User blog:TheWickedWizardOfOz/5th Place Match (Vanguards)

Aite, so the vanguard match just finished in the match for 5th, and until chapter 165, I wasn't too off in my prediction.

Senriyama 120,800

Shindouji 100,800

Himematsu 94,600

Uzusan 83,800

I am pleasantly surprised to announce that Hanada ended positive; I thought she might end negative as she was the butt-monkey (in terms of points) in the side-A semifinals. She had a really good showing here. I think she really proved to her peers, but more importantly to herself, that she deserves her spot as Shindouji's vanguard. Yes, her ability is not flashy, but her skill in collaborating with other players and accommodating opponents' powers is really where she shines, and the Vanguard match, perhaps barring the Captain match, is the most concentrated place of players with abilities.

The largest surprise to me was actually that Toki didn't do much past her initial dealer turn; after her winning streak in the beginning, she only won once more (a cheap hand to end the match). Sure, you could say she was supporting Hanada in the South round, but I just think it's weird that Toki only accumulated 20,000 points in a match where she won two haneman. ((Not that that's a good indicator, Naruka won a baiman and ended up with the least amount of points. Suzu won at least two haneman and also ended negative.) But, I feel like in the effort to uplift Hanada, Toki sorta got left behind.

My big gripe with that small of a point difference is that Senriyama is supposed to be second in the country, and their largest competition in the 5th place match is Himematsu, who is 5th in the country, and with the advent of Toki's new abilities and better endurance. I definitely believe she could've fit in at least another mangan. And sure, THERE'S TENSION NOW BECAUSE THE POINT DIFFERENCE IS SMALL. But there's going to be tension ''anyways. ''It's a high pressure situation for all of the schools, it's not the finals, but it's still important to each of them to prove that they can still win.

In any case, Senriyama, Shindouji and Uzusan are at least off to a better start than they were in the semifinals. But hey, for once Suzu kept within 30,000 points of the lead.