by 4 (3%) players	2 Regional wins
9.	Tally	Used by 3 (2%) players	1 Regional win
10.	IDIC	Used by 2 (2%) players
10.	Clone/Go/Utilize	Used by 2 (2%) players	1 Regional win
10.	Clone/Go/IDIC/Recycle/Safety	Used by 2 (2%) players
13.	Battle	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Draw	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Masaka	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Replay	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Reverse	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Safety	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Scan	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Time Warp	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Utilize	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Bonus/Rescue	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Clone/Score	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Copy/Draw/Recycle/Replay	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Copy/Freeze	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Copy/Replay	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Discard/Go	Used by 1 (1%) player	1 Regional win
13.	Discard/Recycle	Used by 1 (1%) player
13.	Go/Utilize	Used by 1 (1%) player

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Predictions

James' Accuracy	Kris' Accuracy	Public Predictors' Accuracy
25/70 (36%)	23/70 (33%)	23/68 (34%)

Congratulations to Sean O'Reilly (Jono) for predicting seven correct results last week. With one result still to come, he has a provisional accuracy rating of 100%. I only managed to get two correct, and Kris managed three correct predictions. The public were a good way behind us both but, thanks to Sean, they are now in second place. There is just two correct predictions between us all. With only 13 Regionals to go this season, any of us can be crowned predicting champion of 2012 (Yes, that is a title I just made up. If I win, then there will be a forum badge and an achievement for the champion. If I don't, then there won't be anything.) In the wake of Sean's magnificent performance last week; this week's interviewee, Mike Nugent (Iron Mike), has some big shoes to fill.

Past Public Predictors
Week 10	Sean O'Reilly (Jono)	7/7 (100%)
Week 6 (b)	Tyler Fultz (DJstormtrooper)	7/12 (58%)
Week 7	Matthew Hayes (karonofborg13)	3/7 (43%)
Week 3	Ben Hosp (bhosp)	2/5 (40%)
Week 5	Michael Van Breemen (The Ninja Scot)	3/16 (19%)
Week 6 (a)	Jim Sharp (jss_hobbie)	2/11 (17%)
Week 4	Shane Brierley (Shanebrier)	1/8 (13%)
Week 1	Will Hoskin (Gumbo)	0/3 (0%)
Week 2	Kenneth Tufts (Worf Son of Mogh)	0/4 (0%)
Week 9	Al Schaefer (ltkettch17)	0/6 (0%)

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Week 11 Preview

The complete schedule can be found in the article 2012 Regional Championships Schedule. There are seven Regional tournaments this week:

Saturday 9th June		Sunday 10th June
First Edition (Block Constr.) Dragon's Lair Kungsholmstorg 8 112 21 Stockholm Sweden [Pre-register]	Second Edition (Standard) Dreamwizards Games 11772 Parklawn Drive North Bethesda, MD 20852 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]	Tribbles (Standard) Dragon's Lair Kungsholmstorg 8 112 21 Stockholm Sweden [Pre-register]	First Edition (Block Sealed) The Pommeler's Rest 198 Tower Bridge Road London, SE1 2UN United Kingdom [Discuss] [Pre-register]
Second Edition (Standard) Arby's Restaurant 2815 13th Avenue S Fargo, ND 58103 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]	Tribbles (Standard) Arby's Restaurant 2815 13th Avenue S Fargo, ND 58103 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]	First Edition (OTF) West Coast Sports Cards 2008 S 314th Street Federal Way, WA 98003 United States [Discuss] [Pre-register]

Dragon's Lair (First Edition): This Omarion Nebula Regional forms part of a Swedish double-header, with a First Edition Regional on Saturday and a Tribbles Regional on Sunday. It is the inaugural Regional to be held in Stockholm; but there were First Edition Regionals in Uppsala in 2011, with nine players; and Gothenburg in 2010, with ten players. Only one person has pre-registered for this year's event so far, but we can reasonably expect the same sort of attendance numbers again this year. Cristoffer Wiker (Smiley) is surely the player to watch out for. He is currently on a four tournament, 15 game winning streak; and he has won more First Edition tournaments than all the other registered players in Sweden combined. The only other player with a win to their name is Daniel Lundberg (Humuhumunukunukuapua). Daniel has not beaten Cristoffer in three attempts, so I'm picking Cristoffer to win this one.

