Two-time title defender Sissy successfully defend her trophy as XLeague Playoff Champion defeating her husband, Harry, 4-2 in the Final Series.
Sissy held her nerves and bounced back from 2-1 down to win the series after Harry had overtaken the 1-0 head start into the series Sissy had been awarded as Round Robin Winner.
Sunday’s action: Harry overtakes Sissy’s head start
On Sunday, the die seemed to be passionately in love with Harry’s allied colours all day, constantly yielding the numbers required while Sissy was struggling and also heavily suffered from “friendly fire”.
In the first Sunday at-board, Harry stormed ahead to take a 4-0 lead after 24 minutes of play and, with the die firmly on his side and Sissy also suffering from “friendly fire”, Harry remained in the driving seat throughout the game.
Round-robin winner Sissy fought bravely and Harry missed three match points on his first PWL while his wife cut short three more of his PWL. Eventually, tied at 7-7 and pressured from behind by Sissy’s BLK4 on a PWL herself, Harry rolled a “2” to convert his sixth match point two minutes from the hour mark.
The evening at-board saw even more lopsided die-rolling action as Harry stormed ahead not only 4-0 again but also 6-1 and 7-2. This time, Sissy never had a chance to apply pressure and come back into the game because the die would just not yield her the “6” to stack the track with her pawns.
Harry had RED4 already in match-point position when saving GRN4 while Sissy had only three pawns on the track, none of which really close to RED4. After only 29 minutes of play, Harry converted his third match point for a comprehensive 8-2 win.
Monday Night MÄDNess: Sissy turns the table
In the first at-board of the evening, it seemed to be a whole new die in action as it heavily favoured Sissy in the early stages of the game, helping her build commanding 4-0, 5-1 and 7-2 leads.
Drama beckoned as Harry brought his pawns home one by one while Sissy’s BLK4 went on a total of three PWL. But tied at 7-7 with GRN4 having started a PWL for Harry, Sissy rolled the “1” required to convert her fourth match point and to make sure the series would not end for her in defeat on the same night.
For the second at-board of the evening, gutted by the die’s lopsided behaviours, Sissy and Harry turned to a new dice-rolling app. And oddly enough, the die would indeed behave neutral throughout the game.
Still, Harry managed to storm ahead 4-1 and 5-3 before Sissy saved three consecutive pawns to go ahead 7-5. Maintaining a tactically favourable order of pawns saved, Harry stayed in the game and managed to save another pawn.
But “friendly fire” plagued him in the end game and, eventually, Sissy completed her only PWL by converting her first match point on a “3” for YLW4 after 50 minutes of play to reclaim the lead in the series.
New Year’s Eve: Sissy lifts the trophy
Prior to the opening of the Annual New Year’s Banquet, Sissy and Harry played Game 6 (Sissy’s bye win included). Had Harry won the game to tie the series at 3-3, the Game-7 decider would have been played as the Banquet’s main event.
Harry had a promising start into the series and took an early 2-0 lead, bringing home RED1 and RED2. Sissy responded with four unanswered pawns saved (3-&-1) and then held on to her two-pawn advantage at 5-3, 6-4 and 7-5 (4-&-2) while neither player was able to maintain a tactically favourable order of pawns saved.
Sissy started her only PCL right at the hour mark and moved her BLK4 quickly around the track into match-point position without any pressure from Harry who, at 4-&-2, had GRN3 right in front of the house and GRN4 in the yard.
After 63 minutes of play, Sissy rolled a “1” to convert her fifth championship point and win the first-to-4 series by 4-2 wins (bye, 7-8, 2-8, 8-7, 8-6, 8-6).
“I admit I’m relieved,” Sissy said at the Banquet after the game. “When you go 11-0 against someone but then lose two to fall behind in the playoffs, you can easily start doubting yourself. Staying focused and bounce right back was crucial.”