Tric Trac Tourno 40 Report

A DOWNUNDERERS TTT


It's been a while since I ran a DownUnderers TTT. The main problem is me being motivated to do one at 8.00 o'clock my time. But there is a core of Kiwi and Aussie players and I have a deep rooted love for Australia so I'd like to see them grow. However the DownUnderers were up against some of the regular TTT players who were online first thing in the morning. We had 10 players - a good enough number to make a TTT go with a swing and our TTT Scorer to take a load off my shoulders. Topaz had had at least 4 drinks before the TTT started, Nina joined us from Norway and had coffee, Skyjames from the U.S. was on beer, Abbycaz and Jensa were drinking NewZealand dry, Grant joined us having had trouble getting into Funcom and 2015, Exelibur and Kissmyring were last few minute sign ups. We also had our TTT scorer who was on Gin and Tonics and ice but no lemon because you can never get a slice of lemon in Australia. Abby told us she has lemons in her garden so she lobbed a lemon to me here in London which was sliced and plonked into the TTT Scorers glass.     

The Standings Page was updated every 5 games in this TTT. 
It's the average column that is the key to how well players are doing.

Jensa got off to a wonderful start with a backgammon in game 2. 

By game 5, admittedly before some players had played their first game, 
Jensa had a commanding lead. 

In game 6 Grant won a gammon, game 8 saw Jensa lose 
and game 10 saw Kissmyring win a second straight win.

Our leading players were starting to show their faces.

Abbycaz got a gammon in game 12, Jensa lost again in game 13,
 Whiteman lost in game 14 and Grant beat Abbycaz in game 15

Jensa was still in the lead but others were catching up with her average.

Jensa won in game 16, Kissmyring won in game 17, Grant won in game 18,
 Nina got a gammon in game 19 and Whiteman got a backgammon in game 20.

Now Jensa shared the lead with Whiteman, Grant was still in contention 
and Abbycaz, Nina and Kissmyring were not far behind. 

Topaz beat Kissmyring in game 21 which knocked Kiss's chances, 
Whiteman maintained form in game 22, Nina beat Skyjames in game 23, 
in a crucial game Jensa gammoned Grant to extend her lead 
and in game 25 Topaz gammoned Whiteman.

Jensa was looking favourite again with Whiteman in second place.

Game 26 saw Abby beat Kiss, in game 28 Grant gammoned Nina 
and in game 29 Whiteman beat Jensa.

Grant now took the lead, Jensa dropped to second place 
and Whiteman held third place.

Game 31 saw Exelibur gammon Kiss, in game 33 Nina beat Abby, 
game 34 saw Whiteman win and in game 35 Grant lost by a gammon to 
Topaz who now had 2 gammons. 

Jensa didn't play during this period but retook the lead from Grant. 
It now looked between these two. 

Game 37 saw Jensa lose to Kiss, Grant won game 39 and Jensa lost in game 40. 

Grant now had the lead back. This was going to be close.

In game 42 Jensa won a gammon to put herself back in the lead. Skyjames was now missing and had three games to play. Then a report came through that 2015 beat Sky. So we had two games to play. Abbycaz versus Skyjames and Grant versus Skyjames. Still Sky was nowhere to be found. The Abby v Sky games was not crucial but the Grant v Sky game was. After a while when Sky still had not returned it was clear that some course of action was needed. Because this is a league format it is important that all games are played. Rule 201521 of TTTs states that if a player plays less than 50% of their games then those games are not counted at all. But what happens when they play more than 50% of their games then disappear? A replacement player (preferably of a similar standard as the missing player) needs to stand in for them. Only last week I (MMM the T.D.) played Sky twice - we had a very close 7 pointer match and another 7 pointer which I won mostly due to my lucky rolls. So I seemed the ideal candidate. I explained to all the players that I would step in for Sky. First I played Abby who won the game. This is how the Standings looked after this 44th game: 

Grant was now in the average lead but Jensa has the most points.

GRANT MUST WIN THE LAST GAME BY A STRAIGHT WIN TO DRAW WITH JENSA. 
IF HE LOSES JENSA WINS THE TTT. 
IF HE GAMMONS OR BACKGAMMONS HE WINS THIS TTT.
 IF THERE IS A DRAW JENSA V GRANT PLAY A FINAL PLAY-OFF 
So game 45 started. MMM playing in place of Skyjames. Grant has so so often been the runner up in a TTT I've lost count just how many times he has had that fate happen to him. But I wasn't going to let him win. I played as best I could and made him play his best too. In a match watch by a good few we battled it out. And the winner was, by a straight win, Grant. 

So we had Jensa and Grant both on 10.5 points. 
Rule 217952 of TTTs states that if two players finish on equal points there must be a Final Play-Off. 

So yet another game was set up, watchers joined and off Jensa and Grant went. In an extremely exciting game, Grant was looking good until Jensa threw a magical 6-1 and won the game from there.

JensaNZ  wins a 
Backpacker Travel Towel.


Thanx to all the players who took part and to the spectators who dropped in. 


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