Apterous Masters

The Apterous Masters, formerly known as the Countdown Online Masters, (or by its acronym COMA), is a tournament organised each February/March, and is a straight knock-out event between 8-32 players. Traditionally organised by Ben Wilson, it was guest-hosted by Zarte Siempre in 2015, and he then assumed its organisational duties in 2017 before moving to Thomas Carey during the 2019 tournament.

Format

Top players are seeded into the first-round draw after being judged on their skill at the game as displayed in both televised and off-screen performances, such as at COLIN or CoBris events, or in online competitions such as COOT or COGST. Apterous ratings are also used as a judge of skill.

Players who decline their invitations will be invited again the following year, but will not be invited a third time if they decline two invitations in a row.

2008

The 2008 tournament was won by Paul Howe, who beat Conor Travers in the final.

2009

The 2009 tournament was again won by Paul Howe, who beat Junaid Mubeen in the final.

2010

The 2010 tournament, the first held under the new name of Apterous Masters was announced at the beginning of February of the same year. The first qualifying round began on 14 February, and the tournament ended with Kirk Bevins beating Jon O'Neill 6-3 in the Grand Final on 13 April 2010.

2011

The 2011 tournament began on 20 February with the first qualifying round. In total, 63 people took part, a record for the tournament. Innis Carson beat Edward McCullagh 6-1 in the Grand Final on 8 April 2011.

2012

The 2012 tournament ran from late February to early April. In total, 42 people took part (17 invited Masters and 25 qualifying entrants). Bob De Caux was one of those who had to qualify for the tournament. He won matches against several tough opponents before beating Adam Gillard 6-4 in the Grand Final on 11 April 2012.

2013

The 2013 tournament was contested by 58 people, and was won by Innis Carson again.

2014

The 2014 tournament was contested by 49 people, and was won by Conor Travers, defeating Jack Worsley 6 – 3 in the Grand Final, which took place in April 2014.

2015

The tournament was organised by Zarte Siempre and reverted to its original name after the Roman numerals used in 2014 were not retained. The Apterous Masters 2015 featured 49 people and was won by organiser Siempre, beating Jack Worsley 6 – 1 in the Final.

2016

With Ben Wilson resuming organisational duties, Roman numerals were also reinstated for Apterous Masters IX. 64 people entered, edging out the 2011 record by just one player. It was third time lucky for Worsley, who won 6 – 4 in the final.

2017

The 10th Apterous Masters were run by Zarte Siempre, featured 61 people, slightly down on 2016, and in a rematch of the 2015 final, Siempre prevailed again over Worsley, winning 6 – 2.

2018

Run slightly later in the year by Siempre, the Apterous Masters 2018 featured 53 people and was won by Thomas Carey, who beat Chris Hare in the final 6 – 4.

2019

The 2019 tournament ran between July 2019 and September 2020, with Siempre running the first stage of the tournament and Carey taking over from the quarter finals onwards. An extra round was required with so many people involved, resulting in the final being extended to a best-of-13 rather than best-of-11 contest. It was won by Jack Worsley, beating Thomas Cappleman 7 – 1.

2020

As a result of the 2019 tournament overrunning, the Apterous Masters 2020 began immediately after the last one ended and is currently ongoing.