Classic Rock Block Tournaments
These tournaments were part of Classic Rock Block, unlike tournaments in the current version of the game.
Major Tournaments
These were played online, for an entire summer and into the fall.
Stairway to Heaven
champion: Steve West, Dividing By Zero Records
In May 2009, players began competing in the very first tournament, based on the classic Led Zeppelin song. All players started out on step 10 of a long stairway with Heaven at the top and Hell at the bottom. Random challenges issued every two hours pitted player against player. The winner rose a step higher, trying to reach step 55. The loser fell a step lower, becoming eliminated at step 0. Over the course of the summer, players fought hard, with several players rescuing themselves from imminent elimination by defeating Devil in practice concerts. Steve West rose to step 55 in September, waiting for an opponent in a Final Challenge that would determine the winner. In October, Scott Hardie became the second player to reach step 55, with Steve Dunn and Russ Wilhelm close behind. Steve defeated Scott in the "Great Gods of Rock & Roll" theme, becoming the game's first champion.
Like a Rolling Stone
champion: Justin Woods, Tweek Productions
In May 2010, a new tournament began, based on the Bob Dylan classic. Facing one opponent at a time, players rolled a large boulder across a field by defeating each opponent in the game to move it a little further. But if they lost momentum by losing a concert, they would have to start over at the beginning and defeat all opponents again. The going was tough for the first few months; Justin Woods made it furthest with eight consecutive wins. But in the interest of speeding up the tournament, the rules were changed in August to allow players to keep their progress after a loss, and to face all opponents at once. The tournament kicked into overdrive with a flurry of competition, with Justin Woods and Steve West emerging at the end first, although Steve was ineligible to win due to his 2009 victory. In September, Justin, Matthew Preston, Russ Wilhelm, Ryan Dunn, and Scott Hardie all emerged as final competitors. Justin was the first to score a Final Challenge victory in the "Rolling Stones" theme, becoming the 2010 champion in the process.
American Pie
champion: Justin Woods, Tweek Productions
In May 2010, the game's final summer tournament began: Based on the lyrics of Don McLean's classic elegy for rock 'n roll, players would advance through 31 trials, each one presenting unique challenges inspired by the lyrics. The first player to complete trial 31 would win instantly, with no Final Challenge or ineligibility for previous winners. Chris Lemler took an early lead, finishing the first set of five trials before anyone else, and Joanna Woods and Scott Hardie also played well throughout the summer. However, the tournament was really a race between two players: Justin Woods, who played aggressively but kept being slowed down by being randomly assigned slower opponents, and Steve West, who held the lead for most of the summer and kept facing fast opponents. During the final set of six trials, Justin realized how Steve's timing affected the assignment of opponents, and used Steve's own strategy to catch up and ultimately overtake him, finishing the final trial less than 48 hours before Steve and winning his second championship in Rock Block.
Minor Tournaments
These were played live in person, in a single day.
Battle of the Bands
champion: Matthew Preston, Roughneck Records
In October 2010, guests at GooCon: Champions Gate participated in a live tournament that pitted some of their favorite bands against one another: Denise Sawicki as the Magnetic Fields, Matthew Preston as Pearl Jam, Scott Hardie as Metallica, and Steve West as the Beatles. Each player began with four icons representing four members of the band. Randomly selected challengers would take on opponents of their choice, and the loser of each concert would lose one of their icons. When a player lost all four icons, he or she would be out of the tournament, until only one player remained as the winner. Denise dominated the early running, knocking Matthew down to a single icon. But it was Scott who was eliminated first, followed quickly by Steve. Matthew's stamina allowed him to persevere through a series of difficult concerts, eventually triumphing over Denise to win the tournament and the trophy.
Farewell Tour
champion: Scott Hardie, Green Destiny Music
In October 2011, guests at GooCon: Villa Ridge participated in a live tournament that gave each player a single chance at survival; one loss would eliminate them from competition. Erik Bates challenged Justin Woods first with Global/Landmines and lost in four rounds. Joanna Woods challenged Scott Hardie next with Hidden/Same/Plus/Multiply and lost in four rounds. Chris Lemler challenged Justin with Psychedelia/Landmines and lost in a single round. When it came down to the final two players, Justin challenged Scott with Hidden/Same/Global/Yield and lost in a single round, giving Scott his first trophy since creating the game in 2007.
