interplanetary knock-out

[For the months previous to September 2018, see the page for September 2016 - August 2018.  For a summary of the results of all the finals see Hall of Fame.]

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december 2019 - the 40th tournament

first round, 1-5 december 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  23      vs.     no.17 seed:  Pluto  18

no.9 seed:  The Moon  13      vs.      no.25 seed:  Ariel  10

no.5 seed:  Mercury  32      vs.      no.21 seed:  Planet X  13 

no.13 seed:  The Asteroid Progenitor Planet  16      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Umbriel  11 

no.3 seed:  Venus  24      vs.      no.19 seed:  Iapetus  11 

no.11 seed:  Neptune  18       vs      no.27 seed:  Europa  16

no.7 seed:  Vulcan  16      vs.     no.23 seed:  Ceres  10  

no.15 seed:  Ganymede  20       vs.     no.31 seed:  Styx  5

no.2 seed:  Saturn  31      vs.      no.18 seed:  The Reefs of Space  17

no.10 seed:  Earth  22       vs       no.26 seed:  Leda  6

no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  17      vs.      no.22 seed:   Callisto  15

no.14 seed:  The Sun  18       vs.     no.30 seed:  Pallas  5 

no. 4 seed:  Mars  20     vs.      no.20 seed:  Comets  16

no.12 seed:  Pellucidar  13      vs.     no.28 seed:  Titan  15

no.8 seed:  Uranus  14      vs.     no.24 seed:  Triton  18

no.16 seed:  Amalthea  15       vs.     no.32 seed:  Io  12

second round, 6-10 december 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  16      vs.     no.9 seed:  The Moon  11     

no.5 seed:  Mercury  10      vs.      no.13 seed:  The Asteroid Progenitor Planet  7     

no.3 seed:  Venus  12      vs.      no.11 seed:  Neptune  8      

no.7 seed:  Vulcan  7      vs.     no.15 seed:  Ganymede  9      

no.2 seed:  Saturn  17      vs.      no.10 seed:  Earth  9      

no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  13      vs.      no.14 seed:  The Sun  5      

no. 4 seed:  Mars  8     vs.      no.28 seed:  Titan  5

no.24 seed:  Triton  3       vs.      no.16 seed:  Amalthea  7      

quarter-finals, 11-15 december 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter      vs.    no.5 seed:  Mercury       

no.3 seed:  Venus       vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede        

no.2 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.6 seed:  The Asteroids       

no. 4 seed:  Mars       vs.      no.16 seed:  Amalthea        

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  5    Mercury  1
Venus  5    Ganymede  0
Saturn  4    The Asteroids  2
Mars  2    Amalthea  3              

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  9    Mercury  4
Venus  8    Ganymede  3
Saturn  5    The Asteroids  5
Mars  4    Amalthea  4             

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  14    Mercury  4
Venus  9    Ganymede  6
Saturn  10    The Asteroids  7
Mars  6    Amalthea  9             

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  21    Mercury  7
Venus  12    Ganymede  10
Saturn  13    The Asteroids  11
Mars  10    Amalthea  16

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, DECEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  26    vs.    no.5 seed:  Mercury  9     

no.3 seed:  Venus  17     vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede  11   

no.2 seed:  Saturn  17      vs.      no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  15  

no. 4 seed:  Mars  14     vs.      no.16 seed:  Amalthea  21  

semi-finals, 16-20 december 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter      vs.    no.3 seed:  Venus      

no.2 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.16 seed:  Amalthea   

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  4    Venus  5
Saturn  3    Amalthea  1           

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  6    Venus  7
Saturn  6    Amalthea  4          

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  7    Venus  9
Saturn  8    Amalthea  7          

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  9    Venus  11
Saturn  10    Amalthea  7

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, DECEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  13    vs.    no.3 seed:  Venus  11 

no.2 seed:  Saturn  12     vs.      no.16 seed:  Amalthea  11  

the final, 21-25 december 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter      vs.    no.2 seed:  Saturn      

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  3    Saturn  4          

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  5    Saturn  6         

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  5    Saturn  13         

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  9    Saturn  18

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, DECEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  11    vs.    no.2 seed:  Saturn  20    

So the winner of the 40th Interplanetary Knock-Out, December 2019, is

Saturn

An amazing Christmas for the Saturnians!  The crowd of Ringed Planet supporters in Ceres Stadium could scarcely believe that their world had won its third consecutive trophy, a feat equalled only by the Martians.  Moreover the three victories (two against Jupiter, one against Venus) have all been convincing wins, the scores showing considerable margins between the Ringers and their opponents.  And perhaps, in a larger sense, who knows, it is a sign that the Outer System has replaced the Inner as the main scene of the action...  at any rate, pundits and various wise-guys in bars across the System are voicing the thought in between gulps of Venusian seguir.

The cloud-captain of the Saturnian team swirls to the podium to take the trophy from Zendexor and wave it aloft... and the trophy-tally after 40 months of the competition now stands as follows:  11 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 5 each for Jupiter and Saturn, 4 for Mercury, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, and 1 for Vulcan.

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november 2019 - the 39th tournament

first round, 1-5 november 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  11      vs.     no.17 seed:  Uranus  15

no.9 seed:  Amalthea  8      vs.      no.25 seed:  Titania  1

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  14      vs.      no.21 seed:  Callisto   4

no.13 seed:  Neptune  8      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ariel  4 

no.3 seed:  Saturn  15      vs.      no.19 seed:  Planet X  10 

no.11 seed:  Ganymede  5       vs      no.27 seed:  Styx  2

no.7 seed:  The Moon  14      vs.     no.23 seed:  Io  1  

no.15 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  8       vs.     no.31 seed:  Ceres  5

no.2 seed:  Mars  15      vs.      no.18 seed:  Pluto  11

no.10 seed:  Earth  13       vs       no.26 seed:  Pallas  4

no.6 seed:  Vulcan  18      vs.      no.22 seed:   Triton  3

no.14 seed:  Iapetus  7       vs.     no.30 seed:  Leda  5 

no. 4 seed:  Venus  22     vs.      no.20 seed:  Comets  7

no.12 seed:  The Sun  10      vs.     no.28 seed:  Europa   5

no.8 seed:  Mercury  13      vs.     no.24 seed:  Titan  4

no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  10       vs.     no.32 seed:  Cerberus  1

second round, 6-10 november 2019:

no.17 seed:  Uranus  21    vs.      no.9 seed:  Amalthea  20     

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  31     vs.      no.13 seed:  Neptune  28     

no.3 seed:  Saturn  32      vs.      no.11 seed:  Ganymede  18      

no.7 seed:  The Moon  21      vs.      no.15 seed:  Asteroid  Progenitor Planet  18    

no.2 seed:  Mars  32      vs.      no.10 seed:  Earth  19      

no.6 seed:  Vulcan  20      vs.      no.14 seed:  Iapetus  16      

no. 4 seed:  Venus  32     vs.      no.12 seed:  The Sun  21     

no.8 seed:  Mercury  32      vs.     no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  17      

quater-finals, 11-15 november 2019:

no.17 seed:  Uranus      vs.      no.5 seed:  The Asteroids      

no.3 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.7 seed:  The Moon       

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.      no.6 seed:  Vulcan       

no. 4 seed:  Venus       vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury       

After the first day's play:

Uranus  6    The Asteroids  6
Saturn  3    The Moon  5
Mars  6    Vulcan  8
Venus  4    Mercury  7            

After the second day's play:

Uranus  6    The Asteroids  7
Saturn  9    The Moon  8
Mars  6    Vulcan  11
Venus  7    Mercury  9            

After the third day's play:

Uranus  8    The Asteroids  10
Saturn  13    The Moon  12
Mars  8    Vulcan  14
Venus  10    Mercury  10            

After the fourth day's play:

Uranus  11    The Asteroids  14
Saturn  20    The Moon  15
Mars  10    Vulcan  15
Venus  15    Mercury  13

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, NOVEMBER 2019

no.17 seed:  Uranus  15    vs.      no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  19    

no.3 seed:  Saturn  25      vs.      no.7 seed:  The Moon  17     

no.2 seed:  Mars  13     vs.      no.6 seed:  Vulcan  20  

no. 4 seed:  Venus  18     vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  14 

semi-finals, 16-20 november 2019:

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids       vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn       

no.6 seed:  Vulcan      vs.     no. 4 seed:  Venus      

After the first day's play:

The Asteroids  6    Saturn  7
Vulcan  3    Venus  5              

After the second day's play:

The Asteroids  9    Saturn  13
Vulcan  7    Venus  10             

After the third day's play:

The Asteroids  13    Saturn  16
Vulcan  10    Venus  12             

After the fourth day's play:

The Asteroids  15    Saturn  18
Vulcan  11    Venus  14

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, NOVEMBER 2019

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  19     vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn  24  

no.6 seed:  Vulcan  14    vs.     no. 4 seed:  Venus  18    

the final, 21-25 november 2019; result out 26 nov:

no.3 seed:  Saturn       vs.        no. 4 seed:  Venus      

After the first day's play:
Saturn  2    Venus  1                     

After the second day's play:
Saturn  7    Venus  4                     

After the third day's play:
Saturn  13    Venus  10                     

After the fourth day's play:
Saturn  19    Venus  14

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, NOVEMBER 2019

no.3 seed:  Saturn  21     vs.        no. 4 seed:  Venus  15    

So the winner of the 39th Interplanetary Knock-Out, November 2019, is

Saturn

Stupendous churning of sentient Saturnian clouds in Ceres Stadium, overwhelming hapless the contingents of Venusian fans, who are accustomed enough to clouds but not to ones which frisk and frolic.  Finally one of the nebuloid entities condense into human shape in order to receive the trophy from Zendexor in the Archon's stand, and then wave it aloft to further gleeful squirmings.  In truth, the Ringed Planet crowd have much to celebrate - not only a fourth trophy win, but the second in a row, and the second convincing one in a row.  Their first two wins were narrow squeaks, but it will henceforth be remembered that in the October and November 2019 finals they polished off the Jovians and Venusians respectively by a decisive margin, thus vanquishing teams each of which had won more trophies than Saturn in the past.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  11 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 5 for Jupiter, 4 each for Mercury and Saturn, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, and 1 for Vulcan.

