Deathmatch 2024

Special Interest Games
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Having run this for five years now, at least for the more vintage topics, some trends may have emerged (trends that may confirm innate prejudices).

Deathmatch knockout outcomes 2020-2024

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Winner OHMSS Blofeld Silva Drax Silva Goldfinger
Runner-Up Silva Sanchez Goldfinger Drax OHMSS Blofeld
Third Drax Scaramanga Klebb & Grant Goldfinger Silva
Fourth Klebb & Grant Drax Largo Klebb & Grant Le Chiffre

Most successful players here are Drax and Silva with 4 placings apiece, although Silva the strongest overall with 2 wins. It’s… bascially the same names with the occasional random visitor, though. 2021 was the year Klebb was on her own, which seemed to open up the field a bit.

As far as overall form performance over 5 years goes, and settling seedings and pots for next year…

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Average form Seed/Pot 2025
Dr No 17 7 13 11 12 12 Pot1
Klebb & Grant 1 12 2 5 2 4.4 3rd seed
Goldfinger 16 9 3 6 1 7 6th seed
Largo 7 4 7 9 8 7 7th seed
YOLT Blo. 20 19 9 17 13 15.6 Pot 1
OHMSS Blo. 2 1 5 1 4 2.6 1st seed
DAF Blo. 18 15 17 14 16 16 Pot 2
Kananga 14 11 14 15 15 13.8 Pot 1
Scaramanga 5 6 4 8 9 6.4 5th seed
Stromberg 3 21 11 7 7 9.8 Pot 1
Drax 9 3 1 3 5 4.2 2nd seed
Kristatos 21 20 15 24 20 20 Pot 3
Khan & Orlov 15 17 19 23 19 18.6 Pot 2
Zorin 13 2 10 12 11 9.6 10th seed
Koskov & Whitaker 23 23 22 25 25 23.6 Pot 3
Sanchez 8 8 8 10 10 8.8 9th seed
Trevelyan 12 14 16 16 14 14.4 Pot 1
Carver 11 18 18 18 17 16.4 Pot 2
Elektra 19 13 20 19 18 17.8 Pot 2
Graves 24 22 21 20 24 22.2 Pot 3
Le Chiffre 4 10 12 4 6 7.2 8th seed
Greene 22 24 25 22 23 23.4 Pot 3
Silva 6 5 6 2 3 4.4 4th seed
Ober. Blo 10 16 24 13 21 16.8 Pot 2
Safin - - 23 21 22 22 Pot 3

Some remarkable consistency overall, although it does rather play to a narrative of “with a bare handful of exceptions, the last 40-odd years of villains have been total rubbish.”

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Tremendous fun, Jim - and a goldmine of fandom preference data Eon would be wise to take a closer look at. The villain’s quality is a central element for how the films are perceived. Rarely is a weak villain seen in a strong Bond film. There must go more effort into the conception of Bond’s adversaries.

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And in the Daniel Craig era the henchmen have been largely hit and miss as well.

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I mean…that’s true for every era. Odd Job was followed by a guy who only gets remembered for his death that got the point.

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It is probably wrong to expect interesting henchmen in every film - and after OddJob I would say it took three films until Wint & Kidd really hit it out of the park again, but then there was TeeHee, NickNack and Jaws - four films in a row, not bad. Of course, after that it took another four films (not counting Gobinda, although why not?) until Dario gave me the creeps. And then Xenia, sure, Stamper, kind of, and then… well long drought until the underused Hinx.

So maybe the era of the henchman was the 70´s.

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Maybe the Moore Bond persona (test-run by Connery in DAF) meshed better with memorable henchmen?

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OK, the Group Stages of Songs has ended, spewing forth the following

Group A Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Live and Let Die 4 4 0 0 65 9 56 87.9 12
TWINE 4 2 1 1 40 32 8 56.63 7
FYEO 4 2 1 1 36 36 0 50.45 7
TND 4 1 0 3 24 46 -22 34.18 3
All Time High 4 0 0 4 15 57 -42 20.83 0

It’s not so much the fact that Live and Let Die came out on top and gave the other fellas hell here - that, one could have predicted - but the margin of its victory is immense, albeit it was drawn in a group of pretty insipid old tat, All Time High, perhaps the last song to date with a generally sunshine-and-apples outlook on life, and nothing to say about death from what I recall, meets a grisly fate. What a miserable bunch we all are. That gulf between Winner and Runner-Up, though - yikes…

Group B Played W D L F A GD % Pts
We Have All / World 4 4 0 0 49 23 26 68.1 12
YOLT 4 2 1 1 44 28 16 61.13 7
TBall 4 2 1 1 42 39 12 58.35 7
GoldenEye 4 1 0 3 35 37 -2 48.58 3
TWotW 4 0 0 4 10 64 -54 13.9 0

That said, a love song can top the charts so it may just be down to the quality, after all. GoldenEye - a song about stalking someone, delivered by a victim of horrendous domestic abuse - will probably make it through as a Lucky Loser but this was quite a tight group - with one exception. Yes, I know The Writing’s on the Wall was deemed worthy of an Oscar but one suspects it may have been pity, or an attempt to just get it to sod off sideways. Not popular, is it?

