DOC SHAKIB AS MEGA DRIVE CHAMPION
FATE OR FLUKE?

Doc Shakib was the shock winner of the Seventh Tournament after Lord Dilks beat Mr Smith 3-2 on NHLPA Hockey '93. In the past Doc Shakib has been regarded as the player who finishes third and only managed to finish in second once, at the Fifth Mega Drive Tournament. It was pretty obvious that the four games of Golden Axe 2, Pete Sampras Tennis, Sonic 2 and World Cup Italia '90 favoured Lord Dilks and Mr Smith. With Doc Shakib winning the Seventh Mega Drive Championship, has his practice finally paid off and he's got good enough to challenge the tournament titans? Has the introduction of a draw system shaken up the league? Will Doc Shakib have the skills to win another Tournament and does the new draw system even give somebody like Baron Von Hooton the chance to one day be Mega Drive Champion? Here is a look at what might be the perfect draw for each of the four tournament members and what the outcome might be if such games were drawn.

DOC SHAKIB

Perfect draw: Golden Axe 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Street Fighter 2, Virtua Racing.

Doc Shakib will always need Virtua Racing if he is to win a tournament. It means he will beat all the other players to give himself nine-points to help his league position. Doc Shakib is the second best player on Sonic 2 and would beat both Baron Von Hooton and Lord Dilks to add a further six-points to his total. These two games would also favour Mr Smith and it is likely that Doc Shakib would find himself level on points with Mr Smith. Golden Axe 2 and Super Street Fighter 2 are games that could go anyway, maybe even bringing Lord Dilks back into the equation, but should Doc Shakib perform well in both these games, utilizing the "Shakib Technique" on Super Street Fighter 2, Doc Shakib might well be Mega Drive Champion again.

LORD DILKS

Perfect draw: Golden Axe 2, Pete Sampras Tennis, Super Street Fighter 2, World Cup Italia '90.

This line-up would give Lord Dilks his two strongest games and should score him an impressive 18 points on those alone. These alone should be enough to secure him the title, but if he is having a good day then he might be capable of beating his rival Mr Smith on both Golden Axe 2 and Super Street Fighter 2 and giving himself an unthinkable perfect undefeated tournament. Although both Doc Shakib and Mr Smith especially are capable of beating Lord Dilks on these two games, Lord Dilks's advantage on both Pete Sampras Tennis and World Cup Italia '90 is so great that it should gift him the title even if he performs badly. Mr Smith would be Lord Dilks's biggest threat with this draw, but that threat should not be very big.

MR SMITH

Perfect draw: Golden Axe 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Virtua Racing, World Cup Italia '90.

Sonic 2 is the ace up Mr Smith's sleeve, as not only is he the best player on the game, but Lord Dilks is the weakest. This would likely mean that Mr Smith would have a nine-point advantage over his rival because of this game alone. Virtua Racing is another game that, although Mr Smith is not brilliant and would lose to Doc Shakib, he would be able to use Lord Dilks's weakness on this game to his advantage and further extend his lead over his rival. World Cup Italia '90 would assert Mr Smith's superiority over Doc Shakib and Golden Axe 2 is a game which Mr Smith is capable of winning against Doc Shakib and Lord Dilks. If these games were drawn there is the possibility Lord Dilks would have to battle Doc Shakib for second place.

BARON VON HOOTON

Perfect draw: NHLPA Hockey '93, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Virtua Racing and ???

Baron Von Hooton would need an extreme dose of luck to ever really challenge to be Mega Drive Champion. Because of this NHLPA Hockey '93 is ideal, as it is possible to win without too much skill, and Baron Von Hooton would need all his luck to score wins against Doc Shakib, Lord Dilks and Mr Smith. If he could get nine-points from this game, he would rely upon victory against Lord Dilks on Sonic 2 and somehow do well enough to get a win against Doc Shakib. He would also need to beat both Lord Dilks and Mr Smith on Virtua Racing. This would give him 21-points which is probably not enough to win a tournament and any other game is likely to be a disadvantage to Baron Von Hooton.

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