The Guild Quill

The playoffs come to an end this weeked. No, not the NHL playoffs. The Canada Prize Tournament for Literary Excellence will be wrapping up in only a matter of days. It’s been a grueling battle for writers, judges, and even organizers in a 44 match gauntlet that began back on March 23 and has stretched its way across the last two months (much like those NHL games) into this first week of May.

What’s happened since that day in March? Plenty – plenty of surprising upsets (Banach and AV – gone!), plenty of sharp criticism (thank you judges!), and plenty, nay, mountains of great writing and even greater ideas. Name a couple? You bet – Zanalan’s jocks vs. geeks, The 10th’s military vignette, Dutchy’s rebel yell, and Clancy Forrest’s most sexy CP article ever. Still, there were so many more amazing articles that can’t be forgotten and we’ve gathered them all here:

Semi-Finals: http://ecanada.forumotion.com/off-topic-f4/canada-prize-semi-finals-hq-t1971.htm?highlight=canada+prize
Quarter Finals: http://ecanada.forumotion.com/master-archives-f34/canada-prize-quarter-finals-hq-t1800.htm
Round 3: http://ecanada.forumotion.com/master-archives-f34/canada-prize-round-3-hq-t1675.htm?highlight=canada+prize
Round 2: http://ecanada.forumotion.com/master-archives-f34/round-2-canada-prize-hq-t1607.htm?highlight=canada+prize
Round 1: http://ecanada.forumotion.com/master-archives-f34/canada-prize-hq-judging-schedule-article-links-t1525.htm?highlight=canada+prize

The latest semi-final had 3 of eCanada’s best squaring off…er, getting into a triangular scrum to see who would come out in 3rd place, an impressive accomplishment when you consider the amount of competition. Zanalan’s “Primer on Campaigning in eCanada” took a hard look at the misconceptions of a candidacy, scoring a solid 84%. Congratulations go out to Zanalan for battling this far to the top and putting out several great pieces along the way.

That now leaves us with two CP finalists, Dade “The Dude” Pendwyn and Vincent “Kid Chaos” Chaotic. One is a leading eCanada journalist, a winner of many Best Article Awards, and his very own “mini” Media Mogul title (SPAMM Tournament), the other is a sleeper hit and SCOTIA brainchild. Will this literary mogul be outdone by the bare-knuckle tactics of Vincent Chaotic, a virtual unknown in the eCanada media scene? How will the 30 article, 203 sub. heavyweight stack up against the 10 article, 36 sub. welterweight? Whatever the wordscrim brings, you’re guaranteed a good read and a chance to see the conclusion to eCanada’s biggest community event. Keep your eyes on the ‘Lastest Articles’ listing this coming Sunday to witness the grand finale.

Until that time, let’s take a look how each writer moved up the ranks of the CP tournament. We’ve prepared a round by round summary of each contender’s match entry.

Round 1:
Vincent Chaotic: Media - The Heart and Soul of eRepublik

Vincent’s first article was fairly run of the mill - the subject matter was slightly constrictive for somebody who was just writing his third article of his career. However, it was enough to score him a 41/50 and get him past pifreak and into the second round.

Round 2:
Vincent Chaotic: Guns vs. Butter: The eRepublik Simulation

This article shows VC coming into his own as a writer, though he still hasn’t found his niche. His article examined the real-life characteristics of eRepublik in a well written context, and it sent him to the third round with a score of 40/50.

Round 3:
Vincent Chaotic: Choosing Your Political Family - Parties in eRepublik

Though Vincent has yet to break into the epic-style articles that would cement him as a top writer, he clearly dug deep for this one. Several allusions and subtle humour make it a good read. With a score of 78/100 he defeated Derek Harland to move on to the Quarters.

Dade Pendwyn: The Power of the Media

This article from Dade Pendwyn was fairly short, yet told a story larger than itself by explaining the nature of the media in eRepublik and giving examples. It was a fairly basic article, but was well put together and netted him a score of 91/100 to move to the Quarter Finals.

Quarter Finals:
Vincent Chaotic: The Evolution of the eCanadian Economy

Matched up against the indomitable Banach, this was the match that created Vincent Chaotic. He pulled out all the stops and published a monster of an essay on the history of the eCanadian economy. Comprehensive, yet riveting, it was able to net him his highest score yet, a 90/100, and send him past Banach and into the Semi-Finals.

Dade Pendwyn: The Poster

Dade Pendwyn ventured into new ground with this article, going with a pure fiction article. With dramatic and florid prose, he told the story of a recent eRepublik event in thespian detail. The judges rewarded him for his risky new style with a 92/100, to send him past WGC colleague Marcchelala into the Semi-Finals.

Semi Finals:
Vincent Chaotic: The Watchmen of eCanada

In the Semis Vincent showed he wasn’t a flash in the pan. This colourful illumination of many of Canada’s most vibrant personalities struck a chord with readers. With unique insight he drew comparisons to the popular graphic novel “The Watchmen”, and gave Canadians another piece of classic Canadian journalism. With it, he scored 88.25/100 and punched his tickets to the finals.

Dade Pendwyn: Canadian Industry - Where’s the Money?

With this article Dade Pendwyn showed he wasn’t scared of covering new ground late in the tournament. His first true foray into economics covered an aspect of the economy which is often illusive - the profitability of the different sectors. The use of graphs and intermittent analysis helped break the monotony of economics. The judges loved the groundbreaking approach, and a score of 90.5/100 sent him to the finals as the highest scoring Semi-Finalist.

Finals: Coming May 3rd

Before the Ding! Ding! rings in the start of the main event, The Guild Quill will bring an up close look at the finalists. Watch for the interview face-off between “The Dude” and “Kid Chaos” as they exchange a few choice words.