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The Dalamar Division
(01) Maria Graziano vs. (16) Alec Tuttle
Maria is no stranger to big matches, that's for sure. She is a two-time TDL MVP who was an anchor to the Wrecking Crew's storied TDL success. That being said, it hasn't been until the past six months that she's started dueling regularly in the Arena and some would still contest that once or twice a month isn't "regular dueling". Two of her three baronies have come over the past six months and prior to her return from retirement, she's never held a record that is that far over what is needed to be a warlord. She's been in two prior Madness Tournaments (2007 and 2008) which we will discuss in greater detail when we get to Jake. As for Alec, the only thing we really know about him is that he's lucky enough to have landed Sivanna. Currently, he doesn't even appear on the records. Now we doubt that Sivanna is the type of woman who dates men that can't kick serious booty but Maria's been around the block more than a few times. It's hard to walk off the street and face off against a baroness on her home turf, particularly when her pride is on the line as a one seed. Maria has been known to have problems with lower ranked duelists but we have a feeling that her experience (which includes an Elite Eight Madness showing in 2007) will be enough to get her the win.
(08) Myria Graziano vs. (9) Ulric von Leofrick
Intern Beast is adamant that the reason Myria got as high a seeding as she did was based in large part to her last name. As the youngest of the Graziano children, she also seems to have the biggest chip on her shoulder. That chip on her shoulder was on display recently when she ran into Bane after not having seen him in quite some time. It seems that she still hasn't forgiven him for choosing Lydia over her, even though Myria is rumored to be dating the chef at her brother's new restaurant. It's that sort of attitude that she faces every duel with and while it may have made her a tough competitor in the Outback, her armed combat skills leave a bit to be desired. She remains a commoner and, like her older sister and the younger of her two brothers, she has not spent a lot of time in the Arena. Myria does have some Madness experience having competed in both 2008 and 2009. Both times she won her first round match only to drop the second to a more experienced competitor. Ulric has even less history to review. From what our sources where able to pull up on him, he's only been dueling in the Arena since the start of this cycle. Although he only has three duels under his belt, all three have been wins. That's just simply impressive. Plus, isn't there just something that sounds appealing about his name? He sounds like a winner to us! Myria's last name may have the prestige but Ulric's has a nice ring to it. We have Ulric taking the very slight upset.
(05) Kalinda Archeron vs. (12) Cyrail Kennyr'tlarn
Although Kalinda has been labeled by many as an up and coming star, her name appears on dueling records as early as four years ago but not with any real consistency. A poor showing in a Talon of Redwin Tournament last year doesn't help us take her as a serious duelist. Neither does her attire and her over the top sexual attitude. There's no doubt that Kalinda is hot but she's also a bit scary with her overtly sexual manner. That makes us sound horrifically uptight but there's no doubt that Kalinda has got the reputation of being... well, a bit of a slut. However, she did go a long way to proving herself by taking the title of Squire of Old Temple and working her way up to Grandmaster over the last several months. Perhaps training with Maria has proven to be the catalyst she needs to turn herself into a serious duelist. Unfortunately, it's done nothing for her attire, not that her mentor has great fashion sense herself. Cyrail would be a complete unknown to us if it wasn't for the fact that he is dating one of our absolute favorites -- Cutie Carley. We hear that since we've been away Cyrail has gained a bad reputation among some of the dueling venue's more established duelists for his trash talking much like his adorable little girlfriend. We're even hearing that he got into a pretty nasty verbal and physical fight in the Outback with Sartan that left him with a bloody mouth. It's yet to be seen if Cyrail has the skill to back up his mouth. His record isn't much to look at but he did just start dueling this past cycle. We have to give the win to experience here. Intern P.I.T.A. really thinks it's Kalinda's time to shine! We think he's just suckered in by her perky breasts.
(04) Jake Thrash vs. (13) Delphi Alethelia Thais
Jake freaking Thrash is a legend. Unfortunately, his legendary status in the Outback and as the city's favorite brewer has never parlayed into a successful career in the Arena. Although, he has an impressive TDL record and is very much feared throughout the dueling venues (and, well, throughout the city as a whole), he has yet to hold a title in the Arena. Many have questioned if "The Orc" is even interested in a serious Swords' career due to the demands of the Red Orc Brewery and its most popular product, Badsider. He showed quite a deal of interest in the Tour. That being said, we at least know who he is. That's way more than we can say about Delphi. According to the most recent standings, she has a losing record and all our sources have been able to dig up is that she's been seen spending a lot of time with Mini-Franker Cor. No lie. Well, if M-F Cor's record with women is any indicator, she'll either be the tough, gritty type with a lot of emotional baggage or a complete bed-hopper. Only time will tell! We do hear that Anubis has shown some unhealthy interest in her. We do hope that Cor warns her about the Arena's resident crazy slaver! Of note with this match-up is that like Maria, Jake was in the Madness Tournament in both 2007 and 2008. In his first showing, he lost to her and in the second, he beat her. We'd like to see a third and we don't think Jake will have any trouble making it through the first round.
