Wenjie Zou

Yash Greene (12) and Edmund Wang (10) shake hands following their semifinal round, which Yash won. “I haven’t played in two months, so I didn’t expect to make it this far,” Yash said. “Going in, I was a little rusty. I think I had some lucky drafts, some unlucky opponents and just a little bit of overcommitting from them.

Eight quarterfinalists competed in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Harker Clash Royale Tournament in the Nichols auditorium on Monday.

The first quarterfinal pitted sophomore Edmund Wang, who used an iPhone simulator app on his laptop, against senior Alejandro Cheline. For the first two minutes of the match, the two fought to a stalemate, as Alejandro continuously used his barbarian barrel to counter Edmund’s Goblin Barrel, while Edmund responded to Alejandro’s Hog Rider with Minion Horde. After the double elixir period started, Edmund built a Minion Horde counter push by distracting Alejandro’s tower with Miner. Using his Freeze spell for the first time, Edmund brought Alejandro’s tower down to just 500 HP and soon secured his victory.

“On the iPhone, I misplace cards more often.” Edmund said.  “I’m dragging the cards from the bottom of the screen. But with the computer, all I have to do is click the hotkey and then click exactly where I want to place it. So I think it’s better for tense situations where I’m trying to get perfect placement.

Senior Aman Chandra withdrew from the second quarterfinal due to scheduling conflicts and selected senior Yash Green to step in and face frosh Viraaj Burli. On defense, Yash sacrificed a fraction of his tower’s health to build a push with Executioner and Elixir Golem. Viraaj mistakenly placed his Minions in the line of fire of Yash’s Executioner, which allowed Yash to take down his tower just a minute and twenty seconds into the game. Viraaj failed to mount a comeback, and Yash moved on to the semifinals.

“I felt honored to step in for Aman,” Yash said. “Aman’s a great player. I think we’re on the same level, and I respect the game he plays. But it’s still unfortunate that he couldn’t be there.”

Junior Pedro Castro III went up against frosh Andy He  in the third quarterfinal match. Pedro opened by splitting his four Royal Hogs to attack both lanes, which Andy successfully defended with a Bomb Tower. To counter Andy’s Dart Goblin and Bandit, Pedro used Electro Wizard, while Andy consistently defended with his Bomb Tower and Goblin Gang. By constantly creating pressure with his Dart Goblin, Andy jumped out to a 1000 HP lead, as Pedro couldn’t defend efficiently. After failed attacks, Pedro waited strategically to only deploy his Royal Hogs once Andy had already used his Bomb Tower to defend other troops. However, Pedro couldn’t inflict enough damage , and Andy sealed the match using his Magic Archer’s long ranged attacks.

In the last quarterfinal, sophomore Gary Xu faced junior William Jiang. William applied pressure early with Barbarians, and Gary retaliated with Poison and Musketeer. Gary then deployed his Goblin Demolisher twice, along with a Balloon, to take the lead at the one-minute mark. Reversing the momentum, William built a Witch and Bandit push, bringing Gary’s tower down to just 200 HP. With less than a minute left, Gary attempted to inflict damage with Balloon, but William’s combined P.E.K.K.A. and Poison spell allowed him to take down Gary’s tower.

The winners of the quarterfinals immediately advanced to the next round, so Edmund and Yash returned for the first semifinal. 

“I haven’t played in two months, so I didn’t expect to make it this far,” Yash said. “Going in, I was a little rusty. I think I had some lucky drafts, some unlucky opponents and just a little bit of overcommitting from them.

Edmund began with Princess and Baby Dragon, which Yash defended with Executioner and Goblin Giant. Yash built offensive attacks with his Cannon Cart and Mega Minion, which both connected with Edmund’s tower. Attempting a counterback, Edmund repeatedly sent his Battle Ram, but Yash fended off every one with Goblin Cage and Poison spells. In the final moments of the match, Edmund built a push with Battle Ram and Freeze that nearly broke through Yash’s defense, but a last-second Goblin Cage secured Yash’s win and advanced him to the final.

“I was so happy when I saw that Yash won both times,” Aman said. “I don’t know if I would have won those games. He drafted his cards correctly and used Executioner both times, which carried him to the win. He will hopefully win the tournament.” 

In the second semifinal between Andy and William, Andy started with Goblins and Cannon Cart, while William responded with Executioner and Night Witch to keep the match close. Both players continued trading attacks with small troops, but as the double elixir period started, Andy repeatedly deployed Poison spells that increased his lead. William briefly took the lead with Lightning, but Andy’s Goblin Giant successfully connected to regain control. As the timer counted down, William used his Golem for the first time and struck Andy’s tower. Combined with a Lightning strike that nullified Andy’s defense, William completed his comeback to advance to the finals.

Yash and William will play in the final round at school meeting on Feb. 26.