Those of you in attendance last night at ATLANTIC YARDS SMACKDOWN are surely still reeling from the adrenaline rush. For those who missed it, the outcome of the event was unbelievable.
Sadly, no one from Team ProHo made it to the final rounds–sorry, Isa, EmilyM, Susan, Heather, Chris, Lucas, Douglas, etc. etc. But if you follow professional Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) you know the outcome was huge. Huge.
In one semifinal bracket, we had Midnight Rider, an absolute newcomer hailing from Parts Unknown, in a victory against Scissoro (Ben Stein) of Manhattan’s Team All Too Flat.
On the other side of the bracket were two Brooklyn rookies: Tony Hightower (aka Chico Bangs), a rookie representing Astoria, who lost to Amanda from Williamsburg, who was nearly disqualified in the first round but re-entered the competition due to the kindness–or naivete–of RPS newbie Kasia (pronounced like the grain).
Amanda advanced to the finals, but proved to be no match for Midnight Rider, determined to win his first-ever professional RPS match. NYRPS wishes Mr. Rider the best of luck as he moves onward and upward to the Western Regionals.
The surprise of the evening was the emergence of RPS referee Blaine Perry, an unbelievably quick study with a keen eye for the borderline throw. In the leadup to the competition, Blaine proved himself to be a true self-motivator who really threw himself into the task. At Smackdown, he made some hard calls, and he stuck with them. In the opinion of NYRPS, Blaine is already one of the most promising arbiters in the East Coast conference, and I am thrilled to hear that he has been invited to preside over the Philadelphia tournament.
It was a surprise, and a huge burden lifted off the NYRPS, to have so many RPS Enthusiasts take such an active role in putting this together. We can’t thank you enough. Give yourself a hand, because you helped spring the Pandora’s box: Competition-level Rock Paper Scissors has finally come to New York!
THANK YOU FOR THE IMAGE: C. Urbanus, who made it to the second round.
congradulations
After winning my first round match, I had to leave and forfeited my second round match. Accordingly, I formally request on behalf of Team Stay Free! that an asterisk be placed beside Midnight Rider’s victory. See you at Soda!
(No participation by Stay Free! Magazine in this decision should be implied; I am a maverick.)
The fix was in.