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october 2019 - the 38th tournament

first round, 1-5 october 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  27      vs.     no.17 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  9

no.9 seed:  Vulcan  24      vs.      no.25 seed:  Europa  6

no.5 seed:  The Moon  21      vs.      no.21 seed:  The Reefs of Space  7 

no.13 seed:  Pluto  10      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ceres  3 

no.3 seed:  Saturn  18      vs.      no.19 seed:  Neptune  11 

no.11 seed:  Amalthea   13       vs      no.27 seed:  Io  7

no.7 seed:  Earth  14      vs.     no.23 seed:  Titan  4  

no.15 seed:  Iapetus  9       vs.     no.31 seed:  Umbriel  3

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  21      vs.      no.18 seed:  Ganymede  11

no.10 seed:  Pellucidar  12       vs       no.26 seed:  Pallas  5

no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  15      vs.      no.22 seed:   Triton  8

no.14 seed:  The Sun  9       vs.     no.30 seed:  Oberon  4 

no. 4 seed:  Venus  21     vs.      no.20 seed:  Callisto  13

no.12 seed:  Planet X  9      vs.     no.28 seed:  Titania   8

no.8 seed:  Mercury  16      vs.     no.24 seed:  Comets  7

no.16 seed:  Uranus  9       vs.     no.32 seed:  Ariel  4

second round, 6-10 october 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  27      vs.     no.9 seed:  Vulcan  8     

no.5 seed:  The Moon  11      vs.      no.13 seed:  Pluto  6  

no.3 seed:  Saturn  12      vs.      no.11 seed:  Amalthea   11

no.7 seed:  Earth  9      vs.     no.15 seed:  Iapetus  13   

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  18      vs.      no.10 seed:  Pellucidar  4  

no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  15      vs.      no.14 seed:  The Sun  8    

no. 4 seed:  Venus  14     vs.      no.12 seed:  Planet X  6 

no.8 seed:  Mercury  11      vs.     no.16 seed:  Uranus  11      

There will have to be a replay of Mercury vs Uranus.

SECOND-ROUND REPLAY, 11 OCTOBER 2019:
no.8 seed:  Mercury  1      vs.     no.16 seed:  Uranus  1      

Wonderful.  Another replay therefore necessary.  Meanwhile:

quarter-finals, 11-15 october 2019; results out 16 oct:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.5 seed:  The Moon       

no.3 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.15 seed:  Iapetus    

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.      no.6 seed:  The Asteroids       

no. 4 seed:  Venus       vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  or  no.16 seed:  Uranus        

After the first day's play:

Mars  2    The Moon  2
Saturn  3    Iapetus  1
Jupiter  4    Asteroids  2
Venus  1    Mercury / Uranus  1                  

SECOND-ROUND RE-REPLAY, 12 OCTOBER 2019:
no.8 seed:  Mercury  3      vs.     no.16 seed:  Uranus  1

[Quarter-finals, continued:]

After the  second day's play:

Mars  2    The Moon  4
Saturn  7    Iapetus  3
Jupiter  9    Asteroids  3
Venus  2    Mercury 4                  

After the  third day's play:

Mars  6    The Moon  8
Saturn  9    Iapetus  6
Jupiter  12    Asteroids  8
Venus  8    Mercury 9                  

After the  fourth day's play:

Mars  9    The Moon  11
Saturn  12    Iapetus  7
Jupiter  13    Asteroids  12
Venus  14    Mercury 14

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, OCTOBER 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  12      vs.     no.5 seed:  The Moon  12     

no.3 seed:  Saturn  15      vs.      no.15 seed:  Iapetus  9  

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  16      vs.      no.6 seed:  The Asteroids  14  

no. 4 seed:  Venus  15     vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  16

QUARTER-FINAL REPLAY, 16 OCT 2019:
no.1 seed:  Mars  2      vs.     no.5 seed:  The Moon  3     

semi-finals, 16-20 october 2019:

no.5 seed:  The Moon        vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn       

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury 

After the first day's play:

The Moon  3    Saturn  2
Jupiter  6    Mercury  0                    

After the second day's play:

The Moon  5    Saturn  4
Jupiter  11    Mercury  2                    

After the third day's play:

The Moon  7    Saturn  5
Jupiter  13    Mercury  4                    

After the fourth day's play:

The Moon  9    Saturn  7
Jupiter  17    Mercury  4

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, OCTOBER 2019

no.5 seed:  The Moon  11      vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn  11     

no.2 seed:  Jupiter 22      vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  8

Replay needed.

SEMI-FINAL REPLAY, 21 OCTOBER 2019:

no.5 seed:  The Moon  0      vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn  5  

the final, 21-25 october 2019; result out 26 oct:

no.3 seed:  Saturn       vs.      no.2 seed:  Jupiter

After the first day's play:
Saturn  5    Jupiter  4

After the second day's play:
Saturn  8    Jupiter  9               

After the third day's play:
Saturn  13    Jupiter  9               

After the fourth day's play:
Saturn  19    Jupiter  9

After the fifth day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, OCTOBER 2019

no.3 seed:  Saturn  22       vs.      no.2 seed:  Jupiter  11

So the winner of the 38th Interplanetary Knock-Out, October 2019, is

Saturn

Since this is only the third trophy win by Saturn, and the first since March 2017, and the only one of the three which was convincingly rather than narrowly won, the Ringed Planet twinkles with festive lights and the expatriate Saturnians all over the System light their separate bonfires or the equivalent.  In Ceres Stadium meanwhile, Zendexor hands the trophy to a cloud-like being who solidifies a hand to curl fingers around the Golden Orrery and brandish it aloft, whereupon a variety of shapes jounce up and down in the stands, representing species deriving from all the various oxygen-pockets and ecosystems which splotch the Saturnian surface.

And now the trophy-tally now stands as follows:  11 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 5 for Jupiter, 4 for Mercury, 3 each for The Asteroids, Saturn and Titan, and 1 for Vulcan.

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september 2019 - the 37th tournament

first round, 1-5 september 2019; results out 6 sept:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.     no.17 seed:  Vulcan  9

no.9 seed:  Earth  12      vs.      no.25 seed:  Titan  7

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  18     vs.      no.21 seed:  Planet X  15 

no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  9      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ceres  5 

no.3 seed:  Saturn  20      vs.      no.19 seed:  Iapetus  10 

no.11 seed:  Pluto  6        vs      no.27 seed:  Umbriel   8

no.7 seed:  The Sun  9      vs.     no.23 seed:  Callisto  11  

no.15 seed:  Ganymede  9       vs.     no.31 seed:  Pallas  5

no.2 seed:  Mars  20       vs.      no.18 seed:  The Reefs of Space  11

no.10 seed:  Neptune  12       vs       no.26 seed:  Io  9

no.6 seed:  The Moon  19      vs.      no.22 seed:   Triton  10

no.14 seed:  Uranus  8       vs.     no.30 seed:  Ariel  5 

no. 4 seed:  Venus  17     vs.      no.20 seed:  Comets   9

no.12 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  10      vs.     no.28 seed:  Oberon  7

no.8 seed:  Mercury  14      vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  8

no.16 seed:  Amalthea  9       vs.     no.32 seed:  Styx  5

second round, 6-10 september 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  16      vs.     no.9 seed:  Earth  16     

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  10      vs.      no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  16  

no.3 seed:  Saturn  17      vs.      no.27 seed:  Umbriel   9

no.23 seed:  Callisto  10    vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede  10      

no.2 seed:  Mars  31       vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  9 

no.6 seed:  The Moon  17      vs.      no.14 seed:  Uranus  14    

no. 4 seed:  Venus  18     vs.      no.12 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  17 

no.8 seed:  Mercury  12      vs.     no.16 seed:  Amalthea  8 

SECOND-ROUND REPLAYS, 11TH SEPT:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  13      vs.     no.9 seed:  Earth  5     

no.23 seed:  Callisto  2    vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede  2

SECOND-ROUND REPLAY, 12TH SEPT:

no.23 seed:  Callisto  0    vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede  1

quarter-finals, 11-15 september 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.13 seed:  Pellucidar   

no.3 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede        

no.2 seed:  Mars         vs.      no.6 seed:  The Moon       

no. 4 seed:  Venus       vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury       

After the second day's play (with the replays over):

Jupiter  16    Pellucidar  5
Saturn  13    Ganymede  3
Mars  13    The Moon  7
Venus  6    Mercury  10            

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  22    Pellucidar  7
Saturn  19    Ganymede  11
Mars  21    The Moon  15
Venus  9    Mercury  13           

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  26    Pellucidar  9
Saturn  25    Ganymede  11
Mars  23    The Moon  18
Venus  11    Mercury  17

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, SEPTEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.     no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  9 

no.3 seed:  Saturn  30      vs.      no.15 seed:  Ganymede  12   

no.2 seed:  Mars  23       vs.      no.6 seed:  The Moon  20  

no. 4 seed:  Venus  13     vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  18 

SEMI-FINALS, 16-20 SEPTEMBER 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn       

no.2 seed:  Mars         vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury 

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  3    Saturn  6
Mars  1    Mercury  4                     

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  8    Saturn  11
Mars  9    Mercury  6                     

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  16    Saturn  14
Mars  16    Mercury  10                     

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  21    Saturn  16
Mars  24    Mercury  11

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, SEPTEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  22      vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn  18  

no.2 seed:  Mars  28       vs.      no.8 seed:  Mercury  13

the final, 21-25 september 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.2 seed:  Mars        

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  4    Mars  6                                 

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  9    Mars  15                                 

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  17    Mars  25

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  26    Mars  30

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, SEPTEMBER 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.     no.2 seed:  Mars  40  

So the winner of the 37th Interplanetary Knock-Out, September 2019, is

Mars

Well, there's no stopping the Martians when they're on one of their rolls.  Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, steps up to the podium to receive the trophy from Zendexor, while kaors resound from the crowd of Red Planet supporters. 

Vorion the Morgor, captain of the losing Jovian side, then steps up to receive the medal for runner-up, and - what's this - the Jeddak is taking the opportunity to whisper something in his ear.  The response is a shrug.  Lip-reading pundits are quick to interpret: what the Jeddak asked was, "Any news of my grandson-in-law?"

