NationStates Jolt Archive

It's an odd sensation being a table tennis player, y'know? You're the best of the best at a sport many take as a joke. But you know it's not a laugh. Table tennis is serious to you, it's something that you've devoted your life to.

And this feeling as you're walking down a red carpet, paparazzi flashing their bulbs at you, it makes you think it's all worth it.

But you know that fame and fortune aren't the reasons you've flown to Rennidan.

The reason your here, my friend, is to become the first ever World Champion of Table Tennis.

So get your head out of the clouds and get ready to play.

Because your journey starts here.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/WTTC.png



NATIONS COMPETITING:
Each nation enters two players to represent their glorious country in what is truly the greatest sport on Earth.

The minimum amount of information needed is: both your player's names and their style modifiers of either -1 (for a defensive style), 0 (for a balanced style) or +1 (for an offensive style). And yes, both players can have different style modifiers. Giving them a backstory is also openly encouraged and, remember, RP will be a big decider here.

If a nation fails to enter their player’s names and/or style modifier, their player will be represented in the tournament bracket with their nation’s 3 letter code (i.e. Rennidan’s is REN) and a number 1 or 2. Or, I might give them my own personal nicknames, such as "Larry" and "Bob". Who knows?



Rennidan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14093897&postcount=2)

Miroxia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14093965&postcount=3)

Myedvedya (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14094200&postcount=5)

Taeshan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14094175&postcount=4)

Jeruselem

Land de Wood (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14098522&postcount=9)

Nethertopia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14095764&postcount=6)

Tortuga y Hispaniola

Lovisa (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14110915&postcount=17)

Kjomasasopia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14112265&postcount=22)

Australiah (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14111348&postcount=20)

Bears Armed (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14099452&postcount=12)

Orangine

Mantwenic (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14110981&postcount=18)

Lenin-Stalin-Kalinin

Bostopia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14103803&postcount=15)



STADIA


NEWTOWN DISTRICT SHOWHALL

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/RennidanCommunityCentre.png
Capacity: 13,000
Rating: ***

Located in Rennidan's Newtown District, the Showhall is the opening leg of the WTTC, being used from Match Day 1 through to Match Day 6. It's not a bad place, and RenniBooze is sponsoring the place heavily, so beverages and food should at least be top notch, with cheese and crackers and various alcoholic drinks available for free for all competitors.


RENNIDAN INTERNATIONAL INDOOR ARENA

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/RennidanInternationalIndoorArena.png
Capacity: 28,000
Rating: *****

In the Empirical District of Rennidan lay the IIA, a monolithic building which just falls shorter than the Emperor's palace. It's spacious, clean, and a beautiful testiment to modern Rennidan architecture. If you make it here, you know you've made it far in the ping pong world. The IIA will be used from Matchday 7 through to Matchday 10.


MOUNT RENNIDA

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/RennidaMountain.png
Capacity: 2

It wouldn't be a sports competition in Rennidan unless we did something spectacular. For Matchday 11, or, if you want to be traditional, for the finals, the game will take place atop Rennidan's largest feature: Mount Rennida. We've flown a table up there for play, and we've rigged up the cameras to capture everything, but apart from that, the two finalists will be alone atop the world for their final game.



THE TOURNAMENT BRACKET SO FAR (http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7589/bracketdraw11fj8.png)



So, come on, get your rosters up. The tournament draw will take place on Saturday, October 18th (time to yet be decided, depending on if I'm working or not).

RENNIDAN'S ROSTER:

Player One:

Matthew Edwards - 23
Style: +1
Background: Hailing from the wealthy Edwards family of the Newtown District, Matthew sits pretty with an Economics degree and a classic car collection which takes up half of his luxury mansion. No doubt an odd choice for the hosting nation's star player, Matthew, a usually calm and tranquil man, shows extreme aggression when he gets a hold of the paddle and gets behind his half of the table.


Player Two:

Xing Lei Hampton - 19
Style: -1
Background: Daughter of a Chinese immigrant and a Rennidanian buisness man, Hampton is the player that is bound to send all the internet geeks giddy in this competition. She began playing table tennis at primary school, and grew to love the sport. She's now considered one of Rennidan's best, and is now ready to show the world what she's capable of.

Player 1

Trent Gump, age 29
Style: -1
Background: Born to a poor family in Port Durant, Trent has been in love with table tenis since age 5. While attending kindergarten, his friends had a miniature version table tennis, and he entered what his teacher nicknamed: "The Port City Kindergarten Championship". Oddly enough, he won, and entered many local and national events since then, winning over 50,000 USD in prize money. He is number 1 in the nation, and trains everyday for hours.

Player 2

Howard Koon, age 21
Style: 0
Background: After both of his parents died in a car crash, Howard was adopted by Trent Gump's family. As the two grew up together, they both had a love for table tennis. Not as good as his old, adoptive brother, he is still in the top 50 players in Miroxia, and has choosen to enter with high hopes, but probably won't do the best.

Taeshani Team

Max Rienhold Age 22 -1 Lefty
Manny Smith Age 24 0 Righty

Myedvedeya's Players:

Vladimir Bykovsky, age 19, -1, Right-Handed. Bykovsky, the younger brother of Myedvedeya's international Football team's goalkeeper, got tired of trying to beat his brother on the pitch, and got into a sport that is not as...well known... He is an extremely skilled and competitive player, famed for his absolutely fantastic defense.

Natasha Kuznetskaya, age 22, +1, Right-Handed. Famed for being very skilled, and extremely attractive, Kuznetskaya is the press' darling of Myedvedeya. Look for her number of victories to be exceeded only by the number of magazine covers she appears on.

The Nethertopian duo that will compete for the title of Weltmeister:

Player name: Andres Garcia
Age: 37 years old
Stronger hand: None, he's ambidextrous
Style modifier: 0
Additional info: Andres Garcia knows about the life and fame of sportsmanship. He's rather old, but table tennis is a sport that has a longer durability for the sportsmen than most sports have.
He's not from Nethertopia himself, he's an immigrant. But for all he has known, he's a Nethertopian. His parents moved to Nethertopia and he possesses his Nth passport for over three decades.
Garcia has previously played in the NA-L, the Nethertopian highest football league and has some caps on his name. But table tennis has always been his big love, he practiced it almost every day, and when Nethertopian football had flowed down to a lower level he had decided to quit at the age of 26. After that he focussed completely on the small variant of tennis and has won several national tournaments, including three national titles in the last five years.
Andres is a balanced, technical player. He tries spins and soft balls, mixed with defence, rather than smashes to force his opponents on their knees. A famous part of his play is that he likes to switches his bat between his hands when rallying, to confuse opponents. He's married to the other Nethertopian representative, Eva Paardenkoper.

