The semi-finals have finished and what a set of games it was! I decided to do this post a little differently since there are only four game. Make sure to check out the 2023 Root Winter Tournament Post for more details on the overall tournament! This post contains stats for the semi-finals only. Also, shout-out to Zeraus for the semi-final art!
Check out Guerric Samples Games Twitch Channel to watch the games in real-time (the schedule is below) or check out the Guerric Samples Game YouTube Channel where the games will be posted about a week after they air.
This post does contain spoilers to the winners of the semi-final games!! Read at your own risk!
Game Set-Up
I was surprised to see such a diverse range of factions being chosen for the semi-finals! What really stuck out to me was how many times the Lord of the hundreds was played. It was one of the most picked faction in the semi-finals. Yes, the faction always showed up a lot but no more than some others.
Four games means four unchosen factions. I was surprised to see that Keepers in Iron and the Woodland Alliance was among those four. I definitely feel like they can be very strong picks but the semi-finals did surprise me.
The Underground Duchy decided that they did not want to be in the semi-finals. They were the only unique factions that did not show up in the draft. I was surprised to see that Lord of the Hundreds and the Keepers in Iron were the top two red factions. And Woodland Alliance decided to make a come back showing up in three out of the four drafts.
Game One
Wooo! Let’s go Lizard Cult! Love to see a Lizard Cult win even if it was fed by the Vagabond aiding the Lizards. So much feeding. But so starts the semi-finals of the underdogs.
Congrats to AquamanBoss on becoming the first finalist!! AquamanBoss was a finalist last year and I am excited to see him back in the final game. I am so excited that one of the finalist won with the Lizard cult in the semi-finals.
Game Two
The second game was a complete race between the players. The Corvids came out of the game swinging but that didn’t stop the Keepers in Iron and the Vagabond from catching up. They got close but were not able to pull out the win, and the Corvids took the place of the second winner of the semi-finals.
Congrats to OvertheMorrow for making it to the Finals! OvertheMorrow made it to the semi-finals in the 2021 tournament, so I am very excited to see him make it to the finals in 2023. And with corvids, continuing the underdog trend of the semi-finals!
Game Three
The third game was a complete riot. I also, at one point, lost my mind watching a rat meeple dance around a mob token. It was a time. But the Riverfolk pulled ahead with their extreme luck. I think they pulled every craftable in the deck! And kept their luck even while two factions were trying to swap meet the cards out of their hand.
Congrats to Glandor Hooverstein for being the third person in the finals! While I normally wouldn’t consider the Riverfolk Company an underdog, they have been struggling in the 2023 tournament. So, a Riverfolk win is a perfect continuation of the underdogs of the semi-finals.
game four
Welcome to the domination of the Lord of the Hundreds. They’re everywhere. This was the perfect example of Lord of the Hundreds fighting the board and keeping everyone down. Well, they had a little help from a fighting Harrier. But the Lord of the Hundreds kept it consistent and marched across the finish line.
Congrats to RootManuvas for being the final person to make it to the finals! The Lord of the Hundreds has struggled in this tournament so what a perfect way to finish out the semi-finals of the underdogs!
Bracket
