The 2022 Latvian "Catan" and "Carcassonne" champions have been determined

Last weekend, the 16th Latvian "Catan" Championship organized by Brain Games took place in the fashion and entertainment center Rīga Plaza. Over two days, Oskars Štrobergs became the Latvian champion in a tight final after several hundreds of games. He also won the right to compete in the "Catan" World Championship in Malta in the fall. Also, on Sunday, Pauls Kauķis was crowned the Latvian "Carcassonne" champion.

A total of 122 participants competed in the Latvian "Catan" championship. On the first day, all participants played four selection matches, after which the top 32 players were determined, who competed in the elimination tournament on Sunday, keeping the points accumulated on the first day. After three elimination rounds, the four best players who made it to the finals were determined.

Štrobergs became the champion in an exciting final, for whom this is the first title of Latvian champion. This was only the second Latvian "Catan" championship for the player. "A long time ago, I also participated in one of the Latvian championships. That time I won two games and stayed just beyond the border for those who advance to the second day," Stroberg shared his first experience.

"I feel very good. It was a tense game, it was point by point, in the end anyone could win," said the champion after the final. He did not hide that there was very fierce competition in the championship, so the victory was especially pleasant. "The beginning of the championship was easier, but when you start winning and get to one table with the best, then of course the competition is much fiercer, more intense, you have to understand what you say, what you do," said Stroberg.

After the victory, Stroberg got the right to compete in the World Championship in Malta. "The feelings are very interesting. A bit of a surprise, I came to play and I know I know how to play Catana, but I didn't know what the competition would be," said the player who is about to go to Malta.

Second place at the final table was taken by Caspar Mallon, who was the first to reach nine points, but the dice did not fall in his favor in the final moves, and as a result, he had to settle for silver. Mallons is the 2018 Latvian champion and he too will go to Malta to compete in the World "Catan" Championship. 2019 champion Madara Bašķere will also represent Latvia at the World Championship.

The place on the lowest step of the podium was won by Elvis Kalniņš, who finished the final with eight points. On the other hand, Dainis Reinholds, who was by far the best until the final, winning six out of seven games, remained fourth in the decisive match with seven points.

This was the 16th Latvian "Catan" championship in total and the first after the pandemic break.

On Sunday, parallel to the "Catan" championship, the "Carcassonne" Latvian championship was also held. This year, 23 participants competed in it, who played six rounds of selection, identifying four semi-finalists who continued the fight for prizes.

This year, Pauls Kauķis and a player with the nickname "Zone 2" made it to the finals. Kauķis, who started the game from the ungrateful second position, became the winner with a score of 104:71.

The Kaukai family is well known in Carcassonne circles, its representatives regularly winning Latvian championships. Also this year, Kaukais received two awards, as Edžus Kaukais was in third place, while Kriss was in 9th place.

After the victory, Paul said that the competition between the brothers helps and motivates to show good results. "The brothers give good motivation. First of all, we want to win them, secondly, they help us learn with their sarcasm," said the Latvian champion.

After the final, he pointed out that this year's championship was really difficult. "The fight was very fierce, you had to think and invest absolutely everything in each game. At the end, it was difficult to withstand mentally, very fierce opponents this year" Kaukis praised the competitors. For Paul, this was the second title of the Latvian champion, which will allow him to compete again in the "Carcassonne" World Championship, which will be held in Germany in October.

The organizer of the championships, Jānis Bernāns, stated that it was a pleasure to see players competing in the Latvian championships in large numbers again. "These were the first Latvian championships since 2019, the players could meet long-lost friends again, as well as make new ones," said Bernāns.

Bernāns also pointed out that several lessons were learned for the future: "These were the first Latvian "Catan" and "Carcassonne" championships for me as a championship organizer. It was not possible to avoid mishaps in the competition, but it made it possible to learn very valuable lessons for the upcoming championships of other games."

This year, at the "Catan" and "Carcassonne" Latvian championships, participants competed for a prize pool of 535 euros.

"Brain Games" would like to thank our friends the fashion and entertainment center Rīga Plaza for their support in organizing the championships!

Championship picture gallery

Photo: Jānis Tilak