And lo, it came to pass, Mister Barton was crowned NLC Champion 2024.
It had been coming, with a strong performance through the rounds, and besting his nearest competitor – Doctor Saldanha – in round four despite the Doctor having the better of the game.
The final round five saw him take on Mister Sharland, and he managed to secure the point, leaving Mister Barton on a clean sweep of 5/5 – a clear and worthy winner.
In the other games Doctor Saldanha beat Mister Barnett and Mister Jacobs beat Miss Birrane.
The final standings
| Place | Name | Score | Tiebreak* |
| 1 | Barton | 5 | 10.5 |
| 2 | Saldanha | 3.5 | 15.5 |
| 3 | Jacobs | 3.5 | 11.5 |
| 4 | Dias | 3 | 10.5 |
| 5 | Barnett | 2.5 | 15 |
| 6 | Landless | 2 | 11 |
| 7 | Widdicombe | 1.5 | 15.5 |
| 8 | Taylor | 1.5 | 14 |
| 9 | Birrane | 1.5 | 13.5 |
| 10 | Sharland | 1.5 | 13.5 |
| 11 | Lamentillo | 1.5 | 12 |
| 12 | Singh | 1.5 | 12 |
| 13 | Ross | 0.5 | 14 |
Plaudits to Doctor Saldanha for finishing a strong second – it could have all been so different but for a round 4 slip. Mister Jacobs is unsurprisingly in the podium spots too – he’s a consistently strong performer and was an outside chance for champ. Honourable mentions too for Messers Dias and Barnett.
The trophy presentation
And so the presentation. Doctor Widdicombe couldn’t be there to present the trophy this year, so Captain Saldanha did the honours.
The victory dinner
Well done Mister Barton! It’s going to be hard to wrest that trophy from him in the coming years…