Dueling Zone News

We are down to the fourth round of Madness; to the Elite Eight. Which means that soon we're all going to have a new Overlord! I'm both excited and nervous about this. Excited because there are so many that could be Overlord that probably truly deserve it; nervous because even Sartan still has a chance at it. Trust me when I say that Sartan as Overlord would be a bad idea, he would go mad with the title just as he did when he was the Diamond! I bet he would try to impose rules that women wouldn't be allowed to fight in the Arena just as he did at the Outback! Sartan must not be allowed to win!

I really do hope Joex can take the win in his duel against Sartan. Not only because of the fact that Sartan is a bully, but because Joex has really proven himself in his duels so far. And in the last round he took out Jake which was quite the feat! Truly, I am impressed with his skill and his heart and his manners. In the Athlstan/Xenograg division he is my favorite, and my current pick to advance to the finals.

Although in the Morgan/Rakeesh duel I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if one there advanced to the finals. Rakeesh managed to take out last year's Madness Winner, G'nort, and Morgan took out Xeric (who is obviously quite talented since he scored the first shut-out of the tournament). I admit I do want Morgan to advance, even if just to the semi-finals, especially since there's only two women in the elite eight. The men need to know that women are just as capable with a blade if they put their mind to it.

In the Dalamar Division there's Leo and Querylon. I'm torn here, because I find it a little tacky how Leo beat his lady Jaycy, and because Querylon took out my Little Blue Boy Wonder. In the end, I will side with skill and choose Querylon to win this match and move to the semi-finals.

Lem deAngelo took out my Matthew Simon in the last round, therefore I hope that Anubis wipes the floor with him; I truly believe this will happen. I would not be surprised if this match turned out to be another shut-out. Should Anubis take out Lem he shall be my favorite for the Dalamar/Gondar divisions.

Right now, my prediction for the final is Anubis vs. Joex. It is too soon for me to tell who will win Madness as of yet however.

Not many expected Corlanthis to win against Anubis, possibly with good reason too, as Corlanthis did lose to Anubis. However he did fight valiantly and didn't pull his punches. The very fact he didn't let anyone get him down and pushed on and fought in spite of very few believing in him earns a lot of respect in my book. Maybe next year Corlanthis can do better in Madness. Or who knows, maybe he'll be Overlord before then.

Lem pulled through to the next round by a withdrawal from Xanth, so I think next week he'll really have to work hard to prove he deserves to be where he is right now. My dear Matt surprised even me when he won against Aurora. I wanted him to win but hadn't expected him to, however the surprise is most certainly welcomed! I certainly hope he progresses far in this tournament, since he sadly, did not win Diamond Quest. However he's gaining a rival when it comes to that, as Kheldar won and accumulated his fourth diamond, trailing not too far behind our governor.

Now for predictions. In my eyes? Matt has really proven himself so there's not a shadow of a doubt in my mind he'll beat Lem. Admittedly there is a part of me that hopes Sartan progresses just enough so that perhaps he can face Matthew in Madness, and then be taken down; then I could reward the governor with a kiss for his efforts! The Sami vs. Anubis duel is a lot tougher for me to predict. Sami has obviously proven herself to have gotten this far, but Anubis is still quite brutal. I want Sami to win, but I think Anubis may take this one. I just don't think he could show his face around for a while if he did lose to her, so he'll probably be fighting extra hard.

And speaking of the former Senior Baroness, she surprised me by falling to Jake. I had fully expected her to take this match, but Jake picked up a solid lead and held onto it until the very end. I find myself getting more and more surprised by this man's talents.

Wyheree also went out with grace and style when she lost to Sartan. Surely it had to be close, at 5-6. She's a duelist that just gets better and better, and I'll be looking forward to see her rising in rank as time progresses.

Joex also racked up a solid win against Lilly. He is one I am becoming more and more impressed with. And just recently he contacted me with some very kind words regarding his division, "I wanted to offer a little bit of my commentary on the second round of the Athlstan Division to use in any articles you might write. First off, I just want to say how surprised I was with not only Jake's win over Maria, but the absolutely decisive way in which it was accomplished. I have no experience with Thrash to draw from, but based on his performance so far, I am looking forward to an exciting and close duel next week. With respect to the rest of the Athlstan Division, I was happy to see both Sartan and Bran advance to the Sweet Sixteen. I have a great deal of respect for both men (even if one is a lizardman) and for their skill in the ring. Ultimately, I think this division was loaded with talent and am glad to see some of the most deserving duelists advance. Really, no matter who wins between Jake, Sartan, Bran, and myself I will be satisfied knowing that our division is well represented and has a realistic chance of producing our future Overlord."

That leads me to the next topic and source of tragedy; Sartan vs. Bran. They fought their duel early, and while I was excited about the possibility of Sartan being taken out of the tournament early, it simply wasn't the case. Not only did that womanizing bully win, but he won with a shut-out! How could that be!? Soon I look forward to either Joex or Jake taking him out because he cannot be allowed to enter the semifinals or finals! Even worse? What if Sartan actually won this tournament!? I hear as Diamond he tried his best to take over the Outback. I fear to think of what he would try to do if he were Overlord.

When it comes to my prediction of Joex vs. Jake, I believe both duelists have proven themselves, so I'm not really rooting for one over the other. So long as the winner progresses to take down Sartan, I shall be thrilled and reward them appropriately with a kiss.