Newseeker62 wins the ‘Bridge Clash 2’

After an intense 13-day competition, Newseeker62 was the latter who clinched the ultimate title of this second edition of Bridge Clash. Congratulations to him! 👏🏻🏆

In this article, discover the world of this champion through an exclusive interview! Then, relive this exceptional event filled with twists and epic battles for the 6.812 contestants. ⚔️

Summary :

• Newseeker62 answered our questions!
• Round 1
• Rounds 2 & 3
• Round 4
• Rounds 5 & 6
• Round of 32
• Quarter-Finals
• Milan Macura’s experience
• Semifinal
• Jérôme Rombaut’s impressions
• The final

Newseeker62 answered our questions!

Bridge Clash 2 has been a true arena of competition, highlighting the exceptional talents of its participants as Newseeker62 who was crowned the grand winner of this elimination tournament! He agreed to answer our questions. 😍

Newsseeker 62, retired, dedicated his career to teaching mathematics in Further Education and more latterly with the Open University. Aside from bridge my main interests are golf and horse-racing.

• What is your background with bridge?

I started playing bridge in the family circle about 60 years ago when I was 13. From there I progressed onto duplicate at school and then Southampton University. Thereafter I played in National knockout competitions and Congresses in England as well as representing Kent at County level. Throughout this time I played club bridge until when covid hit I started playing online.

• How did you come across Funbridge? Since when have you been a member?

I joined Funbridge in 2016 when a friend introduced me to another site and then I began exploring the world of online bridge.

• What do you particularly enjoy about Funbridge? What are your favorite game modes?

have enjoyed playing Series tournaments on Funbridge and the tournaments hosted by Pete Hollands and Milan Macura where the results are analysed on YouTube.

• Would you like to share a brief analysis of one of the hands from this tournament that you found particularly interesting?

The hands from both the semi-final and final tended to be rather flat with little scope for big swings. However this was not the case in the quarter final!The very last board could have swung the match. I was in 4S and Pocken123 in 6S. Trumps are solid and after drawing trumps and eliminating the red suits it all boils down to handling A865 opposite J97 in clubs with a trump still in both hands. We both decided to play a defender for honour doubleton. Luckily for me that didn’t work. However KQTx sat over A865, so had Pocken chosen to play for that I would not be the proud owner of an iPad!

Round 1: thunderous start

The first round was the scene of many twists and turns. Our Dutch ambassador, Tom Drijver, was unfortunately eliminated in the first round.

But he is not the only one to have lost in the first round. It is none other than the big winner of the first edition, Konstantin Mineev, who was also eliminated against Muminmamma with a score of 15 to 8, demonstrating that anything is possible in knockout tournaments.

Rounds 2 and 3: highs and lows

At the start of the weekend, two of our ambassadors, Dominique Fonteneau and Milan Macura, continue to shine on the pitch. You can follow part of the captivating journey of our Czech ambassador on his YouTube channel (Milan Macura), or watch part of his qualification for Round 4 below (Bridge Clash 2 – 3 round) with a victory against Maxime Benchet, 26 to 21.

Round 3 was a turning point, with three ambassadors unfortunately having to bow to their opponents. Nikolas Bausback, Luc Bellicaud (the youngest of the Funbridge ambassadors) and Vanessa Reess fought bravely, deserving a big well done.

The weekend was tough for two members of Team Funbridge, Margaux and Nicolai, who were also eliminated, leaving their teammate Léo Rombaut to continue the adventure alone.

Round 4: survivors and hopes

Although many ambassadors and Team Funbridge members have already left the arena, the Rombauts, Milan Macura and Dominique Fonteneau remain in the running. The one and last representative of the Funbridge Staff, Vincent Gallais, prepares to shine where others have failed… promising a thrilling sequel to this memorable Bridge Clash 2.

Stay tuned for future updates, as the Bridge Clash 2 still has many surprises and suspenseful moments in store. Live every moment of this epic competition with us!

Rounds 5 and 6: it’s getting interesting!

Rounds 5 and 6 of Bridge Clash 2 had their share of tense moments and surprising results.

We say goodbye to two familiar faces from Funbridge. Our “Professor” had to bow to the American player RookieDC with a score of 18-6, and Léo Rombaut, finalist of the first edition, left the competition with a score of 9-6 against the Greek player erped. Congratulations to them for their journey, marking the halfway point of this competition.

Jérôme Rombaut and Milan Macura also shone with several victories. Jérôme continues to demonstrate mastery, and Milan shares his journey in detail in videos available on his YouTube channel.