Player name: Eva Paardenkoper
Age: 26 years old
Stronger hand: Right
Style modifier: +1
Additional info: Eva Paardenkoper is a bitch. A completely mad woman. She's quite good looking, certainly not ugly, but completely rotten from the inside. It seems that she takes her aggression out with table tennis, trying to smash her frustration off the table. She's been called completely insane by most people who've met her and according to rumours, she is. The only person se seems to be reasonable to is her husband, the other Nethertopian table tennis player of this tournament, Andres Garcia.
She grew up just outside Ashdom, where both her father and mother worked in a casino. At young age, she had shown herself do be a difficult personality. Her parents sought a way to overcome this trouble, but therapy didn't seem to help. They tried different sports, but stopped trying after she broke a team mate's leg in football and almost killed her teacher when trying karate. Eventually she found an old table tennis table while looking for something in her attic, where she learned to play table tennis with herself. Her parents noticed she was gone for weeks, to the attic after school, and that she seemed to be more relaxed. They quickly put her in a table tennis club, where she was expelled pretty quickly after she joined. She left her parent's house when she turned 17, to seek luck and fortune with her table tennis play. Her star rised quickly and she became the most (in)famous player ever known.
With her aggressive, offensive play she's won the title of Nethertopia's best four times, of which two times in the latest five years. She and her husband competed for the Nethertopian trophee in the final four out of the last five times. She's a bad loser, only capable of taking a loss from her husband. They've never been defeated when they doubled.

Ahem, just gonna' try and keep this up on the first page.

If i may suggest: There is a fairly easy way to make sure that the finals may not be a battle between the same countries. Just use a tennis tournament format.

Land de Wood send champions to the World Championship of Table Tennis

Heizo Gray, men's champion, left handed, aged 21, style aggressive (+1)
Heizo Gray won this year's table tennis tournament in superb style, playing some aggressive table tennis. He enjoys smashing the ball, none of this go softly approach for him. Like most of Land de Wood residents he worked for the Wood Corporation before moving here when the corporation set up our wonderful country. Back at home he was the Wood Corporation's table tennis youth champion three years running.

Kita Boss, women's champion, left handed, aged 23, style aggressive (+1)
Boss by name, Boss by nature, Kita Boss doesn't take no for answer. She worked her way up at Wood Corporation and now enjoys her role as the director of table tennis in the sports ministry of Land de Wood. Some say she might be too young to be a directory of a sport but who better than a current player to be in charge of a sport. Like Heizo she prefers to play aggressively.

Thanks for the suggestion, Nethertopia. Whilst I'll be keeping the format for this competition how it's set now, I'll certainly keep it in mind for the second addition. That's what this first one is all about, really, figuring out what's gonna' work and what isn't.

It seems like a fair format, this. Also, large picture is large.

Here, after a brief rest following their participation in the Olympics (where both of them competed not only in Table Tennis but in Taekwondo as well) are the entrants from Bears Armed _

Tan Par: male human, age 31, a monk from the Eightwayist (OOC => This is a religion, practised by a minority group with B.A., that is very similar to Buddhism...) 'Silver Tiger' monastery, which is situated in the territory of his native clan 'Clan SnowyPeaks'. He is right-handed, unusually for his tribe, and favours an offensive style.
(Appearance = 'European' features, light brown skin, black hair [worn very short], green eyes, no facial hair; tall, & quite muscular but by no means muscle-bound... He will be wearing saffron-coloured robes, & sandals.)
He was one of the duo that won the Gold medal in the Men's Doubles event in the recent Olympics, although he fared less successfully in the Men's Singles contest there, and before that had won both the Men's Singles and -- with the same partner as in the Olympics -- Men's Doubles in an 'Intermonastic Cup' to which quite a few monasteries (of various faiths) from Bears Armed and several of its closest allies send entries: The final matches in both of those contests were against monks from a place that claims to be this game's actual birthplace, the near-legendary monastery (in the nation of Philosophical Pandas (http://www.nationstates.net/philosophical_pandas)) of P'ying-P'yong.
Table Tennis is, for Tan Par and his fellows, not just a sport but a form of "dynamic meditation".

Hwen Dan: male 'Hwa' (i.e. anthropomorphic Giant Panda), aged 24, also a monk from the 'Silver Tiger' monastery and a native of Clan SnowyPeaks. Left-handed, and favours a defensive style. He wears similar robes to Tan Par, but goes bare-footed.


___________________________________________________________

OOC _
Yes, that's a change from the two humans that I originally said this nation would be sending: With no Doubles matches involved, Hwen Dan seemed a better choice as our second competitor in the Singles than Tan Par's usual partner Fan Hue... at least from an IC viewpoint, although I do realise that their ratings for the Olympics don't actually carry over into this contest... ;)
The population of Bears Armed is actually over 95% 'Ursine' by species, but Clan SnowyPeaks -- which is where most of the country's Table Tennis players have generally originated -- has a more mixed composition (in this respect) than any of the other 11 Major Clans.

Oh, and one other detail: for both of these people, their family names precede their personal names.

3 days to go before the draw and 9 teams still need to post rosters up.

Looks like I'll get to be nicknaming some of the players then. :D

And easy draws for us :D

1) Brian Floodman +1

2) Wilf McWaffle +1

Last chance to get rosters in. The tournament draw will take place tomorrow somewhere between 4PM and 11PM BST. The wide time margin is down to some inlaws visiting tomorrow, but I promise I'll get the draw up between then no matter what.

1. Lucjan Blaszczyk +2

2. Tomasz Krzeszewski +1

Zachariah Liamiah +1

Gregory Shelemiah +2

The minimum amount of information needed is: both your player's names and their style modifiers of either -1 (for a defensive style), 0 (for a balanced style) or +1 (for an offensive style). And yes, both players can have different style modifiers. Giving them a backstory is also openly encouraged and, remember, RP will be a big decider here.

Lovisa, Mantwenic, I'm sorry but I can't accept +2s. It's from between -1 and +1 for this competition.

