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Earlier today Torn saw the dramatic last-minute ejection of Short Bus from the Elimination competition, securing their position as the 8th placed team after a tempestuous final half hour.
With thirty minutes left before the deadline it seemed a straight fight between 'Murica on 0, Short Bus on 0 and the Original Gangsters with 2 points, as the 3rd from bottom OG's were a massive 156 points behind 5th placed Pink Power. However, within minutes Pink Power - whose logo seems more of a fuschia-tone to me - were right back in the mix after losing a massive 120 points in but one-quarter of an hour.
With 15 minutes to go Pink Power had dropped to a measly 36 points, illustrating just how quickly a team can be dragged into the mix despite a healthy lead. Pink Power's lack of numbers seemingly contributed to their free-fall, as with many members hospitalised they were effectively powerless to resist repeated assaults upon them. 60 seconds were left on the clock, and Pink Power just about kept their heads above water with 8 points, followed by Short Bus on 4 and Original Gangsters on 2.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, it was Short Bus who ended the day below the line, with 'Murica leaping to safety at the last minute, and Pink Power scraping through on 6 points. Last minute drama has proven to be the theme of the Elimination competition thus far, and no more so than on the very first day of the competition's knockout phase.
September 15th saw the ignominious wooden spoon awarded to Pirates, with their early elimination considered something of a shock, given their status as early favourites. Despite racing into an early lead, Pirates were keel-hauled back down to earth thanks to the combined efforts of their rivals, with the scurvy sea dogs battered by wave upon wave of enemy attacks. Every team in the competition seemed to take umbrage at the cocksure swagger of these fearsome scallywags, and Elimination's first casualties intriguingly turned out to be the team who had performed the most attacks and activity.
But, if you thought the Pirates would take the result like men, you would be most wrong indeed. While some did indeed accept their loss with dignity, Torn's forums were awash with rumours of conspiracy, fraud and underhand dealing. Most of the Pirates' ire was directed towards a curious event at the 2pm TCT deadline, which saw members from four different teams notified of their elimination.
A number of citizens from Mountain Men, Pirates, 'Murica and Area 51 were informed of their demise, only for this to be reversed and Pirates' elimination confirmed by the authorities. Whilst this was initially attributed to the guy in charge of point-counting getting himself blind drunk, it later transpired that the attacks had been logged correctly and that no shenanigans of any sort had taken place.
Other citizens complained that lag was the cause of Pirates' exit, despite the fact that all teams would have been equally affected. Then, after his mysterious absence during Elimination's early stages, Overlord Chedburn revealed the city had been subject to a series of deliberate attacks during crucial points in the competition, with many wondering if an attempt to fix the competition had been uncovered.
A vote led by citizen CEB proved inconclusive in determining the public's opinion on the matter, with 17.6% calling the Pirates' loss a façade, 18.7% referring to it as schadenfreude, 28.1% deeming the result hilarious, and 35.6% believing it was a fair and just outcome. But whatever you believe, it seemed clear from day one that this was a competition not to be won by brute strength alone.
With the tournament's most aggressive and formidable side pummelled into submission, the most likely victor initially seemed to be Mountain Men. Yet, almost immediately after their elimination, my eyes and ears around the city told of a most dastardly plot unfolding within the Pirate hordes. Several of their members sought revenge for their hasty exit and reportedly planned to sabotage the Mountain Men throughout the rest of the competition - these men of the ocean were salty indeed.
In the end, no such assault took place upon the Mountain men. Or, if it did, it was far too insignificant to make a difference. The Mountain Men survived the second knockout round by a decent margin, yet still found themselves perilously close to the final fight which saw Area 51 prove the day's losers. This was followed by the destruction of the Rebel Front on 17th September, and it was at this point I noticed a rather interesting piece of data.
Despite being eliminated in the first round, the Pirates remained the team with the second highest number of attacks for two days after their demise. Their initial onslaught now seems foolish with hindsight, but does their defeat serve as a useful example to the remaining teams? The fact that groups cannot accumulate a minus score means that early attacks quickly become redundant, as the Green Army saw on the 18th after being eliminated with an impressive 37076 total attacks.
