GenCon 2010 Champion

We have a new world champion, Joel Broveleit, crowned at Gen Con, and other news from the championships to share, too. So, without further ado…
Going into the top 8, some familar names and some new names are mixed in the top 8.

Joel Barnabe (Vancouver)
(1) 18 points
Underdark,

Shayne Lindeman (Atlanta)
(2) 15 points (Defending Champion)
Wild

Gary Ploog (Indianapolis)
(3)15 points
Borderlands

Matthew Noble (Buffalo)
(4) 15 points
Borderlands

Joel Broveleit (Sioux Falls)
(5) 12 points
Wild

Kevin Cleveland (SoCal)
(6) 12 points
Underdark

Mike Baker (Sioux Falls)
(7) 12 points
Borderlands

Mike Domezio (NorCal)
(8)12 points
Civilization

Congrats also to the following players who scored 12 points yet just missed on tie breaks

Brad Shugg
David Becker
Angus McDonald
Chris Autrey
Alex Jackson
Daniel Alberti
Michael Johnson

Some action from the 4th round;

Interestingly, both matches on the top-ranking table were being played on Fane of Lolth, the first DDM map released (for the 2005 constructed championship). Pictured above are Joel Broveleit playing Angus MacDonald on the far map, and Paul Ottaway playing David Becker on the nearer map. The line of sight is pretty open on this map, and really favored the Solamith-heavy field. There were counter-Solamith bands too, but due to the vagaries of the pairing process, they didn’t actually end up facing the Solamith bands.

The top 8 players played on the new beautiful vinyl Market Square Map supplied specifically for the championships by Gale Force 9. Each of the champs received new bases for larges that bear the 2010 DDM logo. Only a handful of these rare items were crafted for the 2010 championship series (by Dapper Devil, gaming accessories) A few were sent to Europe for the Euro champs, and the last two are headed to Brasil, for the South American Champion and runner up. The top 8 also received a cool set of tokens and token cases, also donated by Dapper Devil.

The first round bracket saw the beginning of no time limit games (but still no slow play allowed) and the first to 100 wins. It was tough to enforce slow play with only two judges, though, and players were being particularly careful moving due to the radius three attacks that the Solamiths are capable of.

And the ultimate prize that all 8 are played for is Orcus – or is it Tenebrious?

Joel Broveleit of South Dakota would eventually win the championship in a very hard-fought match against defending champ, Shayne Lindeman of Georgia. For his part, Shayne played extremely well, but was eventually taken down by a large burst Solamith blast that rolled crits against a Cleric of Garl Glittergold and a Catfolk. Shayne is the only champion to return to defend a title in the finals in DDM history, a testament to the high level play that develops in the Atlanta DDM community.

Our new world champion, Joel, has been instrumental in developing the rising Sioux Falls DDM chapter. The strong play scene in South Dakota clearly contributes to his play, with fellow Dakotan Mike Baker making the top 8. Joel is a huge contributor to the DDM community, and its fitting to crown him the new DDM champ, and the first champ to hail from the central US.

Congratulations, Joel, and we’ll see you in Las Vegas for Neoncon.