Welcome, Sean "Wicked Fingers" Sears!

[Master Roshambollah]

A warm Bull Board welcome to the 2008 USARPS Champ, Sean "Wicked Fingers" Sears!

Wicked Fingers recently contacted me via Facebook, and expressed his interest in continuing to pursue his Professional RPS Career.  I immediately impressed upon him the importance of coming to Toronto to see the "rest of the Professional RPS World" firsthand.  

To the Board, I can certainly vouch for Mr Sears, as a gentleman (not some spambot) and a professional RPS player of the highest caliber.  As a player, he attained the highest level of success in his chosen sanctioning body, and his skills at "mind-numbing" are legendary. To those who are in doubt, you can check his credentials here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrdT5y12kA   This video alone should give the Board a ton of new material for discussion regarding Sears' approach to play, his meta-game strategy, and his choice of throws.

In short, Sears is the real deal, people.  Regardless of your feelings for the sanctioning body where he started his career, there can be little doubt as to his ability.  I, for one, welcome the chance to throw down against him in tournament play, Street RPS, or the Sunday Night Karaoke Challenge in Toronto.

Sean, you're coming on board at an odd time.  There's a server upgrade scheduled for later tonight.  These upgrades typically result in mass confusion, temporary hysteria, Mello Yello shortages, and rolling blackouts through much of Eastern Canadia.  At times, the Bull Board itself also goes offline, for a period ranging from several hours to several days.

Rest assured, however, you've found the longest extant RPS community on the Internet, as well as one that has made the perilous journey into real-life associations.  In a world where internet popularity is measured in months, there are many on the Bull Board who have been actively contributing for nearly a decade.  They are the individuals with whom I not only play RPS, but with whom I live, breathe, gamble, drink and (of course) sing karaoke.  Many of them are now my friends.  A few are my enemies.  And I am thankful for them all.

Just to give you a heads-up, here's a handy guide to the major personalities here on the Board:

Me, you already know.

custardchuk - the Greatest Australian player of all time.  A dangerous enemy, and a more than dangerous friend.  Approach him cautiously; but do approach.  His typical strategy is to outdrink the entire playing field on tournament weekend.  He usually comes close.

Jef Hallestone - Process Officer.  Responsible for the Great Mello Yello Disaster of 2004.  His incompetence is the closest thing we have to normalcy around here.

Martin Burley - A New Zealand player of some note.  He's your man for statistical abstracts. When it comes to occult knowledge, he is perhaps second only to myself.  Noted time traveler.

James Hagherty - Used to be the main tech guy around here.  Now no one knows what he does.  Shady alliances to the Steering Committee.  But heaps more approachable than Jef.

R Cohrs - Our man in Korea.  Made a huge impact during his one appearance in Toronto.  

Brad Fox - former Head Ref of the World RPS Society.  Current reports state that he has made a coup and now runs the whole show.

C. Urbanus - top 8 strategist in the world, leader of the Philadelphia RPS League (rpscityleague.com) and creator of the Urbanus Defense.  In Norway, he is known as "Der Legenden".  Star of the Rock Paper Scissors Documentary, which also features myself and a couple of Canadians.

Al Thorn - resident crackpot

Franklint - my former apprentice, and current journeyman.  Renowned pick-up artist.

Those are the main miscreants you're liable to run across.

As for the rest of the Board, strategic assessment of real RPS would be a welcome change from all the fake fantasy online RPS that dominates conversation these days.  What's your take on Sears' video?

[Brad Fox]

Welcome Sean - personally, I'm glad to see players of all backgrounds join us here.

My thoughts on the video were, typically, "Who is calling that match?" While I don't really have a problem with his technique, per se ("l'escrime"-style refereeing is, increasingly, the norm worldwide) the hybrid role as adjudicator and announcer was somewhat bizarre.