Is this fair? Some might say not. Is this lack of equity in keeping with the spirit of Torn? Yes. Should it serve as a lesson as to how to win Elimination? Most definitely. There are many ways the Elimination competition could have acquiesced to the idea of fairness; the points could have remained hidden until the final moments, all teams could have been allocated a limited number of hospitalisations, we could all hold hands and pretend this is the United Nations.
But no, this is Torn - fairness has no place here.
So what should we expect as the final week of Elimination drops into our lap like a welcome gift from an enthusiastic grandmother? Well, a snapshot of data collected by Mat-Senpai indicated that after the first round picked out Lettuce Win as the team to watch. With the 6th highest number of hits per person coming from a team 3rd from bottom in terms of numbers, this group of highly active individuals must be considered a serious contender for the title. Their 739 members remain in the competition after finishing a healthy 4th place on September 19th, as do Pink Power (479) and Knitting Circle (702), with each understaffed team proving their early naysayers wrong.
It seems that the optimum strategy for surviving Elimination's early rounds was to keep your head down, all the while making steady, if unspectacular progress. Another ideal tactic, if you had known before the competition, would be to ditch your partner, sell your children and move to the Ukraine. Elimination deadlines take place at 2pm Torn City Time, which is 5pm Ukraine time, compared to 3pm in Britain, 10am in Washington DC, 7am in LA, and 4am in Hawaii. Smashing your opponent's bones into dust all week means nothing if your boss, partner or hideous offspring demand attention as the round's final moments approach.
Therefore, teams with more players in Europe, Russia and Asia are clearly at an advantage during the remainder of the competition, unless the timings are suddenly changed by the powers that be. Nevertheless, by hook or by crook, Torn citizens from all over the world joined in to do battle over the past week, and this reporter would like to know how you managed it.
Were you supposed to be working when you put your opponent in the hospital? Did you ignore the cries of your infant son to squeeze one more attack from your hit of Xanax? Will Torn City gain a mention in your forthcoming divorce proceedings? Tell me how you managed to escape your daily drudgery to take part in Elimination, and we'll post the best stories in next week's concluding article on Elimination 2016.
(Editor's Note: In the interests of impartiality, this reporter must disclose he is a member of the Ninjas, and he unreservedly apologises for basking in the blood of his enemies.)
With thirty minutes left before the deadline it seemed a straight fight between 'Murica on 0, Short Bus on 0 and the Original Gangsters with 2 points, as the 3rd from bottom OG's were a massive 156 points behind 5th placed Pink Power. However, within minutes Pink Power - whose logo seems more of a fuschia-tone to me - were right back in the mix after losing a massive 120 points in but one-quarter of an hour.
With 15 minutes to go Pink Power had dropped to a measly 36 points, illustrating just how quickly a team can be dragged into the mix despite a healthy lead. Pink Power's lack of numbers seemingly contributed to their free-fall, as with many members hospitalised they were effectively powerless to resist repeated assaults upon them. 60 seconds were left on the clock, and Pink Power just about kept their heads above water with 8 points, followed by Short Bus on 4 and Original Gangsters on 2.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, it was Short Bus who ended the day below the line, with 'Murica leaping to safety at the last minute, and Pink Power scraping through on 6 points. Last minute drama has proven to be the theme of the Elimination competition thus far, and no more so than on the very first day of the competition's knockout phase.
September 15th saw the ignominious wooden spoon awarded to Pirates, with their early elimination considered something of a shock, given their status as early favourites. Despite racing into an early lead, Pirates were keel-hauled back down to earth thanks to the combined efforts of their rivals, with the scurvy sea dogs battered by wave upon wave of enemy attacks. Every team in the competition seemed to take umbrage at the cocksure swagger of these fearsome scallywags, and Elimination's first casualties intriguingly turned out to be the team who had performed the most attacks and activity.
But, if you thought the Pirates would take the result like men, you would be most wrong indeed. While some did indeed accept their loss with dignity, Torn's forums were awash with rumours of conspiracy, fraud and underhand dealing. Most of the Pirates' ire was directed towards a curious event at the 2pm TCT deadline, which saw members from four different teams notified of their elimination.