(06) Vincent Smith vs. (11) Esperwind
Sadly enough, these are two amazingly awesome men who have been staying out of the spotlight lately. We're thrilled to see that they're returning to the Arena to get their duel on! They never fail to entertain and mock! Thus, they are definitely favorites of ours! Venom Vinny is a perennial favorite in Fists and Magic but has never been able to grab onto the wins over losses needed to take the warlord ranking. Currently he sits at grandmaster with a career in the Arena that consists mainly of a poor Talon showing two years ago and an Elite Eight Madness showing last year. More importantly (at least to us) is his penchant for flirting with taken women. Despite his nickname and his often abrasive personality, women are drawn to him like moths to a flame. He never fails to provide us with gossip fodder! Etherean Esperwind is also better known for his accomplishments in the magic world than for those in the Arena. However, he was one of those TDL competitors that people really feared having to face. His lifetime record for Team Twilight includes more than twice as many wins as losses and a MPDPD of 2.38. Not to mention, he was TDL's final MVP. Yet, he has never made warlord and never even showed much interest in the Arena. Both of them have negative energy galore but we think that Esper's crankiness edges out Vinny's snarkiness. It doesn't hurt that Esper's been seen in the Arena pushing hard to brush up on his skills before Madness begins. Vinny's probably off busy bedding women and avoiding angry husbands. We chose Esper for the upset win!
(03) Aya Hyashibara vs. (14) Lord Brag Calide
We hear that seeding took into consideration first what the duelists have done over the past year before opening it up to the rest of their career but, despite the somewhat quiet year that Aya has had, we believe this seeding to be a bit low... or high??? Whichever. I think that she should have probably been a number 2 seeding. Some of the interns have argued that all she has done this year is fail to defend a barony and then lose a challenge for another but we don't believe that there is a duelist out there that doesn't wake up in the morning fearing having to face this three-time baroness. She also has a great deal of Madness experience with appearances in both 2007 and 2008 along with an Elite Eight showing in 2009. While the current crop of baronesses likes to debate which of them is the best female duelist currently in dueling, our pick would be neither of the three. We actually think Aya is the best female duelist currently dueling in the Arena. She's just simply dangerous. However, because she's also very quiet about both her skill and her life outside the ring, she often gets overlooked. We don't have a clue on this Brag fellow, though. Our sources know nothing and he only showed up on the standings this cycle with a nice even 1-1-1 record. He's supposedly pretty old school so we're not sure how he's going to be able to mentally handle facing off against a woman like Aya. The mental advantage isn't one she should need, though. This one should be an easy win for her.
(07) Salvador Delahada vs. (10) Jin Eternity
What can we say about Sullen Sal's dueling career so far? It's certainly been entertaining! It's not his sub .500 record that has him ranked as high as he is but the interesting sequence of events that made him a name within the Arena. Sal was the dueler of choice when it came to handing out challenge grants. Tormay granted him with one of the ones he won in the last Madness Tournament which led to Sal being pretty soundly defeated by Anubis. Sal won a squire tournament in the Fall to become the Squire of Seaside under Jaycy. After a falling out over Jaycy collaring Teagan to protect her from Anubis, Sal turned around and used a challenge grant given to him by the Overlord to challenge the baron he was a squire for! Unfortunately, he wasn't successful but we still LOVE that he did it! The drama factor is through the roof! After his fallout with Jaycy which continues to this day, Sal has balked at the opportunity to study under any other duelist in the Arena. But Sal's definitely been around the block in his short year in the Arena (including having entered the 2009 Madness Tournament) and that's why our money is on him rather than Jin. Jin Eternity is the often forgotten brother of the more accomplished Neo. He doesn't have a lot going for him in the way of a dueling resume but there's no doubt that in the dueling world a good pedigree does seem to matter. Unfortunately for him, Sal's a brazen, young talent who needs an event like this to prove that there's more to his career than just a good story. Our bracket has Sal moving on to the next round
(02) Tasslehofl Momus vs. (15) Paradise Stromgard
It's not often that a duelist as storied as Tass is known not for his own accomplishments but more for who his wife is but it's a market that Tass has cornered. Most in RhyDin find him instantly recognizable for his love affair with the former governor, Kitty. Their wedding was a hotbed of the who's who of RhyDin with all the city's political movers and shakers present along with top businessmen and women and several big name duelists. But even though Tass is known in large part for who he is married to, he is also considered by many as one of the greatest duelists to walk into the Arena. Experience is something that Tass has in spades. He is a former Overlord and four-time baron with several impressive Warlord Tournament and Tour showings. He dueled in every TDL season except the final one and made back-to-back trips to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007 and 2008. Maybe after this duel is over Tass will let Paradise borrow some of that experience because Paradise is certainly short on it. All our fact checkers have been able to find is a bad Talon tournament over the past year and no current record. All we know about her is that she's friends with Misty. Therefore, it's not looking good for Paradise this year! We see Tass being able to make it through to the next round. In fact, our bracket has Tass in it for several rounds to come. He is just simply made to duel.
