Over the 2024 October long weekend (5th to 7th) Sydney Backgammoners hosted the inaugural Sydney Majors Backgammon Tournament. This tournament differs from others run by us in being open-ended in its rounds and in having a higher entry fee of $240.
The tournament had 15 entrants, 5 of whom won their place via satellite tournaments.
After 7 rounds the results were
| R7 RANKING | PTS |
| Steve Nelson+ | 618 |
| Ben Phillips+ | 527 |
| Peter Boylan | 515 |
| Michel Gerges | 510 |
| Adam Makda | 508 |
At this point Steve had lost one match whereas all the other players had lost two. Adam was the bye. If Steve wins the next round he will be the outright winner as the field would be reduced to three players, causing this part of the tournament to conclude.
However, Steve did not win in round 8, the result being
| SC | ROUND 8 PAIRINGS | PTS | R8 RANKING | PTS |
| 9 | Steve Nelson+ | -2 | Michel Gerges | 620 |
| 11 | Peter Boylan | 102 | Peter Boylan | 617 |
| 1 | Ben Phillips+ | -10 | Steve Nelson+ | 616 |
| 11 | Michel Gerges | 110 | Adam Makda | 608 |
| bye | Adam Makda | 100 | Ben Phillips+ | 517 |
Ben's losses were now three so he was eliminated from the tournament. This left four players each with two losses. The tournament then entered its next phase which was essentially the same as 4-man knockout consisting of two further rounds. At this point any one of the four could emerge the winner.
The next round led to this
| SC | ROUND 9 PAIRINGS | PTS | R9 RANKING | PTS |
| 11 | Michel Gerges | 106 | Michel Gerges | 726 |
| 5 | Peter Boylan | -6 | Adam Makda | 710 |
| 9 | Steve Nelson+ | -2 | Steve Nelson+ | 614 |
| 11 | Adam Makda | 102 | Peter Boylan | 611 |
Steve and Peter were eliminated leaving Michel and Adam to battle it out in an exciting final round to this conclusion
| SC | ROUND 10 PAIRINGS | PTS | R10 RANKING | PTS |
| 11 | Michel Gerges | 109 | Michel Gerges | 835 |
| 2 | Adam Makda | -9 | Adam Makda | 701 |
After ten arduous 11-point rounds Michel Gerges, as the last remaining player to have not lost three matches, is the winner of the 2024 Sydney Majors. Michel also wins free entry to the Australian Open Backgammon Championship to be held at Tweed Heads from the 8th to 10th November 2024.
Adam Makda came second and Steve Nelson, by a slim margin of 3 points over Peter Boylan, came third.
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| Ned Marootians and Matt Bridges |
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| Othmane (Otto) Mekency |
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| Paula O'Connell |
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| Tournament Director Gary Stavrou |
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| Kee Yio Wan |
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| Peter Boylan |
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| Jan Spillekom |
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| Othmane Mekency receiving a prize |
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| Our two up-and-coming young players Peter Boylan and Matt Bridges attracting a crowd |
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| Rafael Chattah |
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| Ben Phillips |
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| Angelo Voulgaris giving Breck McCormack a headache |
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| Matt Bridges and Hong Kong visitor Steve Nelson |
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| Gary Stavrou and Breck McCormack |
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| Andrejs Liepins |
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| Michel Gerges |
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| Steve Nelson |
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| Steve Nelson receiving 3rd prize |
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| Winner of 2024 Sydney Majors Michel Gerges |
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Not quite managing to hide his bald patch, Adam Makda receives his prize
for runner-up in the 2024 Sydney Majors |
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