It also struck me that he could have really benefited from a new technique I've been experimenting with in smaller tournaments that allow the referee to act as a "scoreboard" so that spectators from quite a ways back can follow the score in WRPS-style tournament matches (best of 3 of 3) without a scoreboard (which there didn't appear to be either). I should get around to writing a post on that as it's quite handy (and also has the added benefit of allowing the referee to keep track of the score concretely without pen or paper).

I digress.

I actually must admit I hadn't watched any of the 2008 videos - although had watched a lot of the 2007 ones, so the stylistic changes were fascinating.

As to the match itself, I found it curious that although both players in the championship match were fast-primers (actually both players styles reminded me of "Supergirl" from the 2004 worlds... Rosh I'll need to lean on you for the competitor's name in question, was it Haley?) but neither ever tried to vary their priming speed to throw the other - even though at times both were facing decisive throws that would have changed the course of the match. Then again, I usually have the benefit of seeing "the field" prior to final matches, so such a play could also have been an old hat strategy by then (as opposed to THE "old-hat strategy"... which is entirely different).

I think the biggest compliment I can give Sean is that he clearly managed to keep cool throughout the match. I can't begin to count the number of times (and I've been in a unique position to see this firsthand) that in the big money matches players start letting the highs and lows of matches get to them - get off their game, and start "mixing it up on the fly". This match is a great example as Sean was both, at times, fully in control of the match and, at others, facing elimination - but varied his style and form minimally. It's interesting that this  is also a trait I've seen often in players who clearly relish developing a "heel" type relationship with the crowd.
Not always though, Lee Ramage is a pretty compelling exception.

As to actual throw strategy that's never really been my forte - so I'll leave to others.

[wicked fingers]

Thanks Rosh for the introduction to everyone as well as some background on some of the big names on the bullboard.  Thank you as well Brad for your comments on my play.  What I think that video failed to show was some of my other plays from the previous matches (Rosh can attest to some of these as well).

For starters, you may have noticed I was throwing lefty.  That actually started half way though the round of 16 match as a way to switch up my game.

I found letting my opponent control the throw speed played in my favor as it gave me an idea of how a player throws without them realizing it.

I actually had a much harder time keeping calm in the finals then it looked.  There were several times I felt my opponent (who was a great competitor by the way) slow-rolled her scissors.  Hence the breather before the final throw.

By the way Rosh...props to you for catching the mind-numbing.  I saw it from the 2007 championships and had no intentions of using the technique.  But on the last throw, I figured I'd try it and instead of just nodding as I did the entire tournament I slipped in the "Yes Sir" to induce a scissors.  This is why you are one of the masters catching that.

[Jef Hallestone]

Nice to have "Sticky Fingers" around (oops...that is my nick name after I having too many Mello Yello spills) . Perhaps he came here as USRPS has had to downsize itself in recent years from National tournaments to a smaller level College tour. Smart move on their part as they never really learned how to run a proper National calibre event (always too focused on making crap TV programming as opposed to competitor/spectator focused event).

You have come to the right place since here is certainly testament to the fact that once you get RPS in your veins, it is hard to stop playing.

[Franklint]

WELCOME, SEEKER...

It's nice to have you on board, Wicked Fingers. I have watched your grand final match countless times, as the USARPS games make for great televised action. You have sound strategy, and I am sure that your championship win is bringing you ever closer to Mastery.

As well as being a huge hit with the ladies, I am the self-imposed cynic of the Bullboard. I strive to preserve what shreds of elitism are left in the sport. As gatekeeper, I present newcomers with a very steep learning curve to fit in here. Learn to walk the walk, talk the talk and find your own special niche in the community, or hit the road.

It's a tough world out there.

Cheers,
Franklint

[custardchuk]

Also. a belated welcome from me.
Rosh speaks highly of you.
So I put a team on you and it appears you are legit.

Don't worry too much about franklint. He paid us a lot of money to learn how to play and we sold him confidence, at least. (Sometimes i think we should have charged him more and given him less for his own good).

Welcome to the other side of RPS.

i look forward to meeting you personally one day and liberating some of those ill gotten dollars of yours over a best of ten for our greater good.

regards
custardchuk