The Gondar Division
(01) Ticallion Carter vs. (16) Ehzoterik von Arcanum
Considering he's far from the mouthiest of the bunch, Tical has often flown beneath the radar when compared to his more obnoxious Crew teammates. However, that doesn't mean he's any less talented nor has any less impressive of a list of accomplishments. The current Overlord spent the past year racking up a barony, a Warlord Tournament win, and then the Overlord mantle as well as succeeding in obtaining 50 wins over losses. He didn't compete in either of the 2007 or the 2008 Madness Tournaments but was in the Finals of the 2009 tournament where he lost to the Overlord at the time, Tormay. He's definitely had a hot year and when he's on he is damn near impossible to beat. Until this past weekend, he hasn't been seen much in the dueling venues for about a month and a half. Some of the interns have suggested that an injury might be keeping him away. Even if the Overlord is still recovering from an injury, though, poor Ehz is in a bad spot. We hate to say that because she is the founder of our FANTASTIC fan club. But we are a bit worried for her! At five feet nothing and with little experience, this is her first big dance and we fear that it's not going to go well for her. While our bracket has Tical taking the win, look for Ehz to do big things in the future. She may be crazy but she's a little scrapper! Tical seems to have a soft spot for cute, cuddly things so we have a feeling that he won't go too hard on Ehz. If he does, though, we're always ready and willing for a little cuddling session to make her feel better!
(08) Ria Graziano vs. (09) Marcus Lianno
Ria is another face more commonly feared in the world of TDL than in the Arena. She's had some stellar seasons, including Season 520 when she dueled nine times and only lost once and racked up a total MPDPD of 5.28. These days, though, she's more commonly seen picking up her kids from school than going toe-to-toe with dueling's finest. However, it's not like she was ever a major player in the Arena. Her name appears in the history of the Arena more for serving as lady of honor in her husband's challenges than for her own accomplishments. Although she's entered two previous Madness Tournaments, she didn't get very deep into it. Rumor has it that she has more than a few distractions going on at home that might be messing with her dueling as well. She's been heard criticizing her husband on numerous occasions which seems to have caused concern by a number of Crew members over the state of their marriage and there's even a rumor that her eldest was recently expelled from school! That's enough to throw anybody's game off! While Ria is a star of the TDL old guard, Marcus is full of fresh, raw talent. If we're looking primarily at accomplishments over the past year, we're at a loss as to why Marcus wasn't ranked higher. After all, he went from commoner to warlord in the span of just a couple months and while he hasn't done much in the way of tournaments in his short time in the Arena, he is quickly becoming a well respected competitor among the upper ranks. We pick new talent over old in this one!
(05) Joex Rodlain vs. (12) Sofiel
Joex has kept his head down pretty low since making warlord a little over two years ago. He has issued only two challenges in the course of those two years and, unfortunately, he was pretty soundly defeated by Damien Mortis for Seaside and Vanion for Dockside. He's even stayed out of the gossip articles for the most part, including ours. The last time our sources mentioned his name was months ago when Taneth was trying to find him a "sweetheart". Maybe that's the answer to his challenging woes! Maybe he needs to get laid in order to relax! We're sure there's a dueling groupie out there somewhere willing to bite the bullet and do the deed! Don't get us wrong, though. Although, Joex seems to have trouble with challenges, he's a well-respected warlord and has made some pretty impressive tournament showings. In the 2008 Madness Tournament he was in the Final Four and ended up losing to the eventual winner of the tournament. He also made a spectacular splash at the marathon Warlord Tournament last cycle, placing second to the current Overlord. And as for Sofiel? We have no idea who this chick is. She doesn't appear in any notes from our gossip sources. We've been unable to find any previous tournament mentions or any mentions of her dueling prior to the last couple of months. That being said, she is a swordsman and according to the records we found she's defeated him three times in regular dueling while he's only got one win on her. Despite Joex's credentials, we think that trend's going to continue. Watch for Sofiel to win in a bracket busting upset!
(04) Kheldar Drasinia vs. (13) Porthos
For those of you keeping count at home, Kheldar would be the FIFTH member of the Wrecking Crew to enter the tournament. The big man is also considered the most low key of the bunch which might be one of the reasons that he's probably one of the most overlooked talents currently dueling. Although a former baron, Kheldar is more known for his ridiculously strong record in the Outback than he is for his skills within the Arena which pales in comparison to the accomplishments he's accrued in the Outback. That doesn't mean that he should be dismissed as a Fists dueler, though. In fact, Kheldar is most dangerous in tournament settings. Often the path through the Warlord Tournament ends with a match against Kheld. In fact, he took the 2009 Spring Warlord Tournament only to suffer a defeat against the Overlord for his seat. If the standings say anything about the talent of his competitor, Kheldar may have an easy first round match. Porthos has little in the way of a dueling career in the Arena having only started in the last several months. He's looking at a record of almost three times as many losses as wins and a single stage of Swords Tour dueling that was pretty abysmal. Kheldar does have a tendency of struggling against opponents he should beat but we still see no possible way that he doesn't destroy Porthos. Sorry, bud, but Kheldar was kicked out in the first round of both the 2008 and 2009 tournaments and we have a feeling that this is his year to get serious.
