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DECIPHER.com > DecipherCon
2003 > The Daily News
DecipherCon Day Four: The Awards
 After
a very late night for anyone involved in the Lord of the Rings TCG finals
(which lasted until around 2 AM), players and Decipher staff gathered at
10 AM today in the tournament hall to recognize our world-class players,
Product Champion of the Year, and new Hall of Famers. Master of Ceremonies
Mark Tuttle (well-known to LOTR players as the erstwhile "Elrond"
rules guru) introduced special guests Brad Dourif ("Grima Wormtongue)
and Daniel Falconer (Weta Workshop designer) before turning over the podium
to Decipher's Vice president of marketing and Sales, Monica Jones, standing
in for CEO Warren Holland who was unable to attend. Monica thanked everyone
for participating and called for recognition of the many hard-working Decipher
staffers without whom DecipherCon would never have happened (many of whom
headed to Gen Con straight from San Diego Comic-Con without a break). She
then gave a quick run-down of what the next few months have in store for
Decipher: Star Trek CCG Call to Arms in September; the brand-new
.hack//ENEMY: Contagion in October; The Lord of the Rings TCG The
Return of the King in November; and finally, another new TCG product
based on the Beyblade property in December!
 
MC Mark Tuttle (left) and DGMA director Dan Bojanowski.
 Then
it was on to the awards, beginning with an array of stunning "glass"
trophies for the top eight contenders from each World Championship, announced
by DGMA director Dan Bojanowski and presented by Brad Dourif. Star Trek
CCG's new World Champion, Matthew Frid, had to leave early and was unable
to attend the ceremony, but runner-up Hayes Hunter and others of the top
eight claimed their prizes to the cheers of the crowd. The entire top eight
contingent for Lord of the Rings TCG was on hand, including World
Champion Michael Dalton who beat runner-up Robert Schiermeyer in two out
of three matches last night/this morning for the title.
Michael Dalton accepts the title trophy from Brad Dourif.
Next up on the agenda was the award for Product Champion of the Year. Volunteer
coordinator Kyle Heuer first asked guest Daniel Falconer, Weta Workshop
designer of Treebeard and many other amazing pieces of the Lord of the
Rings movie trilogy, to explain a little about the prize: a beautifully
detailed full-scale replica of Gamling's Sword. Award recipient Kim Logie
was then called to the stage to receive her sword for her many contributions
to the Decipher community as Ambassador, Rider of Rohan, convention tournament
administraor and judge, and many other capacities. Kyle then jokingly pointed
out to Kim that a PC could win the award only once, so she could "slack
off now." But no one who knows the indefatigable Kim Logie has any
fear of that!
 
(L) Daniel Falconer shows off Gamling's Sword; Kim Logie
accepts the sword.
The final awards on the agenda were the second annual Decipher Hall of
Fame Awards. Established last year at DecipherCon 2002, where 21 players,
volunteers, and retailers were inducted, the Hall of Fame Awards recognize
outstanding commitment and support of the playing community. This year Sean
Smallman announced twelve new members (referred to as "Sean's Dirty
Dozen") whose names will be placed on the permanent plaque in Decipher's
headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia: Don Mappin, Don Weinstein, Doug Faust,
Jordi Fons, Mathieu Brochú, Norman Lao, Patrick Hines, Patrick Malboeuf,
Todd Soper, Tristan Marsman, and retailers Projekt Sieben (Nurnburg, Germany)
and T&T Toys (Duluth, GA).
With that, Mark Tuttle sent everyone off to enjoy the rest of this last
day at DecipherCon 2003 – last chance for demos, autographs, and one
last game of whatever. See you all next year!
Related link:
More photos from the Awards Ceremony
Kathy McCracken
Web Writer
July 27, 2003
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