Word Cup Day 3: Wiegand pulling away from the pack
Day 3 at Word Cup unfolded a lot like the first two did - Dave Wiegand came, he saw, and he conquered.
There's still a lot of Scrabble left to be played, but right now, it sure looks like Dr. Bing is in a commanding position to win this tournament. After coming into this morning's session in first place at 12.5-1.5, +1070, he turned in another dominating performance today, rattling off five more wins in seven games. He now sits a full three wins ahead of the field.
Let's run through all the details on that and many other developments from Day 3.
THE LEADERS
Obviously, Dave's dominance has been the story of the tournament, but I do want to highlight a couple of other interesting storylines.
For one, Will Anderson has been on an absolute tear - after starting the tournament a disappointing 4-7, he has come rallying back in truly impressive fashion, with nine wins in his last 10 games. From out of nowhere, he's moved into third place. For another, we've seen the trio of Evan Berofsky, Geoff Thevenot, and David Webb show impressive staying power, as they've remained high up in the standings after all three days so far.
And one other thing: We've got to give a shout out to BJ Premore, who has been absolutely stellar in D2. With a 17-4 record to date, he's pretty much the Dave Wiegand of his division. Great performance from a great guy - you love to see it.
Here's the D1 leaderboard.
1. Dave Wiegand (17.5-3.5, +1513)
2. Evan Berofsky (14.5-6.5, +852)
3. Will Anderson (13-8, +718)
4. Geoff Thevenot (13-8, +607)
5. Austin Shin (13-8, +430)
6. David Webb (13-8, +381)
7. Jesse Day (13-8, +287)
8. Ben Schoenbrun (13-8, +75)
9. David Eldar (12.5-8.5, +798)
10. Peter Armstrong (12-9, +969)
GAME OF THE DAY
A lot of good candidates here, but I'll have to give the nod to the battle between Jesse Day and Evan Berofsky in round 17. It was a back and forth game the whole way, but things got especially interesting toward the end, as there was a fascinating pre-endgame situation that required fishing for the perfect bingo at the perfect moment. Check it out - you'll see what I'm talking about.
ALL THE GAMES
We've got all seven games from Table 1 available for you, move by move. Feel free to play along.
Round 15: Ben Schoenbrun vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 16: Conrad Bassett-Bouchard vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 17: Jesse Day vs. Evan Berofsky
Round 18: Geoff Thevenot vs. Marlon Prudencio
Round 19: Dave Wiegand vs. Will Anderson
Round 20: Evan Berofsky vs. Peter Armstrong
Round 21: Peter Armstrong vs. Dave Wiegand
COMING UP TOMORROW
Can anyone stop Dave Wiegand from running away with first place? If so, who? And if not, we'll surely have some thrilling races for second, third, and fourth to enjoy. Either way, you'll want to tune in for all the action.
Tomorrow's the final (full) day of the tournament. Don't miss it.