In any competition, it has always been said that "To be 'The Man', you have to beat 'The Man'."
For the seventh time Bill Williams (2200) is 'The Man'. Bill and Xuan Jia Xu (2159), of Madison, tied for the title with 5 point out of six. This marks the third time in three different decades that Bill won back to back titles while it is the first time for Yuan. Bill's record included wins over top seeded Michael Wierzbicki (2318), and draws to last year's co-champion Alex Betaneli (2288) and Ashish Vaja (1979). Meanwhile, Yuan defeated John Wagner (1900), Guy Hoffman (1922), Joe Schueler (1997), and James Allen (2136). His only blemish came in a defeat to Betaneli in the third round.
Read more: 2002 State Championship