United States - The speed of tonight's NNA first round tournament was truly a site to be witnessed. A bracket players Sara Paseka, Meg Holko, Aaron Whitcomb, and Shanan Westover Osinski all arrived on time and quickly got down to business. A crowd of NNA members followed them as they took a seat at the Nertz table. Among the crowd was the two players that were to play the winners of tonight's match, Nate Nelson and Lacey Donaho. Also, in attendance was Meg's sister, Mallory Holko, who was there to cheer Meg on. Mallory had also played in the first round D bracket match in this tournament.
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The game didn't disappoint the crowd either. The 2-time champ started the game off with a 20 point Nertz but was followed by Aaron who received 12. Meg and Shanan were set and started out in the negatives.
In Hand #2, it was Aaron who called Nertz taking the lead but it was Meg who actually won the hand with 21 points. Sara had been set this hand and drop back down 10 points. Fighting from the bottom spot, Shanan made a full table set with a Nertz call in hand #3, totally leveling the playing field. Hand #4 solely belonged to Sara when she called a 22 point Nertz. This put her back in 2nd place for the moment.
Aaron started making a move in the 5th hand with a Nertz giving him 51 points total. He had separated himself from the pack, leading all players by at least 26 points. He did more of the same in hand #6 with a Nertz call and then led by 43.
It seemed that Aaron had this game locked up, but 2-time champ, Sara, had been in situation before and knew that the game was not over until it is over. After gaining very little ground in the seventh due to a big 20-point Nertz from Meg, Sara then struck back with a 25-point Nertz of her own in hand #8. Sara was still in second place with 61. Aaron had endured a couple of opponent Nertz calls and made it to 91. Sara was now focused on simply advancing, being 30 points away. If Sara did advance with a second place finish she could try for revenge in the next round.
The problem with that was that Meg, also, at this point, was looking to advance and with a 18 point hand in the 9th, she narrowly surpassed the 2-time champ by a three point margin to secure her spot in the semifinals. Aaron called Nertz in the 9th and his 19 points secured his victory while impressing the spectators.
Aaron is the first newcomer to upset a champion. Furthermore, he is the first to eliminate the 2-time champion in any round of a tournament, excluding the finals.
His play was truly impressive, while Meg also was well deserving of her advancement.
This was another fantastic game to watch and if we an of these players in future tournaments it will be a treat. We hope that they all play in another one.
Sara Paseka's amazing run was stopped in the last tournament final by Jill. Despite that loss, Sara still managed 100 points in that match and has never scored below 100 in any of her online tournament matches until tonight. Though, now she is on a 2 game skid, her dominance may not be lost. We have seen what she is capable of and wouldn't doubt if she snagged another tournament victory in the near future. Sara did mention that she had just got off of work and ran straight to the game, so fatigue may have been a factor in her loss.
However, give credit where credit is due, Aaron and Meg played a great game. As for now, we will see Aaron Whitcomb and Meg Holko go on the face Nate Nelson and Lacey Donaho in the AC semifinal.
A Look at the Semis
6 tournament veterans have made it to the Semis. Out of the 2 newcomers, only one has beaten, not just one, but two veterans in the first round. 3 of the eight semifinalists are males and no male to date has won an online Nertz tournament. Incidentally, two of the 3 males are named "Aaron"..Go figure.
As of now, here is a look at the current semi final game times:
AC Bracket Match: Monday, August 10th at 7:30 p.m. CST
BD Bracket Match: Tuesday, August 11th at 7:30 .p.m. CST
Get ready for some quality Nertz action!
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