A number of citizens from Mountain Men, Pirates, 'Murica and Area 51 were informed of their demise, only for this to be reversed and Pirates' elimination confirmed by the authorities. Whilst this was initially attributed to the guy in charge of point-counting getting himself blind drunk, it later transpired that the attacks had been logged correctly and that no shenanigans of any sort had taken place.
Other citizens complained that lag was the cause of Pirates' exit, despite the fact that all teams would have been equally affected. Then, after his mysterious absence during Elimination's early stages, Overlord Chedburn revealed the city had been subject to a series of deliberate attacks during crucial points in the competition, with many wondering if an attempt to fix the competition had been uncovered.
A vote led by citizen CEB proved inconclusive in determining the public's opinion on the matter, with 17.6% calling the Pirates' loss a façade, 18.7% referring to it as schadenfreude, 28.1% deeming the result hilarious, and 35.6% believing it was a fair and just outcome. But whatever you believe, it seemed clear from day one that this was a competition not to be won by brute strength alone.
With the tournament's most aggressive and formidable side pummelled into submission, the most likely victor initially seemed to be Mountain Men. Yet, almost immediately after their elimination, my eyes and ears around the city told of a most dastardly plot unfolding within the Pirate hordes. Several of their members sought revenge for their hasty exit and reportedly planned to sabotage the Mountain Men throughout the rest of the competition - these men of the ocean were salty indeed.
In the end, no such assault took place upon the Mountain men. Or, if it did, it was far too insignificant to make a difference. The Mountain Men survived the second knockout round by a decent margin, yet still found themselves perilously close to the final fight which saw Area 51 prove the day's losers. This was followed by the destruction of the Rebel Front on 17th September, and it was at this point I noticed a rather interesting piece of data.
Despite being eliminated in the first round, the Pirates remained the team with the second highest number of attacks for two days after their demise. Their initial onslaught now seems foolish with hindsight, but does their defeat serve as a useful example to the remaining teams? The fact that groups cannot accumulate a minus score means that early attacks quickly become redundant, as the Green Army saw on the 18th after being eliminated with an impressive 37076 total attacks.
Is this fair? Some might say not. Is this lack of equity in keeping with the spirit of Torn? Yes. Should it serve as a lesson as to how to win Elimination? Most definitely. There are many ways the Elimination competition could have acquiesced to the idea of fairness; the points could have remained hidden until the final moments, all teams could have been allocated a limited number of hospitalisations, we could all hold hands and pretend this is the United Nations.
But no, this is Torn - fairness has no place here.
So what should we expect as the final week of Elimination drops into our lap like a welcome gift from an enthusiastic grandmother? Well, a snapshot of data collected by Mat-Senpai indicated that after the first round picked out Lettuce Win as the team to watch. With the 6th highest number of hits per person coming from a team 3rd from bottom in terms of numbers, this group of highly active individuals must be considered a serious contender for the title. Their 739 members remain in the competition after finishing a healthy 4th place on September 19th, as do Pink Power (479) and Knitting Circle (702), with each understaffed team proving their early naysayers wrong.
It seems that the optimum strategy for surviving Elimination's early rounds was to keep your head down, all the while making steady, if unspectacular progress. Another ideal tactic, if you had known before the competition, would be to ditch your partner, sell your children and move to the Ukraine. Elimination deadlines take place at 2pm Torn City Time, which is 5pm Ukraine time, compared to 3pm in Britain, 10am in Washington DC, 7am in LA, and 4am in Hawaii. Smashing your opponent's bones into dust all week means nothing if your boss, partner or hideous offspring demand attention as the round's final moments approach.
Therefore, teams with more players in Europe, Russia and Asia are clearly at an advantage during the remainder of the competition, unless the timings are suddenly changed by the powers that be. Nevertheless, by hook or by crook, Torn citizens from all over the world joined in to do battle over the past week, and this reporter would like to know how you managed it.
Were you supposed to be working when you put your opponent in the hospital? Did you ignore the cries of your infant son to squeeze one more attack from your hit of Xanax? Will Torn City gain a mention in your forthcoming divorce proceedings? Tell me how you managed to escape your daily drudgery to take part in Elimination, and we'll post the best stories in next week's concluding article on Elimination 2016.
(Editor's Note: In the interests of impartiality, this reporter must disclose he is a member of the Ninjas, and he unreservedly apologises for basking in the blood of his enemies.)
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