By: Ciaran Duggan
The most anticipated annual Star Wars character tournament has reached its climax. Thirty two belligerents entered the tournament at it’s inauguration on March 112014, yet only one has managed to claim victory. Obi Wan Kenobi has been proudly emerged as the victor of This is Madness 2014.
The road to victory had been tough for the Jedi Master. It seemed Obi Wan was both arrogant and almost crazy, when he first declared “I am more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Owen Lars, uncle to Luke Skywalker, certainly didn’t agree with Obi Wan’s statement, when he struck back at the Jedi Master, labelling him as “just a crazy old hermit”, nevertheless Obi Wan prevailed against all challengers, starting with Luke Skywalker.
Obi Wan’s inaugural duel was against Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker was dealt a heavy blow by his former tutor and the battle concluded with a significant victory of 65% of the public vote in favour of Obi Wan Kenobi. If only Luke had kept his mind on where he was now, instead of looking into his fantasised future of himself standing on the glorified, This is Madnesswinner’s podium. Master Yoda would not have been impressed.
His second battle against Master Yoda was unquestionably the toughest of Obi Wan’s campaign. Yoda was undoubtedly the bookies favourite, as last year’s victor in this tournament. To distinguish between the two Jedi Masters was extremely difficult and the public vote was split down the middle, but whilst Obi Wan claims “there is no such thing as luck”, he may well have received some, as he managed to win through the slightest of margins, gaining 51% of the vote. Obi Wan having defeated, arguably, the most powerful and eldest of the Jedi Order, Kenobi was evolving into a vivid favourite of the tournament.
Obi Wan then managed to surpass the likes of R2-D2 (73% - 27%) and even the scruffy nerf herder that is Han Solo (63% - 37%). Han Solo was bitterly disappointed to miss out on the final of the tournament and it was clear that his break up with Princess Leia Organa was having a huge impact on his work, his head was not in the right place. Post-match interviews after the battle were extremely heated. All questions relating to the divorce were shunned immediately, along with questions asking whether Han shot Greedo first. The climatic duel between Obi Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice, Darth Vader, lived up to expectations and deserved the epithet of the Duel of the Fates. The duel was epic in all proportions. Obi Wan gained the upper hand at the start, but when Vader force choked Obi Wan it looked as though defeat for Master Kenobi was certain. Obi Wan managed to regain composure and swiftly struck a devastating blow to Vader’s mechanical suit. Obi Wan proved that Vader still had much to learn, as Master Kenobi received 59% of the public vote; an outstanding achievement in such a difficult and arduous campaign.
In conclusion, This is Madness 2014 has been a thrilling and engaging tournament for the Star Wars fans and in my mind Obi Wan is the deserved winner. Master Kenobi faced a number of major icons in the Star Wars universe, namely Luke Skywalker, Yoda, R2-D2, Han Solo and Darth Vader. Obi Wan can stake the claim that (in 2014) he is more powerful than we can possibly imagine, but will he remain so in 2015? The future maybe uncertain, but there is doubting that the force is certainly strong with Master Kenobi this year.