The 2016 Catan World Championship (CWC) was held at the Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado. On September 23-25, 60 players from 34 countries gathered to determine who would be the next Catan world champion. After four intense qualifying rounds on Saturday, 16th, players advanced to play in the semi-finals the following day. Then, the winners of each of those four win-or-go-home games sat down Sunday afternoon for one, last match. Coming from behind in the dramatic final game, William Cavaretta from the USA emerged victorious!

~ The Qualifying Rounds ~

Starting off against players from Australia, Thailand, and South Africa, William won his first game (10 / 8 / 7 / 6). While two other players faced off for longest road, he cruised to victory with two cities, two settlements, largest army, and two VP cards.

In his second game, facing players from Canada, Switzerland, and Norway, William did what he could. But, he only managed to get 7 points in a game (10 / 7 / 7 / 5) dominated by the Canadian, Michael From.

His next game pitted him against players from Brazil, Mexico, and the Netherlands. This time he won quickly (10 / 8 / 7 / 5) with three cities, two settlements, and longest road. He built a settlement to cut an opponent’s “5” longest road and took longest road with only five road! In his final qualifying game, his opponents were from Portugal, UK, and Mexico. Ricardo Jorge Gomes (Portugal) won going away in a blow-out (10 / 6 / 6 / 5). Fortunately for William, his two earlier victories were enough to propel him into the round of 16.

~ The Semi-Finals ~

In his semi-final game, William squared off against Chi Wai Chan (China), Renars Freidensons (Latvia), and Simon Pluer (Australia.). He managed to win (10 /8 / 8 / 5). This time he built only two roads, two settlements, and upgraded to cities twice. William focused on development cards — largest army and 2 VP cards were his margin of victory! Early in the game William grabbed largest army. His four knights fended off Renars and Simon who each ended the game with three knights. Chi also mounted a charge with longest road and a larger production base, but it wasn’t enough.

~ The Finals ~

The final four players were (from left to right) Raul Fernandez Menendez (Spain), Hisatake Do (Japan), Petr Frajvald (Czech Republic), and William. Each player had run the gauntlet of the qualifiers, and had survived the do-or-die semi-finals. They were all ready and eager to face the ultimate challenge.

Raul was the early leader, and it looked as though he might repeat the results of his semi-final game. He had doubled up on 9’s and had ridden a wave of 9 rolls to a quick victory. However, in the final game it was William who doubled up on the 9’s. Coincidence or a bit of the old ultra-math? You be the judge.

In the mid-game, Raul stalled and the other players reeled him in. He reached 9 points (three cities, one settlement, and longest road), but the others had closed the gap. Hisatake had 6 points and was challenging Raul for longest road. Petr had 7 raw points, a knight, and a down card. William had three cities, two knights, and a couple of down cards.

In the dramatic final turn, William took largest army. Then he built a settlement - bringing him to 9 points. After hesitating for a few seconds, he flipped a VP card. 10 points! The victory! A new Catan World Champion! The crowd roared!