'Pizza' was the word of everybody's lips upon entering Bramcote Memorial Hall. The usual buffet had been provided; crisps, Doritos, biscuits, Jaffa cakes, sausage rolls, pork-pies and cocktail sausages, were a veritable feast for the thirteen members who psyched themselves up to contest the Twenty-Third English Mega Drive Championship on Sunday 24th July 2011. The crème-de-la-crème of all this was not the Dr Pepper or Cherry Coca-Cola, it was not the innumerable quantities of tea and coffee, but four massive pizzas; pepperoni, meat feast, chicken and cheese and tomato. "Have you considered vegetarians?" Meena Newsum enquired to the benevolent Tournament Administration. The response was a curt "No!" So in many ways the winner of the Twenty-Third Mega Drive Championship was every member who battled on that blissful summer day - except, of course, the vegetarians.

Yet, it will come a surprise to some, but there are more to the Mega Drive Championship than enough coffee to sail a ship, two fine and generous administrators granting a buffet that is befitting of kings, there are an array of ancient 16-bit relics (often referred to as Mega Drive games) to endure. Over eighty-nine fixtures, twenty-four titles and five competitions would be decided the heroes of England who advance to duel European friends on the International Stage. For the two new members wandering into Bramcote Memorial Hall for that first time; Colonel Cripps and Bell Bower, listening to vague explanations regarding what the hell was going on, they probably had little idea they were joining a legacy that spans countries and had survived for a decade, they probably didn't care either.

The Twenty-Third Mega Drive Championship embraced tournament tradition by being ridiculously late starting! Numerous factors caused this (the same numerous factors that always cause tournaments to start late); the Tournament Administration did not arrive until 15 minutes after the scheduled time; citing excuses/lies of bad traffic, television testing and unforeseen weather conditions. Goatman and Pablo Mortez had decided to detour to supermarket en route to the tournament, trophies had been forgotten and new members, who did all but guarantee their attendance upon the lives of their first-born, predictably, failed to turn up.

So, under an atmosphere of apathy, the Mega Drive Championship begins with the Tournament Knockout. With the better members byed into the Second Round, which takes place at a latter stage in the day, Round One is a nice amalgamation of both the new members and the rubbish members. In spite of vague explanations of the competitions structure, the newcomers often seem bemused by Round One of the Knockout, perhaps wondering what offence warrants the punishment of a game on European Club Soccer, or whether they are actually playing the game of NHL '97 on screen (although in some instance they are not and, having failed to select a team correctly, their opponent is playing the CPU), confused as to how they lost at either Columns or Marble Madness, while the lowest ranked members merely drag themselves through this part of the contest, wondering which crappy games have been drawn this year?

This year, Round One of the Tournament Knockout continued to disappoint: European Club Soccer, NHL '97 and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters had been chosen at random and now six members awaited to see which terrible game fate would have them play: Pablo Mortez was drawn against Meena Newsum on European Club Soccer one-goal was enough to advance into the Second Round. Newcomer Colonel Cripps was selected to play Lieutenant Gareth, who was returning to the competitions after being absent at the Twenty-Second Championship. Lieutenant Gareth scored a 2-0 victory to secure his place in Round Two while other newcomer, Bell Bower, was able to overcome Goatman on Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters. With Round One of the Knockout finished the passion was amped up slightly, now was the time for the league competition, those assembled moved closer to the televisions, eager to pick up the controller and engage in 16-bit battle.

Pablo Mortez and Lieutenant Gareth had both already drawn blood in Round One of the Knockout and now they kicked off the Division Two campaign on Streets of Rage 2. Lieutenant Gareth, having lost his Division One status after not attending the Twenty-Second Mega Drive Championship, was by far the most experience member battling in the lower league, while Pablo Mortez returned for his second tournament. It was the less experienced member who secured the win; Pablo Mortez beating Lieutenant Gareth 2-1. The two newcomers, Bell Bower and Colonel Cripps kicked off their league adventure head-to-head in fixture four, regrettably for them on Marble Madness. Bell Bower secured the win, although, like most new members who play Marble Madness, was probably left wondering how he did so. The Plumb and Don Derek had the supreme honour of beginning the Division One campaign on a Micro Machines: Military tie won by The Plumb. The higher league was disappointingly short of members, with a number of big/medium names missing; Baron Von Hooton, Captain Maltby, Emperor Tebbs and Fireman Sam all diminishing Division One. The Plumb, who scored an 8-0 victory in the opening game, held first-place in the league until game five when Commander Graham scored his second win of the campaign - a 3-0 thrashing of Earl Holbrook on Super Street Fighter 2. Earl Holbrook was stuck at the bottom of the table without a win in the first quarter, with Doc Shakib, Don Derek and The Plumb all with two-points and separated, at this early stage, by goal difference. In Division Two it was the newcomers who were setting the pace, with Bell Bower and Colonel Cripps in first and second respectively. The highlight of this stage of the tournament was the game of Alien Storm between Lieutenant Gareth and Professor King - two long-running rivals who had not faced each other in the league since a 1-1 draw on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at the Nineteenth Championship - this time, victory went to Lieutenant Gareth.

