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#player1 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
#player2 Orry_Swift Orry Swift
>Jim_Burlant: AANORTV 8F AVO +12 12
#note OVA may be a touch better here because I can front-hook it with my N.
>Orry_Swift: CLX F7 C.LX +29 29
>Jim_Burlant: AEEGNRT 9H NEGATER +62 74
#note Or at 7H. How does any human realistically determine if 7H or 9H is the better placement of this word? That said, GREATEN scores 63 at 7H (this scores 62).
>Orry_Swift: EO E10 OE +13 42
>Jim_Burlant: AFHLNRW D10 FAWN +35 109
#note Strong play, but the best play here is easy to miss because it doesn't front-hook FOX: D11 WHARF scores 6 more while slotting the F in row 15. Still in good shape though, at 70% to win.
>Orry_Swift: AE C12 AE +13 55
>Jim_Burlant: AHILORU 8M HAO +25 134
#note Unable to simultaneously block both the K column 2x2 and the O column, I debated between UROLITH L4 and this. I thought that if his fishing trip yielded two heavy consonants, his *most likely* play would hook an S down the O column for 40+. The 2x2 was the worst case, and I was more worried about what I thought was the probable case. I wasn't thrilled with the ILRU leave with this choice, but it was workable (or so I thought) and he'd have to hit a 2x2 for his likely high-prob bingo to hit for more than 68. Still in good shape at 72% to win.
>Orry_Swift: EEINRST K4 RESIN.TE +82 137
#note Only 2x2.
>Jim_Burlant: ADILRUU L11 LUAU +10 144
#note Yuck. Bad draw...and even worse play. J7 AUGUR looks best here. I never saw it But now the seeds of the ensuing blowout are about to be sown:
>Orry_Swift: ABEJOPR B10 JERBOA +73 210
>Jim_Burlant: DEGIORR L1 GORED +25 169
#note A lot going through my mind here. Obviously, 15A is the major threat and the duck confirms I don't have a playable bingo. However - RAGI 15A only scores 18, but it doesn't open anything for me. Orry will only have to overlap either down the L or J columns to shut down the northeast, which will leave me trailing by roughly 45 - 50 on a rapidly dying board. Additionally, I want to keep up with his tile turnover; he's just drawn 6 tiles and he could very easily be sitting on 4 i's. I was concerned about not falling behind him tempo-wise. With all that in mind I played this to keep things alive. Championship Player makes clear that this is by far and away my best play, winning 3% more often than the next best 15A play, RAIDER. 18.5% to win...and about to approach 0.
>Orry_Swift: EHLOPST 15A T.PHOLES +203 413
#note If I had to select a single turn that exemplified how my tournament was going, this was it. I don't claim for a second that I played perfectly. FAWN was a mild mistake but nothing severe. While LUAU was a poor play, none of my better options on that turn would have prevented JERBOA. GORED was a very reasonable risk to take. So, Orry, after a bingo and 73-point J-bomb, he draws 6 tiles into a 203-point 3x3! I just broke out laughing. Game over.
>Jim_Burlant: BDIIMRT 14J BR.IT +26 195
>Orry_Swift: AINNTW 1F WANTIN. +33 446
>Jim_Burlant: ?DIMNSV M13 M.D +20 215
>Orry_Swift: AILOZ N6 ZO..IAL +38 484
>Jim_Burlant: ?EINSVY 10D ...Y +17 232
#note No bingoes play.
>Orry_Swift: CDIISU 5E SUICID.. +24 508
>Jim_Burlant: ??EINSV 2A VeNIrES +79 311
>Orry_Swift: Q D1 Q. +21 529
#note Annotation ends here - I shuffle tiles to end the game, Orry keeps piling on the points. I can't remember his rack but he told me he was 1 tile away from another triple-triple on this turn! Final score 595 - 361, Orry's win.
>Jim_Burlant: FIKMPUY 4D YUM +22 333
#rack2 DEEGORT
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