Earth Rumble VII Skud Pai Sho Tournament

[Cannoli]

Rumblers, the Losers Bracket quarter finals have begun, and only twelve people remain in the whole tournament! We’re excited to see the incredible games that take place in these upcoming days, but first it is time to acknowledge the absolutely crazy game that finished yesterday!

TheRealMomo and TwoTheSecond played what is, by far, the most incredible match of this tournament so far, finishing after a whopping 55 turns! The game began in a deceptively simple way, with TwoTheSecond planting her white 4 and white 5, and Momo doing the same. From there, both players played along the lines of the classic 4-5 fast strategy, while maintaining control of the North and South gates, respectively. On turn 7, Momo placed the first accent tile of the game, a preemptive knotweed that slowed TwoTheSecond down. Soon after, both players brought out their orchids, neither of which was paired with a lotus, though Momo was quick to bring hers out afterward. TwoTheSecond skillfully blocked each and every attempt Momo made at a harmony ring, but Momo defended just as deftly, and the two players danced back and forth as they tried to wear each other down. On turn 18, Momo began a capturing rampage with her now wild orchid, tactically taking out Two’s tiles. Though TwoTheSecond was still handily able to block Momo, she wasn’t able to capture her orchid until turn 32, and by then, Momo had done significant damage to Two’s defenses. Even still, Two held strong, defending carefully as she brought out her lotus, and subsequently chipped away at Momo’s formation with her orchid. Two avoided capture from Momo’s basic tiles, using clash mechanics to protect her weapon, though by turn 47, Momo had functionally stopped Two’s orchid movements, and the orchid was captured by turn 49. For the past few turns, both players had given extra attention to midline harmonies, as the game began drifting towards possible alternate win conditions, and going forward it looked like that indeed would be the final outcome. Yet on turn 55, Momo made a fantastic move, clash capturing Two’s white 4 and using a wheel to create a 4 piece harmony ring amidst the chaos, winning the game!