Word Cup Day 4: A three-man race for the championship
Well.
That was interesting.
A few hours ago, we were all wondering whether the race for Word Cup supremacy would be over before dinner. Dave Wiegand was in an absolutely dominant position, 4.5 wins up on the entire field, and he appeared to be cruising toward Gibsonization. It looked like a matter of when, not if.
Turns out, a few hours can make a lot of difference.
In shocking fashion, Dave dropped all four games in the afternoon session, and a number of other competitors came roaring back into the race. What was once Dave's near-certain title is now up in the air. Dave is still in position to win, but he'll have to fight off two fantastic players tomorrow morning - Will Anderson and Jesse Day.
Tomorrow is going to be dramatic.
THE LEADERS
The gap between Dr. Bing and the rest of the field has narrowed significantly. He's still in the driver's seat, but with Will and Jesse just 1.5 games back and 3 games still to play, a lot can still change.
Aside from first place, the other races are incredibly wide open as well. We're paying down to seven places in total, and the player in seventh place is only 16-12. The player in 25th is 14-14! There are many, many people who still have a decent shot at money if they win out. We'll have to wait and see how tomorrow unfolds.
Here's your top 10:
1. Dave Wiegand (20.5-7.5, +1523)
2. Will Anderson (19-9, +1172)
3. Jesse Day (19-9, +805)
4. David Eldar (17.5-10.5, +907)
5. Evan Berofsky (16.5-11.5, +276)
6. Thomas Reinke (16-12, +855)
7. David Webb (16-12, +394)
8. Rasheed Balogun (16-12, +339)
9. Chris Lipe (16-12, -115)
10. Ben Schoenbrun (16-12, -147)
GAME OF THE DAY
Many, many strong candidates. Any of the seven would be good choices. But I'd have to say round 27, in which Jesse and Dave went head to head for the second time, stands out above the rest. It was a back and forth game, with interesting positions and difficult strategic choices at seemingly every turn, and it culminated in a real stumper of a complex pre-endgame. You'll have to play it out for yourself and see what I mean.
ALL THE GAMES
Here's all the action from Table 1, move by move:
Round 22: Austin Shin vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 23: Jesse Day vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 24: Will Anderson vs. David Webb
Round 25: Will Anderson vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 26: Dave Wiegand vs. Evan Berofsky
Round 27: Jesse Day vs. Dave Wiegand
Round 28: Will Anderson vs. Dave Wiegand
COMING UP TOMORROW
It all comes down to this! Will, Jesse: The doctor will see you now.
Jesse gets to take a crack at Dr. Bing first thing tomorrow morning; more than likely, Will will get a shot at him soon after that. We'll have three rounds in all - and when the dust settles, we'll have a Word Cup champion.
Tune in tomorrow and find out who wins it all.