From the Mayfair Games Press Release:
On Friday, September 17, 2010 fifty two players from twenty eight countries gathered at Burg Wildenstein Castle in Leibertingen, Germany. Five of these representatives were there because they had won tournaments in North America. They were David Zevin (American, Gen Con Indy 2010 Winner), Chris Bradley (American, Origins Game Fair 2010 Winner), Adrian DeRoche (Canadian, Western Canada Champion 2010), Robin Baksh (Canadian, Eastern Canada Champion 2010) and Edgar Zurawell (Canadian, NACC 2009 Champion).
The first day of play was dedicated to the preliminary round. During this time, the field of 52 would be reduced to the top sixteen players. At the end of play, one of the North American players had made the cut; David Zevin was in 15th place and would move on to the semi-final round. Final standings at the end of the preliminary round were as follows for the five representatives from Canada and the United States: 15th) David Zevin, 23rd) Robin Baksh, 34th) Chris Bradley, 42nd) Edgar Zurawell, 47th) Adrian DeRoche.
Saturday was set aside to enjoy the castle and its environs. The festivities included a medieval banquet (in costume) and ball.
Additionally, Klaus Teuber participated in an exhibition game of Catan along with German Sports Star Stefan Kretzschmar and four invited Catan fans.
Sunday was back to business as the top sixteen players faced off over four boards. At the end of four games, American David Zevin was in eighth place. The top four players, Maris Logins, Erwin Pauelsen, Mauri Sahlberg and Peter Jahne moved on to the final round. In this final round, the game was hotly contested from the start. The “Largest Army” points were constantly in motion and trade embargos rose and fell. With two hidden Victory Point cards, Sahlberg came close to the win, but with a masterful play or a Road Building card, Pauelsen was able to steal the “Longest Road” card from Jahne and reach ten Victory Points. The final standings were: 1st) Erwin Pauelsen (Netherlands), 2nd) Maris Logins (Latvia), 3rd) Mauri Sahlberg (Finland), and 4th) Peter Jahne (Germany).
Mayfair Games offers its congratulations to Erwin Pauelsen, the other finalfour players, our five North American players, as well as the rest of the players, all champions of their various countries. We look forward to hosting the 2011 North American Catan Championships at Gen Con Indy 2011, and we look forward to the 2012 Worldwide Catan Championship.