(06) Jay Capistrano vs. (11) Samiyah Zayn
Jay is one of the new, young talents sitting at Grandmaster that we can't wait to see make Warlord. And you better believe there are more than a couple barons hoping that he doesn't. The kid definitely has talent but getting more than two words out of him at any given time is a challenge and a half. Primarily for that reason, he hasn't showed up much in our blog but that doesn't mean that he hasn't made a name for himself in the Arena. He keeps his head down, works hard, and duels incredibly well. In the spring of 2009, he won a tournament that earned him the Overlord's grant and lost a challenge for Dockside against Teagan. He also raise quite a few eyebrows last year with a trip to the Final Four in the 2009 Madness Tournament which was a totally bracket busting nightmare for a lot of fans. While he shares youth with his competitor, Samiyah is not exactly a new talent nor is it hard to get more than two words out of her at a time. As a student of Stick's, the young woman has been seen in and around the rings quite a few years ago but, according to rumors, has been out of the city training for the last several years. There's not a whole lot in her history besides a failed attempt at the Talon of Redwin several years ago so we must assume that she ranked as high as she did based on the fact that she trains with Harris and Stick. No amount of training with big named duelists is going to help her here. This is Jay's time to shine. This kid has stellar talent and we just haven't seen everything he can do yet. He is this generation's Cletus Ganderfald. Mark my words. Our money's on Jay.
(03) Xanth Van Bokkelen vs. (14) Penelope Brown
We almost feel bad for Xanth for how much he gets beat up on by the media but he sort of does bring it on himself with his vocal support of Anubis Karos. He stood as an unpopular loyal baron under Anubis while he was Overlord which drew a round of challenges. He dispatched the first with a single duel in a complete shutout of his opponent, which was impressive to say the least. When Tass followed that up by challenging him less than a month later, Xanth again proved how dominant he could be by allowing Tass only two points. It wasn't until after Anubis fell that he was finally taken down by a Crew member. His last appearance in the Madness Tournament didn't go so well for him as he was knocked out in the first round but this is the year for that to turn around by... guess who? Yep, a Crew member. Penelope or "Pen" as her friends seem to call her showed up on the scene in time to duel for the Crew in the Tour. Unfortunately for the Crew's Tour chances, not many of them actually did a lot of dueling including Pen. With little to no experience in the Arena and more of a passing allegiance to the Crew than an official member, this might be Xanth's chance to break free of his issues with WRC. We see him being able to do that with this match and we fully expect that Xanth's going to make a run for the finals.
(07) Kalamere Ardin vs. (10) Koyliak Van Duran-Simon
Duel history buffs will tell you that Kalamere's return to the Arena has to be one of the highlights of the year. After all, this is the man who placed in a tournament which allowed him to be one of the first nine barons! He's also a two-time former Overlord (one of his two defenses was actually a shut-out) and a three-time former Baron. All of the events that created his storied career happened years ago, however. Some of the interns question whether or not dueling has gone on without him. He did come out of pseudo-retirement in 2007 and 2008 for the Madness Tournaments only to lose in the first round one year and the second round the next. There are rumors that his return this time might be a bit longer than just the Tournament. We hear that he's been seen spending quite a lot of time with a certain (supposedly taken) longtime friend. In fact, we hear that she (coughJaycycoughcough) was seen blushing at the mere mention of him. Blushing? Jaycy? Kal must have something special going on! FLAWLESS Koy is a lot of things -- a world-class designer, one of the most dominant forces in the Outback, a fantastic mother, a super HAWT wife. But a stellar armed combat fighter? Nope. In fact, this will be her first Madness Tournament! Koy has never shown much interest in the Arena and has spent most of her career besting the men who dare step foot into the Outback. She's currently ranked at swordsman and while we would love to see her put some effort into becoming as much a force in the Arena as she is in the Outback, we doubt it'll happen anytime soon. Kal should take this one without too much trouble.
(02) Tormay Eludes vs. (15) Niki Blade
No longer is Tormay in the shadow of his talented mother. Tormay seems fully committed to making his mother's title collection pale in comparison to his own. Instead of avoiding her legacy, he's embraced it. In fact, his first challenge was in 2008 for the barony that Topaz had held for years. However, nobody can deny that his dueling has really become superb over the past year and a half. At the time he won the 2009 Madness Tournament, he was already Overlord and he hung onto the mantle until July. Yet, those were hardly his only accomplishments for the year. He also got married to one of the most eligible bachelorettes in RhyDin and won himself two baronies. That being said, he's clearly been distracted in recent months. After issuing a challenge to the Overlord and unknowingly offending him, he then withdrew the challenge without a word as to why. There has also been the issue of his wife who has suffered some sort of mental and physical break which has to have caused him a great deal of stress. We were quite certain we had no idea who Niki Blade was until one of the interns pointed out that she was actually in the Madness Tournament in 2008. Perhaps we don't remember her because she didn't last past the first round. Other than that, we're at a complete loss. She doesn't currently show up on the standings and we're not even completely positive that she's a she. We'll all find out together! But don't get too attached to her. 2009 was certainly the year of Tormay and we have a feeling that he may use this tournament to show that 2010 might not be all that different.
