Every gameshow has its memorable challenges and events. Today, I believe we added another event to the memories we will look back upon years from now. Two matches were played to decide a final victor. One was a standard four player match, while the other... was inspiring, to say the least.
MATCH 1: Damon and Penny vs. Bumble and Sand
The first match of the game went smoothly overall, but not for the Mafia. Interesting plays were made, but in the end, it is goal count that matters. I will be posting a highlight reel tonight, but for now, I will discuss performance and score per game.
GAME 1: This game was a very strong start for the Cops. Bumble began playing her role as goalie, which she kept the entirety of the match. Damon and Penny both played offensively, moving around the field and synchronizing movement. This meant that Sand had to fight for every single point individually, similar to what Andre had to experience in his match. However, Sand ended up proving her skill in the game by scoring 7 points against the 2 points scored evenly by Damon and Penny.
GAME 2: Following the precedent set in Game 1, Sand managed to fight against the duo and win herself 5 points, while Damon got his fair share of 2 points.
GAME 3: For the rest of the match, it seemed Sand was the breadwinner for the Cops. Another 7 points were scored by the redhead this game, while Penny set her personal record of 3 points solo.
GAME 4: Sand scored 6 points while only facing defeat against Penny's single point.
GAME 5: To end the match, Sand went on a 4 score streak while the Mafia ended up not being able to score a single goal.
Regardless of the final score of this match, I still feel both teams did very well. I have plenty of moments where I was amazed by the skill of all players. Tricks were used to get goals and there was even a goal where a ball was fired off like a cannon because two players rubbed against each other. Sadly, Match 1 ended up being a slaughterfest by Sand's hand, as the Mafia only scored 8 goals. The Cops strategy of using a goalie turned out perfect, as Sand scored 29 goals solo.
MATCH 2: Zach and Andy vs. Andre
The determining match of the challenge ended up being a memorable event. After being given 20 minutes to play, Lewis failed to show up. As a result, Andre was forced to compete by himself against the Mafia, who needed 21 points to even catch up in the case that Andre did not get a single goal.
However, Andre fought.
It was brutal and exciting to watch live, even motivating. Faced against an insurmountable challenge, Andre realized his duty to his team and struggled to add just one, just two, just another point into his team's count. Whether it worked out for him or not was soon to be discovered.
GAME 1: After facing the reality that he would have to play without a partner, Andre jumped in and took on his opponents. Without anyone defending his goal except himself, Andre was able to get 2 points. Zach got his record for the entire match with 6 points, while Andy had his worst game of the five with 5 points.
GAME 2: This was the most significant match of the game, in my opinion. Four more matches were awaiting Andre, and the pressure to do well for his entire team alone overtook him. 3 minutes and 33 seconds into the game, Andre paused. The thoughts that ran through his head, I'd like to get to understand in an interview, but it seemed as though this was going to be it for the Cop. Surprisingly, though, this pause motivated Andre. It must have filled him with adrenaline. He was only able to score 2 goals in this game, but his best gameplay was ahead. Zach scored 4 points while Andy still failed to reach his record with 10 points.
GAME 3: One may think that Andre's spirit would be completely crushed after Zach scored 6 points and Andy scored 9 points without Andre getting a single point. However, one would be wrong. With less than a minute left in the game, Andre won 3 points in an amazing comeback.
GAME 4: As much as Andre was amazing me with his solo run, Andy was someone in particular who I felt played the game of Haxball smart this challenge. When I had to go through the footage and count each score one by one, I was amazed by some of Andy's shots this game specifically. He seemed very proficient at tricking his opponent, even if the odds were in his favor. Andy scored 10 points this round, while Zach won 2 points and Andre also won 2 points.
GAME 5: This was it. The match that would decide a winner. Testing the entirety of his will to go on, Andre decided to finish with a bang. Points were exchanged evenly throughout this challenge, but due to the two to one ratio, Andre was not able to keep up with the goal possibilities of his opponents. Andre fought for his record of 6 points this game. Andy also gained his record of 12 points, exactly double Andre's. Zach added an additional 5 points to his team's total score.
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Now that the games have been described, I would like to take time to discuss the challenge and the gameshow as a whole. I know that some people will skip over this, but I feel that even if it reaches some people, it will make a difference.
Skool of Salem has tested everyone involved. We have had to completely recreate a challenge, split challenges into two to help with schedules, and experience our first no-show of the season. These have really tested us as a community, but you know what they all have in common?
We make it through and we do what we have to do.
I am thankful that you guys have communicated with us when you have issues or events. Dedication has truly been shown not by being on the most, but by using the time you can spare to participate. As we all get older, our spare time gets smaller and smaller, but I can't believe we are still able to pull off a gameshow like the old days.
Andre had to face an incredible feat today that I feel should not be looked back on with disgust but rather with pure awe. I cannot predict what the legacy of this gameshow will be, but I wish for all of you guys to realize the big picture here. We are all workers hired to build an incredible experience through this gameshow, and today, we had a storm. However, storms come and go. What matters is whether the workers are willing to uphold the beauty of the building by working through tough times, or if they abandon it to face the fury of nature.
I do not want this season to decay. I want us to build a skyscraper.
To continue on with this construction analogy I created for some reason, some workers have to be laid off. Two contestants have already left us, and tonight, a third will leave us.
Andy and Zach were able to score 68 goals, while Andre fought for 15 points. As a result, the team totals ended up being 76 points for the Mafia and 44 points for the Cops.
I will go into further detail about the process we went through for this elimination in the elimination post, along with photos. However, for now, I would like to confirm three things.
The Mafia have won the challenge.
Andy has won the idol with a total score of 46 points scored.
We have decided to eliminate Lewis from Skool of Salem.
I would like to go into further detail about this situation in the elimination post. For now, please read the post if you just skipped down here to find the results.
-Matt
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