The first ever U.K. National Stratego Championships were
played in late May and early June 2006.
The Championships were split into 3 different individual
tournaments to represent the 3 popular variations of the game. The
Championships were held on 3 different days. The Classic tournament was held
on Saturday 20th of May 2006, the Barrage tournament was the following week
(Saturday 27th of May 2006) and the Ultimate Lightning tournament ended the
Championships on Saturday 3rd of June 2006.
All tournaments used the Swiss Perfect system and all the
tournaments were held online. It is hoped that the 2007 Championships will be
a real life tournament.
U.K.
National Classic Championships 2006:
The Story of the day was the surprise results seen in this
event.
Before the tournament started: The favourite to win the
first ever "U.K. National Classic Stratego Championship" was the 2005 Olympic
Champion (Anthony Melbourne). The only other real contender to prevent Anthony
collecting his 2nd tournament win in under a year was Richard Ratcliffe. A few
notable absence's were Cris Sargeant, (Britains #3 at the time) Matthew
Ratcliffe (who played very well against high opponents in the 2005 Olympiad)
and Jonnyboy (who is an upcoming online player). These absence's (due to work
commitments) meant expectations were that it would be a 2 horse race with the
rest of the field being composed of fairly new players. The favourite for the
3rd place before the Championships began was Guch, who was the next highest
ranked U.K. player after Anthony & Richard.
The actual story of the day surrounded 3 players. Richard
Ratcliffe, Anthony Melbourne & "Brigadier".
First Round: The expectations were turned on their head
after only the first round. "Brigadier" shocked everyone by beating Anthony
Melbourne in the first round. The first round so notable wins for the 2nd and
3rd favourites. (Richard Ratcliffe & Guch)
Mid Rounds: The mid rounds saw Anthony and Richard win
all their games, Brigadier win all his games except a loss to Richard
Ratcliffe and "Guch" drop down the leader board, with "G. Gogg" moving up into
4th place before the final round.
Final Round. The final round saw Richard Ratcliffe play
Anthony Melbourne. At this point in the competition if Anthony beat Richard
there would be a 2 way tie for 1st place (a 3 way tie, if Brigadier won his
game). Richard only needed a draw to guarantee the title. Brigadier was tied
in 2nd place with Anthony and "G. Gogg" was in 4th. The next highest players "Guch"
and "Karrianne Wilson" (5th & 6th respectively) were effectively out of the
medal positions at this point.
The game between Anthony & Richard was a real titanic game.
Neck and neck throughout the game, Richard had a slight lead but risked the
possibility of losing if he went for the win. Instead Richard shut down
Anthony's movement and restricted his play. Anthony risked losing if he tried
to break through and was forced to concede the draw. Richard was the first
ever UK National Classic Champion. Brigadier won his game and took 2nd place.
The draw was enough to secure the third place for Anthony. "G. Gogg" played
very well to take 4th (just outside the medal positions)
Medal Positions
1st = Richard Ratcliffe (England)
2nd = "Brigadier" (N. Ireland)
3rd = Anthony Melbourne (England)
U.K.
National Barrage Championships 2006:
The U.K. National Barrage Championships was a fairly straight
forward affair. The absence of "Cris Sargeant" and "Jonnyboy" meant the
"Ratcliffe Brothers" were odds on favourite for the top 2 places.
There were no real surprises in this event, with Richard winning
the tournament. Matthew taking 2nd place and our top lady player taking 3rd
place.
Medal Positions
1st = Richard Ratcliffe (England)
2nd = Matthew Ratcliffe (England)
3rd = Karrianne Wilson (England)
U.K.
National Ultimate Lightning Championships 2006:
Again, no real upsets in this tournament. Unfortunate absences
by "Cosmo", "Startego999", Matthew Ratcliffe and "Jonnyboy" meant this was
a comfortable championship win for Richard Ratcliffe. "Brigadier" played well to
get his 2nd silver medal of the Championships and Karianne Wilson showed just
why she is Britain's best female player, by taking a 2nd Bronze medal.
Medal Positions
1st = Richard Ratcliffe (England)
2nd = "Brigadier" (N. Ireland)
3rd = Karrianne Wilson (England)