The Xenograg Division
(01) Anubis Karos vs. (16) Athos
Anybody who tells you that they aren't a little bit afraid when they step inside a ring with Anubis is either a liar or a moron. Maybe even both. Anubis is one scary dude and he doesn't just talk the talk. He. Walks. The. Freaking. Walk. He's a five-time baron and a two-time Overlord who never fails to seem to have more than his fair share of challengers due to his out of the ring antics. He seems to survive every political disaster in the book, including a rumored alliance with Shakira and long standing rivalries with practically every duelist of note. This will be his fourth Madness Tournament and he hasn't done half bad in them, including dueling in the Final Four in 2008 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2009. There's been no decline or drop-off in his dueling. His career is marked by consistency, brutal matches, and lots of titles. He is the Arena's boogieman. And who gets the great pleasure of having to face him? Athos. That's all we know about him. Just his name. Athos. He doesn't show up on the standings. Our interns can't find a single mention of him in notes from our sources. We've got nothing for you. That's really not a good sign. It takes experience and a whole lot of luck to take down Anubis. Well, it was nice not knowing you, Athos.
(08) Lem DeAngelo vs. (09) Maranya Ergin-Falconne
There's one thing that Lem is really good at and that's flying under the radar! His dueling skills? Well, we're not so sure about those. A couple of the interns totally didn't believe us when we told them that he's actually ranked as a Warlord with a pretty solid record. Surprisingly, we can't think of a single challenge that he's issued in the Arena nor a controversy (either in the ring or out of the ring) that he's been involved in. There's some evidence that he may have shown up in a Warlord Tournament or two but he has no WLT wins nor has he ever even participated in a Madness Tournament. We have to wonder if he's laying low until he feels he has the skills to truly dominate the Baron's Council or if he's just not interested in holding a title. Quite clearly, his time in the Arena hasn't been spent doing much besides working his way to Warlord. He is quite the enigma. Anya, on the other hand, does have some tournament experience but it's been a bit mixed. She's won two Talons and is the only duelist to do so back to back. An impressive feat, but last year's tournament had her matched up against a Warlord in Cassius Gaius Maximus and she fared extremely poorly. We doubt things will go as badly this time around, as she has more experience, but the interns and I still expect rank to triumph.
(05) Shadow vs. (12) Stiles Mornay
We've scoured our notes and talked to some dueling historians but we're having trouble coming up with much workable information on Shadow. He is a Warlord who was reinstated at the end of January and has quickly been making strides towards 50 wins over losses since his return. We don't see anyone with a similar name listed on the official warlord list over the past ten years so he must be a very old Warlord! That being said, he's clearly kept in good shape because, according to our sources, he's definitely dueling above average at the moment. We're betting that his opponent, Stiles, would like some of those wins that Shadow has collected. He's currently ranked a commoner with little hope of being anything but a commoner until after the losses are zeroed out. He did show some signs of early promise in the Tour where he made the Silver group of the regular Swords' stage in each cycle. This is a hard one since we're looking at two virtual unknowns at the moment but we're going to have to favor Stiles. We here at the Den of Gossip have a thing for raw, unproven talent. Show them what you've got!
(04) Matt Simon vs. (13) Silver Starblade
Like his wife, Man-tastic Matt is a lot of things. He's a father, a decent husband (supposedly), a two-time governor, a businessman,and a military hotshot. Again, though, like his wife, he's never been very good at armed combat. Actually, he's pretty much sucked at it. As dominant a force as he is in the Outback and despite his years and years of dueling, it was only over the past several months that he finally passed the 15 wins over losses mark and became the second new Warlord of the year. It must be mentioned, of course, that he did win the Tour. Blah, blah, blah. I'm pretty sure that we're all well aware that his Tour win had a lot more to do with how he throws a punch than how he swings a sword. He was runner-up in a regular Swords stage but the other two were pretty unimpressive. Unimpressive isn't a word often associated with Matt but his swords skills definitely get stamped with a big old "unimpressive" label in our book. Silver seems to be a newcomer to the Arena and what little she's done hasn't been all that impressive either. It seems this is the first cycle she's participated in and has gained herself three losses. We're told that she's a tall, hot blonde but this is RhyDin so I doubt we could pick her out of a crowd with that bare bones description. As much as we love to bag on Matt, he does have a good deal of Madness experience, having made the Sweet Sixteen in both 2008 and 2009. That experience is probably going to lead him into at least the second round.
(06) Sylus Kurgen vs. (11) Pslyder
Sylus is the second in a string of four seeds in this division (seeds 5 through 8) which consist of Warlords reinstated over the course of the last two months. He made Warlord in 2006 and has shown up in numerous Warlord Tournaments and Talon of Redwin Tournaments throughout the years. In fact, Sylus is the first male holder of the Talon and was also the first two-time winner of the tournament. However, as a Warlord, he's failed to run with the big dogs. His return to dueling comes after a year long absence and while we hear that he's been busy dueling (3-2 record since his return) to brush off the rust, it may be too little too late with the Tournament right around the corner. Sylus has never been a very mouthy Warlord, preferring to stay in the background rather than take a starring role. Considering Pslyder's success in other venues, his problems in armed dueling has always confused commentators and fans alike. There is no doubt that he has experience but he's remained in the lower ranks for the entire length of his career. His time in TDL wasn't much better. He had one decent season followed by two pretty abysmal seasons, leaving him with an overall MPDPD of -1.05. Some dueling insiders believe that Pslyder's curious mental link with his girlfriend, Jaycy, might actually help improve his dueling. There haven't been any signs of this yet but it's definitely something to watch for. Considering the year long break Sylus took, I think that they're on pretty even playing ground. Neither has a stellar resume and neither has ever competed in a Madness Tournament before. We think that rust won't be as easy to wash away as Sylus seems to think. Look for Pslyder to move on to the next round.