By the time the tournament reaches the quarter way point there is often a sense of intrigue hanging over Bramcote Memorial Hall, as attention switches from the league and back to the Knockout. Those who were confused in Round One, suddenly become aware of how the competition works and those which survived the tedium of Round One now anticipate a big named opponent on a semi-decent game. There was, however, one minor hiccup - owing to a miscalculation by the merciful Tournament Administration - there were nine members in the draw for Round Two! In order to address this anomaly, for the first time in English domestic history, a three-player game was played. Micro Machines: Military saw former Mega Drive Champion, Commander Graham, face newcomer Bell Bower and veteran Earl Holbrook on the Fire Flyer track where the players struggled to manoeuvre their jets around a poorly marked race course. Bell Bower struggled the most and finished well behind his two opponents, of which it was Earl Holbrook who secured himself a place in the Semi-Finals. The pick of the round had to be Professor King and Lieutenant Gareth on Pete Sampras Tennis: in which these two rivals were inseparable, the game went to a tiebreak and the victory to Professor King who edged past his rival. While The Plumb advanced at the expense of Doc Shakib in an all Division One tie on Mega Bomberman and Pablo Mortez caused an upset beating Division One elite, Don Derek, on Sensible Soccer.

So, with Round Two of the Knockout tied up, we return to the second-quarter of league action. The Plumb gave himself a huge goal-difference advantage at the expense of Earl Holbrook, a 13-0 game on World Cup Italia '90 might yet have a profound effect upon the final standings. This stage of the league remained subdued in Division One, Commander Graham, Doc Shakib, and The Plumb all scored one win and one defeat. In the final game of this quarter, Don Derek Vs Commander Graham - World Cup Italia '90, early indications were that Commander Graham would take the two-points, however, Don Derek rallied and pulled the score back level by half-time. A very strong performance from these two players kept the score tight throughout the match, but it was edged by Don Derek, 7-6, his second victory in this stage of the contest lifted him from near the foot of the table towards the top! In Division Two, newcomer Bell Bower continued to impress, winning on both Road Rash 3 and Sonic 3 to keep himself top of Division Two, while the other newcomer, Colonel Cripps, lost all his games and slipped down the table. Lieutenant Gareth and Professor King performed well, giving the top-three a three-point gap between themselves and the rest of the table. Field Marshall Hayward scored two-wins to lift himself from the foot of the table, which was occupied by Meena Newsum, who was unable to find a win at this phase of the competition.

The halfway point of the tournament and the members get a break from the league and look forward to the Challenge - an event in which the game played and winning conditions vary with each tournament. The Twenty-Third Championship selection of World Cup Italia '90 was heavily criticised by members and even during the league game prior (Don Derek 7 Vs 6 Commander Graham - World Cup Italia '90) it was observed 'the Challenge will take forever'. The knowing Tournament Administration remained silent and confident; they knew the special winning conditions would transform a normally turgid and tedious league game into an epic Challenge worthy of its predecessors.

The winning conditions were as follows:
• The first player to score three goals qualifies.
• At half-time the player in the lead qualifies.
• The first goal scored in the second-half qualifies.
• The penalty shootout winner qualifies.
• Members will be allocated a randomly selected team.
• Three members will be randomly byed to Round Two.

So, under the watchful gaze of the compassionate Tournament Administration members were called, one by one, to dip their hands into a bag and select one of the twenty-four teams available. Following the distribution of teams the gaming commenced. The highlight of the first round was Poblo Mortez (U.S.A.) battling Professor King (West Germany). For the majority of the first-half it was Pablo Mortez who held the advantage, going two goals up before Professor King was able to find an answer and the score stood at 2-1 to Pablo with half-time looming. Chances at each end peppered the goal, however, it was Professor King who produced the equaliser and forced the game into a golden goal competition. The end-to-end nature of this encounter continued and eventually the golden goal was scored by Pablo Mortez who secured the U.S.A. passage into Round Two. Meanwhile Goatman (South Korea) battled Meena Newsum (Scotland), although the standard was lower than the U.S.A. Vs West Germany clash, two evenly matched opponents went into the golden goal session where the victory went to Goatman's South Korea. Earl Holbrook (Belgium) and Commander Graham (England) had no problems dispatching their opponents; Bell Bower (Uruguay) and Lieutenant Gareth (China) respectively. Colonel Cripps (U.S.S.R.) put up a brave defence against Don Derek (Poland) but it was the latter who booked a place in the next round with a 3-1 victory. The Plumb (Brazil), Doc Shakib (Yugoslavia) and Field Marshall Hayward (Argentina) were all byed into round two. The ties in Round Two were considerably tighter than those proceeding them: Goatman (South Korea) managed to edge past Pablo Mortez (U.S.A.) 3-2, Don Derek (Poland) was able to see off Field Marshall Hayward (Argentina) by the same scoreline, The Plumb (Brazil) showed early promise by beating the experienced Doc Shakib (Yugoslavia) and the round was completed with Earl Holbrook (Beglium) being knocked out by Commander Graham (England).