And now the trophy-tally now stands as follows:  11 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 5 for Jupiter, 4 for Mercury, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, 2 for Saturn and 1 for Vulcan.

---

august 2019 - the 36th tournament

first round, 1-5 august 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  18      vs.     no.17 seed:  Pluto  18

no.9 seed:  Amalthea  21      vs.      no.25 seed:  Ariel  8

no.5 seed:  The Sun  19     vs.      no.21 seed:  Comets  8 

no.13 seed:  Vulcan  12      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ceres  6 

no.3 seed:  Saturn  20      vs.      no.19 seed:  Uranus  11 

no.11 seed:  Ganymede  16        vs      no.27 seed:  Europa  5 

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  14      vs.     no.23 seed:  Callisto  11  

no.15 seed:  Iapetus  14       vs.     no.31 seed:  Oberon  3

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  25       vs.      no.18 seed:  Triton  13

no.10 seed:  Neptune  19       vs       no.26 seed:  Io  8

no.6 seed:  Mercury  14      vs.      no.22 seed:   Planet X  8

no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  12       vs.     no.30 seed:  Umbriel  4 

no. 4 seed:  Venus  22     vs.      no.20 seed:  The Reefs of Space  15

no.12 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  15      vs.     no.28 seed:  Pallas  7

no.8 seed:  The Moon  19      vs.     no.24 seed:  Titan  11

no.16 seed:  Earth  15       vs.     no.32 seed:  Cerberus  3

REPLAY OF DRAWN FIRST-ROUND MATCH:

no.1 seed:  Mars  7      vs.     no.17 seed:  Pluto  6

second round, 6-10 august 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  20      vs.     no.9 seed:  Amalthea  14     

no.5 seed:  The Sun  28     vs.      no.13 seed:  Vulcan  16  

no.3 seed:  Saturn  33      vs.      no.11 seed:  Ganymede  17 

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  31      vs.     no.15 seed:  Iapetus  16   

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  32       vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  19  

no.6 seed:  Mercury  18       vs.      no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  14    

no. 4 seed:  Venus  26     vs.      no.12 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  15 

no.8 seed:  The Moon  21      vs.     no.16 seed:  Earth  18 

quarter-finals, 11-15 august 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.5 seed:  The Sun      

no.3 seed:  Saturn        vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids       

no.2 seed:  Jupiter         vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury       

no. 4 seed:  Venus       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon       

After the first day's play:

Mars  4    The Sun  4
Saturn  8    The Asteroids  5
Jupiter  7    Mercury  5
Venus  7    The Moon  6            

After the second day's play:

Mars  10    The Sun  6
Saturn  13    The Asteroids  10
Jupiter  14    Mercury  9
Venus  11    The Moon  10                  

After the third day's play:

Mars  13    The Sun  11
Saturn  14    The Asteroids  13
Jupiter  17    Mercury  10
Venus  14    The Moon  17                  

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  18    The Sun  16
Saturn  16    The Asteroids  17
Jupiter  23    Mercury  13
Venus  18    The Moon  23

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, AUGUST 2019

no.1 seed:  Mars  21      vs.     no.5 seed:  The Sun  20    

no.3 seed:  Saturn  17      vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  19     

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  26       vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury  17   

no. 4 seed:  Venus  20     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon  25 

semi-finals, 16-20 august 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.7 seed:  The Asteroids       

no.2 seed:  Jupiter         vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon  

After the first day's play:

Mars  3    The Asteroids  1
Jupiter  5    The Moon  1           

After the second day's play:

Mars  8    The Asteroids  8
Jupiter  9    The Moon  3           

After the third day's play:

Mars  12    The Asteroids  12
Jupiter  18    The Moon  9           

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  14    The Asteroids  15
Jupiter  24    The Moon  10

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, AUGUST 2019

no.1 seed:  Mars  22      vs.     no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  24     

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  31       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon  18

the final, 21-25 august 2019; result out 26 aug:

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids        vs.        no.2 seed:  Jupiter 

After the first day's play:
The Asteroids  6    Jupiter  7        

After the second day's play:
The Asteroids  9    Jupiter  12       

After the third day's play:
The Asteroids  11    Jupiter  18       

After the fourth day's play:
The Asteroids  12    Jupiter  19  

After the fifth day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, AUGUST 2019

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  15      vs.        no.2 seed:  Jupiter  24

So the winner of the 36th Interplanetary Knock-Out, August 2019, is

Jupiter

The Jovians, who all this month have looked like winning, dominate Ceres Stadium with their triumphant presence.  The Skeleton Men and the psychotically violent Hexans exuberantly wallop each other as Zan Dar, the blue-skinned Savator, sidles delicately between them to reach the podium where Zendexor presents the trophy.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  10 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 5 for Jupiter, 4 for Mercury, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, 2 for Saturn and 1 for Vulcan.

After 3 years of the competition therefore exactly half the wins have been achieved by our neighbours Mars and Venus, and the other 18 from elsewhere in the System.  But that statistic conceals the current trend, which is noticeably in favour of the outer System: this year so far, Mars and Venus have had just one win each.

---

july 2019 - the 35th tournament

first round, 1-5 july 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  22      vs.     no.17 seed:  Vulcan  8

no.9 seed:  Uranus  9      vs.      no.25 seed:  Planet X  6

no.5 seed:  Venus  13     vs.      no.21 seed:  Titan  9

no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  11      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ceres  4

no.3 seed:  Mars  16      vs.      no.19 seed:  Pluto  9

no.11 seed:  Callisto  5        vs      no.27 seed:  Umbriel   3

no.7 seed:  Mercury  15      vs.     no.23 seed:  Europa  6 

no.15 seed:  Iapetus  9       vs.     no.31 seed:  Ariel  8

no.2 seed:  Saturn  16       vs.      no.18 seed:  Earth 9

no.10 seed:  Neptune  7       vs       no.26 seed:  Io  6

no.6 seed:  The Moon  12      vs.      no.22 seed:   Asteroid Progenitor Planet  8

no.14 seed:  Comets  7       vs.     no.30 seed:  Pallas  11

no. 4 seed:  The Asteroids  8     vs.      no.20 seed:  The Reefs of Space  6

no.12 seed:  Amalthea  14      vs.     no.28 seed:  Oberon  3

no.8 seed:  The Sun  13      vs.     no.24 seed:  Triton  9

no.16 seed:  Ganymede  14      vs.     no.32 seed:  Titania  5

second round, 6-10 july 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  25      vs.     no.9 seed:  Uranus  8     

no.5 seed:  Venus  17     vs.      no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  13     

no.3 seed:  Mars  20      vs.      no.11 seed:  Callisto  9       

no.7 seed:  Mercury  11      vs.     no.15 seed:  Iapetus  12      

no.2 seed:  Saturn  21       vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  13      

no.6 seed:  The Moon  11      vs.      no.30 seed:  Pallas  6

no. 4 seed:  The Asteroids  18     vs.      no.12 seed:  Amalthea  15     

no.8 seed:  The Sun  13      vs.     no.16 seed:  Ganymede  11     

quarter-finals, 11-15 july 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus      

no.3 seed:  Mars        vs.      no.15 seed:  Iapetus        

no.2 seed:  Saturn         vs.      no.6 seed:  The Moon       

no. 4 seed:  The Asteroids       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Sun       

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  5    Venus  2
Mars  1    Iapetus  5
Saturn  4    The Moon  1
The Asteroids  0    The Sun  1

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  5    Venus  4
Mars  7    Iapetus  5
Saturn  7    The Moon  5
The Asteroids  2    The Sun  4         

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  5    Venus  9
Mars  13    Iapetus  5
Saturn  10    The Moon  10
The Asteroids  6    The Sun  9         

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  7    Venus  11
Mars  15    Iapetus  7
Saturn  13    The Moon  11
The Asteroids  7    The Sun  12

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, JULY 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  10      vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  11    

no.3 seed:  Mars  18      vs.      no.15 seed:  Iapetus  8   

no.2 seed:  Saturn  15       vs.      no.6 seed:  The Moon  13  

no. 4 seed:  The Asteroids  8     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Sun  12 

semi-finals, 16-20 july 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus      vs.      no.3 seed:  Mars       

no.2 seed:  Saturn       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Sun  

After the first day's play:

Venus  3    Mars  5
Saturn  2    The Sun  6        

After the second day's play:

Venus  10    Mars  8
Saturn  6    The Sun  10        

After the third day's play:

Venus  15    Mars  18
Saturn  14    The Sun  16        

After the fourth day's play:

Venus  17    Mars  23
Saturn  21    The Sun  19

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, JULY 2019

no.5 seed:  Venus  19    vs.      no.3 seed:  Mars  25  

no.2 seed:  Saturn  25     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Sun  21

the final, 21-25 july 2019; result out 26 july:

no.3 seed:  Mars      vs.      no.2 seed:  Saturn      

After the first day's play:
Mars  4    Saturn  1            

After the second day's play:
Mars  6    Saturn  3              

After the third day's play:
Mars  8    Saturn  8              

After the fourth day's play:
Mars  16    Saturn  10

After the fifth day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, JULY 2019

no.3 seed:  Mars  18    vs.      no.2 seed:  Saturn  13 

So the winner of the 35th Interplanetary Knock-Out, July 2019, is

Mars

Tweel, the birdlike Martian captain, took the trophy from the Archon and made a dive with it to land on his beak, which was taken to be the equivalent of an acceptance speech.  The other Red Planet life-forms applauded in their various ways, even Kli Yang and Sug Farn momentarily abandoning their game of chess.

Commentators remarked on how long it has been since Mars last won the trophy - the previous occasion being December of 2018.  Not only that, but the last half of 2018 was dominated by Mars to an unprecedented degree, with 5 trophies in the 6 months, whereas the first 6 months of 2019 saw no Red Planet trophies at all.  Remarkable how variable are the breezes of success and failure.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  10 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, 2 for Saturn, and 1 for Vulcan.