(03) Guill Fortis vs. (14) Rath d'Ogre
Oh, Guill. How we love thee! He's provided us with an endless string of things to write about and doesn't seem capable of issuing a challenge without conflict surrounding it. It's definitely been a busy year for him. Not only has his wife given birth to twins but he also lost a challenge for New Haven, lost two challenges for Dragon's Gate (one to Cas and one to Teagan), lost a challenge for Seaside, and won the Summer Warlord Tournament but declined the prize. Through all of that, we've been subjected to his complex code of honor (which we'll be the first to admit that we still don't understand) and been enthralled by his ability to offend practically every current and former baron/overlord with one stroke of his pen! As for Rath, we do not have a single clue as to who he is. We have no notes from our sources nor any mentions in any historical publications, nor any record of him ever having dueled in the Arena before. A bad ass name will only get you so far. In this case, we don't think it'll get him through the first round. This will be Guill's first Madness Tournament and after the year he has had being blasted by both his colleagues and most of the media, Guill could really use a change of luck. Perhaps his recent series of public apologies in addition to the birth of his children will give him some much needed perspective and some motivation. Our money is on that it will do just that.
(07) Harris D'Artainian vs. (10) Britania Grey
Many Duel of Swords' analysts have wondered what sort of impact Harris would have had on the Arena if he was as interested in armed combat as he is in unarmed. Harris is an Outback legend with more talent in his little pinkie than most have in their entire body but his dueling has been concentrated over the years in the Outback. That's not to say that he hasn't racked up a number of accomplishments in the Arena. He is, after all, a former Overlord and three-time Baron which shows you just how highly some people value his skill as they think that resume is an underachievement when applied to him. That doesn't make him a nice guy, though. He's an absolute jerk. Even recently our sources tell us that he's been seen making fun of Cutie Carley and her new man. It seems that every time he steps out in public, he has a new target. Unfortunately for Britania, she will have to put up with his big mouth for a couple rounds this coming weekend. After having the interns spend the weekend scouring the records, we found that Britania actually didn't JUST burst onto the scene. She actually appears to have dueled a couple times back in the winter of 2006 before reappearing this year. The girl doesn't seem half bad. She's taken down a couple of warlords over the last couple of weeks. In fact, she actually dueled her opponent for the first round of the tournament in his first weekend back from retirement. Britania came away with the 4.5-2.5 win over Harris that time but we don't think she'll give a repeat performance. Harris should have brushed off enough rust to move on into round two by the time they face off.
(02) Teagan Rielia vs. (15) Anthony Graziano
Teagan burst onto the scene almost three years ago and was quick to make a name for herself. Mere months after she started dueling, she won the Talon of Redwin and followed that up by winning a tournament held by Overlord Roland for his challenge grant. There would be no defending the Talon for her as she won her first challenge and only racked up the titles after that. The count currently stands at three baronies and a stint as Overlord but she seems to be showing no signs of letting up any time soon. Anthony "Tony" Graziano is a face that hasn't been seen much around the Arena in recent years. Other than two failed shots at the Talon (one in 2004 and one in 2005), Tony has seemed happy to concentrate his time and energy on TDL rather than dueling in the Arena. As a TDL duelist, he was known to be pretty streaky and he's been in two out of the three Madness Tournaments without much luck. And, yes, this would be the Crew's SIXTH entry. It feels like a throwback tournament all of a sudden! As for a winner? Considering the "friendly" rivalry between the baronesses, we have a feeling that Teagan isn't going to be too thrilled that the other two both got one seeds and she was regulated to a number two seed, especially considering that she's been Overlord over the past year and is a much more regular fixture in the Arena than the other two baronesses. To make matters worse, she's seeded second in this division behind none other than ANUBIS! Oh, the shame! Look for her to take out her angst on Tony. Despite the family he was born into, Tony's not too good with angst-ridden females.
The Athlstan Division
(01) Jaycynda Ashelana vs. (16) Gren Brockman
The current crop of baronesses like to discuss which of them is currently the best female duelist in the Arena. Although, it's an interesting debate, our choice is Lil' Black Book Jaycy... and, no, it's not just because she's amazing at making our gossip blog incredibly juicy. More often than not Jaycy is known for the high caliber level of duelists she's dated, kissed, or bedded. Pretty much if you're a duelist of note, fairly decent to look at, and hang around long enough, you too will hook up with Jaycy. Because Jaycy's reputation as a purveyor of duelist flesh sometimes supersedes her reputation as a duelist, some of the interns were actually surprised by the number of accolades that Jaycy has indeed collected over the years. She is currently the senior member of the Baron's Council and this barony is actually her fourth. As if four baronies was not impressive enough, Jaycy has actually done a stint as Overlord as well. The only knock on her career is a pretty sad TDL showing. Her overall winning percentage is under .500. That being said, she's also got more than her fair share of Warlord Tournaments and Madness Tournaments under her belt. This will, in fact, be her fourth Madness Tournament in a row and she seems to be doing better in them with each passing year. In 2009, she even had an Elite Eight showing. All that experience is going to be awfully hard for a guy like Gren to match. To be perfectly honest with you, this is another guy that we know nothing about. We have no notes on him from our sources and he doesn't appear on the current standings. That having been said, I am a total slave driver and made the interns scour the records for any mention of these lower seeded duelists. In Gren's case, they were able to find a single duel back in the fall of 2007. A loss. We have a feeling that he'll get another one this coming weekend.