Player One:
Lance Franklin + 4
Style: +3

Player Two:
Benjamin Smith + 2
Style: -2

Again, Australiah, style modifiers are between -1 and +1.

And roster links updated.

hmm didnt realise i signed up for this
ok here is roster
Chris Church: Aged 19, 0
Jimmy Hallows: Aged 18, 0

note; neither of these men have met each other, or have played table tennis before. most probably will struggle to score points. the government has dropped them off in Rennidan, or wherever this is at, and has no intentions of tracking thier progress, or picking them back up,so there will most likely be no RP.

also:if someone is coming back from the tourney past KJO, can you give my boys a lift home? thanks

"Ladies and gentlemen (and in the odd case, anthropomorphic panda), we welcome you... to the group draw of the first World Championship of Table Tennis!"

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/WTTC.png
The RENNIDAN INTERNATIONAL INDOOR ARENA is playing host to the draw, it's many screens flickering with bright colours to mesmerize and dazzle the players and paparazzi that have attended. At the front of the arena is a large stage, lit a smooth blue by the machines in the ceiling, and on there is the one thing every came to see.

The draw machine.

Within the machine are the names of the 32 competitors that have been dropped off in Rennidan for the next fortnight of non-stop table tennis action.

So let's stop dillydallying with fancy descriptions and such.

Let's see what's gonna' happen.


THE NATIONS:

(REN) = Rennidan
(MIR) = Miroxia
(TAE) = Taeshen
(MYE) = Myedvedya
(NET) = Nethertopia
(LAN) = Land de Wood
(BEA) = Bears Armed
(BOS) = Bostopia
(TOR) = Tortuga y Hispaniola
(LOV) = Lovisa
(KJO) = Kjomasasopia
(JER) = Jeruselem
(AUS) = Australiah
(ORA) = Orangine
(MAN) = Mantwenic
(LSK) = Lenin-Stalin-Kalinin


THE PLAYERS:

Matthew Edwards (REN)
Xing Lei Hampton (REN)

Trent Gump (MIR)
Howard Koon (MIR)

Max Rienhold (TAE)
Manny Smith (TAE)

Vladimir Bykovsky (MYE)
Natasha Kuznetskaya (MYE)

Andres Garcia (NET)
Eva Paardenkoper (NET)

Heizo Gray (LAN)
Kita Boss (LAN)

Tan Par (BEA)
Hwen Dan (BEA)

Brian Floodman (BOS)
Wilf McWaffle (BOS)

Dave (TOR)
Mike (TOR)

Lucjan Blaszczyk (LOV)
Tomasz Krzeszewski (LOV)

Chris Church (KJO)
Jimmy Hallows (KJO)

Julie (JER)
Nancy (JER)

Lance Franklin (AUS)
Benjamin Smith (AUS)

Patrick (ORA)
Kirsty (ORA)

Zachariah Liamiah (MAN)
Gregory Shelemiah (MAN)

Vlad (LSK)
Yuri (LSK)

[As you can see, I've had to nickname LSK, ORA, JER and TOR's players as they never entered rosters]


And now, perhaps most importantly...

THE TOURNAMENT DRAW! (http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8769/bracketdrawno9.png)


MD1: 19TH OCTOBER
MD2: 20TH OCTOBER
MD3: 21ST OCTOBER
MD4: 22ND OCTOBER
MD5: 23RD OCTOBER
MD6: 24TH OCTOBER
MD7: 25TH OCTOBER
MD8: 27TH OCTOBER
MD9: 28TH OCTOBER
MD10: 30TH OCTOBER
MD11: 1ST NOVEMBER

Please note, these dates are subject to change. I live a pretty hectic lifestyle, and as such, I also cannot supply accurate RP-Cutoff times. I will aim to have most RP-Cutoffs between 4PM-7PM BST (times will stay the same when the clocks change as well).


Now then, it's my pleasure to announce that this, the first World Championship of Table Tennis... is now open! RP, be free, be happy, and have fun!

Tan Par and Hwen Dan are practicing against each other and, although international tournament rules may require keeping at least one foot on the ground at all times (OOC; what is the rule?), are actually doing so with each of them seated in the lotus position... and hovering a couple of feet off of the ground!

[Oh no, we here at Rennidan like some acrobatics. For this championship, the one foot on the ground rule? It's abolished, non-existant and deader than the dodo. Go ahead, float, flip and fly your way to victory in ping pong.]

Player 1

Lisa Ho, age 17
Style: +1
Background: A Eurasian girl born from the usual happenings in Jeruselem. Works in a clothing store in her day job and babysits kids for rich people at night. Her hero is Princess Jacinta Sasha Dallas. She adopts the aggressive attacking style of Jeruselem World Cup team prefering to attack and crash than die wondering being defensive. Her favourite way to practice is using a Wii (naked).

Player 2

Ray Parker, age 30
Style: -1
Background: Ray took up table tennis because he was crap at everything else including real tennis. This mainly due to having a bad limp from crashing a motorbike when he was young.

Both players are sponsored by Dallas Enterprises.

Myedvedeyans Prepare for WTTC

1:00, Newtown District, Rennidan
Reporter: Myedvedeya's players arrived this morning for the World Table Tennis Championship, to get settled in at their lodging, and maybe have a practice session or two before tomorrow's matches. We interviewed each of them, to find out their thoughts about the upcoming tournament.

Second Reporter: Hello, I'm here with Mr.Vladimir Bykovsky, number one table tennis player in Myedvedeya, and brother of Myedvedeya's international football squad's goalkeeper. Mr.Bykovsky, what are your thoughts on the tournament.

VBK: I have watched footage of the other players. I have the potential to beat all of them. My success will depend entirely on my own level of play from day to day.

REP2: Care to elaborate on any players in general?

VBK: No.

REP2: Can we ask you any more questions?

VBK: *grabs the camera and calmly throws it over his shoulder, into a crows of people*

REP1: We also interviewed Natasha Kuznetskaya, the other Myedvedeyan player in this tournament.

Third Reporter: I'm here with Miss Natasha Kuznetskaya, Myedvedeya's Tsarina of table tennis. Ms.Kuznetskaya, would you mind if we asked you a few questions?

NKZ: Not at all, but be quick. I have a photo shoot at one-thirty, another one at two, another one at two-thirty, an advertisement at three, another photo shoot at three-fifteen, yet another photo shoot at four, and practice at four fifteen.

REP3: Great, so, what do you think of the tournament as a whole?