---

June 2019 - the 34th tournament

first round, 1-5 june 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  22      vs.     no.17 seed:  Earth  10

no.9 seed:  The Sun  18      vs.      no.25 seed:  Planet X  10

no.5 seed:  Saturn  19     vs.     no.21 seed:  Iapetus  8

no.13 seed:  Uranus  16      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Leda  2

no.3 seed:  Venus  20      vs.     no.19 seed:  Callisto  9

no.11 seed:  Pluto  11        vs      no.27 seed:  Titania   5

no.7 seed:  Amalthea  13      vs.     no.23 seed:  Europa  10 

no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  13      vs.     no.31 seed:  Styx  2

no.2 seed:  Titan  9       vs.      no.18 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  12

no.10 seed:  The Moon  16       vs       no.26 seed:  Ariel  4

no.6 seed:  Mercury  10      vs.      no.22 seed:   Comets  15

no.14 seed:  Vulcan  15       vs.     no.30 seed:  Pallas  8

no. 4 seed:  Mars  20     vs.      no.20 seed:  Triton  7

no.12 seed:  Neptune  16      vs.     no.28 seed:  Ceres  5

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  21      vs.     no.24 seed:  Io  5

no.16 seed:  Ganymede  10      vs.     no.32 seed:  Umbriel  4

second round, 6-10 june 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.     no.9 seed:  The Sun  15     

no.5 seed:  Saturn  21     vs.     no.13 seed:  Uranus  12     

no.3 seed:  Venus  21      vs.     no.11 seed:  Pluto  8       

no.7 seed:  Amalthea  14      vs.     no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  13     

no.18 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  10     vs.     no.10 seed:  The Moon  21      

no.22 seed:    Comets  8     vs.     no.14 seed:  Vulcan  8      

no. 4 seed:  Mars  25     vs.      no.12 seed:  Neptune  11     

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  18      vs.     no.16 seed:  Ganymede  8     

Comets vs Vulcan will need a replay to settle the quarter-final line-up.

SECOND-ROUND REPLAY, 11 JUNE 2019:

no.22 seed:    Comets  6     vs.     no.14 seed:  Vulcan  2      

quarter-finals, 11-15 june 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.    no.5 seed:  Saturn      

no.3 seed:  Venus        vs.     no.7 seed:  Amalthea       

no.10 seed:  The Moon         vs.     no.22 seed:    Comets      

no. 4 seed:  Mars       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids       

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  2    Saturn  4
Venus  5    Amalthea  3
The Moon  2    Comets  6
Mars  3    The Asteroids  9      

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  7    Saturn  9
Venus  8    Amalthea  5
The Moon  6    Comets  10
Mars  6    The Asteroids  13      

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  11    Saturn  16
Venus  8    Amalthea  7
The Moon  8    Comets  11
Mars  7    The Asteroids  14      

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  13    Saturn  20
Venus  11    Amalthea  8
The Moon  10    Comets  13
Mars  10    The Asteroids  16      

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER FINAL RESULTS, JUNE 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  15      vs.    no.5 seed:  Saturn  22    

no.3 seed:  Venus  13      vs.     no.7 seed:  Amalthea  10     

no.10 seed:  The Moon  13       vs.     no.22 seed:   Comets  15

no. 4 seed:  Mars  11     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  18 

semi-finals, 16-20 june 2019:

no.5 seed:  Saturn       vs.     no.3 seed:  Venus           

no.22 seed:   Comets          vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  

After the first day's play:

Saturn  2    Venus  5
Comets  0    The Asteroids  4    

After the second day's play:

Saturn  6    Venus  8
Comets  1    The Asteroids  5    

After the third day's play:

Saturn  7    Venus  11
Comets  2    The Asteroids  8    

After the fourth day's play:

Saturn  9    Venus  11
Comets  2    The Asteroids  10

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, JUNE 2019

no.5 seed:  Saturn  9     vs.     no.3 seed:  Venus  12  

no.22 seed:   Comets   4       vs. no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  10

the final, 21-25 june 2019:

no.3 seed:  Venus       vs. no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  

After the first day's play:  
Venus  6    The Asteroids  5     

After the second day's play:  
Venus  11    The Asteroids  11     

After the third day's play:  
Venus  16    The Asteroids  16     

After the fourth day's play:  
Venus  16    The Asteroids  17

After the fifth and last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, JUNE 2019

no.3 seed:  Venus  18     vs. no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  21

So the winner of the 34th Interplanetary Knock-Out, June 2019, is

The Asteroids

Old Krah from Iskar strides to the podium to receive the trophy from Zendexor... and a variety of life-forms, from the phasmidae of Phocea to the winged men of Asperus, wave their appendages in triumphant enthusiasm.  This is the Belters' third trophy; the previous two were gained quite some while ago, in September and November 2017, against Saturn and Mars respectively.

The current achievement marks a most convincing come-back.  Any team who can beat both the Martians and the Venusians in one month is a force to be reckoned with.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  9 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 3 each for The Asteroids and Titan, 2 for Saturn, and 1 for Vulcan.

---

may 2019 - the 33rd tournament

first round, 1-5 may 2019:

no.1 seed:  Titan  26      vs.     no.17 seed:  Ganymede  17

no.9 seed:  Neptune  13      vs.      no.25 seed:  Callisto  5

no.5 seed:  Venus  21     vs.     no.21 seed:  The Reefs of Space  9

no.13 seed:  Uranus  9      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Leda  2

no.3 seed:  Mars  18      vs.     no.19 seed:  Vulcan  13

no.11 seed:  The Moon   21        vs      no.27 seed:  Oberon  2 

no.7 seed:  The Sun  16      vs.     no.23 seed:  Io  9 

no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  12      vs.     no.31 seed:  Pallas  4

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  31       vs.      no.18 seed:  Earth  14

no.10 seed:  Pluto  18       vs       no.26 seed:  Planet X  9

no.6 seed:  Mercury  21      vs.      no.22 seed:   Triton  6

no.14 seed:  Comets  12       vs.     no.30 seed:  Ceres  0

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  20     vs.      no.20 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  10

no.12 seed:  Amalthea  18      vs.     no.28 seed:  Ariel  2

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  15      vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  6

no.16 seed:  Iapetus  8      vs.     no.32 seed:  Styx  4

second round, 6-10 may 2019:

no.1 seed:  Titan  22      vs.     no.9 seed:  Neptune  12     

no.5 seed:  Venus  13     vs.     no.13 seed:  Uranus  9     

no.3 seed:  Mars  11      vs.     no.11 seed:  The Moon   10       

no.7 seed:  The Sun  13      vs.     no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  9     

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  19       vs.      no.10 seed:  Pluto  8      

no.6 seed:  Mercury  13      vs.      no.14 seed:  Comets  5      

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  12     vs.      no.12 seed:  Amalthea  9     

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  13      vs.     no.16 seed:  Iapetus  6     

quarter-finals, 11-15 may 2019:

no.1 seed:  Titan        vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus           

no.3 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.7 seed:  The Sun       

no.2 seed:  Jupiter         vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury       

no. 4 seed:  Saturn       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids       

After the first day's play:

Titan  7    Venus  6
Mars  2    The Sun  2
Jupiter  6    Mercury  3
Saturn  7    The Asteroids  4    

After the second day's play:

Titan  13    Venus  12
Mars  6    The Sun  4
Jupiter  12    Mercury  8
Saturn  8    The Asteroids  6    

After the third day's play:

Titan  18    Venus  16
Mars  10    The Sun  6
Jupiter  16    Mercury  10
Saturn  10    The Asteroids  12    

After the fourth day's play:

Titan  21    Venus  24
Mars  14    The Sun  9
Jupiter  20    Mercury  13
Saturn  16    The Asteroids  15

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, MAY 2019

no.1 seed:  Titan  25      vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  26     

no.3 seed:  Mars  17      vs.     no.7 seed:  The Sun  10     

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  27       vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury  18  

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  21     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  18 

semi-finals, 16-20 may 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus      vs.      no.3 seed:  Mars           

no.2 seed:  Jupiter       vs.      no. 4 seed:  Saturn      

After the first day's play:

Venus  3    Mars  2
Jupiter  3    Saturn  3     

After the second day's play:

Venus  6    Mars  4
Jupiter  6    Saturn  4     

After the third day's play:

Venus  10    Mars  10
Jupiter  8    Saturn  9     

After the fourth day's play:

Venus  15    Mars  12
Jupiter  9    Saturn  9

After the fifth day's play:

UTTERLY INDECISIVE SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, MAY 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus  16    vs.      no.3 seed:  Mars  16         

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  13     vs.      no. 4 seed:  Saturn  13    

Replays, 21 May 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus  5    vs.      no.3 seed:  Mars  4  

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  3     vs.      no. 4 seed:  Saturn  4    

the final, 21-25 may 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus      vs.      no. 4 seed:  Saturn      

After the first day's play:
Venus  5    Saturn  4    

After the second day's play:
Venus  7    Saturn  5

After the third day's play:  
Venus  9    Saturn  8   

After the fourth day's play:  
Venus  11    Saturn  11

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, MAY 2019

no.5 seed:  Venus  15    vs.      no. 4 seed:  Saturn  13     

So the winner of the 33rd Interplanetary Knock-Out, May 2019, is

Venus

In the crowd in Ceres Stadium applauding the result, the most frenziedly enthusiastic were, naturally, the Venusians, humanoids, shelks and plant-beings alike, jumping up and down in the stands.  However, even some of the other Inner Planet races were also relieved that the trophy has returned to the Inner Solar System.  Finally there's a respectful hush as Duare of Vepaja graciously accepts the Orrery from Archon Zendexor - followed by renewed cheers as she holds it aloft.

As for the Saturnians, who were neck and neck with their opponents at the start of the last day's play, they have to face the fact that this is the fifth occasion on which they are the beaten finalists.  They haven't won the trophy since March 2017.  Their first championship win, in October 2016, was against Venus, but their fist final-round defeat, in May 2017, was likewise against Venus.  And this present occasion means the opponents have met three times in the final, with the Venusians twice the winner. 

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  9 for Mars, 8 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 3 for Titan, 2 each for the Asteroids and Saturn, and 1 for Vulcan.