(08) Rekah Illyriana vs. (09) Erin Dunbridge
When we first saw that Rekah was an 8 seed, we have to admit to being a bit shocked. Rekah has only been seen in the rings of the Arena since this past fall and rumor has it that she trained for a while under Jaycy. However, after some digging into what qualified her for such a high seeding, we discovered that she actually had quite a good record. She did win the Swords Tag Team Tournament with Thorne at her side during the Tour and was the runner-up in the final regular Swords stage. If seeding was based on potential rather than resume, she might have actually seeded even higher. It's really only a matter of time before she starts raising eyebrows. Perhaps our initial shock at her high seeding came in part because she's matched up against Erin who is actually seeded beneath her. As the lowest seeded Warlord in the Madness, we have to consider why, particularly since she was a baron for part of the year. Erin, as you may remember, inexplicably retired her barony and left the city over the past summer. More than a few fans and duelists were a little irritated by her seemingly rash decision do dump the barony and run. Intern Hot to Trot (who is, unfortunately, a big fan of Erin's) is adamant that she believes that Erin's low seeding is a slap in the face by the very same irritated powers-that-be. As much as I personally love conspiracy theories, I'm not particularly sure I buy completely into it. The only thing Erin has done of note this year is retire a barony and the seeding was based off, in large part, accomplishments over the past year. Therefore, perhaps Intern H.T.T is half right. This is a total flip of a coin type of match. Both ladies have something to prove but we think Erin's rust will be the key. Advantage and win to the Rowdy One!
(05) Wyheree Ravenlock vs. (12) Corlanthis Wystansayr
This will be the first year since 2007 where there will not be two Ravenlocks in the hunt for Madness glory. We are thankful that Ms. Wyh Not is carrying on the Ravenlock banner in her sister's honor. Perhaps in an attempt to distract herself from her grief, Wyh (who was a Talon of Redwin holder in 2007) seems to have really concentrated on her swords dueling over the last year and really has begun making strides towards improvement that I think many have failed to notice. After showing up in the Elite Eight in last season's Madness, she steadily rose from the rank of Swordsman to her current rank of Grandmaster. Her crowning achievement to the year happened just this past month when she took the Swords Tournament in the Tour over quite a few high ranking opponents. She's definitely making her way up the steady incline towards becoming a relevant Swords duelist. Mini-Franker Cor, on the other hand, has pretty much flat-lined. He usually carries a pretty average record that hangs in the .500 range and never seems entirely committed to dueling. In fact, besides making breakfast, there's not a whole lot he is committed in. He seems to change girlfriends with the same sort of frequency that most people change their underwear and he makes it awfully hard for anyone to take him seriously as a major player in the Arena. He has been in a couple of tournaments throughout the years but, like previously mentioned, never with any real consistency. He's made appearances in Talon of Redwin Tournaments and advanced to the second round of the 2008 Madness Tournament. However, we don't think he has the commitment to take down an opponent like Wyh. Look for her to keep on representing the Ravenlock clan in the second round!
(04) Thorne vs. (13) Carley Qui'Ama
Thorne doesn't even appear on the standings for March of last year. He has rocketed into the dueling world and headed straight for the Warlord rank. Besides a close "platonic" friendship with Teagan and evidently some sort of actual romantic/mutual bestiality loving with Misty, he's kept his personal life to himself. His first challenge for New Haven didn't go so well as Deathlord beat him in back-to-back matches, allowing Thorne a total of only three points. Thorne, however, brought his stock back up by taking the Swords Tag Team Tournament in the Tour with his partner, Rekah. Like his partner, he has a whole lot of potential but he definitely needs to work on his dueling resume if he wishes to find himself seeded higher in future tournaments. Oh, Cutie Carley! We are so glad to see that she is back and dueling once again. What we love the most about the little yellow rose is her thorns which always seem to be pricking the higher ranks. Her ability to irritate the Barons and Warlords (as well as the Opals and Emeralds) is really just astounding. I, personally, can't wait until she can join their ranks and open up a whole new range of ways for her to drive them insane. Although she has recently made Emerald, I will have to wait for her to begin causing trouble within the Arena. Carley does not have a very good record and has never really been seen as much of a threat with a weapon. She did, however, recently finish second in the Dockside Squire Tournament and is evidently training with Neo to brush up on her armed combat skills. That one tournament is the only tournament we can find that she's entered. It doesn't even seem that she has any Talon experience under her belt. Therefore, as much as we hate picking against Our Little Yellow Rose, we will have to choose Thorne for the win.
