and balanced. With the exception of two-time defending champion Corey Fischer, the Wile Cup Final was composed of completely different competitors than the previous year. Of those five, only Brian Martin had made it to the Final before, finishing in the runner-up spot in 2010. After a blistering preliminary round in which he won both his matches, Mike Bortolin was certainly the player with momentum. Thanks to some poison ball play by Robin Norman in the Xtreme round, both Alison Martin and Daryl Wile used the opportunity to make improbable runs and qualify for the Final, finishing first and third, respectively. If there were a dark horse player, it would have been Nathan Ozog, who quietly made the final round with 13 points. Brian Martin's 12 points set a record for lowest score heading into a Final. The Final location and accompanying after-party was graciously hosted by Ernie & Sharon Bortolin, Kevin's in-laws, and parents of Mike and our late-friend Terrah; whose warmth, spirit and love of partying gave everyone a beautiful day. Wile Cup 2012's Final round was played with the six-wicket Oxford style, forcing the competition to orbit around a central stake. As expected, Bortolin quickly surged ahead of the rest of the field, rapidly advancing toward victory. The advantage of the Oxford format is that regardless of what position a player is in, his or her opponents are usually in range enough to attempt a play. The Finalists used this technique to keep the leaders in check, and the match close. Gradually, Bortolin lost his lead to Mr. Martin, Fischer, and Wile. The turning point in Fischer's quest for a three-peat came when he mistakenly shot out of order, thereby forfeiting his next turn, as well as any chance of gaining the lead. Despite their strong showing in the afternoon rounds, both Ozog and the Mrs. Martin fell too far behind to make a late charge. In a sport like croquet, the geometry always interferes. Whereas in the Xtreme round, when Martin hiccupped on the last wicket and dropped from first to fourth, he left little to be chanced when it counted. With timely calculation, he maneuvered and precisioned himself to the stake before anyone else. With one final chisel-like stroke, he engraved himself into history, becoming the second Wile Cup Champion of the Modern Era. Wile, playing in his first Croqsoc tournament final, made a formidable