---

april 2019 - the 32nd tournament

first round, 1-5 april 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  28      vs.     no.17 seed:  Earth  15

no.9 seed:  Amalthea  12      vs.      no.25 seed:  Io  5

no.5 seed:  Venus  13     vs.     no.21 seed:  The Reefs of Space  5

no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  8      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Leda  5

no.3 seed:  Saturn  13      vs.     no.19 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  10

no.11 seed:  The Sun  13         vs      no.27 seed:  Ariel  8 

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  9      vs.     no.23 seed:  Vulcan  5 

no.15 seed:  Uranus  12      vs.     no.31 seed:  Ceres  4

no.2 seed:  Titan  31       vs.      no.18 seed:  Iapetus  7

no.10 seed:  Neptune  13       vs       no.26 seed:  Styx  3

no.6 seed:  Mercury  11      vs.      no.22 seed:   Callisto  9

no.14 seed:  Comets  8       vs.     no.30 seed:  Cerberus  2

no. 4 seed:  Mars  16     vs.      no.20 seed:  Triton  7

no.12 seed:  Ganymede  14      vs.     no.28 seed:  Pallas  5

no.8 seed:  Moon  18      vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  7

no.16 seed:  Pluto  11      vs.     no.32 seed:  Oberon  4

second round, 6-10 april 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  14      vs.     no.9 seed:  Amalthea  12     

no.5 seed:  Venus  8     vs.     no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  7     

no.3 seed:  Saturn  12      vs.     no.11 seed:  The Sun  8        

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  9      vs.     no.15 seed:  Uranus  9     

no.2 seed:  Titan  16       vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  7      

no.6 seed:  Mercury  11      vs.      no.14 seed:  Comets  10      

no. 4 seed:  Mars  11     vs.      no.12 seed:  Ganymede  9    

no.8 seed:  Moon  5      vs.     no.16 seed:  Pluto  8     

The Asteroids vs. Uranus will need a replay.

11TH APRIL 2019: REPLAY OF SECOND-ROUND MATCH:
no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  3      vs.     no.15 seed:  Uranus  2

quarter-finals, 11-15 april 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus      

no.3 seed:  Saturn        vs.     no.7 seed:  The Asteroids       

no.2 seed:  Titan         vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury      

no. 4 seed:  Mars       vs.      no.16 seed:  Pluto       

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  8    Venus  4
Saturn  4    The Asteroids  3
Titan  5    Mercury  4
Mars  3    Pluto  4    

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  9    Venus  7
Saturn  6    The Asteroids  9
Titan  11    Mercury  10
Mars  6    Pluto  7    

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  11    Venus  10
Saturn  7    The Asteroids  10
Titan  14    Mercury  12
Mars  9    Pluto  7    

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  13    Venus  12
Saturn  11    The Asteroids  12
Titan  18    Mercury  14
Mars  13    Pluto  10

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, APRIL 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  14       vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  13    

no.3 seed:  Saturn  13      vs.     no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  12     

no.2 seed:  Titan  20       vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury  16  

no. 4 seed:  Mars  18     vs.      no.16 seed:  Pluto  16 

semi-finals, 16-20 april 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter         vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn       

no.2 seed:  Titan         vs.      no. 4 seed:  Mars      

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  2    Saturn  4
Titan  7    Mars  1       

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  6    Saturn  6
Titan  12    Mars  2      

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  12    Saturn  6
Titan  19    Mars  6      

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  15    Saturn  10
Titan  25    Mars  12  

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, APRIL 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  20       vs.     no.3 seed:  Saturn  14  

no.2 seed:  Titan  29       vs.      no. 4 seed:  Mars  21    

the final, 21-25 april 2019; result out 26 april:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter         vs.     no.2 seed:  Titan        

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  3    Titan  4     

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  7    Titan  11      

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  11    Titan  16      

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  15    Titan  20

After the fifth day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, APRIL 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  17       vs.     no.2 seed:  Titan  24  

So the winner of the 32nd Interplanetary Knock-Out, April 2019, is

Titan

Same teams, same winner, same scores - what fantastic coincidence between the March and April championship results!

That apart, it was also quite unforeseen that Titan would achieve such supremacy lasting two whole months in the competition.  The Titanics not only won, they never looked like losing.  The furry ant-like captain, Dghhurr, can be forgiven a certain swagger as he/she/it strides to the podium to receive the trophy from Zendexor.

A strangely respectful silence and skeletal shoulder-shrugging pervades the Morgor ranks.  Some of the Jovians themselves seem content and fairly honoured to settle for second place two months in a row, it being no disgrace to lose to such a team in its period of triumph.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  9 for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 3 for Titan, 2 each for the Asteroids and Saturn, and 1 for Vulcan.

---

march 2019 - the 31st tournament

first round, 1-5 march 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.     no.17 seed:  Triton  13 

no.9 seed:  Amalthea  18      vs.      no.25 seed:  Callisto  12 

no.5 seed:  Saturn  24     vs.     no.21 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  6

no.13 seed:  Vulcan  5      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Titania  3

no.3 seed:  Venus  25      vs.     no.19 seed:  Uranus  7

no.11 seed:  Pluto  11         vs      no.27 seed:  Pallas  4  

no.7 seed:  The Moon  14      vs.     no.23 seed:  The Reefs of Space  8 

no.15 seed:  Ganymede  15      vs.     no.31 seed:  Cerberus  3

no.2 seed:  Titan  25      vs.      no.18 seed:  The Sun  9 

no.10 seed:  Pellucidar  14     vs       no.26 seed:  Ariel  1 

no.6 seed:  Mercury  16      vs.      no.22 seed:   Earth  12

no.14 seed:  The Asteroids  14       vs.     no.30 seed:  Leda  2

no. 4 seed:  Mars  21    vs.      no.20 seed:  Iapetus  9

no.12 seed:  Comets  9      vs.     no.28 seed:  Styx  6

no.8 seed:  Neptune  13     vs.     no.24 seed:  Io  8

no.16 seed:  Europa  8      vs.     no.32 seed:  Oberon  3

second round, 6-10 march 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  28      vs.     no.9 seed:  Amalthea  13

no.5 seed:  Saturn  16     vs.     no.13 seed:  Vulcan  9     

no.3 seed:  Venus  21      vs.     no.11 seed:  Pluto  10        

no.7 seed:  The Moon  15     vs.     no.15 seed:  Ganymede  12  

no.2 seed:  Titan  19      vs.      no.10 seed:  Pellucidar  11    

no.6 seed:  Mercury  21      vs.      no.14 seed:  The Asteroids  15      

no. 4 seed:  Mars  16    vs.      no.12 seed:  Comets  16     

no.8 seed:  Neptune  8     vs.     no.16 seed:  Europa  8     

REPLAY OF DRAWN SECOND-ROUND MATCHES, 12 MARCH 2019:

no. 4 seed:  Mars  5    vs.      no.12 seed:  Comets  2     

no.8 seed:  Neptune  4     vs.     no.16 seed:  Europa  2     

quarter-finals, 11-15 march 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.5 seed:  Saturn      

no.3 seed:  Venus        vs.     no.7 seed:  The Moon      

no.2 seed:  Titan        vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury       

no. 4 seed:  Mars      vs.      no.8 seed:  Neptune        

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  4    Saturn  7
Venus  5    The Moon  3
Titan  1    Mercury  1
Mars  5    Neptune  4       

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  10    Saturn  10
Venus  7    The Moon  7
Titan  4    Mercury  4
Mars  10    Neptune  6       

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  14    Saturn  14
Venus  9    The Moon  8
Titan  6    Mercury  8
Mars  12    Neptune  8       

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  16    Saturn  16
Venus  11    The Moon  9
Titan  12    Mercury  9
Mars  14    Neptune  8   

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, MARCH 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  23      vs.     no.5 seed:  Saturn  19    

no.3 seed:  Venus  12      vs.     no.7 seed:  The Moon  11    

no.2 seed:  Titan  19      vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury  11  

no. 4 seed:  Mars  15    vs.      no.8 seed:  Neptune  9

semi-finals, 16-20 march 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter      vs.     no.3 seed:  Venus       

no.2 seed:  Titan       vs.      no. 4 seed:  Mars     

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  7    Venus  2
Titan  4    Mars  2     

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  13    Venus  4
Titan  12    Mars  6    

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  16    Venus  9
Titan  22    Mars  12    

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  19    Venus  5
Titan  14    Mars  7

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, MARCH 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  24      vs.     no.3 seed:  Venus  12     

no.2 seed:  Titan  25     vs.      no. 4 seed:  Mars  16   

the final, 21-25 march 2019:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.2 seed:  Titan    

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  1    Titan  4        

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  3    Titan  9       

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  7    Titan  15       

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  11    Titan  18

After the fifth day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, MARCH 2019

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  17      vs.     no.2 seed:  Titan  24

So the winner of the 31st Interplanetary Knock-Out, March 2019, is

Titan

And so the number 2 seed prevailed over the number 1 and the previously perfect concordance of seeding and results wasn't kept up right to the end after all.

The Titanics naturally went as wild as their frosty natures allow, antennae quivering as the antlike body of their leader, Ghwuddp, stretched to receive the trophy from Zendexor at Ceres Stadium's focal stand.  Meanwhile their gloom-shrouded world lit up with festivities, the more so as this win was much more impressive than their last (the narrow 14-13 victory over The Sun in June 2018).  This time they got to the top by three successive convincing victories over the formidable opponents Mercury, Mars and Jupiter - the climax being sweet revenge for the Saturnian moon's defeat by the giant planet in the January final just two months ago.

Altogether it's a performance as masterly as any in the history of the championship.

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  9 for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 2 each for the Asteroids, Saturn and Titan, and 1 for Vulcan.