Round 5 – Video

Round 6 – Video

Finally, Vincent Gallais, representative of Staff Funbridge, valiantly continues his adventure in the tournament. Come back tomorrow to hear thoughts on this tournament, straight from our “innovative bridger”.

The competition continues, bringing its daily share of surprises and challenges! Stay tuned to be informed about the exciting progress of the Bridge Clash.

Round of 64: Who will beat Milan?

The round of 64 inaugurated a crucial phase of the Bridge Clash, tightening the noose around 64 players.

Aviram1, an active figure in the Funbridge community (find his articles published on the blog here), has distinguished himself with an impressive journey. However, he lost in a tense match against Polish player Mazurek with a close score of 12 to 16.

As for the Funbridge staff, Vincent Gallais demonstrated remarkable tenacity throughout the tournament. Unfortunately for him, he ran into player David Levy and suffered a close (but fair) defeat. His journey ends with a score of 5 to 7. No hard feelings Vincent and well done davidlevy!

Despite the disappointment, Vincent shares his impressions of this unique Bridge Clash experience:

“Although defeat is hard to accept, it was a real pleasure to participate in this second Bridge Clash! Beyond the competitive aspect, this game mode is by far the most human. My journey allowed me to meet and exchange with players from all over the world (6 different countries in 8 rounds) while confronting myself with equally varied game systems.” Vincent also highlights the pleasure of analyzing the confrontations and the stress of knowing that the results are scrutinized by everyone.

One of the two remaining Funbridge ambassadors, Jérôme Rombaut, has also left the adventure. Congratulations for his exceptional journey. Stay tuned, as he will share his exclusive thoughts on the tournament soon.

As always, Milan Macura delights us with the detailed follow-up of his journey on video. Check out his latest video here Bridge Clash 2:

Round of 64 – Video

The round of 32 begins! Who will be the big winner among the 32 players still in the running? See you on Monday for the weekend update, which promises to be full of twists and emotions!

Round of 16 – Milan Macura continues his ascent

The round of 16 delivered its fair share of thrills, and our Czech ambassador, Milan Macura, remains in the competition, more motivated than ever. The match against Rosty_Geo was both stressful and exciting, as showcased in the captivating video available on Milan Macura’s YouTube channel: Bridge Clash 2 – round of 16

🚨Spoiler alert: Milan won his match against Rosty_Geo with a score of 19 to 9. Milan even confirmed that his opponent was a formidable competitor. This promises exciting moments ahead, especially for the quarter-finals!

Round of 16 – Video

Quarter-Finals – Highlights of this Round

The quarter-finals are here, highlighting the eight remaining Funbridge players. The matches were intense, featuring duels such as nohars against Le Requin, McCalf against bergas, Milan Macura against TomekT, and Newseekers62 against Pocken123. All are exceptional players gathered in the arena of Bridge Clash.

The burning question a few days ago was who would manage to beat Milan Macura… It turns out that Polish player TomekT achieved the feat of defeating Milan! Watch the video of this memorable match on Milan Macura’s YouTube channel: Bridge Clash 2 – quarterfinal

Quarter-Finals 6 – Video

A big thank you to Milan Macura for documenting his journey on Bridge Clash 2 in video format, sharing his valuable insights. Although his journey in this tournament is coming to an end, we hope to see him soon in other elimination tournaments.

Milan Macura’s experience

What’s the difference between Bridge Clash and BIC?

“I would say that Bridge Clash is more psychological and entertaining, while BIC can be very demanding in terms of endurance and concentration. In a Bridge Clash, I can study the opponent and compare it to my game. This gives me the opportunity to estimate what might happen at the other table and adjust the strategy. In a BIC, you compare yourself to many players, so you have to play mostly standard (if you’re better than the field) and know when to take the risk of playing against the field. I prefer to play solid bridge, so BIC may be better for me in the long run. However, I appreciate the format of Bridge Clash more because anything can happen, and outsiders can beat professionals.”

Semifinal: Who Are the Finalists?

Tension reached its peak during the semifinals, pitting Le Requin against McCalf on one side and TomekT against Newseeker62 on the other. We are now approaching the final climax!

A rare scenario unfolded with a perfect tie between Le Requin and McCalf. In Funbridge elimination tournaments, a rule that is sometimes overlooked is that, in the event of a tie, the player who finishes all their deals the fastest is declared the winner. Thus, Le Requin clinches the match by finishing before their opponent.

