We’re in Round 5, the Tournament Semi-Finals, and the winners of these matches will compete for the tournament championship next week. With only four competing games remaining, let’s see who comes out on top…
DAY 1
Augmented Fourth took an early lead, scoring the first three points unopposed, but Sand-dancer is hot on its tail and has been making up ground. The latter is now just one point behind with a score of 5-4.
Never Gives Up Her Dead notched the first two points against Metamorphoses, and though the latter was briefly ahead in the first day scramble, the former is now up two points at 5-3.
DAY 2
Augmented Fourth remains ahead of Sand-dancer, having added two more points after Sand-dancer briefly caught up at 5 all. The score in that match is now 7-5.
After new scoring on both sides, Never Gives Up Her Dead has extended its lead over Metamorphoses to three points with the board now showing 7-4.
DAY 3
No new scoring.
DAY 4
Augmented Fourth added another point on the fourth day of the round, bringing its lead over Sand-dancer to three points at 8-5.
DAYS 5 AND 6
All scores static with time running out for the round.
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FINAL RESULTS
The contests were again short and sharp this round, settling the matter of which two games will have a shot in the championship round.
Match #61: Augmented Fourth prevailed against Sand-dancer after a hard-charging start delivering it three points unopposed. Although Sand-dancer scrambled to catch up and briefly tied at 5-5 early on Day 2, Fourth kept going and ended the match ahead at 8-5. Most fans had little insight into this match, but one did predict the presence of Augmented Fourth – missing on its opponent but correctly calling the win. Sand-dancer, which originated as a running worked example in the book Creating Interactive Fiction with Inform 7 by noted IF author Aaron Reed, was the only competing work representing him and Alexei Othenin-Girard. The relatively unknown work earned a single XYZZY Award in 2010 for Best Supplemental Materials, ironically treating the book in which it appears as a feelie for itself. Per IFDB, the pair of authors also collaborated with Duncan Bowsman on the 2010 work Mango. Reed, of course, is a well-known author with many other works listed on IFDB, including Blue Lacuna, Whom the Telling Changed and 18 Cadence among others. We salute both authors along with their work as they retire honorably from the field after a remarkable, odds-defying run.
Match #62: Never Gives Up Her Dead overcame Metamorphoses in a match with very similar dynamics. After Never Gives Up Her Dead scored the first two points unopposed, Metamorphoses tied up at 3-3 on Day 1 but then fell behind as Never Gives Up continued to gain votes. When the whistle blew, the final score was 7-4. Metamorphoses was the first major release by superstar author Emily Short, and one of three works created by her (the others being Alabaster and Galatea) that competed in this tournament. IFDB credits her as author or co-author of almost fifty works, many of which are considered landmarks of the field, such as Savoir-Faire, Bronze and current #1 on the IFDB Top 100 Counterfeit Monkey. The audience provides a standing ovation as this highly-respected author and her work depart the field.
With just a single match left to decide, the Official Prediction Game is in turmoil, with no fewer than three fans tied for first place: @mathbrush, @bg and @FLACRabbit. Each has made 33 out of 60 correct calls to date, and with predictions locked in it appears that the tournament will end in a tie between at least two of them no matter how things play out.
This heat has knocked out nominees by @simpsong00 (who nominated Sand-dancer by PM but subsequently claimed it publicly) and another fan who submitted nominations anonymously. However, each of those two retains a single champion. With the remaining two contestants being a triple-nominee and a double-nominee, five fans share this pair as their chosen champions.
Trumpets sound as the action moves to Round 6, the Championship Match. Only one contestant can take the title!