July 7, 2003 (COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Dean Eric Sohnle of Canada, a 24-year-old student at the University of Alberta, has battled the toughest Hell Cats of the 32nd century and emerged victorious. Sohnle was crowned 2003 MechWarrior(r): Dark Age world champion this past weekend at the Origins Game Fair & Expo.
"It's a little surreal," said Sohnle, who has been playing the best-selling collectable miniatures game (CMG) since it was released in August 2002. "It's hard to describe, really. I'm a little surprised, a little relieved, a fair amount exhausted, a bit unsure what happens next, and extremely happy."
What happens next is that Sohnle will work with WizKids design staff to create an all-new Unique 'Mech(r) that will appear in a future MechWarrior set. His name will be listed on that 'Mech's dial, and he will determine which faction that unit will become a part of in the MechWarrior: Dark Age universe. He also receives complete sets of all released MechWarrior expansions and most of the Limited Edition figures that WizKids has produced so far.
Sohnle's winning army consisted primarily of units from the Bannson's Raiders faction. It included five Green Peasant Company units, one Elite SRM Team unit, one Elite Giggins APC unit, one Veteran Legionnaire unit, one Unique Kenneth Medchelke - Sniper Artillery unit, one Green Mercenary Kanazuchi Battle Armor unit and one Elite Steel Wolves J-37 Ordnance Transport unit.
"I was playing an almost pure Bannson's Raiders army. Their units are easy to repair and they have a lot of Infilitrate," said Sohnle. "My strategy was based on forcing my opponent to move the way I wanted, and having my forces waiting for him when he did."
WizKids' Organized Play division sponsors more than 10,000 WizKids game events every month in hobby stores across North America and Europe. Its Mage Knight(tm) and MechWarrior game tournaments rank participants according to wins, and highly ranked players are invited to playoff rounds. Championship matches for the HeroClix(tm) game are held as Open events, with qualifying rounds leading to the championship round. To find out more about WizKids, or to find the next tournament in your area, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
(c)2003 WizKids, LLC. All rights reserved. MechWarrior, 'Mech, Mage Knight, HeroClix and WizKids are trademarks of WizKids, LLC.
