Come play and vote in the third round of the Free IF Playoffs!
Register here to show your support by clicking “Going” for the event, and, for those new to the tournament, please look over the rules before casting any votes. A FAQ is available.
Final scores at the end of the segment:
Round 3 has started off with a bang, with over 100 votes tabulated in the first 12 hours of the segment!
Spider and Web continues its trend of drawing enough fans to be the hottest match, but opponent Toby’s Nose is putting up an unprecedented fight against the earlier landmark work. Despite lagging by five in the early hours of the bout, it has roared into action with a streak of scoring that brought it to parity, and the score there currently stands at 9-9.
Another match teetering in the balance is Superluminal Vagrant Twin vs. The Impossible Bottle, where the challenger to the tournament’s #3 seed has played a similar game of catch-up and is holding its own at 6-6.
In the second-hottest matchup, Repeat the Ending holds a narrow lead over Slouching Toward Bedlam at 9-8, in a contest where both sides have already twice traded places as the frontrunner.
Sly and savvy Eat Me has been getting in plenty of licks against Counterfeit Monkey with its devious style, but the heavyweight top seed seems to be warming up and has in the last few hours increased its lead to 8-5.
After the hectic opening hours, most teams have taken a breather over the last half-day.
With the dust settling, #5 seed The Wizard Sniffer has established a significant lead over And Then You Come to a House…, currently standing at 10-6.
After starting out in front, Coloratura has lost the lead to #4 seed Worldsmith and is currently lagging by two at 7-5.
In a contest of puzzlers on court 7, Savoir-Faire has maintained the initiative and is currently three up over The Mulldoon Legacy at 7-4.
Likewise, #2 seed Anchorhead has taken a significant lead over challenger Worlds Apart in a match that also stands at 7-4.
Scoring has picked up a bit, but the overall situation remains largely the same.
The Wizard Sniffer vs. And Then You Come to a House… has seen an uptick in votes and is now tied for hottest game of the match. Unlike the other hottest game, in this match the defender has taken a substantial lead, and the score currently stands at 13-6 in favor of the comedic #5 seed.
Counterfeit Monkey has found its groove and has been steadily accumulating points. It currently has double the score of Eat Me at 10-5.
Slouching Toward Bedlam, which started strong but was surpassed by Repeat the Ending in an extended scoring streak, has regained some momentum and caught up. The scoreboard there shows 9-9.
Worldsmith had leapfrogged Coloratura by a significant amount, but the sea-themed thriller has closed the gap somewhat and is currently just one behind at 7-6.
With the first quarter mark hours gone, scoring continues at a trickle, with 125 votes tabulated so far.
On court 5, Spider and Web has pulled another goal from its bag of tricks, giving it a narrow one point lead over Toby’s Nose, which is trying to sniff out a way to even the score.
In the next court down, Slouching Toward Bedlam and Repeat the Ending have put up effective defenses, with no change in the 9-9 tie for the last half day. The same holds true for Superluminal Vagrant Twin vs. The Impossible Bottle, in which the space sprawler and the space twister remain locked at 7-7.
Both Anchorhead and Savoir-Faire have leads of 8-5, but the former’s margin has eroded slightly against Worlds Apart while the latter’s has lengthened against The Mulldoon Legacy.
The halftime mark has just rolled by, and the situation on the fields is basically unchanged since the end of the first quarter as all teams remain on defense.
Although Toby’s Nose is the tournament’s 10th seed, fans are still marveling at the fight that it has put up against #27 seed Spider and Web, which, although the challenger, has completely dominated other opponents on its way to this round. At present, the ahead-of-its-time puzzler has the edge against the newer defender, but at 10-9 its victory is in no way certain.
#3 seed Superluminal Vagrant Twin is also in trouble as it defends against challenger The Impossible Bottle. Right now the contest is balance on a knife edge at 7-7, and any goal could make the difference in the second half.
Similarly, the bout between Slouching Toward Bedlam and Repeat the Ending is currently an extended standoff at 9-9. Fans who have reserved their vote, or new fans joining the action, will likely make the difference – if not, then the contestants are headed for a coin toss resolution.
4th seed Worldsmith remains just ahead of Coloratura at 7-6, an uncomforably close situation for the defender that threatens a possible upset victory by the challenger.
A batch of new voting has come in, upsetting the delicate balance that prevailed through most of the second quarter.
Superluminal Vagrant Twin has picked up another point, putting it one up over The Impossible Bottle at 8-7. Likewise, Repeat the Ending has broken the tie with Slouching Toward Bedlam and crept slightly ahead to the same score. It’s anyone’s bet as to whether these leads will hold for the rest of the match.
The Wizard Sniffer has extended its lead over And Then You Come to a House…, making it the most lopsided contest of the segment.
Coloratura has scored, placing it even with defender Worldsmith at 7-7 and threatening to knock out a top 5 seed.
Spider and Web has increased its lead over Toby’s Nose to two, leaving the score at 11-9 and giving it a bit – just a bit – of breathing room with time now on its side.
With the third quarter mark now past, all teams seem to be exhausted, with just a handful of goals scored in the previous quarter.
Victory now seems a virtual certainty for The Wizard Sniffer, which leads by eight against And Then You Come to a House… at 14-6.
Counterfeit Monkey seems to be conserving its energy against Eat Me, satisfied with a lead of six at 11-5.
The odds for Savoir-Faire and Anchorhead grow more certain with each passing hour in their 8-5 standings against respective opponents The Mulldoon Legacy and Worlds Apart, but a late game reversal is conceivable in either case.
The other three races hang in the balance with leads of only a single point (in two cases) or a tie score (in one). Fans of Superluminal Vagrant Twin, The Impossible Bottle, Coloratura, Worldsmith, Slouching Toward Bedlam or Repeat the Ending can still make a decisive difference in any of these matches. If you’ve been observing and know (or make time to try) both games in any of those matches, now’s a good time to join the fun and cast your votes!
