There were 17 countries represented at the beginning of the tournament yesterday; each country had a National Champion who won his or her flight and accommodation out here, paid for by UDE. Now that we are nearing the end of the Swiss rounds — only three rounds left to go — I think it’s time to have a look at how the champions of each country are doing.
Ten champions, as well as 2006 World Champion Dario Longo, are still in the event at the moment. Sten-Robert Pullerits, champion of Estonia, is in 97th position at the moment; being briefly beaten by the Swedish National Champion, Sebastian Öberg, who is sitting in 96th.
Nassos Bouboulis of Greece is next up. He’s in 78th place and is on five wins, as is the champion a few places above him from Bulgaria, Georgi Georgiev, in 74th. Brian Dunne from Ireland has 65th place at the moment; it seems that 60 – 80 is an area which seems to be popular with the champions at the moment. The Danish and Finnish representatives, Mattias Damsgaard and Alexander Trivedi, are currently 62nd and 60th respectively.
Moving up the ladder slightly, Marco Mazzuoccolo, the Italian champion, is in 42nd place. He’s got 6 wins and is going to be praying to the tiebreaker gods for the future rounds. Also on 6 wins is Helio Babo from Portugal. He’s at 25th though, and has good tie-breaks, so who knows what could happen with him?
At the very top of the national champions though is the German, Vittorio Wiktor. He’s got great tie-breaks and is on 7 wins at the moment. If he manages to carry through the rest of his games he’s a lock for the Top 8. It’s an impressive showing from the German, who edged out notorious runner-up Adrian Madaj in the finals of the German National Championship.
Being a national champion is no easy task. Whether it’s the World Championships or European Championships that you are invited to, you have to represent your country in front of hundreds of other competitors and spectators from all over the globe. It’s a big weight on the shoulders of many, but with such a prestigious title who would expect anything else?
No doubt the respective country’s team-mates are rooting for the champions all the way, and it’s sure to be a closely fought battle to the end for each and every one of these duelists, who have all already been winners in their own large events.
Speaking of large events, there is no more sought-after title than the World Championship. We’re lucky enough to have Dario Longo at the tournament this weekend, current reigning World Champion, and, after a rough start that included a game loss in the first round for worn sleeves, he’s managed to fight his way back up to a 6-3 record in 35th place. He’ll have to hope for the best if he’s to keep his hopes alive of achieving yet another huge event Top 8 placing, and the pressure’s definitely on Dario to keep winning!
Stay tuned to Metagame.com to find out how these national representatives finish up, and who will end up in the Top 8 to battle it out for a place at the World Championships in San Diego, California!