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#character-encoding UTF-8
#player1 DD Dustin Dean
#player2 JJB John J. Bulten
>DD: AQT H7 QAT +24 24
#note 0:26 [24:34] The three leaders at 6-3, including DD, are paired on top along with JJB who is ahead of Knox Daniel at 5-4. Unless Knox wins by a ton, the prizes will go to two of the top four players. JJB needs a massive win to get second prize, while DD can take second with a win of 1 point (but needs several hundred to reach first). Randy Hersom leads the final round with +435 to Clay Daniel's +309, so JJB at +181 is shooting for a spread of over 120 if Clay loses narrowly, and more with other outcomes. DD opens with standard defense.
>JJB: EEHIVWY 9F WI.HY +19 19
#note 1:23 [23:37] (vie i6 21 +10.4) JJB feels psyched up but doesn't see vie/qi/ae 21 in his opening play; he would rather drop 3 synergistic tiles cheaply than the V alone, even if Quackle penalizes it heavily.
>DD: DHILO J6 HOL. +18 42
#note 2:29 [22:05] (who f9 17 +1.4) Without a double open, DD first lays down hyoid through the Y (14), but wants better and isn't concerned about having shown his tiles: he upgrades to holy 18. With his other tiles being more bingo-prone, the very hooky who f9 17 (accepting AMP) is worth considering.
>JJB: EEKLTVW 8A TWELVE +44 63
#note 0:21 [23:16] JJB is off to the races loaded for bear, and he opts to crack the ice with: "That looks like 12, but it's actually 44." DD is not amused.
>DD: DEIINOS 10A IONISED +73 115
#note 3:09 [18:56] (deionise c7 74 +1) DD continues to consider his alternatives, of which there are several (among sevens plus CEGLMRTV). The highest are deionise in column C, and ionised off holy in K; but his own overlap is only 1 behind.
>JJB: ?EIKNRR K1 dRINKER +77 140
#note 0:57 [22:19] JJB picks up a blank to his K and hits back again. He also has prinker and narkier.
>DD: AAIN 1G NAIA. +12 127
#note 4:29 [14:27] (ain l4 22 +9.4) DD's post-bingo draw has As, and he plays the reflexive triple, not keeping up his spread.
>JJB: ABDEJTU 4H JAU.TED +46 186
#note 0:19 [22:00] JJB can see the time pressure is getting to DD, and he has his plays ready (jaded 36 as backup was blocked), though he does not put them down overfast. This is a textbook puzzle rack.
>DD: BMOO 2J B.OOM +40 167
#note 1:23 [13:04] Now DD brings the power back, with a nonuple B play totaling 40.
>JJB: BCGGLLN -BCGGLLN +0 186
#note 1:47 [20:13] (exchange BGGLL 0 +3.0) JJB rolls over the speed bump of 7 consonants with some regret that there's nothing more than cole 12 on this board. Sighing while notating his choice, he trades all instead of keeping CN +3.0.
>DD: ADET 1M TEA +15 182
#note 4:35 [8:29] (da 3m 20 +6.5; tate l4 19 +4) DD exposes tiles again, starting with the double sade 10, and switching to the triple tea. On average the synergy isn't happening for him.
>JJB: EFOORSV A1 OVERSOF. +95 281
#note 0:30 [19:43] Meanwhile JJB cold-draws a valuable triple bingo on a list he's been doing recently: 95 points. His goal of winning by 100 needs to be blown through now.
>DD: DEMNO 11B MENO +24 206
#note 2:55 [5:34] (mew b6 29 +5.5) Nice-looking play; the competition is mew/om/fe 29, demon/jo/an 27, and woodmen 26, and it is not shabby either. DD hopes it won't hurt his leave.
>JJB: AEGORSY B6 YA. +35 316
#note 0:33 [19:10] JJB can seal up the sextuple with a 4-pointer and bingo leave. You don't need synergy on every single rack; every other rack is enough.
>DD: BDRU 2E DRUB +15 221
#note 1:52 [3:42] (bud 2f 17 +3.1) For the second of JJB's games in a row, the player behind in score gets to indicate this by playing drub(s).
>JJB: EEGORST 2A .EG +14 330
#note 0:42 [18:28] (vog 2a 14 +1.1) Now JJB sees bingo lights lining up and simply wants to fish. He doesn't get a bingo, but what he gets next is more interesting, even though he gives up a G.
>DD: PZ I3 Z.P +24 245
#note 1:29 [2:13] DD is now in serious time pressure, but his plays are still solid.
>JJB: EGORSTU D4 RESU.T..G +40 370
#note 0:39 [17:49] JJB works out a 9-letter non-bingo quadruple through 3 disconnected tiles: resulting, d4 40. This play has the living room talking afterward!
>DD: AF 12A FA +14 259
#note 0:53 [1:20] (kaf 5k 17 +3) DD is running out of options and JJB is turning over more tiles.
>JJB: ?EGOPSU L6 PEG +19 389
#note 5:10 [12:39] (epigeous m4 63 +18.3) And there's the blank, with a lead well over 100. Unfortunately, JJB hasn't looked at every 5-voweled 8 lately so misses epigeous 63, despite looking intently for it and writing out lots of phonies like pug-nose. He too makes a play that is only mildly closing. DD could still bingo back, but the overall plan can only be to score points, and that means taking opening risks.
>DD: IX E5 XI +38 297
#note 0:24 [0:56] Leaving 5 tiles in the bag for JJB. What will they be?
>JJB: ?CEIOSU N4 .IECiOUS +64 453
#note 1:45 [10:54] (fuci a12 27 +8.8) Though he missed epigeous, JJB is rarely so confused as to miss diecious (or dioicous for that matter)! And yet now Quackle wants to hold out and play fuci 27 to the triple to score theoretically more next turn: the strategy that JJB used last turn, and probably shouldn't have.
>DD: ADLLNRT C2 .LAD +25 322
#note 0:50 [0:06] (rands 11j 12, fain a12 21, tall k10 4+8 +2) DD has one minute to calculate that JJB holds acini and can play niacin too, and to pick a block. Rands, nards, darns all block, and they threaten tall in reply, so they are seeable in time especially considering the lone consonant; JJB can either ignore it and play fain 21, or block tall with cain 6, leading to lex 10, ahi 9+4 for the same score. This nets 3 to DD, while his big score glad 25, acini 16+8, yields only 1 net. But this is much to ask of the last minute.
>JJB: ACIIN M11 ACINI +16 469
#note 1:17 [9:37] JJB plays out and calculates a win of 155 (anisic almost fits as an alternate). Almost immediately, director Clay asks him, "Did you win by 140?" and he can answer yes confidently. Clay answers, "Then you've got it!" and JJB realizes he's hit the target for second place: and the money was decided on only 15 points. At first he thought Clay had lost his game and come in third, but Clay actually beat Randy Hersom (who had first place entering the last round) by 114, and so JJB needed only 140 to tie Randy's new spread. What a photo finish.
>JJB: (LNRT) +8 477
#note Though DD tries hard and gets ionised and broom 40, JJB gets a pile of synergy and also rises to the occasion of the money game with an onslaught of memorable words. Though his play was middling all day otherwise (with average opportunity points over 100 for 9 games), he was able to limit this game to a pro level of 41.6 max points. And if anyone asks why he didn't take first place upon his return to the 10@10 he can point at his injured foot resting up in the chair. Known points available: JJB 0, DD 10. Overall points available: DD 31.9+, JJB 41.6.
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