NKZ: whoops, gotta go, catch you guys later.

REP1: We'll be back tomorrow with more WTTC coverage, on the Novy Moskva News Network.

for more sports news, log on to www.novymoskva.mye/sports

Church and Hallows are training by doing Back Flips, Barrel Rolls and watching bad kung fu movies to get ideas of sweet tricks they can pull during the games. oh, and they occasionally pick up the paddles and actually try and figure out why they put tennis on a table...

Gump and Koon rapidly hit the ball back and fourth to one another: a scrimmage. As the sweat rapidly drenched their faces, the score remained tied. Sure, Gump was better than Koon, but Koon was good. Were they ready for Rennidan? Pretty sure.

(OOC:

Her favourite way to practice is using a Wii (naked).

Perv
Every forum has one.

No offence meant.)

tortuga y hispaniola's ship was sidetracked on the way to Rennidan, we apologize for the delay in submitting our players.

Eduardo Barbanegra- +1
Anne Bonny- -1

RP cut off, folks.

Scores up soon.

RP cut off, folks.

Scores!

Heizo Gray (LAN) 11 - 7 Chris Church (KJO)

Max Rienhold (TAE) 11 - 8 Gregory Shelemiah (MAN)

Hwen Dan (BEA) 11 - 7 Matthew Edwards (REN)

Manny Smith (TAE) 11 - 6 Kisty (ORA)

Kita Boss (LAN) 11 - 8 Zachariah Liamiah (MAN)

Lisa Ho (JER) 13 - 11 Trent Gump (MIR)

Brian Floodman (BOS) 13 - 11 Lucjan Blaszczyk (LOV)

Xing Lei Hamption (REN) 11 - 6 Eva Paardenkoper (NET)

Tomasz Krzeszewski (LOV) 11 - 6 Lance Franklin (AUS)

Anne Bonny (TOR) 11 - 6 Jimmy Hallows (KJO)

Vladimir Bykovsky (MYE) 11 - 8 Vlad (LSK)

Benjamin Smith (AUS) 11 - 1 Patrick (ORA)

Andres Garcia (NET) 11 - 3 Eduardo Barbanegra (TOR)

Yuri (LSK) 11 - 4 Ray Parker (JER)

Howard Koon (MIR) 14 - 12 Wilf McWaffle (BOS)

Tan Par (BEA) 11 - 6 Natash Kuznetskaya (MYE)

[Jolt is playing me about, I'll make this post look better and easier to read later when it decides it doesn't want to be a bitch to me.]



THE TOURNAMENT BRACKET SO FAR (http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6538/bracketdraw1rx8.png)

Miroxia Rejoices, Mourns

In an intense table tennis battle between Trent Gump of Miroxia and Lisa Ho of Jerusalem in the WCoTT, Miroxia fell disappointedly as Ho defeated Gump 13-11. Who could blame Gump though? After trying to deflect an incoming ball back at the Jerusalem native, he twisted his ankle with two minutes left, the score was 12-11. After he tried to get back in the game, he collasped and the score was then 13-11. He then forfeited the match as Lisa won 13-11. His condition is not disclosed, but he is expected to play on MD2 against Zachariah Liamiah of Mantwenic.

On the brighter sides of things, Gump's younger, adopted brother, Howard Koon. was victorious against Bostopian native Wilf McWaffle in a heated 14-12 battle. After Wilf went up 7-2, it looked like Koon was ready to give up. But, after he looked out and saw his injured, adopted brother rooting for him in the stands, his confidence grew as he took a surprising 10-8 lead. With one minute to go, it was tied, 12-12, but after two amazing, great plays, Koon went up 14-12. But, the match wasn't over, for McWaffle then played his hardest the last 30 seconds, and almost scored twice; in the end, however, good old Howard Koon emerged victorious for the mother land and advanced onto the next stage in the winner's bracket. On MD2, Koon will face Tan Par of Bears armed, and the motherland, Miroxia, now cheers greatly for Koon.

Heizo Gray (LAN) 11 - 7 Chris Church (KJO)

We won a table tennis match up. Yes we bring you this exciting news from the world table tennis championships Heizo Gray beat Chris Church 11-7 in a thrilling contest. He took an early 3-0 lead but then Chris Church came back to lead 6-4 at one point but then Heizo Gray stormed into a 9-6 lead, he let Chris get one back before winning the match 11-7.

Kita Boss (LAN) 11 - 8 Zachariah Liamiah (MAN)

Kita Boss fresh from winning the women's Land de Wood table tennis tournament battled hard to win this match. Zachariah matched her point for point up until 6-6 but then Kita Boss stormed into a 9-6 lead but even then Zachariah didn't give up, managing to pull it back to 9-8 before Kita swept her away with 2 quick points making it 11-8.

Two matches, two wins, long may this continue.

congratulations on your victory today, Land de Wood.]
you two, tortuga. im assuming TOR stands for tortuga, anyway. so now what do we do, losing both games???? is there like a best of the losers comp?

Heh, this is a double elimination tournament, Kjo. It means that you only get knocked out of the tournament if you lose 2 games.

So, if you win all your games from here on out, you still have a shot at winning the championship. Check out the tournament bracket image to get an idea of who you could be playing.

Oh, and this here is the RP Cut off.

MD2 Results up soon.

EDIT: RESULTS! Table up soon.

Gregory Shelemiah (MAN) 11 - 7 Chris Church (KJO)

Matthew Edwards (REN) 12 - 10 Kirsty (ORA)

Trent Gump (MIR) 11 - 8 Zachariah Liamiah (MAN)

Lucjan Blaszczyk (LOV) 12 - 10 Eva Paardenkoper (NET)

Jimmy Hallows (KJO) 11 - 6 Lance Franklin (AUS)

Vlad (LSK) 11 - 8 Patrick (ORA)

Ray Parker (JER) 11 - 9 Eduardo Barbanegra (TOR)

Natasha Kuznetskaya (MYE) 11 - 9 Wilf McWaffle (BOS)

The Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Gump Wins By 3, Koon Yet to Play

Trent Gump woke up this morning and whispered to himself, "I'm ready." That's right, no injured foot was going to keep this Miroxian Mountain Goat down! After training with Koon, he stepped onto the tournament floor, hoping to win against Mantwenic's own Zachariah Liamiah. Coming off a 13-11 loss to Lisa Ho of Jerusalem, most in Miroxia anticipated another loss for Gump. After minor foot pains in the beginning, Liamiah went up 5-0, and many though Gump's fate was sealed, but, after Gump found his "inner strength", as he told reporters, he took the game into a tie. It remained close all day, and in the last five minutes, Gump scored 4 times to put himself up, 11-8. After that, it was over. Liamiah seemed to have given up, but maybe he was tired, for even Gump admitted it was an intense game of tble tennis.

