Purchase these Items

Products mentioned in this Article

--None--
 

 

US Master 2016 Report US Master 2016 Report
with David Griffin

The winter cold front held off just long enough for the top 18 players from across the US to make it to Legions Hobbies and Games in Pittsburgh, PA. It’s always a pleasure to run the Masters competition and see a top-quality field of competitors in action.

Legions opened its doors for us this year and the local Flames Of War community came out to support the players and see what was going on. I arrived late on Friday evening and immediately had four people eager to help unload the truck and carry the tables down the winding ramp into the store, which is located underneath a shopping mall. 

The store itself has a wonderful bunker or cavern-like air but is large enough (over 4000 square feet of gaming space) not to feel claustrophobic. The owner, Rob, takes great pride in his store and its unique layout thanks to its history as a sports/dance club. The Flames Of War tables were given pride of place in the center of the store on the old dance floor, supplanting the regular tables for the weekend.
US Master 2016 Report

To keep these high-caliber players on their toes and interested, the tournament itself was planned to be as random as possible. The players had to let me know what nation they were playing, but everything else about their armies could be changed round-by-round as needed by the player. At the beginning of each round I would place the match-ups face-down on the assigned tables. I would then announce the upcoming points level to the players and they would have 15 minutes to create their list for that round. Upon validating their lists, I would reveal the pairings and allow them to get ready at the tables. Once they settled in I would draw a mission from the hat. Any mission could be pulled, although each particular mission could only be played on once. As if that was not enough, they were notified that there might be inclement weather rules during one round of the tournament. This ended up happening during round three, when the winter storm rules from Battle of the Bulge were used to represent a snowstorm/sandstorm. Ironically, the first snow of the season started for real that night, giving us all a taste of the next few months’ weather.

US Master 2016 Report Chris Fretts created a wonderful scoresheet so the players could see what was going on and strategize about what their next move would be. Every round you would find the players hovering over the sheet, figuring out who they would probably meet next and what types of unit that player would be running.

Ron Wismer took a commanding lead on the first day. His Finns were able to hold off all attackers and he did not give up any points despite his opponents' best efforts. It was not until the second day when he faced Chris Fretts that the façade was finally cracked and he was slowed down a bit. Chris was heard saying, “Alright, guys, I knee-capped him; good luck,” after his poor US Armored Company got savaged.

Ron held out till the end, however, even with his 3-4 loss to Chris Jackson in the last round (he and Chris had faced each other previously in round two, but Chris had rallied back to second place) and he ended the tournament with 30 points. Jesse Sheaffer came in second with 27 points, courtesy of his Italians, but had two losses and one minor victory that held him back. Chris Jackson ended in third, with his only loss being to Ron in the second-round Cauldron mission, where he admitted, “I got too aggressive too early.”

Everyone reported they had a great time, and all agreed that a tournament like this should be run only with a group of experienced players. But you can definitely use some of the randomness in your own local tournaments to add spice to the event.

In addition to the Battlefront photos, Richard Baier has posted his on his Flickr account and welcomes anyone to come and see them.

Richard Baier's Photos from the 2016 US Masters...

~ David.

US Master 2016 Report
US Master 2016 Report US Master 2016 Report
US Master 2016 Report
US Master 2016 Report
US Master 2016 Report
US Master 2016 Report


Last Updated On Wednesday, November 23, 2016 by James at Battlefront