Almost all favorites won their SuperPogChamps quarterfinal matches. Sardoche overpowered Linda Diaz with his chess, while Wirtual’s own mouse betrayed him in his match against Andrea Botez.
In the Consolation Bracket, Cows went extinct as Sparg0 dispatched Tyler1 with a dominant performance, and SonicFox sent Daryl Morey home in tiebreaks.
SuperPogChamps continues December 5 with the Semifinals and Finals, starting at 1 p.m. ET / 19:00 CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST.
Consolation Bracket
SonicFox Wins Yet Another Fight
Fighting game legend SonicFox won the first match of the day against Daryl Morey to move on to the Semifinals of the Consolation Bracket.
Sonic started the match with the right foot when they correctly assessed that they could get into a slightly scary pin to win a pawn in game one. From there on, Sonic played a nearly perfect game, capitalizing on every small mistake Daryl made to checkmate him and open the score.
The second game was a messier affair. Daryl played aggressively, but Sonic defended well and even got an advantage. It all seemed over when Daryl blundered a queen fork, but Sonic not only missed it but also blundered a piece and fork of their own. An uncharacteristic barrage of blunders followed, but it was Daryl who came out on top, winning two rooks and the game.
The match had to be interrupted and resumed only a few minutes later since Daryl had a business meeting to attend. It turns out that playing chess is not the top priority of the Philadelphia 76ers’ director.
But Daryl’s struggles with time were unfortunately not limited to his professional life. After a hard-fought tiebreak game, Daryl once more found himself with no time left to play—but this time, it was his chess clock that ran out. Daryl’s flag dropped, and it was SonicFox who sealed the deal.
With the win, SonicFox moves on to the Semifinals of the Consolation Bracket and will play against Will Benson.
Games
0 Bigger Than 1 As Sparg0 Defeats Tyler1
As usual, Tyler1 was feeling confident before the start of the match against Sparg0:
But unfortunately for Tyler, opening prep beats pep talk in chess.
In game one, Sparg0 went for the typical h-pawn push to punish Tyler’s cow, but forgot to protect the pawn and lost it. The game was somewhat balanced until Sparg0 successfully infiltrated Tyler’s defenses, taking two important pawns. A few moves later, and Sparg0 was celebrating his game one win.
The real disaster for Tyler’s Cow came on game two, when Sparg0 had the white pieces. As Sparg0 later revealed on his stream, he usually struggles with offbeat openings—so he was motivated to prepare for Tyler’s opening.
And his preparation certainly showed. Sparg0 obliterated Tyler’s Cow in just 15 moves.
With this commanding victory, Sparg0 moves on to the Semifinals to face Voyboy.
Games
Championship Bracket
Sardoche Goes After Linda’s Monarch
Game one was quite a rollercoaster, with Sardoche trading a rook for a knight and bishop and building a much better position. Linda eventually had to give up a rook for a knight, entering an endgame a piece down and with almost no pawns.
Her hope was rekindled when Sardoche blundered his last pawn, getting into a theoretically drawn endgame. But just as the Frenchmen who stormed the Bastille, Sardoche was relentless in his attack on Linda’s fortress. As commentator WGM Dina Belenkaya was explaining how Linda could defend, Sardoche delivered the decisive blow to Linda’s king.
A technical second game was all it took for Sardoche to clinch his spot in the Semifinal. After winning a pawn, the streamer forced trades to enter an endgame that, according to commentator WGM Nemo Zhou, was “as drawn as drawn endgames can go.”
And Nemo was definitely right. With the draw, Sardoche is set to go against the scary Masi Oka in the Semifinals.
Games
Andrea Wins Opening Prep Battle And Mouse War
The final match of the day was introduced by a pre-game interview with both players. Andrea Botez and Wirtual didn’t miss the opportunity to trash-talk each other’s opening prep. In fact, both players were so confident that you’d think they were both going to play against the Cow.
And as far as opening prep goes, Wirtual did not disappoint. Wirtual blitzed out the first few moves of the game, admitting he had seen it all with the engine.
But unfortunately for him, that was not enough. Andrea also navigated the position nicely and got a strong attack over the kingside, eventually winning a piece. Wirtual’s position then collapsed, and the game ended with a checkmate.
The opening prep battle only got more interesting in game two. Wirtual confessed that he had only prepared for Andrea’s King’s Indian Defense. So he wasn’t happy when he saw Andrea’s Benoni.
But while Wirtual was playing checkers, Andrea was playing chess (figuratively and literally, mind you). Confirming Wirtual’s suspicion, Andrea was excitedly (and loudly) celebrating the moral win.
Andrea’s strategy panned out. While neither player truly knew what they were doing, as none of them plays the Benko, that served Andrea well. Her higher rating showed when Wirtual blundered a pawn. But the match was really over when Wirtual mouse slipped, losing a full rook and then the game.
Andrea now moves on to the Semifinals and will battle Samay Raina.
Games
LIDÈ Haiti Donations
During the broadcast, $11,014.31 was donated to help LIDÈ Haiti promote learning, health, and well-being for Haitian girls in underserved communities through art-centered educational programs. We invite you to help LIDÈ’s cause:
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