---

february 2019 - the 30th tournament

first round, 1-5 february 2019:

no.1 seed:  Titan  16      vs.     no.17 seed:  Ganymede  6

no.9 seed:  The Asteroids  6      vs.      no.25 seed:  Io  4

no.5 seed:  Venus  14     vs.     no.21 seed:  Callisto  5

no.13 seed:  The Moon  9      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ceres  3

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  24      vs.     no.19 seed:  Comets  9 

no.11 seed:  Amalthea  12       vs      no.27 seed:  Ariel  7 

no.7 seed:  The Sun  5     vs.     no.23 seed:  The Reefs of Space  6

no.15 seed:  Neptune  14      vs.     no.31 seed:  Cerberus  2 

no.2 seed:  Mars  12      vs.      no.18 seed:  Iapetus   7

no.10 seed:  Pluto  8      vs       no.26 seed:  Umbriel  3 

no.6 seed:  Uranus  2      vs.      no.22 seed:   Earth  3

no.14 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor  4       vs.     no.30 seed:  Oberon  3 

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  11     vs.      no.20 seed:  Triton  9

no.12 seed:  Vulcan  8      vs.     no.28 seed:  Styx  5

no.8 seed:  Mercury  6     vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  9

no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  11      vs.     no.32 seed:  Leda  3

second round, 6-10 february 2019:

no.1 seed:  Titan  5      vs.     no.9 seed:  The Asteroids  11     

no.5 seed:  Venus  9     vs.     no.13 seed:  The Moon  7     

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  17      vs.     no.11 seed:  Amalthea  8      

no.23 seed:  The Reefs of Space  8     vs.      no.15 seed:  Neptune  5    

no.2 seed:  Mars  14      vs.      no.10 seed:  Pluto  8      

no.22 seed:   Earth  8      vs.      no.14 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor  7       

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  10     vs.      no.12 seed:  Vulcan  9     

no.24 seed:  Europa  11      vs.      no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  9     

quarter-finals, 11-15 february 2019:

no.9 seed:  The Asteroids      vs.      no.5 seed:  Venus            

no.3 seed:  Jupiter        vs.    no.23 seed:  The Reefs of Space      

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.22 seed:   Earth       

no. 4 seed:  Saturn       vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa       

After the first day's play:

The Asteroids  3    Venus  6
Jupiter  6    The Reefs of Space  3
Mars  1    Earth  1
Saturn  4    Europa  0     

After the second day's play:

The Asteroids  3    Venus  8
Jupiter  9    The Reefs of Space  5
Mars  4    Earth  4
Saturn  9    Europa  1     

After the third day's play:

The Asteroids  6    Venus  11
Jupiter  15    The Reefs of Space  6
Mars  8    Earth  7
Saturn  12    Europa  2     

After the fourth day's play:

The Asteroids  10    Venus  18
Jupiter  18    The Reefs of Space  8
Mars  13    Earth  9
Saturn  13    Europa  4

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, FEBRUARY 2019

no.9 seed:  The Asteroids  11      vs.      no.5 seed:  Venus 19    

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  20      vs.    no.23 seed:  The Reefs of Space  9    

no.2 seed:  Mars  13      vs.     no.22 seed:   Earth  10    

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  16     vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  6     

semi-finals, 16-20 february 2019:

no.5 seed:  Venus      vs.       no.3 seed:  Jupiter        

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.       no. 4 seed:  Saturn      

After the first day's play:

Venus  2    Jupiter  2
Mars  2    Saturn  3      

After the second day's play:

Venus  4    Jupiter  7
Mars  6    Saturn  4      

After the third day's play:

Venus  6    Jupiter  11
Mars  7    Saturn  7      

After the fourth day's play:

Venus  8    Jupiter  15
Mars  12    Saturn  9

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, FEBRUARY 2019

no.5 seed:  Venus  10    vs.       no.3 seed:  Jupiter  17   

no.2 seed:  Mars  13      vs.       no. 4 seed:  Saturn  11    

the final, 21-25 february 2019:

no.3 seed:  Jupiter       vs.       no.2 seed:  Mars 

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  3    Mars  2              

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  4    Mars  6             

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  12    Mars  13             

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  18    Mars  15

After the fifth and last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, FEBRUARY 2019

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  23      vs.       no.2 seed:  Mars  15

So the winner of the 30th Interplanetary Knock-Out, February 2019, is

Jupiter

Theor the approximately-centauroid Jovian team captain - attired in flexible pressure-suit - prances to the podium and caressingly grasps the trophy as it's handed to him by Archon Zendexor, who murmurs words of congratulation. 

In truth, this is a wildly euphoric occasion for the Giant Planet, whose team has previously suffered three championship-final defeats at the hands of the Martians, a record unmitigated until now by a single victory.  Furthermore this month's final was a good exciting match, with two overtakings before the Jovians galloped decisively ahead in the last day's play.  (When the Martians overtook on Day 2 the pundits were quick to say, "Once again the Jovians have been jinxed by the Red Planet; it's going to be the same story..."  But the team committee took action the following morning, evidently making the right decision to replace Bandolian with Theor, who lacks the former's inhibiting inferiority complex with regard to "Garobus".)

The trophy-tally now stands as follows:  9 for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 each for Mercury and Jupiter, 2 each for the Asteroids and Saturn, and 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

---

january 2019 - the 29th tournament

first round, 1-5 january 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  11      vs.     no.17 seed:  Comets   8

no.9 seed:  The Sun  9      vs.      no.25 seed:  Io  5

no.5 seed:  Venus  7     vs.     no.21 seed:  Callisto  3

no.13 seed:  Amalthea  11      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Ariel  3

no.3 seed:  Titan  36      vs.     no.19 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  2 

no.11 seed:  Vulcan  9       vs      no.27 seed:  Titania  0

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  7     vs.     no.23 seed:  Triton  9 

no.15 seed:  Neptune  5      vs.     no.31 seed:  Umbriel  6  

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  10      vs.      no.18 seed:  Ganymede  8

no.10 seed:  Uranus  12      vs       no.26 seed:  Oberon  1 

no.6 seed:  Mercury  10      vs.      no.22 seed:   The Reefs of Space  4 

no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  3      vs.     no.30 seed:  Leda  1 

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  16      vs.      no.20 seed:  Iapetus  4 

no.12 seed:  Pluto  11      vs.     no.28 seed:  Styx  1

no.8 seed:  The Moon  4      vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  4

no.16 seed:  Earth  4      vs.     no.32 seed:  Ceres  2

Replay of The Moon vs Europa, 6 Jan 2019:

no.8 seed:  The Moon  8      vs.     no.24 seed:  Europa  5

second round, 6-10 january 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  25      vs.     no.9 seed:  The Sun  18     

no.5 seed:  Venus  19     vs.    no.13 seed:  Amalthea  11

no.3 seed:  Titan  25      vs.    no.11 seed:  Vulcan  13

no.23 seed:  Triton  9       vs.     no.31 seed:  Umbriel  4

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  14      vs.     no.10 seed:  Uranus  9

no.6 seed:  Mercury  15      vs.     no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  7   

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  11    vs.     no.12 seed:  Pluto  12 

no.8 seed:  The Moon  9      vs.    no.16 seed:  Earth  5

quarter-finals, 11-15 january 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus      

no.3 seed:  Titan        vs.    no.23 seed:  Triton 

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.6 seed:  Mercury 

no.12 seed:  Pluto       vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon 

After the first day's play:

Mars  4    Venus  5
Titan  2    Triton  1
Jupiter  6    Mercury  0
Pluto  2    The Moon  1   

After the second day's play:

Mars  9    Venus  8
Titan  8    Triton  2
Jupiter  10    Mercury  3
Pluto  5    The Moon  3   

After the third day's play:

Mars  13    Venus  14
Titan  11    Triton  2
Jupiter  13    Mercury  8
Pluto  9    The Moon  7   

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  15    Venus  17
Titan  15    Triton  5
Jupiter  21    Mercury  10
Pluto  12    The Moon  13   

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS 15 JAN 2019

no.1 seed:  Mars  20      vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  20    

no.3 seed:  Titan  21      vs.    no.23 seed:  Triton  9

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  25      vs.     no.6 seed:  Mercury  12

no.12 seed:  Pluto  15     vs.      no.8 seed:  The Moon   16

Mars vs Venus will have to go to extra time.
QUARTER-FINAL EXTRA TIME, 16 January 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars  6      vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  3    

semi-finals, 16-20 january 2019:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no.3 seed:  Titan 

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.8 seed:  The Moon   

After the first day's play:

Mars  6    Titan  4
Jupiter  5    The Moon  2

After the second day's play:

Mars  11    Titan  9
Jupiter  8    The Moon  6

After the third day's play:

Mars  14    Titan  15
Jupiter  13    The Moon  8


After the fourth day's play:

Mars  17    Titan  24
Jupiter  18    The Moon  10

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, JANUARY 2019

no.1 seed:  Mars  20      vs.     no.3 seed:  Titan  33

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  25      vs.     no.8 seed:  The Moon  12

the final, 21-25 january 2019:

no.3 seed:  Titan       vs.        no.2 seed:  Jupiter 

After the first day's play:
Titan  5    Jupiter  4      

After the second day's play:
Titan  7    Jupiter  10      

After the third day's play:
Titan  11    Jupiter  14      

After the fourth day's play:
Titan  18    Jupiter  25      

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, JANUARY 2019

no.3 seed:  Titan  21     vs.        no.2 seed:  Jupiter  27

So the winner of the 29th Interplanetary Knock-Out, January 2019, is

Jupiter

The ecstatic Morgors gnash their dentures in triumph as Bandolian mounts the dais to receive the trophy - only the third such award ever won by the supposed "King Planet".  The Titanics take comfort from the fact that at least they managed to beat the Martians in their semi-final - no mean feat, especially nowadays when the Red Planet seemed to have achieved a virtual stranglehold on the competition.

The tally now stands as follows:  9 trophies for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 for Mercury, 3 for Jupiter, 2 each for the Asteroids and Saturn, and 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

---

december 2018 - the 28th tournament

first round, 1-5 december 2018:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  26      vs.     no.17 seed:  Callisto   11

no.9 seed:  Uranus  14      vs.      no.25 seed:  Oberon  8

no.5 seed:  Mercury  20     vs.     no.21 seed:  Vulcan  14

no.13 seed:  Pluto  13       vs.     no. 29 seed:  Titania  3 

no.3 seed:  Venus  20       vs.     no.19 seed:  Comets  12

no.11 seed:  The Moon  19      vs      no.27 seed:  Io  9

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  20     vs.     no.23 seed:  Europa  5

no.15 seed:  Ganymede  14      vs.     no.31 seed:  Leda   8   

no.2 seed:  Mars  36      vs.      no.18 seed:  Earth  16 

no.10 seed:  Neptune  12      vs       no.26 seed:  Pallas  2 

no.6 seed:  Titan  24      vs.      no.22 seed:   Iapetus  9 

no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  17     vs.     no.30 seed:  Ceres  4  

no. 4 seed:  Saturn   25     vs.      no.20 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  9 

no.12 seed:  The Sun  19      vs.     no.28 seed:  Cerberus  3

no.8 seed:  Amalthea  13     vs.     no.24 seed:  The Reefs of Space  8

no.16 seed:  Triton  13     vs.     no.32 seed:  Styx  5

second round, 6-10 december 2018:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  71      vs.     no.9 seed:  Uranus  31     

no.5 seed:  Mercury  42    vs.    no.13 seed:  Pluto  31      

no.3 seed:  Venus  55       vs.    no.11 seed:  The Moon  45     

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  49     vs.    no.15 seed:  Ganymede  45      

no.2 seed:  Mars  64      vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  30      

no.6 seed:  Titan  44      vs.     no.14 seed:  Pellucidar  39     

no. 4 seed:  Saturn   51     vs.     no.12 seed:  The Sun  30     

no.8 seed:  Amalthea  34     vs.     no.16 seed:  Triton  31   

quarter-finals, 11-15 december 2018:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.      no.5 seed:  Mercury 

no.3 seed:  Venus         vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids 

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.      no.6 seed:  Titan 

no. 4 seed:  Saturn       vs.       no.8 seed:  Amalthea 

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  4    Mercury  8
Venus  4    The Asteroids  2
Mars  2    Titan  4
Saturn  8    Amalthea  1

Shock scandal at IKO headquarters - all results of first two days' play disallowed!  Only hits from 3rd day's onwards play will count.

