Congratulations, Alan Applebaum!

September 15^th, 2019 - September 12^th, 2021
Last Updated on January 9^th, 2021

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Round One Results
Round Two Results
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* * Final; Round Five * *

September 20^th, 2020 - January 9^th, 2021

Admiral Greg Smith faced off against the Top Seed, Admiral Alan Applebaum, and writes that Alan "played a masterful game and deserve[d] the victory." Alan, however, suggested that the dice were as one-sided as he can remember.  Through four turns, Alan lost only one cruiser and two aircraft carriers once the smoke from Pearl Harbor faded.

"Nice shooting here. You disabled and sunk my SNLF at Guadalcanal and Midway, and you sank 2 carriers and splashed an LBA.  I've been hoping for you to hit a cool streak on the dice, but evidently hope wasn't enough to stay competitive in this game. From the moment in Turn 2 when your suicide CV sank the Yokosuka, you had the upper hand. I see now that Turn 4 will be the highwater mark for the IJN this game. The POC stripe is set on 9+1. That's not nearly the lead I need to stay competitive in this game. I have been enjoying the game, regardless, but the time has come for me to surrender. Congratulations, Champ!"

* * Semi-Final; Round Four * *

June 14^th, 2020 - September 19^th, 2020

In the semi-finals, Alan plays a fast game against Wayne and established the Turn 5 boundary that bears his name, drawing a surrender one turn later.  In the second game, Mike Kaye and Greg Smith agree to no bid after seeing the results of the air raids.  The match is hotly contested all the way to the end of Turn Eight despite Mike's inability to sink aircraft carriers with LBA and the wholesale destruction of his fleet in a Turn Six Indonesian battle.  Admiral Smith's USN pulls out a close 3-POC win in the huge final battle.

* * Play-in Quarter-Final; Round Three * *

May 13^th, 2020 - June 13^th, 2020

In the lone quarterfinal, Bob Hamel took the IJN after seeing dismal Pearl Harbor raids that let 5-6 battleships escape.  Greg Smith started the empire's serious problems on Turn Three by saving Pearl Harbor with a lone remaining LBA while denying Japanese control of the South Pacific and Marianas Islands.  On Turn Four, Greg drove the last nails in the coffin.  Battleships based in Dutch Harbor supported by aircraft carriers at Guadalcanal flagged the Japanese Islands, sinking the repairing Zuikaku.  While Japan earned points in the Hawaiian Islands and Indonesia, they were about the only ones.  That allowed the USN to go ahead by half-a-POC (including the bid) and draw a Japanese surrender.  Greg moves forward to battle Mike Kaye while Alan Applebaum and Wayne Bonnett face off in the other semi-final.

* * Round Two * *

January 12^th, 2020 - May 12^th, 2020

Announcement: Round 3 will consist of one game, pairing the two lowest surviving seeds, in order to bring the tournament to four surviving semi-finalists.

The second and third seeds are defeated by Bob Hamel (8th seed) and Greg Smith (9th seed) to advance both into the Dark Horse Quarter-Final.  The USN prevails this round 3-2 while the OT2 and Menzel games split down the middle again. Alan Applebaum, Mike Kaye, and Wayne Bonnett (seeded 1, 5, and 6 respectively) earn a bye in the next round in preparation for the semi-final.  Interestingly, the three USN wins are all in the early turns (4-5) which is unusual.  At the same time, both IJN wins come late in the contest (7-8).  Typically, it's the other way around!

* * Round One * *

September 15^th, 2019 - January 12^th, 2020

Two dark horse candidates emerge from the first round -- Hilton McManus and Bob Jamelli.  Bob wins from the very bottom rung to establish his credentials while Hilton eliminates the fourth seed.  The round sees the IJN prevail 6-4, which is not uncommon in the first round.  Six games feature the Menzel and Open Turn Two balancing options -- and those games split 3-3.  Bob Dragan's bid of 9 is the highest in tournament history, but his IJN is unsuccessful.

BPA Single-Elimination Format
Universal PBEM Format, Rules, and Guidelines
PBEM Rules Clarifications
Official VITP Rules Clarifications

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