The Tournament
Round 1, Game 1 Matchups
By Jackman, Blanch, and Stokely
1-23-2035
Katya Floski (offense) vs Kim Jong (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: Kim has won 25 straight defensive contests, 51 straight matches overall. He is very good at adapting to various circumstances, but he's never faced a Western player outside of private exhibitions. Katya has said she's going to attack his sexuality right off the bat.
Stats: Jong: is 37-2 on defense, 40-0 against women. Floski: is 60-42 on offense, 71-31 against men.
Quotes: Jong "This is going to be a great challenge for me. I am looking forward to this contest." Floski: "He's going to regret the day he stepped into a computer with me."
Outlook: As awesome as Jong has been, he's never faced a wild character like Floski before. Expect her to pull out the narrow victory.
Gabrielle Sallor (offense) vs Kurt Shilling (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: Gabrielle excels at unbalancing her opponent from the beginning with quirky setups and unexpected challenges. Look for her to go for the jugular vein early. Shilling has only played the college circuit so this will be his first professional match. Shilling was granted entry as Germany's second challenger by President Eckman.
Stats: Sallor: is 75-2 on offense, 70-20 against men. She has won 43 straight on offense. Shilling: is 24-3 on defense, but that wasn't against professional competition.
Quotes: Sallor "I was sorry to hear about his condition. It kinda puts things in perspective. I'm not going to take it easy on him, though." Shilling "This is incredibly exciting. I don't care if I win or lose, just being here on the world stage is exhilarating."
Outlook: Shilling has a lot of heart and his advance deep into the tourney would be a great story, but his total lack of professional experience will be his downfall. Sallor will win quickly.
Anne Layden (offense) vs Sissy Crydom (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: This is a matchup of weakness against weakness. Layden is a defensive genius but is mediocre on scenario setups. Crydom is wild on offense but has choked in big games on defense. There is also the fact that this will be Crydom's first game on defense in which she's not self aware.
Stats: Layden: is 60-50 on offense, 47-70 against women. Crydom: is 40-13 on defense, 39-3 against women.
Quotes: Layden "I've been cooking up some special things on offense. It's my only weakness and I've been studying hard to correct it." Crydom "I'm getting tired of hearing about the self aware thing. That's the rules in England, get over it! If the rules were different, I'd be just as good as I am now, but I can only play by the rules that are set."
Outlook: Layden has lost six straight on offense, but Crydom has never had to play defense 'in the dark' before. Layden should survive a close match.
Damien Johnson (offense) vs Kyle Devore (defense)
Records: First match for each. Johnson is 15-2 lifetime against Devore, but Kyle's lone victory came as a rookie in the 2030 championship match.
Notes: This is the only first round matchup between players of the same nationality, so these two are very familiar with each other. Devore won the first ever meeting between the two but Johnson has dominated the matchup since then. After completing the only undefeated season in CIG history, Kyle Devore has never come close to winning a second title. True, Damien Johnson and Alyson Kerrigan have split the other ten national titles in the last 11 years so they are very good, but Devore hasn't lived up to his potential.
Stats: Johnson: is 65-25 on offense, 8-1 on offense against Devore. Devore: is 38-30 on defense, and has lost fifteen straight matches against Johnson.
Quotes: Johnson "Devore is the weakest player in the Tournament. I came here to play against quality world opposition, I can't believe I have to play my first game against the only contestant with a losing record and whom I've beaten 15 straight times." Devore "Damien can't let go of the fact that I beat him as a rookie when he was heavily favored to win. He's never forgiven me for it."
Outlook: Johnson has beaten Devore 8 straight times on offense. Make it 9 straight.
1-25-2035
Harry Brown (offense) vs Eli Vaquez (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: At 50 years old, Brown is the oldest player in the tournament. Brown, known for his meticulous preparation, normally has a staff of five whose only job is research every single match an opponent has played to look for weaknesses that can be exploited during scenario building. Rumor has it Brown has doubled this staff for the World Tourney. Vaquez is the only four time champion in Spain history, and he's done it by rising to the level of his opponent.
Stats: Brown: is 167-20 on offense, 193-33 against men. Vaquez: is only 39-45 on defense, but 3 of his 4 National titles were clinched on defense.
Quotes: Brown "As long as I burn the midnight oil this week and stay humble, I think I have a chance to win this match." Vaquez "I'm the only Tournament representative with a losing record on defense, but I've improved in that area every year I've played."
Outlook: Brown's vast experience, the most in the Tourney, and unparalleled preparation should make this no contest.
Leo Rameriz (Offense) vs Alyson Kerrigan (Defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: Leo isn't great on offense and, unfortunately, Kerrigan is the best defensive player in the Tournament. In fact, Alyson's winning percentage on defense (91.8) is the best in CIG history by ten percentage points.
Stats: Rameriz: is 60-39 on offense. Kerrigan: is 101-9 on defense, 79-21 against men.
Quotes: Rameriz "I'm going to have to bring my best scenario to the table to have any chance of beating her. I have a couple in mind that I think can do the trick." Kerrigan "Leo's a great player so I'll have to really be on my toes."
Outlook: Kerrigan is awesome on defense but how much did losing the National title to Johnson on defense in her last professional contest two months ago hurt her confidence? Leo's numbers aren't good but all three of his National titles came when he was the underdog. If he really has devised something special for Kerrigan, he could beat her at her strength.
Blake Ezor (offense) vs Julie Amore (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: Ezor's specialty is setting up violent, horrific scenarios to unsettle opponents. In fact, Ezor is 100-3 on offense and has won 55 straight matches when he sets up the scenario. Remarkably, he hasn't accomplished this by tailoring his scenarios to match his opponent (Harry Brown) or rely on the same tried and true setup time after time (Katya Floski). Each disturbing scenario is different but all are crushingly effective.
Stats: Amore: is 26-30 all time on defense. She's 44-24 against men. Ezor: last offensive loss was in 2029 to Erik Von Beck.
Quotes: Ezor "I don't know where I get my darkness from. I came from a happy home. I'm a big Stephen King fan, though." Amore "I'm expecting something vile from him, but he's not going to win by playing dirty. I can give as good as I get."
Outlook: Amore has no chance. Expect this one to be over very quickly.
Max Fields (offense) vs Roland Windom (defense)
Records: First match for each
Notes: Though Fields has the second highest amount of game experience, it is mostly bad experience. He hasn't won a Tournament since 2020 and hasn't made it to the championship round since 2026. Windom has won three titles, two of them clinched on defense, but this will be his first game without the benefit of being self aware on defense. This is a huge disadvantage.
Stats: Fields: is 75-60 on offense. He's 83-80 against men. Windom: is 69-33 on defense, but this will be his first professional game playing it 'in the dark.'
Quotes: Fields "This unique challenge has delayed my retirement, so to say the least I am excited. I'm going to find out very quickly if Roland has been practicing 'dark' defense." Windom "Sissy and I have been playing each other 'dark' for the last month so we're both used to it. I don't except the rule difference to be a factor."
Outlook: Fields hasn't won a big game in fifteen years, but this is Windom's first shot at defense without the huge benefit of being self aware. Something's gotta give, and you should pick winning attitude over style drawbacks every time. Windom will find a way to win.
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