A time of challenge - a time of changes! On May 21st, the German Mega Drive elite once more banded together in order to determine who wuld be the greatest among them. For the first time in tournament history, the German Mega Drive Championships would not take place in Nuremberg, which had been the home of three national and even the latest European contest. No, for the Fourth Tournament, the decision was made to move the contest over 200 kilometers westward: The Fourth Championship took place in Hanau, birthplace of such German legends as the brothers Grimm. And what better environment for a classic console than a convention of computer classics: The fourth Mega Drive Championships where held in the halls of HomeCon 12, a convention devoted to retro computers. So, in the midst of Arcade tables, 8- and 16 bit Atari computers, old Famicoms, Apple Macintoshs and even a Vectrex, the tournament found itself a comfortable new home.

Considering the high number of expectet new competitors, the rules reverted to those of the Second Championship held in February 2010: in a series of six knockout tournaments, over six different games, the winner of the tournament would be determined. Two games were exchanged for the occasion: Columns III took the place of the puzzle game Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, while the European Exclusive Super Kick-Off replaced NBA Jam T.E., as the sports game of choice. The roster of games was completed by the well-established choices of Mega Bomberman, Micro Machines 2, Street Fighter II and Sonic 2.

Of the five strongest players in the German top ten, only one would make a return: As such, Sebastian Sponsel was seen by many to be a strong contender for this years title. He would face some strong competition though: Julia Klenert, who had finished fourth at the Second Tournament, was getting ready for her third outing at the console. Eric Voirin, who had first joined at the European Qualifications for 2010 (where he finished in eight place) also made his return, as did the sisters Claudia and Katharina Mayer, who first joined the circuit at the Second Championship. Even though there were only five return appearances, the tournament saw its biggest field of competitors to date: Nineteen players joined in on the race. As another first in German tournament history, the 4th tournament also saw its youngest competitor in 10-year old David Heßburg, proving once and for all that the Mega Drive is, was, and will forever be a console for all ages!

GAME I: MEGA BOMBERMAN

The tournament starter. Most memorable event was in round 2, when Sebastian Sponsel was eliminated by Eric Voirin: Sebastian, who had already locked Eric in an inescapable trap, accidentally dashed with his green mount into a skull icon - which caused him and Eric to switch place right when the bombs went off! Thus a shocked Sebastian, who had looked like the definite victor at this point, was eliminated. The finals would be a solely female affair between Julia Klenert and Claudia Mayer, which Julie decided clearly for herself in a 2-0 match.

GAME II: MICRO MACHINES '96

This popular top-down racing game drew the biggest crowd, with the most selected stage being the Ferry Fiasco. Due to an uneven number of competitors, three players had to face one another in the second round. Katharina Mayer managed to win this one for herself, only to be eliminated by Sebastian Sponsel shortly thereafter, who went on to dominate the remaining rounds and claim the game for himself - even though he time and again claimed to suck horribly at this racer.

GAME III: SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2

Due to a lack of controllers a cheap At Games-six button knock off pad had to stand in as a controller for a while, before it was universally declared to be utter tosh and tossed out (Number of people cursing at the controller: 12. Number of games won with this controller: 2). Ten year old David Heßburg proved to be surprisingly strong at this game and managed to battle into the finals, which would have been a three-way affair due to the uneven number of fighters competing. However, sickness and an early bedtime prevented David from starting in the final round. The final was conducted between newcomer Boris Kretzinger and Sebastian Sponsel, which Sebastian clearly dominated. Fun fact: The character of Chun-Li was a very popular choice, at least six fights conducted were a Chun-Li vs. Chun-Li affair (including the final match).

GAME IV: COLUMNS III

The inclusion of a Japanese game in a European tournament caused a few raised eyebrows. But it was a fun affair none-the-less. Eric Voirin had boasted that this would be his strongest game, only to see himself eliminated in the second round. The victory in this category went to Julia Klenert, whose final opponent unfortunately didn't show, awarding her a win by default!

GAME V: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

The Mystic Cave Zone was chosen for the majority of the tournament, and its massive amounts of slowdown were noticed by every player in the tournament. Still it was regarded to be the most balanced out of the regular zones. The final would commence between the closest ringers for the championship, Sebastian Sponsel and Julia Klenert. Fittingly, it had to be decided in a final special stage, where Sebastian Sponsel (the only male to reach the Semi-Final) edged himself ahead of his female challengers.

GAME VI: SUPER KICK OFF

By far the most reviled game of all - even by the home computer veterans, who testified that the console version played even worse than the Amiga or Atari ST incarnation (if that was even possible). Only six games did NOT end in a penalty shootout - among them the final, between Horst and Holger, which was by far the most clear-cut of them all (3-0).

It was close, but in the end, Julia Klenert's triumph in the all-female Mega Bomberman finale was enough to secure her a narrow victory over Sebastian Sponsel, who once more had to be contented with the second place. Thus, Germany [and the World - Admin] had its first female Mega Drive Champion! Considering the great experiments and experiences with the surroundings of the Fourth Championship, it is now considered that the German Mega Drive tournaments will take place in a retro computing environment more often. Congratulations to all competitors, especially to Julia Klenert for becoming the first female Mega Drive Champion. Also many thanks to Hessi and thorn, without whom the fourth championship would not have been possible

FINAL STANDINGS