Semi-Finals

Friday, 27 February 2004, 2:15pm

Note: with five people going into the semi-finals, it was decided that there would be two games and one bye, with a round-robin in the final. Morris Tichenor drew the bye and will not be required to play until the next round. Since Miles and Andrew tied, there will in fact be another semi-final round, to be followed by the final game, in Round 4.

The third round of the tournament was characterized by an amazing level of concentration, complemented by tension heavy enough to hang palpable in the air. The intensity of the contestants reflected the amount of energy and passion they put into the games, producing remarkably-tight games that were undecided up until the last moments. A variety of people stayed on the sidelines: some to watch, some as moral support and others as comic relief.

Pattenden v. Crabtree

Andrew Crabtree has been the silent sensation of this year's tournament, steadily moving to the top with a minimum of fanfare due to the remarkable skills he acquired while undergoing training at an elite ninja-Scrabble camp deep in the woods of Northern Ontario. With supernatural patience and endurance he fought to a standstill the explosively-successful Miles Pattenden, who has until now dominated the tournament, blasting away his enemies by embarrassing margins. While this game may have been a draw, Miles is far from done, and he now gets his wish to meet arch-nemesis Morris Tichenor in the next round--it will surely be a grudge-match of epic proportions.

Black v. Rigg

In a game fought tooth and nail all the way, Professor A. G. Rigg managed to narrowly edge out Winston Black, keeping the faculty in the game, but eliminating the last of the PhD students from this year's running. Prof. Rigg now must sweep the MA students from the field to earn his well-deserved victory and bragging rights over the rest of the faculty.