Jump to:
- 1 Round of 16: The Full Results
- 2 The Round of 16 Talking Points
- 3 The Closest Match of the Tournament: 7 Wonders vs Azul
- 4 Root Beats Ark Nova
- 5 Wingspan Does What Wingspan Does
- 6 The Results That Were Comfortable
- 7 The Quarter Final Draw
- 8 What Happens in Each Quarter Final – Vote Now
- 9 QF1: Wingspan vs 7 Wonders
- 10 QF2: Terraforming Mars vs Cascadia
- 11 QF3: Forest Shuffle vs Lords of Waterdeep
- 12 QF4: Root vs Pandemic
- 13 Related
Azul is out, beaten by 7 Wonders in the closest match of the round. Ark Nova is out, beaten by Root. Wingspan beat Fate of the Fellowship 88-13 and faces 7 Wonders in the quarter finals. The four quarter final matchups are: Wingspan vs 7 Wonders, Terraforming Mars vs Cascadia, Forest Shuffle vs Lords of Waterdeep, and Root vs Pandemic. Vote below.
Four games left. Four matches. One champion.
The Round of 16 had the closest result of this entire tournament so far, one of the bigger upsets, and the exit of two games I was genuinely rooting for. Let’s go through it.
Round of 16: The Full Results
The closest match of the whole tournament is highlighted in red.
| M# | Winner | Vote % | Loser % | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wingspan | 87.5% | 12.5% | Fate of the Fellowship |
| 2 | 7 Wonders | 55.6% | 44.4% | Azul |
| 3 | Terraforming Mars | 83.3% | 16.7% | Wyrmspan |
| 4 | Cascadia | 83.3% | 16.7% | Clank!: Catacombs |
| 5 | Forest Shuffle | 83.3% | 16.7% | Jaipur |
| 6 | Lords of Waterdeep | 57.1% | 42.9% | Harmonies |
| 7 | Root | 62.5% | 37.5% | Ark Nova |
| 8 | Pandemic | 66.7% | 33.3% | Ticket to Ride: Europe |
The Round of 16 Talking Points
The Closest Match of the Tournament: 7 Wonders vs Azul
Every round so far has had at least one result that was tight. This was the tightest of the lot.
7 Wonders beat Azul 56%-44%. Eleven percentage points. It is the narrowest winning margin in the entire World Cup of Board Games so far, across every round from the group stage to this one.
I have been backing Azul since the first post in this series. I said it in the group stage preview. I repeated it after every round it came through. It beat Castles of Burgundy 82-18 in the Round of 32. It was beaten here by a margin so small that in another world, with a few more votes going the other way, it would be in the quarter finals right now.
7 Wonders goes through. Azul goes home. I am fine about this. I am completely fine.
Root Beats Ark Nova
I said before the round of 16 that this was the match I couldn’t call. Ark Nova was the highest-ranked BGG game still in the tournament after Brass: Birmingham went out. It is a brilliant, heavy, deeply satisfying game. It lost 62.50-37.50 to Root, which is exactly the kind of result that tells you something about the difference between a game that people rate highly and a game that people love loudly.
Root has a personality. The Eyrie Dynasties breaking their own programme. The Woodland Alliance appearing from nowhere in round four with six sympathisers and suddenly everyone has a problem. It produces stories, and stories travel. Ark Nova is a better-designed game, probably. Root is a better story.
Root is in the semi finals. Ark Nova is not.
Wingspan Does What Wingspan Does
Fate of the Fellowship beat Brass: Birmingham 89-11. It was the result of the tournament. It then lost to Wingspan 88-12. The margins were almost identical in reverse. Wingspan has the biggest fanbase of any game in this tournament and it has barely been pushed at any point in the draw.
It now plays 7 Wonders in the quarter finals. Two card-based games. Two enormous fanbases. If this goes to the wire I will not be surprised.
The Results That Were Comfortable
Terraforming Mars beat Wyrmspan 83-17. Cascadia beat Clank!: Catacombs 83-17 by the same margin. Forest Shuffle beat Jaipur 83-17, also the same margin. Three different matches, three identical results. I don’t know what that means but it feels like it should mean something.
Lords of Waterdeep beat Harmonies 57-43, which was tighter than I expected. Harmonies had a strong tournament run and pushed the D&D worker placement game closer than most gave it credit for.
The Quarter Final Draw
Four matches. The two semi final spots in each half go to the winners of QF1/QF2 and QF3/QF4 respectively.
| QF | Game A | vs | Game B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wingspan | vs | 7 Wonders |
| 2 | Terraforming Mars | vs | Cascadia |
| 3 | Forest Shuffle | vs | Lords of Waterdeep |
| 4 | Root | vs | Pandemic |
What Happens in Each Quarter Final – Vote Now
Vote Below in each quarter final. votes close 03/08/2026
QF1: Wingspan vs 7 Wonders
This is the match of the quarter finals. Wingspan has been the most dominant performer in this tournament across every round. 7 Wonders just came through the closest match in the tournament’s history, beating Azul by eleven points.
Wingspan has more players. 7 Wonders has more plays per player, if that makes sense. The people who love 7 Wonders tend to have played it a lot, which is a different kind of loyalty. This is the hardest match to predict of the four.
QF2: Terraforming Mars vs Cascadia
A heavy 90-minute card-driven engine builder against a relaxed 45-minute tile-laying nature game. Terraforming Mars has been the more dominant performer so far. Cascadia came through 83-17 against Clank!: Catacombs last round, which is the same margin Terraforming Mars won by. On paper they are evenly matched in terms of their recent results.
In practice I think Terraforming Mars has the edge. But Cascadia is the kind of game that people adore rather than merely enjoy, and that passion shows up in votes.
QF3: Forest Shuffle vs Lords of Waterdeep
Forest Shuffle has had a remarkable run. It started this tournament by beating Sky Team 100-0 in the Round of 64 and has not really been tested since. Lords of Waterdeep has been more battle-hardened, coming through Blood on the Clocktower, SETI, and a tighter-than-expected win over Harmonies.
Forest Shuffle is the better game by BGG ranking. Lords of Waterdeep has the longer history and the D&D brand behind it. I think Forest Shuffle wins this, but I thought Ark Nova would beat Root.
QF4: Root vs Pandemic
Root beat Ark Nova on personality. Pandemic beat Ticket to Ride: Europe on importance. One of those two qualities is going to carry this match and I genuinely cannot tell you which.
Root is chaotic and asymmetric and divides opinion. Pandemic is cooperative and accessible and has sold millions of copies. If this comes down to which game more people have actually played, Pandemic wins comfortably. If it comes down to which game people feel more strongly about, Root has a case.
VOTE NOW
Individual matchup posts for each quarter final are going up shortly. Vote Above. The semi final draw goes up once all four quarter final votes are in.
Four games. Four matches. I am not going to make a prediction because I have been wrong about enough results in this tournament already.
Though if 7 Wonders makes the semi finals after knocking out Azul, I will be routing for it the rest of the way. Consider that my official position.