Well you may recall that I mentioned that our plans to go to the Kalamazoo Regionals had to be changed at the last minute and you might be wondering why. Daniel, Greg, Owen, Graham, and I all piled into Graham's van and headed to Owensboro Kentucky to play at the Star Wars Miniatures Regional being held at Coolector's Mall.

We got there about an hour early, due to the time change, and spent a good amount of our time prior to registration wandering around that extremely awesome store. If I'm ever in Owensboro again you can rest assured that I will go out of my way to visit there again. Not only was the store simply amazing... the people who worked there were just fantastic. And I was quite surprised to learn that Dennis "Boris the Dwarf" Beard would be acting as Judge for the day!

Dennis sent me a write up on the event so I'll let him tell you how everything went in his own words. Also, he sent a number of photographs for me to post and, as usual, click 'em to embiggen 'em!

The Owensboro regional was a great event for just about everyone involved. Win or lose, just about everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves as they played through five grueling rounds of intense combat. The event started at 11 that morning, and thanks to the generosity of Coolector's Mall owner Duane Allen, we were able to keep going right through lunch. The store provided pizzas for everyone at the event, and me and Chuck Chauvin (thanks Chuck!) served people plates while they played.

At the end of the day, I was very privileged to receive Chuck's SWM Atlanta crew shirt, which he took off right in the middle of the store and handed to me. I joked afterward that Owensboro would always be known as the place where "we take the shirt right off your back." Seriously, it was a kind gesture and I appreciated receiving it. I plan to wear the shirt while I am at GenCon.

During the tournament, everyone was very cordial. There were no serious disagreements or arguments that sometimes have a way of coming through when people don't know each other, and deciding who to give the "Owensboro Regional Sportsmanship Award" to was a difficult decision. Several were very deserving, but I finally selected Corey Jarboe, who went 3-2 and finished the tournament in 8th place. Corey was 3-0 at the start of round 4 and I know personally how frustrating it can be to go from winning to losing in the later rounds. Yet he was very polite and congratulated his opponents who beat him. Congratulations to him for a hard fought day of gaming and for his sportsmanlike conduct throughout the entire event.

Congratulations also to Aaron "LoboStele" Brueckman, who finished 5-0 and earned a badge to GenCon and event entry into the U.S. Championship being held there.

Congratulations also to Daniel Stephens for a second place finish - good enough to earn him a factory set of IE - and special thanks to Shawn Sparks for providing that "surprise prize."

Finally, but most of all, thanks to everyone who traveled to Owensboro, including those from Carbondale, IL, Dayton, OH, Cincinatti, OH, and Atlanta, GA. All of you who made the trip helped push our numbers to the top of the rank! We were very glad to host all of you from all these different venues and hope to do so again in the very near future! You guys rock!


Dennis Beard
Boris The Dwarf

An even more detailed report, showing each players match-ups, can be downloaded here.

I mentioned that Dennis sent me some pictures and here they are

Speaking on behalf of everyone of the Atlanta Star Wars Gamers crew that was able to attend I would like to thank Dennis and the folks at Coolector's Mall for putting on an outstanding event! We all had an absolute blast and we can't wait until next year! I would also like to congratulate Daniel, Greg, Owen and Graham for placing in the top 10 and I especially want to congratulate Aaron for taking first place! It was awesome being able to meet so many new folks and it was great to be able to put faces to those screen names.

- Chuck