World Masters: Sissy snatches win from Nici in Game 10
Monday, 10 March 2025
Every player for themselves was the expectation for Game 10 at Monday Night MÄDNess.
But just over 80 minutes into the game, Sissy and Harry found themselves forced to go into heavy collaboration mode against their dominating froggy daughter, Nici.
Just before the 90-minute mark, Nici saved RED3 to go 3-&-3 in tactically favourable order (🔴🔵|🔵🔴|🔵🔴). Up until then, it had seemed as though she had brought her very own obedient die to the game.
By then Harry had saved 1-&-1 and it had taken Sissy 85 minutes to finally save her very first pawn.
Hampered by the constant harassment of her parents’ many pawns on the track, it took Nici almost an hour to finally secure her seventh pawn. Only after they had both saved 4-&-2 to open the game again, Sissy and Harry quit collaborating and Nici’s last two pawns found some breathing space on the track.
When Nici finally saved BLU4 and then started RED4 to a PWL with four successive “6”, Sissy had already moved YLW4 into match-point position.
Harry, meanwhile, had to save VIO3 to home field (a) and had VIO4 right in front of a closed door. Previously, he had a very tough time to move the pawns of both his colours as he suffered from “friendly fire” over and over and over again.
Eventually, Nici’s RED4 had to pass Sissy’s YLW4 and moved over 2/3 around the track before Sissy converted her seventh match point on a “1” to snatch a seemingly impossible win and go within one win of retaining the trophy.
48 hours prior, with the expected endorsing of her parental opposition, Nici won Game 9, thus snapping a 5-game losing streak and forcing a three-way tie in the first-to-5 series.
Sissy was much closer to pulling out the win then her husband as she saved 3-&-3 and had both YLW4 and BLK4 on the track whereas Harry struggled mightily early on and needed almost 75 minutes to finally save his first pawn.
He tried to remain patient and hoped to capitalize from a huge majority of pawns on track. But at the end of the day, he had to concede and even opted to skip on an opportunity to cut Nici’s third PWL short.
After 2:04 hours of play, with BLK4 having already passed and YLW4 running out of options two fields from the blue house, Nici converted her first match point on a “5” to complete her third PWL.
Game 11 and, if required, 12 and 13 are scheduled for the coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It is expected that Nici and Harry will collaborate to make sure the first “Major” of the year will not end prematurely.
Aggregate score (first-to-5):
Sissy 4, Nici 3, Sissy 3
Having already clinched maximum second-place ranking points, Sissy is now mathematically guaranteed to keep the top spot in the World Rankings at least until after the 2025 GP World Series, the second “Major” of the season.
Her reign as the world’s number 1 will reach the 1000-day mark on 18 July, between Game 8 and 9.