Xenograg Semifinals: Jeff Oakenshield vs. Avery Shiv Blade

[Cassius Gaius Maximius]

Both duelists had very similar first rounds: Oakenshield crushed Sascha Sau Bau in a voting shutout, 13 votes to none...honestly, the abbreviated voting period is probably the sole reason that that the "half dwarf" didn't garner even more votes. Ian MacKenzie fared better against Avery Shiv Blade than Sascha Sau Bau did against Jeff, garnering about three or four votes...bu in the end, he was still decisively defeated. However, while Jeff and Avery had similar first rounds, they did not have similar second rounds. Jeff defeated Unagi Miyamoto in a matchup that was more interesting than the final tally indicates: Unagi started with a heavy lead, which at the time got me thinking about Jeff's legacy in the Arena and how it may not have aged as well as that of some other legends. However, I "ate my thoughts", so to speak, as Jeff tied the score. After a period of playing leapfrog, Jeff pulled away. On the other hand, there was no suspense in Avery Shiv Blade vs. Jaycynda Ashleana; it was the most lopsided duel of the second round.

Jeff and Avery would be very, very familiar with one another. Jeff was one of the first major duelists to realize just how special Avery was, and took him under his wing early on. Avery was a member of the TDL team House Oakenshield, and when Jeff won the 6th Ring in the Summer 2000 Warlord's Tournament, he made it a point to align Loyal to Avery, pointing out that while the Baronial Council was in the midst of stripping Shiv Blade of the Overlordship for not being able to duel a challenge issued by Drey Starke, he was technically still Overlord. However, in terms of competitive familiarity on a major level, there is none. Honestly, I'll be flipping a coin for this one.