Pablo Mortez 3 U.S.A. Professor King 2 West Germany Goatman 2 South Korea Meena Newsum 1 Scotland Don Derek 3 Poland Colonel Cripps 1 U.S.S.R. Bell Bower 0 Uruguay Earl Holbrook 3 Belgium Lieutenant Gareth 0 China Commander Graham 3 England

Pablo Mortez 2 U.S.A. Goatman 3 South Korea Field Marshall Hayward 2 Argentina Don Derek 3 Poland Earl Holbrook 1 Belgium Commander Graham 3 England Doc Shakib 1 Yugoslavia The Plumb 3 Brazil

Goatman 0 South Korea Don Derek 3 Poland Commander Graham 1 England The Plumb 3 Brazil

Don Derek 1 Poland The Plumb 2 Brazil

//World Cup Italia '90 was selected as the game for the Twenty-Third Tournament in homage to the first ever game in the Mega Drive Championships: Lord Dilks 16 Vs 1 Doc Shakib - World Cup Italia '90. The Twenty-Third Mega Drive Championship was the first tournament to be held following the ten-year milestone and it was decided this would be suitable homage to the three noble warriors who duelled in the First Mega Drive Championship in January 2001. The Semi-Finals saw arguably the two strongest in the competition go head-to-head: The Plumb, sports game enthusiast, bolstered by Brazil, against Commander Graham, the best all-round player, as a strong England side. The Plumb (Brazil), however, did not require penalty shootouts, golden goals or half-time to earn his place in the final. He reached the three-goal target with comparative ease and dumped Commander Graham's England out of the competition. Don Derek (Poland) scored an even more convincing 3-0 victory over Goatman (South Korea) in order to setup a Brazil Vs Poland final. The Plumb (Brazil) started better and managed to score two-goals before Don Derek (Poland) was able to score his first. Half-time was looming and Don Derek (Poland) pushed hard for the equaliser that would force the final into the second-half, however, The Plumb's Brazil showed great strength in defence to hold off the Polish. Half-time arrived; The Plumb (Brazil) had won the World Cup Italia '90 Challenge.

So, following the excitement of the Challenge, the focus becomes more serious as we return to the marathon of the league campaign. The third-quarter of league competition saw flailing Earl Holbrook earn his first win of the competition. Against Don Derek in the Mystic Cave Zone, Earl Holbrook was able to claw the deficit between himself and the rest of the table to just 3-points, but with some difficult fixtures looming, Earl Holbrook’s place in Division One was looking far from secure. Commander Graham, who had been leading the league table, suffered a fall in form; 1-point from a possible four, saw him slip from his perch to be replaced by Doc Shakib, who did score 4-points from four. Don Derek also looked a good bet to defend his title, lurking in second place, his one win in the second quarter kept him in contention. The Plumb scored just one-point in the third quarter, effectively killing off any dreams of him lifting the title trophy, but kept him a comfortable distance from the relegation zone. In Division Two, Colonel Cripps continued to slide down the table, unable to score any further wins, while at the top, Bell Bower, Lieutenant Gareth and Professor King established their three-way tussle for the two promotion places. A better third-quarter from Meena Newsum lifted her from the foot of the table, Pablo Mortez and Field Marshall Hayward floundered onwards, while Goatman slumped to the foot of the table - unable to score a single win in this period.

The moment of truth in Division Two arrives: Of the eight members who wielded their controllers, four will advance into the upper tier and duel for the prize of promotion, four will continue in the lower tier and tussle for what little pride and glory may be found there. The room held its breath, as the names were read out: Field Marshall Hayward, Goatman, Colonel Cripps, Meena Newsum had failed, fallen beneath the standard required to fight for Division One. Now the final sprint begins! Bell Bower, Lieutenant Gareth, Professor King and Pablo Mortez will all go head-to-head and in just six more fixtures their fates would be decided. Two more would fail in their attempt to reach the promised land of Division One: Bell Bower, 12pts, and Lieutenant Gareth, 10pts, held the advantage over Professor King, 9pts, and Pablo Mortez, 6pts. There is no forgiveness for error, no solace for defeat, each member has six-points left to play for, the Division Two elite now war!