But, in Miroxia, the most anticipated match of the WCoTT is Howard Koon vs. Tan Par of Bears Armed. Koon, the underdog that was always last in all Miroxian betting pools, has shocked the nation, and quite possibly, the world. After an impressive 14-12 victory over Wilf McWaffle, the Miroxian people shifted from their love of Gump to a love of Koon. Early today, Koon told reporters, "I trained until midnight, slept till seven, ate a good breakfast, and then trained until it was time to leave for Trent's match, so I feel good about today's match!" Tan Par, coming off an 11-6 victory over Natash Kuznetskaya of Myedvedya, is probably the person all Miroxian betters fear the most. His skills are sometimes compared to Gump's, but never to Howard Koon. Koon, however, does seem ready and Miroxia shall pray that victory comes to him in his match.

Miroxia is 2-1 overall in this tournament, Gump being 1-1 and Koon having a perfect record, 1-0, though this might change. Only time will tell if Miroxia will go 3-1, or if Koon will fall.

yay hallzo won a game!

unlucky for church, can someone give him a lift home?

Jeruselem Government News

Jerus survive World Championship of Table Tennis elimination

Lisa Ho and Ray Parker of Jeruselem survived their first World Championship of Table Tennis. Lisa Ho had to fight off a determined Trent Gump (yes, that is his name) of Miroxia 13-11 to avoid the elimination play-offs. Ray Parker got smashed off the table by some person called Yuri but he recovered to beat Eduardo Barbanegra 11-9 to get himself out of trouble.

Young Lisa Ho said
"It was tough. First game and it was fast. Gump was no pushover at all. It's not the type of game you want first up with such a great opponent. Good thing I had the focus and got through. I think the first game is always the hardest one especially for a young'un like me. People wonder why I play Table Tennis! I'm hopeless at football."

Ray Parker said
"I don't know what happened in the first game. I was just awful and well, deserved to lose. I'm not exactly young these days like Lisa but I'm still fit. The second game was a bit of a struggle. I just had to focus on the task at hand. I'm kinda lucky still be here."

As an Eightwayist monk, Hwen Dan was used to a simple life without luxuries, and to cultivating serenity; nevertheless, this morning saw him just a touch grumpy_

"Tinned bamboo shoots, rather than fresh ones?"

Tan Par shrugged. "Best they could do, here, apparently... and, no, they don't have any Puzzletree nuts either..."

RP Cutoff, folks.



Heizo Gray (LAN) 12 - 10 Max Rienhold (TAE)

Hwen Dan (BEA) 11 - 7 Manny Smith (TAE)

Kita Boss (LAN) 11 - 6 Lisa Ho (JER)

Brian Floodman (BOS) 11 - 5 Xing Lei Hampton (REN)

Tomasz Krzeszweski (LOV) 11 - 4 Anne Bonny (TOR)

Benjamin Smith (AUS) 11 - 6 Vladimir Bykosvsky (MYE)

Andres Garcia (NET) 11 - 7 Yuri (LSK)

Tan Par (BEA) 12 - 10 Howard Koon (MIR)

TOURNAMENT BRACKET SO FAR! (http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1531/bracketdraw3ie2.png)

After Opening Round Wins Tae Pingers Lose

Yeah they lost. Max Rienhold 10-12 to Heizo Grey of Land De Wood, and Manny Smith to Hwen Dan of Bears Armed. At least they still have one loss to give.

The Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Miroxia Shocked as Koon Drop MD3 12-10

In a surprising shock, MD3 went to Bears Armed on this one as Tan Par advances to the next round as Hward Koon lost it all. Miroxians all across the nation were betting too much that Koon would win, not one worried he'd lose. Well, they were wrong. At first, Howard was up 7-3, and the match locked like a win, but after not one, not two, not three, not four, but five straight scores on Par's part, Koon's heart broke. The score was 8-7 by then, but Koon impressively scored his final two goals. In the finat minutes, it was 10-9, Koon's lead. It looked over as many Miroxian papers started to print "KOON WINS BY ONE, ADVANCES", but Tan Par shocked the world as he scored three times in a minute. Miroxia has now dropped to 2-2 in the tournament, each player suffering one loss, but having one win.

On MD4, both Miroxians will be playing. Koon will be facing Lucjan Blaszczyk of Lovisa and Gump will be facing of against Yuri of Lenin-Stalin-Kalinin. Since Koon's loss, most Miroxian have lost hope but are still faithful that Miroxia will win both matches tomorrow. In a short interview, Koon and Gump both stated they'd be working late tonight and training for many hours until the tournament. Hopefully, one will bring Miroxia the title. But hey, at least they're trying!

If Gump and Koon are both victorious, they will face each other in a match of death as most people are claiming.

(from [deep within] the Sports section of 'The Bear Necessities'...)


Monastic Duo Continue International Success

News just in from the nation of Rennidan, where Eightwayist monks Tan Par and Hwen Dan are competing in a 'World Championship of Table Tennis' as our own country's representatives, is that both members of that holy pair have won their matches in the contest's second round.
Tan Par beat Manny Smith (of Taeshan), 11-7, and now goes forwards to face Heizo Gray (of Land de Wood)... who, coincidentally, beat Taeshan's other entrant -- Max Rienhold by name -- by 12 points to 10 in their own second-round match.
Hwen Dan beat Howard Koon (of Miroxia), 12-10, and now goes forwards to play against Andres Garcia (of Nethertopia)... whose own second-round victory, symmetrically, was with an 11-7 score.
Good luck, males, and may the blessings of the Seven Holy Helpers be with you...


You don't know what 'Table Tennis' is?
Then why not buy a copy of 'Grregg ThunderBear's Compendium of Sports', available from all good bookshops at a bargain price of only 7-&-63?

Scorination for MD3 is delayed until tomorrow.

RL Issues. Sorry folks.

Revenge is sweet for Land de Wood

Heizo Gray (LAN) 12 - 10 Max Rienhold (TAE)
In recent battles with Taeshan on the sporting field we have lost, lost and lost again, but today we finally came out on top, Heizo Gray winning a tight battle against Max Rienhold.