(06) Napoleon Bonarat vs. (11) Locke D'Vestavio
Nappy is a 100% living, breathing TDL legend. Of course, his legendary status is more for his antics really than for being a dominant duelist. However, he did have a pretty good record, particularly the years he was a part of Pirates from Heck. He hasn't really made his mark in the Arena, though. His record tends to break even and he's often more interested in candy than winning. The Talon of Redwin Tournament seems to be home for him. He's made appearances numerous times over the years but never seems able to take the big prize. Locke is another who has made a name for himself but just not in the rings of the Arena. Somehow he has the pleasure of bedding Katarina, RhyDin's premier ballerina, every night and he's one of the top names in menswear. Perhaps due to those things, he hasn't spent a whole lot of time honing his craft in the Arena. His record too is pretty break even and while he's shown up in a squire tournament and a couple Talon tournaments, he hasn't been able to take the top prize in any of them. Both duelists do have a Madness Tournament under the belt. Nappy was in the very first Talon tournament while Locke showed up last year but didn't make it past the first round. It's a tough call but Nappy does have experience and whole lot of fans on his side. Nappy for the win!
(03) Cassius Maximus vs. (14) Skid
The one advantage that most people get when facing off against one of these old duelists with tons of experience is that the duelist has a tendency to be, well, old. Unfortunately for Skid, he better not be counting on Cas showing any signs of being decrepit as Cas is evidently immortal. Therefore, he continues to collect years and years of experience without showing any wear to his body. This has allowed him to become a ten-time baron and an overlord. Yep, you read that right. A ten-time baron. Only Cletus Ganderfald has held more baronies. With the retirement of Cletus and Cas still going strong, we doubt that Cas will let his longtime rival hold that record forever. For most of this year he was the Baron of Dragon's Gate only to have Teagan eventually wrestle it from him. Psycho Skid has been on our radar for quite a while in the gossip world but we know next to nothing about him as a duelist. He's never really seemed to make much of a commitment to it and only appears in the rings occasionally. In fact, he still hasn't even settled on a weapon. According to our sources he trained with Jaycy for a while but never seemed to translate that into any great success in the rings. He's been in a couple of Talon tournaments only to get kicked out in the first or second round. That being said, Skid's got some mysterious charm that seems to draw the hot ladies in. It very may well be that "bad boy" charm. He's dangerous, he likes violence, and he loves beautiful women. In the three Madness Tournaments Cas has been in, he's never had much luck. In the first he never made it past the first round and in the second and third he got knocked off in the second round. Since this is the first round and Skid doesn't have much experience, we think Cas'll make it through this duel.
(07) Kelathe Skelicia vs. (10) Egypt Element
We usually avoid writing about Kelathe because we actually do respect Neo. However, this time we can't avoid it and we're not going to mince words. His girlfriend is a total hot mess. We can't even count the number of times that she's been seen crying in the Arena and her record is an utter disaster. We'd actually find her terribly amusing if she didn't feel the need to wrap Neo up into her craziness. Until the last several months, her dueling career has paled in comparison to the amount of drama that she carries with her at all times. She's showed up in a couple of Talon Tournaments but hasn't ever been a dominant factor in them. However, she does seem to be pretty successful at Squire Tournaments. She placed second in the one conducted several months back for Dockside and, perhaps with added motivation, recently won the right to be the Squire of Dockside under the new Baron, Neo. He seems to have brought some stability to her life and maybe with that she'll be able to concentrate more on her dueling than on her personal drama. Egypt is a very recent newcomer to the dueling venues and we hear he is a bit of an intimidating presence. He quickly burst onto the scene and gained rank seemingly with ease. He's currently a swordsman and this will be his first real stage to prove that he's one of the hottest new talents in RhyDin. This is no Squire Tournament and we think Kelathe will quickly realize this when she faces off against this hunk of a man. We have Egypt taking the win in our bracket.
(02) Neo Eternity vs. (15) Sylvia Nightshade
Neo's got to be the most naive, likable duelist currently on the Council. He's the ultimate nice guy -- believes whole-heartedly in monogamy, is always there when his friends need him, believes in concepts like the 'greater good' and 'honor'. He does, however, have a tendency for wanting women that he should stay away from. He had a very brief and ill-advised relationship with Teagan before moving onto another one of Jaycy's messed-up cast-offs in Kelathe. Despite all the distractions in his life, Neo is actually a really good duelist. He became the Old Temple squire under Tormay and as a Grandmaster had the right to challenge. He picked Xanth but was promptly shut out in a blazing crash of defeat. Neo wouldn't be kept out of the ranks of the baronies, though. A month later after making it to the Warlord rank (even though less than a year before he was only a commoner), he challenged again. This time he had to face Jaycy -- the Baronial Council's champion -- but he was successful in his claim to Dockside. Sylvia may be a virtual unknown in the dueling world but she's an important political figure in this city. Considering how often she comes and goes from the city to take care of things in her homeland, we're more than a little curious to her commitment to remain in RhyDin during this Madness Tournament. Either she has business in the city that will keep her here for a while or she's more interested in learning the ins and outs of the Arena than we originally thought. Neither has much Madness experience, Sylvia's never been in one and Neo was knocked out in the first round last year but there's a very good reason why Neo is seeded as high as he is. He is the future of the Arena.
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