FIFTEENTH TOURNAMENT REVIEW:

Mr Smith won the Fifteenth Mega Drive Championship. Lord Dilks started the competition poorly and remained at the foot of the table until he sneaked a 5-3 victory against Captain Maltby on Micro Machines '96. He was able to pick up enough points to hoist him into second place by the halfway stage, albeit on goal difference. His title hopes were ended following Mr Smith beating Captain Maltby on Super Street Fighter 2. Lieutenant Gareth gave an impressive display as he beat Lord Dilks twice and Mr Smith once, however, his inability to score points against his relegation rivals kept him scrapping around near the drop zone for the majority of the tournament. Prior to the competition Captain Maltby had been the favourite to return to the lower league, however, a final game victory against Baron Von Hooton, on Ball Jacks, was enough to secure Captain Maltby's place in the top league for another tournament. Baron Von Hooton had successfully fended off relegation at the Fourteenth Tournament, but was to drop out of Division One for the first time in his history, the five points he accumulated was just one behind fourth place Captain Maltby. In Division Two, Doc Shakib showed his abilities and won promotion without losing a single game, he conceded just a single goal. Commander Graham finished in second place, four points adrift of Doc Shakib. Old Spice Lock gave the worst performance of a Division Two member, a record previously set by Private Mary at the Ninth Tournament, when he finished last having scored no points in eight games.

THE TOURNAMENT KNOCKOUT:

KNOCKOUT REVIEW:

Captain Maltby became the fourth person to win a Tournament Knockout after a close game with Baron Von Hooton in a Columns final, Baron Von Hooton had been a finalist in the original Tournament Knockout. The two had previously locked horns in the league, indeed, it was Captain Maltby's final victory against Baron Von Hooton that condemned the latter to relegation. Baron Von Hooton had beaten Lord Dilks, on Golden Axe 2, in the semi-finals and Lieutenant Gareth, in round two, while Captain Maltby had triumphed over Mr Smith, on Eternal Champions, in round two and Doc Shakib, on NBA Jam, in the semi-finals. Chaplain Womersley gave the best performance of the three new members and made it into Round 2 where Lord Dilks beat him.

CHALLENGE REVIEW:

Lord Dilks won the Challenge Trophy for the second successive tournament, maintaining his 100% record in the competition. Yet his victory had been a fortunate one, as he was almost defeated in round one by a fiesty Baron Von Hooton. He also faced a tricky opponent in the final, in the form of Commander Graham, however, the final result was perhaps a bit closer than the actual abilites of the two players. As a new member, Commander Graham had come all the way from the qualifying round in order to reach the final. It had been a close affair with Chaplain Womersley beating him in the qualifiers, with only a victory against Old Spice Lock securing him passage into Round One, and Earl Holbrook pushing him to the limit in Round Two. Third Place was contested between an in form Earl Holbrook and Captain Maltby. The last time the pair had played Eternal Champions, Captain Maltby had gained a comprehensive 2-0 victory, but this time it was Earl Holbrook who achieved the victory as well as third place.

CHANGES FROM THE FOURTEENTH TOURNAMENT:

• Third Place Play-off added to the Challenge Trophy
• Alien Storm is added to Division Two and the Knockout
• Columns is added to Divisions One, Two and the Knockout
• FIFA '98 is removed from the tournaments
• Golden Axe 2 is removed from Division Two and becomes a Division One and Knockout game
• NHL '96 is removed from the Division One game pool to become a Division Two and Knockout game
• Road Rash 3 replaces Road Rash 2 in Division Two and the Tournament Knockout
• Sensible Soccer is added as a Division Two and Knockout game
• WWF Super Wrestlemania changes from a Division Two game to a Knockout Only game
• A character limitation is added to Eternal Champions to prevent members from using the same character
• Casino Night is re-introduced to Sonic the Hegdheog 2 games, with the zone to be played drawn randomly