XLeague: Harry takes 2-1 lead in the Final Series
Sunday, 28/12/ 2025
Harry won the first two at-board of the first-to-4 XLeague Final Series, thus not only overtaking Sissy’s 1-0 head start but also snapping a 13-XLeague-single-game losing streak against his wife, dating back to 2024.
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”.
Less than 24 hours after winning the Qualifying Series against his froggy daughter, Nici, Harry stormed ahead to take a 4-0 lead after 24 minutes of play in the first at-board on Sunday afternoon.
Both players were unable to maintain the tactically favourable order of pawns saved but, with the die 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.
The third and fourth at-boards are scheduled for Monday Night MÄDNess. Leading the series 2-1 and riding high on a five-game winning streak, it seems like Harry, who had finished the Round Robin Series only in third place, must be considered favourite to win his first XLeague Playoff Championship.