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  3    Mercury  5
Venus  3    The Asteroids  4
Mars  8    Titan  3
Saturn  1    Amalthea  4

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  10    Mercury  10
Venus  7    The Asteroids  8
Mars  12    Titan  5
Saturn  4    Amalthea  8

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, DECEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  14      vs.      no.5 seed:  Mercury  13 

no.3 seed:  Venus  10       vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  11

no.2 seed:  Mars  17      vs.      no.6 seed:  Titan  12 

no. 4 seed:  Saturn   7     vs.       no.8 seed:  Amalthea  9

semi-finals, 16-20 december 2018:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids 

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.      no.8 seed:  Amalthea 

After the first day's play:

Jupiter  4    The Asteroids  3
Mars  3    Amalthea  5

After the second day's play:

Jupiter  8    The Asteroids  6
Mars  5    Amalthea  7

After the third day's play:

Jupiter  8    The Asteroids  7
Mars  10    Amalthea  7

After the fourth day's play:

Jupiter  17    The Asteroids  11
Mars  32    Amalthea  9

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, DECEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  20      vs.      no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  15

no.2 seed:  Mars  37      vs.      no.8 seed:  Amalthea  10

the final, 21-25 december 2018:

no.1 seed:  Jupiter        vs.      no.2 seed:  Mars 

After the first day's play:
Jupiter  11    Mars  7

After the second day's play:
Jupiter  16    Mars  18

After the third day's play:
Jupiter  18    Mars  23

After the fourth day's play:
Jupiter  22    Mars  29

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, DECEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Jupiter  27      vs.      no.2 seed:  Mars  34

So the winner of the 28th Interplanetary Knock-Out, December 2018, is

Mars

The Martian spectators in Ceres Stadium went great-white-ape as Tars Tarkas once again strode to the podium to accept the trophy.  The Morgors meanwhile gnashed their prominent teeth in frustration.  The Jovian team manager was sighted slinking away, and we believe he has hopped into an ether-craft and headed out into space, no one knows whither.  It was either that or the arena...

No team has ever before dominated the competition as Mars has in this second half of 2018 - winning five out of the six trophies during that time.

The tally now stands as follows:  9 trophies for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 for Mercury, 2 each for the Asteroids, Jupiter and Saturn, and 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

---

november 2018 - the 27th tournament

first round, 1-5 november 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars  29     vs.     no.17 seed:  Ganymede  20

no.9 seed:  Neptune  24    vs.      no.25 seed:  Oberon  15

no.5 seed:  Venus  37      vs.     no.21 seed:  Vulcan  12

no.13 seed:  Triton  19       vs.     no. 29 seed:  Styx  6 

no.3 seed:  Mercury  30     vs.     no.19 seed:  Comets  21

no.11 seed:  Uranus  20    vs      no.27 seed:  Ceres  7

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids 18    vs.     no.23 seed: Iapetus  10

no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  18      vs.     no.31 seed:  Titania  10   

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  34      vs.      no.18 seed:  Callisto  19 

no.10 seed:  The Moon  15      vs       no.26 seed:  Io  9

no.6 seed:  Titan  31     vs.      no.22 seed:   Europa  17

no.14 seed:  The Sun  22      vs.     no.30 seed:  Umbriel  7  

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  34     vs.      no.20 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  21

no.12 seed:  Pluto  19      vs.     no.28 seed:  Pallas  15

no.8 seed:  Amalthea  27      vs.     no.24 seed:  The Reefs of Space  16

no.16 seed:  Earth  17      vs.     no.32 seed:  Leda  9

second round, 6-10 november 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  32     vs.     no.9 seed:  Neptune  24   

no.5 seed:  Venus  31     vs.    no.13 seed:  Triton  9      

no.3 seed:  Mercury  38      vs.    no.11 seed:  Uranus  19     

no.7 seed:  The Asteroids 17    vs.    no.15 seed:  Pellucidar  14      

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  28      vs.      no.10 seed:  The Moon  22     

no.6 seed:  Titan  18     vs.     no.14 seed:  The Sun  13      

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  21    vs.     no.12 seed:  Pluto  15     

no.8 seed:  Amalthea  20      vs.     no.16 seed:  Earth  13     

Earth's manager ought to be sacked.  Imagine the Terrans being beaten by tiny Amalthea!  Mind you, this sort of thing has happened before - e.g. Earth 3, Ceres 8 (second round, September 2016).

quarter-finals, 11-15 november 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars       vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus           

no.3 seed:  Mercury        vs.   no.7 seed:  The Asteroids    

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.6 seed:  Titan           

no. 4 seed:  Saturn      vs.     no.8 seed:  Amalthea      

After the first day's play:

Mars  5    Venus  5
Mercury  9    Asteroids  4
Jupiter  7    Titan  3
Saturn  4    Amalthea  4

After the second day's play:

Mars  15    Venus  12
Mercury  14    Asteroids  10
Jupiter  17    Titan  14
Saturn  13    Amalthea  11  

After the third day's play:

Mars  22    Venus  17
Mercury  25    Asteroids  16
Jupiter  27    Titan  19
Saturn  18    Amalthea  15  

After the fourth day's play:  

Mars  35    Venus  28
Mercury  37    Asteroids  23
Jupiter  39    Titan  22
Saturn  27    Amalthea  17 

After the fifth day's play:

no.1 seed:  Mars  39     vs.     no.5 seed:  Venus  37         

no.3 seed:  Mercury  44      vs.   no.7 seed:  The Asteroids  28  

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  45      vs.     no.6 seed:  Titan   25        

no. 4 seed:  Saturn  31    vs.     no.8 seed:  Amalthea  19      

So the seeding has worked out perfectly, right up to the semi-finals.  The Tournament With No Surprises - despite the epic high-scoring struggles involved, in particular the way the champions Venus have been knocked out by the Martians.  (Note: seedings depend on total hits for the previous month, not on progress through that month's Knock-Out.)

semi-finals, 16-20 november 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars         vs.     no.3 seed:  Mercury 

no.2 seed:  Jupiter        vs.    no. 4 seed:  Saturn  

After the first day's play:

Mars  4    Mercury  5
Jupiter  8    Saturn  6      

After the second day's play:

Mars  15    Mercury  12
Jupiter  15    Saturn  17      

After the third day's play:

Mars  22    Mercury  18
Jupiter  27    Saturn  26      

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  36    Mercury  28
Jupiter  40    Saturn  38    

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, NOVEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  42       vs.     no.3 seed:  Mercury  30

no.2 seed:  Jupiter  46      vs.    no. 4 seed:  Saturn   47 

the final, 21-25 november 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no. 4 seed:  Saturn 

After the first day's play:  
Mars  8    Saturn  4        

After the second day's play:
Mars  22    Saturn  13

After the third day's play:
Mars  27    Saturn  13

After the fourth day's play:
Mars  31    Saturn  17

After the last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, NOVEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  37      vs.     no. 4 seed:  Saturn  21

So the winner of the 27th Interplanetary Knock-Out, November 2018, is

Mars

A heaving crowd of tentacled, winged, multi-limbed and humanoid Martians jubilantly erupts in Ceres Stadium as Tars Tarkas strides to the podium, there to receive the trophy from Archon Zendexor.

Well, it never looked like the Saturnians would beat the Martians-on-a-roll.  The Red Planet's supporters are particularly elated by the fact that, on their way to the final, their team beat their two closest rivals in tournament history, namely the Venusians and Mercurians. And now the Martians take the lead in number of trophies won.

The tally of trophies now stands as follows:  8 for Mars, 7 for Venus, 4 for Mercury, 2 each for the Asteroids, Jupiter and Saturn, and 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

---

october 2018 - the 26th tournament

first round, 1-5 october 2018:

no.1 seed:  Vulcan  14     vs.     no.17 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  11

no.9 seed:  Saturn  20    vs.      no.25 seed:  Comets  8

no.5 seed:  Titan  25      vs.     no.21 seed:  Callisto  13

no.13 seed:  The Moon  14     vs.     no. 29 seed:  Io  7

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  30      vs.     no.19 seed:  Iapetus  9

no.11 seed:  The Sun  11     vs      no.27 seed:  Ariel  4

no.7 seed:  Venus  22     vs.     no.23 seed: Europa  13

no.15 seed:  Pluto  16      vs.     no.31 seed:  Styx  6   

no.2 seed:  Mars  32      vs.      no.18 seed:  Neptune  11

no.10 seed:  Uranus  17      vs       no.26 seed:  Oberon  3

no.6 seed:  Mercury  25      vs.      no.22 seed:   The Reefs of Space  7

no.14 seed:  Earth  9      vs.     no.30 seed:  Titania  4   

no. 4 seed:  Amalthea  17     vs.      no.20 seed:  Triton  15

no.12 seed:  Ganymede  11      vs.     no.28 seed:  Ceres  6 

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  16     vs.     no.24 seed:  Leda  8

no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  15     vs.     no.32 seed:  Cerberus  2

second round, 6-10 october 2018:

no.1 seed:  Vulcan  13     vs.    no.9 seed:  Saturn  32   

no.5 seed:  Titan  21      vs.     no.13 seed:  The Moon  21    

no.3 seed:  Jupiter  36      vs.     no.11 seed:  The Sun  19    

no.7 seed:  Venus  23     vs.     no.15 seed:  Pluto  21      

no.2 seed:  Mars  40      vs.      no.10 seed:  Uranus  16     

no.6 seed:  Mercury  27      vs.      no.14 seed:  Earth  10      

no. 4 seed:  Amalthea  30    vs.      no.12 seed:  Ganymede  14     

no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  30     vs.     no.16 seed:  Pellucidar  14    