Division One has no such split, but a final leg of a long marathon that has caused emotions to writhe and thumbs to throb. Earl Holbrook seemed all but certain to return to Division Two, having battled in the top flight for six tournaments, with just 2pts, winning all his games while crushing defeats for The Plumb were all his hopes now rested upon. The Plumb himself seemed reasonably comfortable the spectre of relegation nearly vanished through Earl Holbrook's demise. Meanwhile, the contest to be the Twenty-Third Mega Drive Championship raged between three men who have all previously lifted the trophy, separated by just a single point: Doc Shakib (7th, 16th, 19th and 21st tournaments) held the advantage with 8pts, Don Derek (22nd Tournament) was in second with 8pts, but an inferior goal difference to Doc Shakib, and Commander Graham (20th Tournament) stood in third with 7pts. The passion bubbles up to overflow, just one quarter remains, who will be crowned Mega Drive Champion?

Doc Shakib was the first to slip-up, in a repeat of the Knockout Second Round, he was beaten by The Plumb on Mega Bomberman in a game that virtually condemned Earl Holbrook to relegation. The following fixture did ensure that Earl Holbrook’s six-tournament stay in Division One was ended. Unable to beat Commander Graham on Columns, Earl Holbrook reflected stoically upon his fall from the elite, observing that Division Two was where he started his tournament career. This game kept Commander Graham's title hopes alive, although he required a Doc Shakib defeat by Don Derek on Super Street Fighter 2 and victory over Don Derek on Streets of Rage 3 in the final game of the tournament. Yet, in spite of a few feeble sonic booms, Don Derek was unable to match the polished "Atheer Shakib technique" which has ensured Doc Shakib victories on Super Street Fighter 2 since 2001! A 3-0 win made Doc Shakib the Mega Drive Champion for the fifth time in his ten-year tournament career. "Feels good, man. Feels good." Doc Shakib observed after confirmation of his success. Now in the upper tier of Division Two, it was the impressive newcomer Bell Bower who capitulated. Losing all three of his additional games, he slumped from the promotion places and gifted the promise of Division One to Lieutenant Gareth and his rival Professor King. The final game of Division Two: Upper Tier saw the two rivals go head-to-head for the honour of winning Division Two. Professor King scored the win and although he can say he achieved some pretty good scores against his rival, the true battle will come at the Twenty-Fourth Mega Drive Championship, when Lieutenant Gareth and Professor King take their rivalry into Division One.

DIVISION ONE - FINAL STANDINGS

P W D L G C G.D. Pts 1st Doc Shakib 8 5 0 3 25 11 +14 10 2nd Don Derek 8 5 0 3 16 20 -4 10 3rd Commander Graham 8 4 1 3 28 23 +5 9 4th The Plumb 8 3 1 4 27 18 +9 7 R Earl Holbrook 8 2 0 6 6 30 -24 4 DIVISION TWO - FINAL STANDINGS P W D L G C G.D. Pts P Professor King 10 7 1 2 17 6 +11 15 P Lieutenant Gareth 10 7 0 3 20 9 +11 14 3rd Bell Bower 10 6 0 4 18 14 +4 12 4th Pablo Mortez 10 4 0 6 17 20 -3 8 5th Meena Newsum 10 5 0 3 20 20 0 10 6th Colonel Cripps 10 4 0 6 15 20 -5 8 7th Goatman 10 3 1 6 12 22 -10 7 8th Field Marshall Hayward 10 3 0 7 9 17 -8 6

Calm descends and in that moment of pause the thirteen warriors, who assembled that noble day, reflect upon the 16-bit war they have fought. Some will look back upon the competition with regret, failing to fulfil their potential they feel disappointed and ashamed, but in their hearts the desire to return and re-write their wrongs and seek 16-bit honour. Others will stand tall, knowing they have achieved success and valour, bringing glory to themselves and eager to repeat their success. One man, however, stands above all others, he is the Champion the vanquisher of all, the receiver of deserved applause and for a brief moment a hero. Some feel they have lost, others feel they have won, but all look back upon the battle with fondness and look forward to a time when they may pick up their controller once again in the heat of passion that is Mega Drive Championshippery.

But things are not over yet...

One question must be answered...

One more destiny resolved...

Team England 2011 has one place vacant. The Tournament Knockout will decide who will compete alongside European heroes. All tournament members have participated, but now all but two have been eliminated, the final game is Virtua Racing and although neither finalist Professor King or The Plumb had any particular desire to play this game, the promise of a Team England place was enough to get the juices flowing. "It's on!" Declared Professor King as these two esteemed warriors marched towards the pit of battle ready to engage for one final time. The Knockout final was not, however, an epic duel between two equally matched competitors. The Plumb raced off into the distance and that was pretty much Knockout over! Around lap three The Plumb took his foot from the gas, but Professor King was only able to reduced the handsome lead to about 9-seconds. For the second time in his 16-bit career, The Plumb held aloft the Knockout Shield, victory and Team England were his!