Where we are is a function of where we’ve been. Sort of.
On Friday, February 6th, this season of Layer Tennis started with a special exhibition match in which a single Photoshop file was passed from designer to designer in ten cities around the world. The "serve" for that circumnavigation of the globe was created by Scott Hansen and so it seems fitting somehow that five months later Scott has won the coin-flip and will start the final match of the Playoff Semi-Finals. LT symmetry, catch it.
The first season of Layer Tennis started on September 28th, 2007 when Scott's opponent today, Shaun Inman faced off against Kevin Cornell in a match that set the bar very high for the dozens of live Friday matches to follow.
Today's players have been involved in some of the smartest and most popular matches of all time. When Shaun played Chris Glass to conclude Season One, their match totally destroyed what little convention existed in Layer Tennis at the time. Shaun's Layer Nine that day literally and figuratively expanded what we thought a volley could be. Commentator John Gruber called it "the best shot of the entire Layer Tennis season."
All the First Round playoff matches this season were excellent but last week's match between Scott and Jason Koxvold deserves special attention. The match was competitive surely, but that became secondary to a whip-smart, enigmatic narrative and consistent mood.
Commentator Kevin Guilfoile said that it "might have been the most entertaining and artful and meaningful Layer Tennis match we've ever had." The work was complex; motion, design and custom audio were created in service of a real story. And the fact that it was all done under the relentless ticking of the fifteen-minute time clock, made it almost impossibly delicious.
A lot of what we think Layer Tennis is and especially what it can be is the result of the play of Scott and Shaun. The winner of this match will play in The Finals on July 10th but given how we have gotten to this point, the really good news is that anything we expect from today is bound to be wrong.
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Naz and Sam Peeling Back the Layers on last Friday's amazing photographic and musical live Layer Tennis Match. No Tennis this week by the way, we'll be back live on the 19th
Layer 10 is up. And that's a wrap! Big thanks to Sam, Naz, Mark, and all the fans. No voting this week, but be sure to sign up for Season Tickets and be the first to get match info and learn how to play in our qualifying matches. Layer Tennis is taking a week off, we'll see you back here on March 19th for our fourth exhibition match.
The coin-flip and Match Preview are up for today's live Photographic Exhibition Match. We're almost set to go. Tweet your comments and include #lyt and then follow the chatter on our Crowd Page. And if you don't have 'em already, sign up for Free Season Tickets for news, contests and maybe even a chance for you to take the court this season.
Mark Simonson shares his insider's view of Friday's typographic battle, including a nifty chart of all the glyphs created during the match.
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