Here's What You Missed at.... The Order of the List Invitational 2014

The Order of the List is an organization dedicated not only to the promotion of excellence in combat, but also sportsmanship and training of others.  Throughout the year, tournament event-holders can have their results certified by the  Order, meaning that the top four finishers in each tournament at a certified event are awarded a number of points, which are recorded by the Order. At the close of the "season," the top sixteen fighters with the highest number of points are invited to participate in the yearly Invitational tournament. The winner of the Invitational is then inducted into the Order of the List as a full member. 

This year the Invitational was held in Rhiassa, and the overall festive atmosphere of the tournament was  highlighted by the many banners hung around the area, as well as the pennants strung over the fighting pits. Banners representing the various participants also decorated the area, adding to the colorful array. While only the top sixteen fighters participated in the actual tournament, there was a good crowd of spectators on-hand as well to cheer on the contestants in addition to getting in a little time to do some socializing. Stewpendous put in an appearance and was delicious as per usual, especially the beef stew (Rhiassa ran up quite a tab!);  Lord Malaki of Folkestone was also selling desserts, with such tempting offerings as caramel-apple "pie-lets" and pumpkin bread slices with butter.  Grimloch Gear was also in attendance with a nice variety of items for sale. The Gilded Lion, Rhiassa's multipurpose shop/ casino, was open and taking bets, allowing spectators to place wagers on various competitors and outcomes and adding an extra layer of excitement on top of the fierce fighting. The Blackwood Casino was also on hand for those who wanted to gamble in a different way, and there was a trivia tournament for spectators that ran in three rounds throughout the day.  Syruss and Eldritch of Grimloch, two Order members, also ran a newbie or "Young Blood" tournament. Shortly before the competition started Nighthawk's contributions to the event for the past few years was recognized when he was awarded an official "Order of the List Marhsal" favor. 

The Invitational kicked off with the introduction of the competitors. Each person was presented to the crowd accompanied by specially selected theme music.  The initial seeding of this year's top sixteen competitors:

1) Wrath	5) Vuel	9) Illyana	13) XT
2) Dygen	6) Saegan	10) Graham	14) Qualoth
3) Guilliam	7) Grebinar	11) Vex	15) Kirk
4) Nos	8) William	12) Drike	16) Rillan

Round One

The first round consisted of  limited fights with a variety of weapon styles . Fights were done bracket-style, best two-out-of-three,  with the lower-seed competitors fighting the higher-seed competitors; first and second place in each weapon style tournament was decided by best three-out-of-five. Points were awarded based on the number of wins each competitor achieved, with the brackets being re-drawn before each new tournament based on each competitor's current point total at that time. These styles, in addition to the winner of each tournament, were as follows:

Sword & Dagger: Wrath	Single Short: Guilliam	Sword & Shield:  Guilliam	Hand & Half: Guilliam
Dagger: Vuel	Great Weapon: XT	Florentine: William	Sword & Marn: Guilliam

The point totals at the end of the first round, with the top eight in these standings advancing to the next level of competition:

1) Guilliam: 63	5) Graham: 29	9) Vex: 13	13) Nos: 7
2) XT: 30	6) Vuel: 27	10) Drike: 10	14) Saegan: 5
3) Dygen: 29	7) Wrath: 26	11) Quayloth: 9	15) Illy: 5
4) William: 29	8) Grebinar: 17	12) Rillan: 9	16) Kirk: 3

Round Two

The second round consisted of tournaments that were a little more involved. These fights were done round-robin style and included Single Competitor, Grimloch Grudge Match, Three Lives, Ones and Twos, and Five Points to Victory. All fights were unlimited with the exception of Five Points to Victory and parts of Grimloch Grudge Match. Some were three-out-of-five, and some were two-out-of-three.  The winners of each tournament in round two:

Single Competitor: Wrath	Ones and Twos: Wrath
Grimloch Grudge Match: Wrath	Five Points to Victory: XT
Three Lives: Wrath

The points totals at the end of the second round, with the top three in these standings advancing to the third level of competition:

1) Wrath: 62	4) Guilliam: 34	7) Vuel: 21
2) William: 40	5) XT: 31	8) Grebinar: 16
3) Graham: 39	6) Dygen: 30

Wildcard

All eliminated competitors now had a chance to get back into the standings. This was a limited fight that was done in large grand-melee style, with competitors garnering a point for each kill he or she made. The results were very close, with Dygen edging out XT by one point and clinching the wildcard slot. So the Top Three became the Top Four, and advanced into the third round.

Dygen: 59	Grebinar: 51	Saegan: 31	Kirk: 22
XT: 58	Nos: 46	Drike: 29
Guilliam: 54	Illy: 37	Vex: 27
Vuel: 51	Quayloth: 33	Rillan: 24

Round Three

The third round was fully unlimited and consisted of five fights: Duncan's Challenge, Three Lives, One Man Unlimited, First Seed's Choice (Sword & Marn) and Wildcard's Revenge (Sword & Dagger).  The winners of each:

One Man Unlimited: William	Three Lives: Wrath
First Seed's Choice: Wrath	Wildcard's Revenge: Dygen
Duncan's Challenge: William

The point scores at the end of round three, with the top two competitors moving on to the final round of competition: 

1) Wrath: 18*	3) Dygen: 11
2) William: 18	4) Graham: 7

*this score was tied, but as Wrath was first-seed overall going into the day, he was given the first-place slot in this round

Round Four (The "Grand Slam")

This round consisted of straight one-on-one fights between the top two; the fights were limited (by choice of the competitors) and weapon-styles were swapped after each fight.  The first competitor to win two "sets" would become the winner of round four and thus, the winner of the tournament; the first competitor to reach seven wins would win that particular "set." 

	Set  1 (# of wins)	Set 2 (# of wins)
Wrath	7	7
William	4	3

 Throughout a grueling day of non-stop fighting, Wrath emerges as the winner of the 2014 Order of the List Invitational, with William coming in second as the runner-up.  It must be pointed out that both of these combatants fought fiercely and competitively in the final round, especially in the face of some crippling leg cramps.  William and Wrath truly displayed some exceptional talent on the field. In addition, all sixteen competitors must be recognized not only for their performance during the Invitational, but also for the dedication and effort that each has put in throughout this past tournament year. Earning a spot in the Invitational is an honor that must be constantly fought for, and does not come easy. It is a testament to the impact that the Order of the List has had upon fighter culture that the competition is always so stiff each year.

Newbie Tourney

This was fought similar to the first round of the actual competition; players with three or less years in the game faced off against each other in a series of different weapon-style tournaments.  Critiques were offered by Syruss and Eldritch after each round, and the newer players were given a chance to ask questions at the end of the tournament.  The  top four finishers:

1) Crispin	3) Luke-John
2) Kwido	4) Zodiark

So that's what you missed at the Order of the List Invitational this year! Plenty of good fights to watch, plenty of time to socialize, and plenty of time to cheer on your favorite combatant! Great atmosphere, great skills on display, and great non-fighting content as well.  So don't you think you should go next year?

[Editor's note: for more information on the Order of the List, you can visit the official website at http://orderofthelist.com/]