AADL-GT Round 4 Results: Bros & Co Triumphant!

Mon, 11/20/2006 - 2:38pm by eli

Ann Arbor, Michigan. A cold, grey, Saturday Afternoon in November. Surely, nothing could be as important to the sports fans of Michigan as watching Round 4 of AADL-GT 2006 Super Smash Double Dash Championship Series Live on TV! Right? Of course. However, this was this other game going on, some football game or something, so turnout at last weekend's tournaments was a bit low. All the big guns were present, though, so in the absence of any distinct power vacuum, this season's regulars mostly skated to victory through diminished ranks of hopefuls. When all was said and done, Bros & Co took their first Clan Battle victory from Turtle Clan over a spirited round of Gauntlet, setting the stage for an intense Clan Cup next month. Read on for full tournament results.

With the big game not starting until 3:30, our tournament got underway with 60 registrants for the Super Smash Single Player event and an earlier start than usual thanks to the short lines and lots of self-checked preregistrants. With 28 n00bs sucessfully culled after 3 qualifying matches, a hotly contested seeded prelim round saw 9 upsets out of 16 matches. Then, both [gtplayer:143] and [gtplayer:325] lost in the quarterfinals and [gtplayer:483] defeated Royster [gtplayer:606] in the semis. [gtplayer:483] then beat [gtplayer:197] in the semis, but lost to [gtplayer:614] in the final match to take second place, while [gtplayer:789] of the Pocket Rockets beat [gtplayer:197] to take third.

Moving on to the Super Smash Team event with 30 teams registered and our clan-centric two qual / clan standing tiebreakers format, resulting in a clan-heavy set of elimination rounds, including all of WAH's teams. The quarterfinals again saw some shakeups, as O-Fusion (the Royster Bros) defeated [gtplayer:382] and [gtplayer:895] (formerly BigTummy). [gtplayer:483] and [gtplayer:197] defeated the Foreign Exchange's [gtplayer:396] and [gtplayer:325], NIXON'S BAAAAACK of the Pocket Rockets beat BEATUSANDDIE of WAH, and underdogs SuperBurger of Black Shark Clan ([gtplayer:140] and [gtplayer:153]) defeated the relatively unknown [gtplayer:380] of Clan Crushers and [gtplayer:878]. In the semis, The Roysters beat [gtplayer:483] and [gtplayer:197] to face NIXON'S BAAAACK ([gtplayer:788] and [gtplayer:509]) in the finals, only to lose and take 2nd prize. However, Cisco and Derek then made short work of SuperBurger to take 3rd prize.

As kickoff neared, we began the Single Player Mario Kart Race event with 56 racers registered. With two quals each and 32 of the 56 moving on, that lowered the threshold of elimination significantly and allowed some less skilled players to move on only to get obliterated. Our final race included 3 members of WAH (including the increasingly multitalented #2 [gtplayer:614]) and 2 Vaccinated Monks, as well as [gtplayer:143] of Turtle Clan, [gtplayer:140] of Black Shark Clan, and the right honourable [gtplayer:325] of the Foreign Exchange. As always, anything can happen in a Mario Kart race, and #8 [gtplayer:737] and #3 [gtplayer:504] of We Are Hard took 1st and 2nd prize, while Vaccinated Monk [gtplayer:139] took 3rd prize, leaving the consolation prize (a 10-year old highlighter, we're out of tshirts) to [gtplayer:325].

With the big game underway, the Team Mario Kart Race event got rolling with 28 teams registered as everyone stuck around for one more shot at a prize. However, the mighty combination of #1 [gtplayer:143] and his brother #5 [gtplayer:146] proved unstoppable at this event once again, taking first prize in this event for the third time this season (they took 2nd in Round 2). 2nd prize went to WAH's [gtplayer:737] and [gtplayer:504], and the Vaccinated Monks' [gtplayer:139] and [gtplayer:189] took 3rd, leaving [gtplayer:154] and [gtplayer:821] to the highlighters.

As we watched the clan scores shift throughout the day, it became clear that although WAH continued to put up big points, there were several competitors who would give them a run for their money. The Clan Battle shaped up in a very familiar way, with Bros & Co (the only clan to have made it into all 4 Clan Battles this season), Turtle Clan, WAH, and the Pocket Rockets, who were sitting 4th overall in the Clan standings but well behind Turtle Clan. The Pocket Rockets are not Kart specialists, however, and they were soundly defeated in the Kart round. In the Smash Round, a shocking turn of events saw the Roysters fall to Turtle Clan and WAH lose both their matches, knocking them out of the Clan Battle Final.

For the Final, Bros & Co faced off against Turtle Clan in a 10-minute, 10-quarter round of the arcade classic, Gauntlet. While it was close initially, Turtle Clan got stuck in the infamous Teleporter Level (level 8) and Bros & Co won their first Clan Battle. However, despite WAH's misfortune, they still finish the regular season in First Place overall, with a 5000+ point lead over Bros & Co who in turn lead Turtle Clan by about 2000. The Pocket Rockets cemented a top 4 finish, squeaking by the [gtplayer:483]-powered It's Called A Crew. However, our Clan Cup in December will start with the top 8 clans, so the Black Sharks, the Vaccinated Monks, and the Foreign Exchange will all be invited to try their hand at challenges to be named later.

So, the Grand Championships are just around the corner on 12/16, but first don't miss our Super Monkey Ball event Friday Night, 12/15, where my new Wii just might be making an appearance. Stay tuned for a post after Thanksgiving with full Grand Championships and Clan Cup details, but for now, know that any player in the top 64 as of this minute won't need to worry about the Wildcard event, you're already invited to the Grand Championship Brackets.