Kita Boss (LAN) 11 - 6 Lisa Ho (JER)
An easy win for Kita Boss here as the girl from Jerusalem fell victim to Kita's power shots, allowing her to dominate the game.

Wah-hey-heeey. Consider this the one-day delayed RP Cut Off for MD4!

Scores up soon.



Hallows (KJO) 11 - 7 Rienhold (TAE)

M. Smith (TAE) 12 - 10 Vlad (LSK)

Parker (JER) 11 - 6 Ho (JER)

Hampton (REN) 11 - 9 Kuznetskaya (MYE)

Shelemiah (MAN) 11 - 7 Bonny (TOR)

Bykovsky (MYE) 12 - 10 Edwards (REN)

Gump (MIR) 11 - 4 Yuri (LSK)

Blaszczyk (LOV) 11 - 7 Koon (MIR)

WINNERS BRACKET:

Hwen (BEA) 11 - 6 Gray (LAN)

Boss (LAN) 11 - 8 Floodman (BOS)

B. Smith (AUS) 11 - 6 Krzeszewski (LOV)

Garcia (NET) 11 - 6 Tan (BEA)

LOSERS BRACKET:

Hallows (KJO) 11 - 6 M. Smith (TAE)

Hampton (REN) 11 - 9 Parker (JER)

Bykovsky (MYE) 12 - 10 Shelemiah (MAN)

Gump (MIR) 14 - 12 Blaszczyk (LOV)


Tournament Bracket So Far! (http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3739/bracketdraw5xk0.png)

yes! hallzo wins again! keep goin hallzo!

Tan Par shrugs.
"The world is an illusion, therefore 'winning' and 'losing' are also merely illusions."

THE NETHERTOPIAN SPORTSTIMES

GARCIA KEEPS ON WINNING

After the elimination of Paardekoper, it seems that Garcia wanted revenge for her. He's up and running for the title, ready for the semi finals of the winners bracket. He himself stated that "... I'd love to win the tournament, but this is just an experience for then next one, which will probably be more exciting."

Floodman (BOS) 11 - 8 Hallows (KJO)

Hampton (REN) 12 - 10 Gray (LAN)

Tan (BEA) 11 - 7 Bykovsky (MYE)

Gump (MIR) 14 - 12 Krzeszewki (LOV)

Tournament Bracket So Far! (http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/4786/bracketdraw6yr0.png)

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Gump Wins 3 Straight After Koon's Elimination

After Howard Koon lost to Tan Par 12-10, it was all over for him. He continued to lose and descend, and is now out of WCoTT...for good. However, Miroxia, don't lose hope! Gump has won his last 3 matches straight, the scores being 11-4, 14-12, and 14-12, respectivly. Since they were a while ago however, we can't find the write words to describe three straight matches, byt we can say this: Gump is determined to win the championship and has been practicing with many ping-pong players day and night, and is confident to in his next match versus Tan Par, looking to take revenge on him in honor of his brother.

unlucky!
can someone give hallzo a lift home? or would someone like to adopt him?

WINNERS BRACKET:

Boss (LAN) 11 - 8 Hwen (BEA)

Garcia (NET) 11 - 4 B. Smith (AUS)


LOSERS BRACKET:

Floodman (BOS) 11 - 8 Hampton (REN)

Gump (MIR) 12 - 10 Tan (BEA)

The Tournament Bracket So Far! (http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7488/bracketdraw7ti6.png)

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Trent Gump Gets Koon's Vengence; Beats Tan Par and Advances

Tan Par of Bears Armed has been a popular name in Miroxian news lately. He was first mentioned when Howard Koon lost to him, and was mentioned when Miroxia learned Gump would face. Seeing how Gump started off worse than the nation thought, Tan Par was always predicted to win, heck, the Miroxian Sports Inquirer even printed : "Gump Predicted to Lose 12-11", but, the Miroxian champion surprised us all. But the surprise came late, giving most gamblers upset stomachs, which gave Peptobismol very high sales yesterday.

Anyhow, the match started off calmly, then Gump scored. After that, though, Par got past Gump four times, making it 4-1. It then went on to look even worse. It was tied 5-5, but then Gump fell to 8-5, then it was 8-7, then it was 10-7. But for the longest time, it remained 10-7, and with four minutes left, Gump caught Tan Par looking relaxed and not caring and scored two straight times! It was now 10-9 with 3 minutes to go. Tan then was back on guard, but it was too late! Gump had his "mojo" on and scored another three times with a minute later, making it 12-10. After that, it was game! Miroxia had won and the nation went nuts after seeing him win on TV.

After the match, Trent went to his hotel and trained for the remainder of the night until midnight. He would have to because he was facing another Bears Armed player, Hwen Dan. And from two players of experience, Gump knows that people from Bears Armed are not to be taken lightly. But, seeing how all Bears Armed and Miroxian players ended up in the losers bracket, we can assume they are all equal. Gump and Koon constantly train and Gump even wakes up super early to train. He then will sleep until it's time to go. Sounds like a plan, Gump. Keep on trucking to bring Miroxia the title. Keep on trucking...

cant wait for the finals tommorow!
anyone, hallows and church lifts home?

RP Cut off? There's still RP here?

Scores up in a jiffy.

WINNERS BRACKET:

Garcia (NET) 11 - 9 Boss (LAN)

CONGRATULATIONS TO GARCIA. YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE FINALS.

LOSERS BRACKET:

Floodman (BOS) 12 - 10 B. Smith (AUS)

Gump (MIR) 11 - 5 Hwen (BEA)

Floodman and Gump will now face each other to decide who goes on to face Boss.

The winner of that match will then go on to play Garcia in the finals.

TOURNAMENT BRACKET SO FAR (http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/8130/bracketdraw8no3.png)

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Trent Gump Eliminates Both Bears Armed Players, Goes on to Face Bostopian Brian Floodman

Gump had one thing one his mind during his match versus Hwen Don: determination to win against another Bears Armed player. That's right, the newly Miroxian-dubbed "ping-pong rivalry" has sprouted into some serious table tennis action. Bears Armed and Miroxia shall now forever be the top two rivals in the WCoTT as Trent Gump won, 11-5.

