Windy City Weasels

The 2011 Weasel Royale club championship game will be played November 12 at Dan Burgess' home in Downers Grove. This year's Royale features four new faces in John Gramila, Peter Lokken, Christopher M. Davis and Tony Prokes. They join Weasel of the Year Peter Yeargin, reigning Bull Weasel (Royale champion) Jim O'Kelley, and Nate Cockerill, all of whom competed in last year's Royale. The first and second alternates are Mark Weiskircher and Mike Morrison, respectively.The first is our Rookie of the Year; the second, a veteran of the second Royale.

The seeds for the 2011 Weasel Royale are as follows:

1. Peter Yeargin
2. Nate Cockerill
3. John Gramila
4. Peter Lokken
5. Jim O'Kelley
6. Christopher M. Davis
7. Tony Prokes

Per our Royale custom, the players will first establish a selection order and then select countries. We've typically seen some selection-order jockeying among the top few spots. The bottom spots typically hold serve.

The process will start with Prokes placing a card bearing his name on the table. Davis will then decide whether he wants to choose before or after Prokes. O'Kelley will then place his card relative to the other two, and so on, until all seven cards are on the table in a selection order. The players will then choose countries in that order. Another wrinkle to this method is that ties are broken in reverse selection order.

What's more important, the country you play or the players you border? And will you need that tie-breaker.

The selection ceremony is usually pretty interesting and in prior years has set the tone for an exciting game. If you'd like to watch it, consider signing up for the Undercard game, which counts as a regular league game. The Royale once again will feature an Undercard, so watch for an announcement about that.