The Games
Round 1: Road Rash 3
This was described as the "comical game of the tournament" in a 1 Vs 1 mode, no computer racers and the chain. Defending Champion, Gaz Cormack, got off to an unfortunate start against Grahame; leading for about half the course, he suddenly collided with a car, which proceeded to knock his bike further down the road. Running after the vehicle gave Grahame ample time to complete the course. The final, however, was much crazier with a helicopter with a vendetta against Grahame (presumed to be a jilted ex) spent the entire course evading the crazed Chopper, which didn't relent until Grahame's bike was destroyed, just seconds away from the finish.

Round 2: Ms. Pac-Man
Dot eating madness occurred in whichever player obtained the most points after 3 rounds wins. Mark played extremely well on this game, however, lost narrowly in the semi-final to Gaz. Gaz faced Ross (Willett) in the final, whose ability to obtain points in the previous rounds served him well here and he won the round. Julien's remonstrations that the CPU ghosts (powered by blast processing) showed favouritism were perhaps a touch misguided.

Round 3: Saturday night Slam Masters
In this best of three bout of fist flying action, the only tie of the early rounds that stood out was the Gaz v Brian event, which was really close, with the remainder of the ties resulting in a rapid beating and defeat for the eliminated player. The final was a more intriguing affair with Ross (Willett) facing Brian. Ross, controlling Alexander the Grater, rapidly beat Brian in the first two rounds, resulting in a character switch for Brian from Mike Hager to King Rasta and, suddenly, the tables had turned. Brian won the next two rounds and Ross decided to switch characters to King Rasta as well and, in spite of an extremely close fight, Brian was extremely unlucky to be denied a Rocky-esque comeback.

Round 4: Marble Madness
This strange mix of puzzle and platformer, with awful sound and graphics, the winner was the player with the most points after 3 rounds. Ross (Willett), who had spent a good portion of his childhood on the NES version of this game, annihilated all opponents and won comfortably.

Round 5: Sonic 3
Miniature versions of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (without his glide or climbing ability) go head-to-head in this pure platform racer in a best of three grand prix races (all five for the final). Gaz's claim that he was the second best player on Sonic, were unfortunately not put to the test when he played the best player, Julien in Round 1. Julien won the event comfortably, thrashing Ross (Willet) in the final.

Round 6: Super Skidmarks
A reasonably fun four player racing game, that was instantly forgettable at the Second Tournament. Both Ross's finished in the top two and nobody remembers who finished third and fourth.

Round 7: Columns 3
Players required just one win in order to advance in this jewel dropping madness. In Group One, both Ross's quickly made it through to the final, however, Group Two was a much lengthier event with Gaz and Richard eventually qualifying. The final was another quick game, with Ross (Anderson) gaining the victory.

Round 8: Micro Machines 96
The tiny toys from the 80s/90s are transformed in an amazing video game, as you race around various frantic courses, with the tracks drawn at random... if only there was a Mini Boglins game on the Mega Drive! Brian, Ross (Anderson) Richard and Grahame made it into the last round, although mention goes to Mark who played better than his early elimination deserved. The final must have lasted for approximately 20-minutes, with nobody able to score a decisive victory. Ultimately it was Ross who edged ahead and claimed the win.

Round 9: Mega Bomberman
A tournament favourite in which the characters blow up boxes, collect power-ups and then attempt to destroy all others with explosives. There are also cute things with special abilities to collect and ride! The final four comprised of Ross (Willett), Gaz, Grahame and Brian in the round where the evil penguins on the side are hurling missiles at the players. Ross scored two quick wins and won the round with Gaz finishing in second.

Round 10: Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition
The classic fighter of the 2D age gives players twelve of the most fluid fighters to control, each with their own unique and special moves. Players did battle in the elimination mode with an increasing number of characters used each round. Julien commented that if this were a Street Fighter 5 tournament then he would have beaten everybody, however, it is somewhat optimistic to attend a Mega Drive Championship with the expectation of playing Street Fighter 5. As for Street Fighter 2, the two Rosses fought hard in the semi-finals before the winner (Ross Anderson) was crushed convincingly by Gaz in the final.

The Conclusion
The tale of two Rosses (a 16-bit sequel to the Dickens novel?) was won decisively by Ross Willett who obtained an impressive 25-points and will be looking to take this form in the 2018 Mega Drive Championship this summer. Ross Anderson finished in second while last year’s convincing champion, Gaz Cormack, was unable to score more than 10-points, which was good enough to tie for third.