In the first ten minutes, Miroxian player Trent Gump had scored 7 points, Hwen only 3. It remained as fat the entire night, the closest score being 8-5 with four minutes left, only a three point difference! Gump then broke out and let out his table tennis championship adittude and score repeatedly three times in a row, 11-5. Okay, it wasn't the most dramatic match ever, and Miroxian gamblers safely went home with money in their pockets, but Gump over-estimated them. That is a good strategy. Gump told us in an interview, "I always over-estimate my opponents. Why? So I can train my very hardest. I always assume they;re better than their stats show to be! Boom! I usually win or come real close."

Gump will go on to face Bostopian Brian Floodman in the semifinals of the loser bracket. If he wins this, Miroxia has a chance to win their first sports title ever. Keep on buying this paper and stay updated on Gump's scores! MD9 scores reported in our next issue! See you there!

After a slight delay...

Match Day 9!

Gump (MIR) 11 - 7 Floodman (BOS)

Tournament Bracket So Far (http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6396/bracketdraw9ya8.png)

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Miroxia One Step Closer To WCoTT Title as Gump Wins Again!

Again, all over Miroxia, Peptobismol sales were off the chart. That's right, Miroxia, you watched, you heard, you cried, you stopped crying to cheer, then cried again. Did it help Gump win? No, it made Peptobismol rich! But, Trent Gump's strategy did work as Miroxia advances to the loser bracket finals to face Land de Wood's own Kita Boss.

Enough about upset stomachs and the next match, let's talk about this one: Trent Gump played an amazing game. Period. No questions. Seriously, though, he almost lost. It started out like it normally did, Gump went up 2-0, but then Bostopian ping-pong player Brian Floodman turned the tables on Gum and score seven times straight. All in the first ten minutes. Sad. It looked over about halfway through, Gump not playing so well, the score 7-3, but Gump always gets his kill.

Gump suddenly picked up his game and scored three times in a row; it was 7-6. Floodman was unphased. He then tried harder. To hard, actually. He tried so hard he actually gave Gump a perfect oppertunity to score. That happened twice. With five minutes left and the game hanging on a point, Miroxian gamblers everywhere started betting heavily on Floodman. It was probably over for Gump.

It wasn't. With just two minutes left, Gump scored three times, taking his lead to four, making it 11-7. And let this lowly reporter tell you, not only did I win big at the betting pool, but I knew it was over when Gump reached 10-7. Gump always has a way to strategize, and his way now works. Perfectly.

Gump will now go on to play Kita Boss of Land de Wood. Gump has stated more than once his intense training styles and is determined to win. Miroxia prays and cheers Gump. Keep going. You're almost there. Almost there...

Gump (MIR) 11 - 3 Boss (LAN)

Tournament Bracket So Far! (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2817/bracketdraw10wz8.png)

The Nethertopian Sportstimes

Garcia and Gump
On lonely heights
By Arie Mateur
Rennidan - Trent Gump has won the losers bracket and faces the already known Nethertopian finalist Andres Garcia. Gump smashed Kita Boss off the table with an impressive score of 11-3
Garcia mentioned to Time Magazine that Gump is probably the best player of the tournament. "... I mean, [he] might've lost a match, but has won the rest. The losers bracket was more fierce than the winners bracket. If you lost at the winners bracket, there always was a second chance.The losers bracket didn't have that advantage. This is going to be one tough [or two, red] match."
One thing we know for sure, it will be an exciting match, up the large mountain. That cold mountain. All alone, with just the two of them. Thank God I'm not a table tennis star.

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Gump Wins...Too Easily

Well, Miroxia, the Peptobismol stock market crashed as Miroxian gamblers got little money in their pockets. Serioulsy, though, this was the most anti-climactic match in this entire tournament. But, we will give details on Trent Gump's amazing 11-3 win against Kita Boss of Land de Wood.

So, the match started out with Gump leading 6-1. That was the closest it was that night. It was pretty bad. Gump continued scoring throughout the night, and with only 5 minutes left, it was 11-2. Kita got an impressive fake out on our nation's best, but it didn't help...so Gump won it.

We have tons more detail on the FINALS though. Miroxian reporters caught Gump after his match and he said that he was going to train like he was facing the world champ of table tennis. Gump will be facing Netheropian Table Tennis Player Andres Garcia, and he is not taking anything lightly. He listens to negative, depressing songs like I Hate Everything About You and Given Up to pump his blood. He even is running up and down stairs so that he can climb that mountain. He wants to climb and will refuse any sort of transportation. Gump is determined to win these next two matches, and if he does, Miroxia had finally gotten great. They have a title. Okay, it's for ping-pong, but still. Climb that mountain, Gump. Climb it up, climb it down. Just climb it. ANd emerge victorious.

Hohoho... RP cut off for the final, folks...

Remember, if Gump wins this, the final is replayed, as Garcia hasn't lost a game yet.

With that said...

Let's get down to business.


_________

The peak of Rennida Mountain can be a scary place. Rumours hold that in the old days, Rennidan monks were sent up here to seek forgiveness from Nature when they wronged their beliefs. Many of the monks never made it back, which lead to the stories of their ghostly visions haunting the very top of Rennidan's largest feature.

But it's not the ghosts stirring up a fuss on top of the world today.

Andres Garcia and Trent Gump, along with several remote-controlled cameras, are alone upon Rennida Mountain today.

And there's only one reason they would be crazy enough to make the death-defying trip...

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, it's the finals of the...

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/WTTC.png

RESULTS

Gump (MIR) 12 - 10 Garcia (NET)







And so, it would seem that the two must now spend the night atop the mountain, camping and preparing for tomorrows final showdown...

Miroxian Sports Inquirer

Gump Wins Finals Game 1, Game 2 Around the Corner

Snow drifted across the mountain top. Two men stood atop the mountain, shivering and whacking a ball. The only company they had were each other and a single camera that broadcast the enite match wordlwide...this was no other than THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF TABLE TENNIS, GAME 1! tHAT'S RIGHT, Miroxia, we caught everything on tape as Trent Gump beat Andres Garcia in Game 1 of the Finals, 12-10. The Nethertopian competitor did good, but in the end, Miroxia's pride and joy won this historical first match.

The first match of the first WCoTT started out slowly for Miroxian betters, sports fanatics, and fellow ping-pongers. Gump had started out scoring one point against Garcia twelve minutes into the game. That extented the suffering. Garcia got a few good hit afterwards, Gump returned them, and as the game came to a close, it was 10-9, Garcia leading.

