OlympicIRL

x Another blank. Back to Poland now! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 x 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 x 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

x Unlucky! So the game stays alive and we return to Canada. Choose a square please GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 x 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

And it's a lucky key!! Now can Poland share the same fortune as their American counterparts and walk away with a Silver Ticket? Choose a treasure chest please! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 x 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

I know. My God am I that predictable?

x No luck this time. On now to @rybak and Poland for their first pick of the competition! GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 x 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

On now to Canada. @hckosice you're up!

Congratulations!!! You have found one of the two silver tickets and advance directly to the Final!! What a way to conserve energy

And it's a good start with a key revealed behind the first tile. So USA with an early chance to grab one of those Silver Tickets. @dezbee2008 you may open one of the 20 treasure chests GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Hello and welcome to Heat 2 of the TISC Open 2017 bidding compeition. Three contestants representing and will do battle in the second heat in a race to find one of two available Silver Tickets on offer, thus guaranteeing passage to the Final. Here is a reminder of the rules.... Rules: Players will compete against each other in a game called Gridlock. The aim of the game is to uncover keys in order to open the treasure chests and find one of two available Silver Ticket for the Final in this heat. Players take turns revealing tiles from the grid. There are 20 keys hidden in the 64-square grid. After a player has revealed a key, they immediately get to use the key to open one of the 20 treasure chests. Two of these chests contain a Silver Ticket which ensures that player's passage to the Final. However, to complicate matters a little, the grid system has been infiltrated by those pesky penguins. There are 8 penguins in total lurking in the grid. Players need to be very cautious when selecting tiles because the penguins are set on causing mayhem. Collecting three penguins during the game results in instant elimination for that player and their dreams of hosting TISC Open 2017 will be over. If one player is eliminated by the penguins, the two surviving contestants will automatically be awarded the Silver Tickets and advance to the Final. One final piece of information to know - Séamus the lucky leprechaun has hidden himself away in the grid. For the lucky contestant who uncovers him, Séamus will wipe away all those pesky penguins that the player has collected thus far and he will also grant that player a free go at opening one of the treasure chests. Good luck to all contestants and choose wisely . So without further ado, let's play Gridlock!! @dezbee2008 as the highest placed finisher at TISC Open 2016, you have the honour of going first. Choose a square please GRIDLOCK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Nice one Can you put your hard feelings aside and give 100% for Canada despite the hockey?

@hckosice, are you there? Do you want to play today?

So just Canada now, would anyone like to volunteer to represent them?

So the second heat is drawing near.... I hope we are all standing by in case we need some replacement contestants

Awesome. I've been there a few times when my friend was at university there and I loved it!

I think we get similar weather to Brittany during winter but we don't get summer at all Galway! Lovely city

Haha, very good thinking on their part . Woohoo, hope you enjoy your stay here. I wish I could promise you decent weather but you know how it is

Blasphemy! One must never miss the darts

The evening session is unmissable

Reyes! What a match!

Unbelievable! I will have to hide those keys harder for the final in case he finds them all in his first few turns

New Zealand still are against the odds as there is still only 20% chance of winning the Golden Ticket (5 contestants will contest the final for 1 ticket).

I wanted to create a game that could be short but man was that way quicker than expected @Gianlu33 hit a 1 in 19 chance after finding a lucky key! You should do the lottery this week The final will probably have the same format as last year's key game where the game doesn't finish until all keys are revealed. But this format is better for heats I think so we don't have 4 days of very long games (though today's game could have been long if not for Gianlu having other ideas )

Here is the solution set for this very short game! GRIDLOCK Have another go x x x x x x Miss your next turn x x Miss your next turn x x Have another go x x x x x x Have another go x x x Have another go x x x x Miss your next turn Miss your next turn x x x x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x x x x x x x x x x 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 x x x x x x x x x

Commiserations to @mrv86 and @DaniSRB. Sorry you did not get more time to find that ticket and thanks so much for taking the time to participate

Incredible choice from @Gianlu33 finds the Silver Ticket and sends New Zealand to the Final Congratulations!! @Wanderer will be delighted!