Kris: Cristoffer Wiker to win. Why? The man's the reigning Regional Champion, and carries an 89% win percentage into this bout. He's also conveniently the head ref for these matches, and we both know the guys dressed like zebras hold all the power inside the squared circle.

Mike: Torbjorn Lindquist is my pick. On the forums, he seems to know what's what, and I also don't know who else is playing.

There are no past First Edition Regional results at Dragon's Lair.

Dreamwizards Games: This Second Edition Regional seems to have something of an identity crisis. The tournament listing has an address in Rockville, Maryland; which is in the Romulus Region, yet the tournament description calls it "the Sector 001 Washington DC Regional". Rockville is only 20 miles (30 Km) from Washington DC, so we'll let that one slide. This is the inaugural Regional to be held "in" Washington DC, but with the states of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina nearby; it could attract plenty of out-of-state players. Several members of Team Jersey have already pre-registered, so anyone attending can expect six rounds of intense action. Anyone finishing ahead of Neil Timmons (ntimmons), John Corbett (KillerB) and Ben Hosp (bhosp) will surely take the title. However, I think one of them will win it. Ben won the two Regionals they all participated in, but has finished in the bottom half of the last four tournaments he has played in since. John has two wins and a second place in his last four tournaments, while Neil has two second places and a third place in his last four. I think Ben has been lulling his opponents into a false sense of security with his recent performances, and will take his third Regional title this year on Saturday.

Kris: Neil Timmons to win. Why? The Big Show has been the indy circuit's most dominate in-ring performer for the past three and a half years, making a name for himself in towns along the East Coast and overseas in Canada. As a former DCW Regional, National, and World's Heavyweight Champion, I expect he'll don both the stripes and the gold this weekend.

Mike: In their last Regionals matchup, John Corbett got beaten by Ben Hosp and Neil Timmons. I am tipping that this will somehow fuel his rage into some winning magic.

There are no past Second Edition Regional results at Dreamwizards Games.

Arby's Restaurant (Second Edition): Players from other states, and other countries, are converging on North Dakota for what could shape up to be one of the largest Regionals this year. This is the fifth year this Andoria Regional has been organized. It has moved to a new venue this year, but that doesn't seem to have affected attendance. Previous years have seen between seven and 14 players participate. There are six players pre-registered so far, with talk on the forums of up to 15 players taking part. Among them, two former World Champions: Kevin Jaeger (Hoss-Drone) and Mike Harrington (Ajnaran); and two past winners of this event: Kris Sonsteby (LORE) and Keith Morris (Foreman). Kevin and Keith have already won Regional titles this year. Kris is edging closer to a win, with a third place and a second place to his name, while Mike has not played in a Regional yet this year. Whatever happens, you can be sure that with the six pre-registered players rating averaging 1703, this will be a hotly-contested title. I picked Kris to win at his last two Regionals, so I'm going to lift that monkey off his back this time. Kevin to make it back-to-back wins.

Kris: Kris Sonsteby to win. Why? Three different road warriors have taken home the Regional title at this venue since 2008, with The Old Pro collecting the gold in each of the past two years. While the local humanoids may not like it, just like Pete Rose I've gotta keep betting on my team to win, Gorilla.

Mike: Kris Sonsteby seems the obvious pick, but I'm going to make a bold prediction and state that Keith Morris will sweep this field.

Past Regional results at Arby's Restaurant:
2011 (alternate venue), won by Kris Sonsteby (LORE) playing Original Series.
2010 (alternate venue), won by Kris Sonsteby (LORE) playing Next Generation.
2009 (alternate venue), won by Barry Windschitl (JamesValEson) playing Borg.
2008 (alternate venue), won by Keith Morris (Foreman) playing Voyager

Arby's Restaurant (Tribbles): The Andoria Region double-header continues with this Tribbles Regional following the Second Edition tournament earlier in the day. It is the inaugural Tribbles Regioanl to be held at this venue, but not the first Tribbles Regional to be held in the Andoria Region. That tournament, held one month ago in Minnesota, featured several of the players who will contest this title. Mike Harrington (Ajnaran) won that day, and Kevin Jaeger (Hoss-Drone) made the top table. Other players to watch out for include tournament organizer Matthew Hayes (karonofborg13), who has recently passed 50 million lifetime Tribbles scored, and has countless Tribbles wins to his name; and Kris Sonsteby (LORE), who must have Tribbles fever, having played in 15 Tribbles tournaments during the month of May. Kevin's public decks look the most interesting to me, so I think he'll make it back-to-back-to-back Regional wins.

