After twelve weeks of hard work from all the teams, especially the two remaining, it all comes down to this. One match to determine who will take their first ever USCL Championship, and who will have to console themselves with the hackneyed phrase “wait til next year”. Click here for the Championship Lineups!
GM Sergey Erenburg GM Varuzhan Akobian
SM William Fisher IM Georgi Orlov
FM Dov Gorman NM Joshua Sinanan
IM Richard Costigan NM Roland Feng
Despite the fact that both these teams have been in the League for the past seven seasons, this is remarkably their first ever meeting, and it obviously couldn’t come at a more important time. Let’s break down the action board by board.
Only fitting, on Board One, in addition to this being the marquee team matchup of the season, we also have a marquee player matchup as two of the highest rated players in the League, GM Erenburg and GM Akobian, both rated around 2700, face off in what should be a tremendous battle.
On Board Two, two players who have both contributed some very important wins and draws to their team this year, IM Orlov and SM Fisher face off. IM Orlov won a critical Quarterfinal game and then held with Black in the Semifinals - both huge results which helped the Sluggers overcome draw odds. Meanwhile, SM Fisher scored an incredible 9.5/10 last year, and despite moving up to Board Two this year, turned in another great result, drawing with several strong GMs, the makings of another tough battle.
On Board Three, two of the unquestioned top performers and likely All Stars for this board, FM Gorman and NM Sinanan, do battle. FM Gorman’s incredible 8.5/10 record speaks for itself, with him having scored several crucial wins while NM Sinanan has done likewise, in particular his GOTW winning victory in the Semifinals, which helped send the Sluggers into this very match.
Finally, in a battle of youth vs experience, NM Feng, having just returned from the World Youth, does battle against IM Costigan in what appears to be a very unclear battle. Youth is always dangerous so one can certainly not underestimate NM Feng, but IM Costigan has been one of the most consistent League players in all his years and should not be taken lightly either.
Tune in on Saturday to see a fantastic battle which could very easily go either way as the 2012 season concludes in what should be a thrilling finale!