Replay, 11 October 2018:

no.5 seed:  Titan  4      vs.     no.13 seed:  The Moon  3   

quarter-finals, 11-15 october 2018:

no.9 seed:  Saturn      vs.     no.5 seed:  Titan

no.3 seed:  Jupiter        vs.     no.7 seed:  Venus        

no.2 seed:  Mars        vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury       

no. 4 seed:  Amalthea      vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids 

After the first day's play:

Saturn  5    Titan  4
Jupiter  6    Venus  9
Mars  10    Mercury  13
Amalthea  6    Asteroids  6

After the second day's play:

Saturn  6    Titan  8
Jupiter  11    Venus  15
Mars  15    Mercury  24
Amalthea  12    Asteroids  12

After the third day's play:

Saturn  10    Titan  15
Jupiter  17    Venus  19
Mars  21    Mercury  32
Amalthea  12    Asteroids  15

After the fourth day's play:

Saturn  13    Titan  20
Jupiter  25    Venus  23
Mars  25    Mercury  37
Amalthea  14    Asteroids  16

After the fifth day's play -

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, OCTOBER 2018:

no.9 seed:  Saturn  20    vs.     no.5 seed:  Titan  25

no.3 seed:  Jupiter   28      vs.     no.7 seed:  Venus  29  

no.2 seed:  Mars  31      vs.      no.6 seed:  Mercury   41    

no. 4 seed:  Amalthea  20 vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  21

semi-finals, 16-20 october 2018:

no.5 seed:  Titan       vs.     no.7 seed:  Venus   

no.6 seed:  Mercury        vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  

After the first day's play:

Titan  5    Venus  6
Mercury  6    The Asteroids  3   

After the second day's play:

Titan  10    Venus  11
Mercury  12    The Asteroids  8   

After the third day's play:

Titan  15    Venus  14
Mercury  18    The Asteroids  10   

After the fourth day's play:

Titan  20    Venus  19
Mercury  22    The Asteroids  17   

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, OCTOBER 2018

no.5 seed:  Titan  26     vs.     no.7 seed:  Venus  28 

no.6 seed:  Mercury  25      vs.      no.8 seed:  The Asteroids  23

A memorable last spurt by the Venusians!  The Mercurians, on the other hand, seem to be flagging; the Asteroids were almost in reach of catching up by the end.  The Venusians are now favourites to win the final. 

As can be seen from the Hall of Fame, there have been four Mercury-Venus finals so far, of which the Venusians have won three.

the final, 21-25 october 2018:

no.7 seed:  Venus       vs.        no.6 seed:  Mercury 

After the first day's play:
Venus  8    Mercury  6 

After the second day's play:
Venus  10    Mercury  7

After the third day's play:
Venus  13    Mercury  11

After the fourth day's play:
Venus  19    Mercury  18

After the fifth and last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, OCTOBER 2018

no.7 seed:  Venus  26      vs.        no.6 seed:  Mercury  24

So the winner of the 26th Interplanetary Knock-Out, October 2018, is

Venus

Right up to the last moment people were wondering whether the Venusians would be "hoist with their own petard"; that's to say, whether they'd suffer an opponent's come-back after their own two come-backs in the previous two rounds.  But it was not to be.  The Mercurians put up a good fight but never quite caught up, though they can console themselves with having eliminated the mighty Martians at an earlier stage.

So - Venus are champions for the seventh time, now equalling their great rivals the Martians.  Once more the ever-popular Princess Duare glides up to the podium and graciously waves the trophy, to the acclaim of the polymorphic multi-world multitude.  This is a moment when the worlds forget their animosities, stand down their space-navies and revel in the brotherhood of being.  At least, that's what commentators like to say.

The score of trophies now stands at: 7 each for the Venusians and Martians; 4 for the Mercurians; 2 each for the Asteroids, Jupiter and Saturn; 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

---

september 2018 - the 25th tournament

first round, 1-5 september 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars  30     vs.     no.17 seed:  Amalthea  20 

no.9 seed:  Saturn  21    vs.      no.25 seed:  Ganymede  10 

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  19     vs.     no.21 seed:  Asteroid Progenitor Planet  17

no.13 seed:  Pellucidar  14      vs.     no. 29 seed:  Leda  26 

no.3 seed: Europa  9      vs.     no.19 seed:  Triton  21

no.11 seed:  Earth  16   vs      no.27 seed:  Titania  10 

no.7 seed:  Mercury  23     vs.     no.23 seed: The Reefs of Space  15 

no.15 seed:  Titan  24      vs.     no.31 seed:  Ceres  15   

no.2 seed:  Venus  18       vs.      no.18 seed:  Oberon  8   

no.10 seed:  Neptune  14      vs       no.26 seed:  Styx  6 

no.6 seed:  Uranus  36      vs.      no.22 seed:   Callisto  11 

no.14 seed:  Iapetus  18      vs.     no.30 seed:  Ariel  10    

no. 4 seed:  Jupiter   24     vs.      no.20 seed:  Pluto  19 

no.12 seed:  Vulcan  290      vs.     no.28 seed:  Io  8  

no.8 seed:  The Sun  16      vs.     no.24 seed:  Comets  7

no.16 seed:  The Moon  17       vs.     no.32 seed:  Cerberus  7

I had a premonition that the Ionians didn't stand much of a chance this month...

second round, 6-10 september 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars  31     vs.     no.9 seed:  Saturn 12

no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  18     vs.     no. 29 seed:  Leda  1

no.19 seed:  Triton  11     vs.     no.11 seed:  Earth  12

no.7 seed:  Mercury  19    vs.     no.15 seed:  Titan  16

no.2 seed:  Venus  21       vs.      no.10 seed:  Neptune  11 

no.6 seed:  Uranus  15       vs.      no.14 seed:  Iapetus  7 

no. 4 seed:  Jupiter  19     vs.      no.12 seed:  Vulcan  11

no.8 seed:  The Sun  13      vs.     no.16 seed:  The Moon  18

quarter-finals, 11-15 september 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars       vs.     no.5 seed:  The Asteroids 

no.11 seed:  Earth      vs.     no.7 seed:  Mercury 

no.2 seed:  Venus        vs.      no.6 seed:  Uranus 

no. 4 seed:  Jupiter      vs.      no.16 seed:  The Moon 

After the first day's play:

Mars  5    The Asteroids  3
Earth  1    Mercury  4
Venus  5    Uranus  5
Jupiter  5    The Moon  6

After the second day's play:

Mars  10    The Asteroids  4
Earth  4    Mercury  6
Venus  6    Uranus  5
Jupiter  7    The Moon  9

After the third day's play:

Mars  16    The Asteroids  7
Earth  6    Mercury  11
Venus  11    Uranus  6
Jupiter  9    The Moon  12

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  26    The Asteroids  11
Earth  11    Mercury  17
Venus  13    Uranus  9
Jupiter  14    The Moon  13

After the fifth day's play:

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS, 15 SEPTEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  37     vs.     no.5 seed:  The Asteroids  13  

no.11 seed:  Earth  12    vs.     no.7 seed:  Mercury 17

no.2 seed:  Venus  19      vs.      no.6 seed:  Uranus  12

no. 4 seed:  Jupiter  18    vs.      no.16 seed:  The Moon  15

Really no surprise in these results, though at the start it seemed we might get some upsets from Uranus and the Moon.  Meanwhile the Martian juggernaut rolls on; are we soon to see the first ever thrice-in-a-row champion?

semi-finals, 16-20 september 2018:

no.1 seed:  Mars       vs.     no.7 seed:  Mercury

no.2 seed:  Venus       vs.      no. 4 seed:  Jupiter 

After the first day's play:

Mars  9    Mercury  0
Venus  5    Jupiter  10

After the second day's play:

Mars  13    Mercury  3
Venus  9    Jupiter  17

After the third day's play:

Mars  17    Mercury  5
Venus  12    Jupiter  22

After the fourth day's play:

Mars  22    Mercury  8
Venus  18    Jupiter  29

After the fifth day's play:

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS, SEPTEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  28      vs.     no.7 seed:  Mercury  14

no.2 seed:  Venus  19      vs.      no. 4 seed:  Jupiter  32

So it'll be Mars vs Jupiter.  The only other championship that climaxed with this line-up was April 2017, the most close-fought final ever - the only one to go to two replays.  On that occasion, Mars won by one hit.  (See Hall of Fame.)  The Morgors are clicking their teeth in anticipation of revenge...

the final, 21-25 september 2018; result out 26 sept:

no.1 seed:  Mars        vs.     no. 4 seed:  Jupiter 

After the first day's play:
Mars  7    Jupiter  7

After the second day's play:
Mars  15    Jupiter  13

After the third day's play:
Mars  24    Jupiter  17

After the fourth day's play:
Mars  30    Jupiter  21

After the fifth and last day's play:

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT, SEPTEMBER 2018

no.1 seed:  Mars  34      vs.     no. 4 seed:  Jupiter  24

So the winner of the 25th Interplanetary Knock-Out championship, September 2018, is

Mars

A wildly ecstatic or impressively solemn (according to temperament) medley of Martian colonists and natives join arms and tentacles to wave the trophy aloft:  Warren Hadfield, Jim Marlowe and the bouncing Willis, Kli Yang, Juwain, Tweel, Augray, Holder, Carter and his missus... while around and about the calots are frisking and the soraks purring.

This is the first time any team has won it in three consecutive months.  Also, by doing so the Martians have overtaken their great rivals the Venusians in the number of championship victories.

The score of trophies is now as follows:  7 for Mars, 6 for Venus, 4 for Mercury, 2 each for the Asteroids, Jupiter and Saturn, and 1 each for Vulcan and Titan.

>> previous months