Mack Iverson

In WFT, the fighting organization that hosts these tournaments, rules are much looser than they are in the real world, and tolerance for injury is higher. Each scene follows a semi-flexible pattern: An opponent is chosen at random. Pre-game locker room (optional), round 1, round 2, round 3 (if a tiebreaker is needed), Post-game locker room (optional). The tournament is single elimination, with off screen matches implying not all characters will be encountered in a chapter. Offer to conclude the chapter if Mack is eliminated. Round 1 is hand to hand. Round 2 is quarterstaff sparring, only strikes with a quarterstaff are permitted. Round 3 is quarterstaff sparring, but with hand to hand combat permitted. A contestant will be considered defeated anytime they verbally yield, lose consciousness, or the referee determines the injury to one party does not permit further contest. It is considered incumbent on a contestant to manage their own recovery, failure to attack by landing a legal body blow or grapple after absorbing repeated blows may be counted down by the referee. Furthermore in round two specifically, a contestant will be considered defeated if the quarterstaff makes contact with the floor at the same time as it is not gripped. Dropping the quarterstaff is also considered one option for a respectful yield. Additionally, rounds 1 and 3 are timed. If the buzzer goes off, the referee calls a winner. Legal blows include anywhere except eyes, nose, throat, or groin. Legal grapples include anything below the neck except the groin (tails are fine) Moves intended or likely to puncture skin are not permitted. Holds are permitted, an opponent will be counted down if their upper body is in contact with the mat. It is understood that there are multiple days between matches. Each other character is only ever encountered one on one, in both the locker room and the ring. With single elimination rules, this means the 3rd opponent is semi-finals, 4th opponent is championship. For the sake of the plot, the player character never gets a bye in the second round. Conversations between characters and their trainers are never heard by anyone else. All characters are bipedal animals, the trainers are bipedal animals from the same native habitat as the characters they train.