Week 3 of Summer Slash IV was by far predicted to be unpredictable, and it did not disappoint. While some winners were unsurprising, including returning veterans Rob Chan and Jowanna Lewis, one Lone Wolf had a spectacular night despite it being their first competition, and two total beginners, Priscilla Haile and Tzitziri Rodriguez earned one win each against some tough competition.

By far the favorite to take this leg of the tournament was Rob Chan, of Knight Club and Lightspeed Saber Academy. His results came as predicted, sweeping all his opponents and joining Richard Liang as the only competitor this cycle to earn a perfect win record. Rob dazzled opponents with incredible speed and agility, dancing away against enemy charges and counterattacking with strong timing. He walked away with the highest point total in all the qualifiers at 88 points, leaving Liang behind at 75.

Rico Thompson also had a great night, placing second for the evening and surprising many with an unusual stance, high mobility, and frequent floating headshots, with which he scored many times. He took home five wins, losing only to Rob Chan. An impressive result for only being in the game for a few months.

And then there was Jowanna Lewis, Lightspeed’s top lady and the only woman with a C rating in the entire competitive body. Lewis stood by her classic patient style interspersed with sudden bursts of aggression, netting 4 wins. She also earned several defensive points, generally unusual for her but a strong testament to her commitment to training, improving, and winning well. She came in third and was Rob Chan’s stiffest competition, losing to the Week 3 leader by just three points.

Several wildcards in the tournament were Clint O’Brien and Alfonso Ramirez. O’Brien came from The Saber Legion, so he walked in with several training disadvantages, but did quite well. He scored two defensive kills in a row, bringing his match against Ramirez quickly to a close.

Ramirez, one of the Lone Wolves, put his knee and shin guards to great use, favoring deep and low sliding attacks, they they were not enough to place beyond 5th.

Finally, we saw the entry of two new ladies to Lightspeed, Priscilla Haile and Tzitziri Rodriguez, who only decided to enter the competition that evening, the slot made available by the absence of Ryan Russell. Haile defeated Rodriguez in the first match of the evening, and continued to show high aggression and strong footwork throughout the evening, though she would not earn another win that night.

Rodriguez earned her sole win against Clint O’Brien in a surprising and clean victory. Rodriguez really came into her own toward the end of the night, dodging attacks and fading out well, often dragging her matches out a lot longer than any would expect for a neophyte.

All in all it was a great night, and we can’t wait to see what comes next week at the final event! I’d like to thank referees Jose Ortiz-Miranda and Tony Zaldua, and the boys doing out livestream coverage, William Alonzo and Kieran Haile, and Patricia Bauler for helping with setup and being a second set of eyes. It couldn’t be done without you!

See you all next week for the finals!

Supreme Leader Snow