Aaron's Streak Ends at Eleven, But We Finished Before Ten

1st Charles Reinke compiled a perfect 5-0 +587 record to secure undisputed first-place honors. To start things off, he played a two-on-one against Dave Gilligan and the late-arriving Dennis Lloyd (maybe if we shame him enough it will miraculously ease rush-hour traffic!); this opening venture was very successful for Charles, as he won both games: 501-320 against Dave (playing SERIOUS, LEISTERS, and ABUTTED) and 429-360 against Dennis (playing SNAPWEED). Charles then faced off against win-streak-possessor Aaron Bader in a tense battle; the game was symbolically played at one of the more highly-elevated tables in the space to represent how momentous the occasion was. However, the symbolism was wasted as Charles ran away with the win, 502-374. Aaron played DOILIES; Charles had SOVRANS and RECOILED. As a reward for his strong start, he encountered Lynda Finn in the third round and cooled off his scoring a little bit, winning a defensive match 373-331. Both players were held to a lower-than-usual amount of bingos; Lynda had LORINERS to Charles' UNROBES. Understandably annoyed by this perceived lack of bingos, Charles went on to play four of them (RETINOLS, FORCEDLY, SONATINE, EMBROWN) in a 504-337 win over Thomas Reinke that cemented his undefeated night of tile-slinging.

2nd Lynda Finn replicated her 4-1 finish of a few weeks ago with a 4-1 +242 record. She finished second in the standings, but tied for first in number of bingos, playing eleven of them through her five games. Her first game was a high-flying match against Bryan Benwitz which ended with a heady 517-425 result. Bryan got down ENAMORED and SKIPPED, but Lynda Finn had four bingos of her own, one of them being a money-earning triple-triple: REFIGURE, TENDRILS, ENROOTS, and 3x3 LUSTIEST. She then, due to our odd nature, took part in a two-on-one against Helen Flores and Mary Becker; she won both of them, spookily with the same winning score (423-355 against Mary; 423-347 against Helen) and played five total bingos: ISOLATE, PETERING, ERASABLE, STAMPED, and NEARING. A loss to Charles Reinke dashed her hopes of an undefeated record, but, free from the pressure of aiming for a perfect night, she took down Aaron Bader in the final game, 420-373. Aaron out-bingoed her (his TOKENING and PRESTER vs her STOOLIES) but failed to benefit from the imagined rule that says that the player who bingoes more is awarded the win.

3rd Helen Flores boldly entered the triumvirate of place-winners with her 3-1 +179 record. She averaged an astounding 428 per game, nearly 70 points above her average score for the year. Her first game, against Gail Salm, was a comfortable 408-338 win, due in part to a 70-point DIGESTED (Gail played LANKIER to even up the bingo tally). A loss to Lynda Finn followed, but Helen transformed the agony of that defeat into all-out rage against her next opponent, Mary Becker, and the result of that rage was a decisive 509-354 win for Helen. Mary played STASHED, but Helen's OUTLIES and VITAMIN (the latter for 92 points), plus a bevy of other high-scoring plays, resulted in an easy win for her. The high-scoring trend continued for her going into the final game as she notched a rare win against expert Bryan Benwitz, her first against that particular opponent in over a year. The final score was 451-417, and Helen flexed her newfound clout with three bingos (LAUWINE, RELAXED, and SLICERS) against Bryan's sole ORCEINS. Rumors circulating in Scrabble circles indicate that the scoresheet of this game may be affixed via magnet to Helen's fridge.

Bryan's VELVETY was chosen as word of the week.