Mongolian Open 2015

Live broadcast log

• 19:37 Good evening, and welcome to the first of the Smoking Cat National Tour 2015 tournaments, the Mongolian Open 2015 international championship.
• 19:38 We bring you a live broadcast from the small SC arena at Follow the Cat. The Mongolian anthem has played and the players have been drawn to their tables, as you can see in the first round. The word in play is HALÍK.
• 19:40 At table 1 there are two Mongolians one after the other, behind them the Ghanaian captain, a Finn and a Qatari woman.
• 19:42 At table 2 two Americans, a Žižkov woman making her debut for KK Královské Vinohrady, a Mongolian and an Albanian.
• 19:43 The first letter goes onto the account of Gindraa from Black Dogs Ghana.
• 19:47 At the second table, the Mongolian Batbold is the first to pick up a letter—strong steel.
• 19:48 A letter is earned by Osvald, the player from Qatar.
• 19:49 Laughter and good spirits reign over both tables, the cat is getting going…19:49 Surely nobody wants to be a HALÍK.
• 19:52 The next H’s are Osvald, Auntie Catherine and Rikka Ruuk.
• 19:55 The 10 players of the Mongolian Open are competing for the travelling Mongolian tube and diplomas from the MMM.
• 19:57 Kocour is expected to defend last year’s title… many are betting on him to win a white plush teddy bear hugging a bottle of Russian champagne.
• 19:59 More letters have fallen—Osvald has a second letter and is now HA, and Petra has her first, so she is H.
• 20:03 The Finn Rikka Ruuk took a trick led by a Mongolian nine onto his ten of bells, on top of the Hejma and a red king (4). Then 3 small reds (1), and a second letter is credited to Finland.
• 20:04 The Mongolians at the first table are still holding clean, without a letter.
• 20:06 We probably won’t please the Albanian fans right now—captain Red Hill pulls the first letter onto the Albanian account.
• 20:06 His brotherly friend, the Mongolian captain Kocour, follows him.
• 20:09 The sitting-out Ruprecht holds an American council with Auntie… The game is truly quiet…
• 20:10 The only lady at the first table, the Qatari Osvald, has collected too many penalty points, so she is already HAL.
• 20:13 Petra credits herself a second letter at the second table.
• 20:15 A fourth letter has landed on Osvald! The gentlemen clearly aren’t sparing the bold card player from Qatar.
• 20:18 A third letter has landed on Petra and she is already HAL.
• 20:20 The next player with three letters is Rikka Ruuk.
• 20:23 At each table we can find a player with no letter received! At the first table that’s Oleandr, and at the second Ruprecht is still holding a clean slate.
• 20:25 The Ghanaian captain Gindraa took nineteen on the last trick, so it was clear. HA
• 20:26 The American Auntie has picked up a second letter and is shuffling the cards.
• 20:28 Both tables are quiet, every player is focused on the game.
• 20:30 A short while later another letter flies in for Gindraa, who is now on three letters, the same as Rikka Ruuk and Petra.
• 20:35 Ruprecht has picked up a first letter, so the only player with no letter received is Oleandr.
• 20:37 Gindraa and Osvald must be on guard, as they have only the last letter left!
• 20:41 Ruprecht is starting to lose form—a short while later he already has a second letter and is HA.
• 20:42 The next player with four letters is Rikka Ruuk!
• 20:44 After a tense finish Oleandr received his first letter, and there is no longer any player without a letter received.
• 20:47 At the first table three players are in danger at once: Gindraa, Rikka Ruuk and Osvald.
• 20:49 The first player with the full set of letters is the Finnish player Rikka Ruuk. Up north they probably don’t have much reason to celebrate.
• 20:52 The winner of last year’s edition of the Mongolian Open, Kocour, picks up a second letter and is HA!
• 20:55 One letter heads to America for the player Ruprecht. After a successful start to the tournament, Ruprecht ALREADY has a third letter and is HAL!
• 20:57 The home player Kocour has just received a third letter. HAL
• 20:59 Not a sound at the tables again. Nobody wants to be the next HALÍK.
• 21:00 At table one, Osvald is out! At the second table, Red Hill received his third letter.
• 21:03 At the second table still no HALÍK.
• 21:04 At the first table it’s only discussion now, waiting to see how things turn out at table number two.
• 21:05 The best-placed player at the second table so far is Batbold, who hasn’t picked up a letter for quite a while.
• 21:09 At the second table we have the first player in danger, and it’s Red Hill with four letters—HALÍ!
• 21:16 Red Hill at the second table is a HALÍK and will take last place at this year’s Mongolian Open.