By the HD-TV view most sports fanatic got, Gump was supposedly smiling as he served the ball. As it came around, Gump slapped the ball as hard as he could. It went past Garcia. And went down the mountain... Anyways, it was tied 10-10 then, and the rest came easily. As Gump pulled his extra ball out and served it, he was able to score two more times before the match ended, making this a 12-10 match.

Yes, Peptobismol is expecting to have high sales tomorrow as Game 2 is nearing. We couldn't get an interview with Gump, but we're sure he took a paddle ball. We pretty sure. We're absolute. Go, Gump, go!

The peak of Rennida Mountain can be a scary place. Rumours hold that in the old days, Rennidan monks were sent up here to seek forgiveness from Nature when they wronged their beliefs. Many of the monks never made it back, which lead to the stories of their ghostly visions haunting the very top of Rennidan's largest feature.

OOC _ That's very interesting: I strongly suspect that, once the tournament is offically over, one or both of Tan Par and Hwen Dan will be paying [at least] the lower slopes of that mountain a visit, to see whether any spirits there deign to talk to them...

Andres Garcia wrapped his blanket around a little tighter. It was freaking cold on the mountain. Trent Gump had taken one half of the table tennis table and was training against himself. Andres looked at him. Gump was all concentrated. This guy was a phenomenon. The second match would prove so much more difficult to play...

This guy, Trent, had climbed up the mountain all by himself. Garcia, in his arrogance, had flown himself there, with a helicopter. He now thought that that wasn’t the best decision. Gump had been warmed already, while he was cold, up there.

He grabbed his bag and pulled out his thermos bottle. He drank a little bit of his moderately warm coffee. He only had a little bit left. It was going to be a long night.

Garcia thought of his wife and their son, Junior. Junior was growing quickly, he was seven already. The clock really ticked time away. The little fellow was also interested in table tennis. He played with both hands, like his father, but with the aggressiveness of his mother. It was great to see. He was already on his way to become a top notch player, Winning youth championships all over Nethertopia.

Trent had finished his training. Garcia liked the guy. his dedication was an example for him. “I‘m off for some sleep,” said Andres against Gump. Gump nodded. A noise was heard. It was rather soft, like the howling of the wind. But different. Garcia remembered the words of his grandfather, old Pius Garcia. He was a strong believer in ghosts. “Th’ haunt the places th’m like, or where something happened to th‘m. Pray to th‘m, and th’m will be good to you. Unless they‘re bad ghosts. Then they‘ll mess ya up.”

Garcia mumbled a small prayer to the ghosts, to give him strength for the upcoming match. After he finished he heard the weird sound again and felt a tingling feeling in his left hand. Andres smiled. Tomorrow was a great day. The two best table tennis players in the world were to face each other, deciding who’d be the best in one final match. The ghosts would help him.

*****

Bloody ghosts, thought Garcia. The howling sound had kept him awaken all night and the tingling was only the first sign of his hand freezing. His left hand was unusable. Now he had to only use his right one... Gump looked cold, but refreshed. Andres toughened himself. He stood up. It was time for a table tennis match.

And with that, here is the RP cutoff...

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/WTTC.png

RESULTS

Garcia (NET) 11 - 8 Gump (MIR)





Congratulations Andres Garcia!
First World Championship of Table Tennis Champion! (http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9495/bracketdrawfinalnu8.png)

Commiserations Trent Gump, who came so close but fell so far.

We hope you will all rejoin us later in the epic battle that will surely by the Second World Championship of Table Tennis.

Garcia looked at Trent Gump. He looked broken. It was a tight match. But Andres had won it. He was the world champion! But as he took another look at his opponent, he saw that Trent had deserved it more. Had had fought to win his matches. Andres had a second chance, in a final. The sound of an approaching helicopter. It went louder, until it was in sight. But Andres waved it away. "Trent, let's go down."
"Yeah."
And together the two best table tennis players of the world started to take a long hike, down Rennida Mountain.

(OOC: We are the champions! Huzzah!)

Miroxian Spots Inquirer

Gump Loses Match and His Foot

For Miroxia, this was a sad week. For Peptobismol, it was a great month. Trent Gump, the Miroxian national champion, came off the mountain with a loss. Although he did well, he didn't do well enough. Andres Garcia of Nethertopia, who seemed to become a good friend of Trent while on the mountain, won the match 11-8. Although a big blow to his spirits, possibly losing his foot was an even bigger loss. Way bigger.

It started out with Miroxian repoters being flown to Rennidan to report live from in front of the mountain. As we sat in our van and watch, we always gave up-to-date results. It started with Gump leading, 6-4. But we noticed somthing: he wasn't moving his right foot at all. No biggie, right? Wrong. That inability to move it cost him the match as he could've easily defected 5 shots, but didn't. With the match coming to a close, it was over. Garcia was up 11-7, but Gump was able to get a quick score on him. But then it was over.

As Gump and Garcia walked down the mountain (Gump with much difficulty), they became friends and Andres Garcia could see how hard Gump trained. It didn't matter. Gump was the second best in the world at table tennis. As they reached the bottom, Gump collapsed as he was put into an ambulance. His entire right foot was still hurt from his sprain in MD1 AND he had frostbite on major areas of the foot, including all but one toe, the smallest one. He was rushed to the hospital and had his foot amputated as his adopted-brother Howard Koon and world champion Andres Garcia tagged along. Trent Gump then took time to officially announce his retirement from the sport of table tennis to the world. He had come in second in the world and will always be remembered by Miroxians everywhere.

With the Second World Championship of Table Tennis (SWCoTT) nearing, Miroxia's hopes seem to rely on Howard Koon and probably another Miroxian table tennis player in the top 50 rankings. But Gump, he was permanentally ranked #1. Forever. No questions asked. Gump continues to live on with a smile on his face in a wheelchair. Who knows; maybe he'll attempt to play in the SWCoTT in a wheelchair. Whatever he does, he will go down in Miroxian history. When he is well enough to come home, a feast with King Andrew III and Queen-to-be President Marzipan Cougar and many of his friends and family will take place in his hometown, the capital, Port Durant. You did it Gump. We praise your efforts. God bless...

^^a sad day for the world of table tennis. A loss of one of the greats.

so now I've got to go ALL THE WAY to Rennidan to pick my boys up, you know that boats are expensive things to run! MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES HERE!

you are all unbelievable. just unbelievable