Kris: Nat Kirton to win. Why? The Beast from the East is a Battle Royale monster inside the confines of the Land of 10,000 Champions, and with the potential for outside interference from his tag team partner The Old Pro I anticipate he'll prove once and for all that this brain thing of mine isn't just a gimmick.

Mike: Keith Morris sweeping the field again.

There are no past Tribbles Regional results at Arby's Restaurant.

Dragon's Lair (Tribbles): This will be the inaugural Tribbles Regional to be held in Sweden, despite Tribbles National Championships being held in Sweden for the last two years. Torbjorn Lindquist (Linkan) and Anna Lindquist (Aneaan) won those two titles. They are also the top two scoring Tribbles players in Sweden, and the most experienced Tribbles players too. With most of their potential opponents only having one Tribbles tournaments worth of experience, I think Torbjorn will add the Regional title to his National crown.

Kris: Torbjorn Lindquist to win. Why? The man won a Battle Royale last year, and will likely be the most experienced participant. He's also offered me a bribe... err... a charitable donation for backing him, and as you know money talks, Gorilla.

Mike: Torbjorn Lindquist is my pick again. Because I don't know who else is playing here either.

There are no past Tribbles Regional results at Dragon's Lair.

The Pommeler's Rest: This is the second year this First Edition Omarion Nebula Regional has been held. Last year saw eight players participate, six of whom had travelled in from afar. This year, five players have pre-registered so far, and they are all local. Two stand out as the ones to watch: Stuart Marsh (SAM2000), with a 48% winning record from his 31 games, and (as much as I hate to say it) my brother Will Hoskin (Gumbo), with a 45% winning record from his 29 games. None of the other players, myself included, have played much First Edition. Will is the only player to have played in a First Edition sealed deck tournament before, and he finished in the middle of the pack; so anything is possible at this event. Counting myself out, I'm predicting Stuart to win this one.

Kris: Will Hoskin to win. Why? With 29 brawls and both World and National title fight experience under his belt, Wee Willy is most likely going to be the wiliest veteran inside the steel cage on Sunday. He has also won 50% of those bouts, though I gotta say, Gorilla, that the likelihood of you and he both surviving this match are probably less than that.

Mike: Will Hoskin. He's got some definitive game in Second Edition, and I believe that this can translate to first Edition in Block.

Past Regional results at The Pommeler's Rest:
2011, won by Danny Nuttall (nuttersuclan) playing Romulan.
2010, not held.
2009, not held.
2008, not held.

West Coast Sports Cards: This is the inaugural First Edition Ferenginar Regional to be held in Federal Way, Washington. The local playgroup only started running tournaments at the venue in February, and Kenneth Tufts (Worf Son of Mogh) was victorious in all three of them. Ken is the #1 ranked First Edition player in the world, but he won't be having it all his way at this Regional, because he'll be challenged by #3 ranked player Jeremy Commandeur (Commandeur) and #4 ranked player Stephen Lee (grendelX). Between them, they have five Regional titles, and 19 tournament wins this year alone. Any of the other players, some of whom are traveling in from Canada and California, are going to find it tough against these three players. Jeremy has the best record against his challengers, with a 67% winning record over Kenneth and a 57% winning record over Stephen. Kenneth and Stephen are tied with 50% wins over each other. Despite this, I'm going to pick Ken to win. He has played more tournaments than Jeremy and Stephen combined this year. His experience will count in the end.

Kris: Jeremy Commandeur to win. Why? With three of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's top ten wrestlers in attendance, there won't be any ham-and-egger's in this match. But, out of those three Mr. Commandeur is the reigning GDW World's Heavyweight Champion, and where I come from to be the man, you gotta beat the man, and until he loses he's still... the man!

Mike: Kenneth Tufts is the obvious pick, but I'm going to tip Jeremy Commandeur. He's rated #3, second highest in this tournament. To quote Avis rent a car, "When you're number two, you try harder." This may carry the day for him.

There are no past First Edition Regional results at West Coast Sports Cards.

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Next Week

A review of the seven results from week 11, an interview with a winning player, more statistics, and a preview of the one Regional Championship taking place in week 12.

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