The head-to-head between TomekT and Newseeker62 was intense, everything was the same, same contract, same lead, and it all came down to the last two deals. ultimately resulting in a close victory of 5 to 3 in favor of Newseeker62.

We now know the names of our two finalists: Le Requin and Newseeker62. Congratulations to them ! 👏🏻

The ultimate showdown is approaching, promising thrilling moments in this fierce competition of Bridge Clash 2. Stay tuned to find out who will be crowned the champion! 👑

What are Jérôme Rombaut’s impressions?

While awaiting the final outcome, Jérôme Rombaut provides us with a written retrospective of his impressive journey. Ready to get inside the mind of a champion? We’re off! 👇🏻

The first 3 rounds were pretty fordable

“I start my first round against a Finn: criscros. To gauge my opponent’s level, I tend to look at their average performance level. He is ranked 12873rd out of 72140, which should give me some leeway as I am ranked 109th out of 72140. The result is clear-cut, 120/0; my opponent did not show up! Second round against a Swede: Jerzyho, ranked 5750th. Nothing special, the round goes well, and I easily win 24/0. Third round against a Spaniard: AA 2020, ranked 13159th, a crushing victory of 72/3, and I didn’t even have time to tremble.”

A complex fourth round…

“Fourth round against a Belgian, FranckVB (Van Breuseghem), ranked 1530th. This might be more challenging. The first decision to make is on the very first deal. I ow that 6NT is a good contract and that 7NT will be a contract at worst due to a squeeze. I take the risk of announcing 7NT after a long hesitation; the contract is not great, but I really have a chance to make it. I think the hardest part is done, and I play the rest fairly confidently. Yet, my opponent will take back 13 points on a deal where the Queen of Spades helps him in the 6 Hearts contract. Fortunately, this first deal had given me enough of a lead, and I come out with an 18-13 victory.“

Rounds 5 and 6 and the Round of 64

“Fifth round against an American, Airgamer, ranked 6033rd. I win 14/0, but the match was very close with 5 ties in 8 deals. Sixth round against a Swiss player, El Emperador (Regis Levy), ranked 670th. We both play the match instantly at 6 PM; I manage to take 4 IMPs on deal 1, then follow 5 ties. Still 4/0 with two deals to go. My opponent takes risks by opening 1NT with 13 beautiful points; he misses the 4/4 fit in hearts, and I gain another 9 points. I hurry to finish the last deal. I could double the opponents at 3NT, but I don’t take the risk and prefer to pass wisely; they make their contract, and I did the right thing. My late opponent doubles them, and I gain another 6 points. Final score 19/0 even though the match was very tense. For the Round of 64 I am against a French player, Rico39 (Eric Farge), ranked 12705th. A quite good draw at this stage, I win 47/0 without a problem with a very fair-play opponent.”

It’s getting tougher for Jérôme…

Round of 16 I am against an English player, Newseeker62 (Peter Law), ranked 79th. I play very quickly, which is not the case for my opponent who will wait until the next day at noon. The first deal worries me a lot, but the rest seems quite flat. I think I will lose by 6 points. In fact, not at all; the first deal will be a tie, and I will lose 21/1! A deal at the end when the score is 9/1 costs me 12 points, same sequence, and same lead; Argine has the choice between 3 squeezes to make his contract, and she chooses the one that works against me, not against my opponent. Why this difference? In fact, we play a different lead system, one in even/odd, the other in the 4th best. So, Argine makes different deductions, and as the lines of play are very close, she chooses two different lines. No luck on this one. Good luck to my opponent who, I see, has continued his fine run since he is already in the final.”

Jerome’s latest message about knockout tournaments

“8 rounds played, 8 different nationalities encountered, and one certainty, looking forward to participating in the next knockout tournament! Don’t be afraid, dive in too! 😉”

-Jérôme Rombaut

The long-awaited final!

The Bridge Clash 2 final pitted the French player, Le Requin, against his English opponent, Newseeker62. In the end, it was Newseeker62 who became the undisputed Bridge Clash 2 champion with a score of 7-0! 👑

🚨An important reminder: this exceptional player achieved the feat of eliminating our ambassador, Jérôme Rombaut, several rounds earlier, showcasing remarkable skill and determination.

Keep following our updates to stay informed about upcoming knockout tournaments you can participate in! 😘

What do you think of this article ? And the Bridge Clash 2 tournament?

Share your opinion with the community in the Comments section of this article.