• 21:19 Things still look good at the second table for Batbold, who so far has only one letter, and Auntie, who has two letters.
• 21:24 After a great start Ruprecht is already on four letters! And he’s the only one at table number two who is HALÍ!
• 21:30 The Mongolian player Batbold received a second letter (HA) and a very heated discussion immediately broke out in the Mongolian team.
• 21:32 The nerves at the second table are rising. None of the players wants another letter.
• 21:37 At table number two there are now two players with four letters. They are Ruprecht and Petra.
• 21:39 The Mongolian team now nervously watches their player’s moves in the game. Batbold has two letters so far and, together with Auntie, is the best off at the table.
• 21:47 The players are taking their seats at the final table and slowly getting ready for the final. The final word will again be HALÍK.
• 21:50 Three Mongolian players have made it to the final table (Batbold, Kocour, Oleandr)!
• 21:53 They are joined at the table by the United States players Ruprecht and Auntie. The final participant at the final table is Gindraa from Ghana.
• 21:55 The first letter of the final round heads to Ghana, to Gindraa.
• 21:59 At the final table the silence could be cut with a knife. Nobody makes a sound. Everyone is focused on the game and the tension is rising.
• 22:03 The game ended in a revoke by Ruprecht, who credits himself a first letter for discarding two cards at once. The rules are merciless.
• 22:06 The Hejma landed on Batbold with fifteen points…
• 22:07 And Batbold has received his first letter at the final table!
• 22:08 At this moment we have three players with one letter (Batbold, Ruprecht, Gindraa).
• 22:08 The Mongolian players Kocour and Oleandr are holding without a letter.
• 22:11 The players sitting out (Batbold and Oleandr) are having a good time.
• 22:12 Gindraa has received the second letter of the final round.
• 22:16 There are now only two players without a letter, Auntie and the defending champion Kocour.
• 22:18 The tension from the start of the final round is gone for now. The players are chatting together and having a good time.
• 22:22 Batbold on two letters—HA!
• 22:24 Nerves and tension can now be read on the players’ faces.
• 22:27 Auntie Catherine is H! The only player with a clean slate is Kocour.
• 22:35 Gindraa, Batbold and Oleandr each have two letters. Kocour is still without a letter!
• 22:38 In another hot deal the Hejma landed on a red with Auntie on a twenty-point trick. Auntie is HA.
• 22:43 Auntie received another letter. That’s two in a row and she is HAL.
• 22:49 After quite a while, a letter for Gindraa. He thus matches Auntie’s letter count. Both have three apiece and are HAL.
• 22:53 Batbold with a third letter. Kocour still nothing!
• 22:58 Watch out! Auntie Catherine has four letters and is HALÍ!
• 23:06 Two players are HALÍ! The Ghanaian player Gindraa, like Auntie, has four letters on his account, but he takes it with humour.
• 23:08 On some players a slight tiredness is already visible, but play goes on and the tension is rising among the spectators too.
• 23:12 The first HALÍK is here! It’s the only woman at the final table, the American Auntie Catherine.
• 23:12 On some players a slight tiredness is already visible, but play goes on and the tension is rising among the spectators too.
• 23:15 Ruprecht hasn’t received a letter for more than an hour. Kocour still without a letter!
• 23:16 Now two clean suits came through, first bells then acorns.
• 23:18 Another HALÍK! The most reds piled up with the player Gindraa, making him the second HALÍK at the final table after the American Auntie.
• 23:22 At the final table three Mongolians (Kocour, Batbold, Oleandr) and Ruprecht from America are fighting it out.
• 23:24 Ruprecht took seventeen points on the Hejma and, after a long time, has a second letter in the final round. Kocour still nothing.
• 23:26 Oleandr and Batbold have held the same letter count for a while. Oleandr stays on two letters and Batbold on three.
• 23:29 There is no longer any player at the final table without a letter received. Kocour has just received his first letter!
• 23:34 Things are getting a bit dramatic! Ruprecht and Kocour are on two letters!
• 23:38 Oleandr also has two letters, not having picked up a letter for quite a while. At the final table there are currently three players with two letters.
• 23:38 The Mongolians are rattled, Ruprecht bravely fends them off.
• 23:40 Kocour is lacking form in the final moments. In a fairly short time he has already received a third letter and, like Batbold, is HAL. But Batbold has been without a letter for quite a while!
• 23:44 Batbold is a HALÍK!
• 23:51 It’s over! Third place belongs to the Mongolian player Kocour, second place was claimed by Ruprecht of the American team, and first place belongs to the home Mongolian player Oleandr. The travelling trophy from the Mongolian Open thus stays at home in Mongolia!