Group C Played W D L F A GD % Pts
DAF 4 4 0 0 61 11 50 84.7 12
Goldfinger 4 3 0 1 51 21 30 70.83 9
TLD 4 2 0 2 32 38 -6 46.5 6
AWtD 4 1 0 3 16 54 -38 23.3 3
LTK 4 0 0 4 17 53 -36 24.78 0

Hmm. A brace of Basseys one might have predicted, but the outcome does go against form and does give Live and Let Die a run for its money - perhaps. Although Licence to Kill does have a better goal difference and average than Another Way to Die, Another Way to Die did actually win a match. By one vote. Things are looking up. Ish. Note Goldfinger’s goal difference and percentage…

Group D Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Skyfall 4 4 0 0 53 19 34 73.63 12
Moonraker 4 3 0 1 51 21 30 70.83 9
AVTAK 4 2 0 2 47 25 22 65.25 6
TMwtGG 4 1 0 3 18 54 -36 25 3
Mango Tree 4 0 0 4 11 61 -50 15.3 0

…because Moonraker has an identical result, and placing. Bit of a tumble for A View to a Kill given its seeding, but a strong Lucky Loser performance nonetheless. Perhaps it is unfair to include Underneath the Mango Tree but it’s not the worst performance of the bottom-feeders. Note Moonraker’s goal difference and percentage…

Group E Played W D L F A GD % Pts
NDIB 4 4 0 0 59 12 47 83 12
YKMN 4 3 0 1 51 21 30 70.83 9
FRWL 4 2 0 2 34 38 -4 47.23 6
NTTD 4 1 0 3 26 45 -19 36.4 3
DAD 4 0 0 4 9 63 -54 12.5 0

…because You Know My Name has an identical result, and placing. Sorted out below. Ah well, it’s “the Group with Die Another Day in it”, but even then, No Time to Die won’t score highly enough to make it as a Lucky Loser. Curse of Oscar, maybe. Or just a bit rubbish. Die Another Die hits the bum notes for yet another year; you don’t need Sigmund Freud to analyze this.

Form table - Group Stage - Songs

Song(seed) Form % Group Stage outcome
1 Live and Let Die (1) 87.4 Winner A
2 Diamonds are Forever (8) 84.7 Winner C
3 Nobody Does It Better (6) 83 Winner E
4 Skyfall (7) 73.63 Winner D
5 Moonraker 70.83 Runner-Up D
6 You Know My Name (5) 70.83 Runner-Up E
7 Goldfinger (3) 70.83 Runner-Up C
8 We Have all the Time in the World (2) 68.1 Winner B
9 A View to a Kill (4) 65.25 Lucky Loser 1
10 You Only Live Twice (9) 61.13 Runner-Up B
11 Thunderball 58.35 Lucky Loser 2
12 The World is Not Enough (10) 56.63 Runner-Up A
13 For Your Eyes Only 50.45 Lucky Loser 3
14 GoldenEye 48.58 Lucky Loser 4
15 From Russia with Love 47.23 Lucky Loser 5
16 The Living Daylights 46.5 Lucky Loser 6
17 No Time to Die 36.4
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 34.18
19 The Man with the Golden Gun 25
20 Licence to Kill 24.78
21 Another Way to Die 23.2
22 All Time High 20.83
23 Underneath the Mango Tree 15.3
24 The Writing’s on the Wall 13.9
25 Die Another Day 12.5

The waffer-theen difference between the three songs on 70.83% finally sorted by how many votes they scored against the winner of their Group - with Moonraker doing best. Also, as it’s unseeded, possibly needs a bit of assistance into a higher orbit. Not that massive a lead this time for Live and Let Die, so it could all get a bit frilly in the rounds to come - if it makes it. A few jiggeries and a handful of pokeries were required to redistribute the Lucky Losers around the default Second Round draw structure, to avoid immediate replays of Group matches - this may yet come to have an effect…

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Form table after Second Round - Songs

Song Form % (% shift) / place shift
1 Live and Let Die 85.62 (-2.28) / -
2 Diamonds are Forever 85.6 (+0.9) / -
3 Nobody Does It Better 81.7 (-1.3) / -
4 Skyfall 69.48 (-4.15) / -
5 We Have All the Time in the World 68.6 (+0.5) / +3
6 Goldfinger 68.42 (-2.41) / +1
7 Moonraker 66.08 (-4.75) / -2
8 You Know My Name 64.9 (-5.93) / -2
9 Thunderball 59.62 (+1.27) / +2
10 You Only Live Twice 59.48 (-1.65) / -
11 A View to a Kill 56.9 (-8.35) / -2
12 The World is Not Enough 52.36 (-4.27) /-
13 GoldenEye 48.28 (+0.3) / +1
14 For Your Eyes Only 45.06 (-5.39) / -1
15 The Living Daylights 43.08 (-3.42) / +1
16 From Russia with Love 40.14 (-7.09) / -1
17 No Time to Die 36.4
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 34.18
19 The Man with the Golden Gun 25
20 Licence to Kill 24.78
21 Another Way to Die 23.2
22 All Time High 20.83
23 Underneath the Mango Tree 15.3
24 The Writing’s on the Wall 13.9
25 Die Another Day 12.5

That’s… close. Tight in all the right places, the top two are just 0.02% apart and it’s possible that we will see a new winner this year. The top three are clearly pulling away and perhaps that’s no great surprise. Some fairly hairy Quarter-Finals to play out yet, though.

As is common for a Second Round, some sizeable drops and rises and, depending on performance, that lower end of the top ten could well be subject to further ructions. Let them all eat each other.

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DAF just .02% out of first place?!?

I am verklempt.

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Seems to me that DAF climbed a lot during the last decades - so… keep on doing the good work, and one day it will be no.1!

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A good chance that climbing has been brought about singlehandedly by @MrKiddWint infectious love for the film.

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With some very tight Quarter-Finals for Songs complete, form table…

Song Form % (% shift) / place shift
1 Diamonds are Forever 82.17 (-3.43) / +1
2 Live and Let Die 80.17 (-5.45) / -1
3 Nobody Does It Better 75.93 (-5.77) / -
4 Goldfinger 69.77 (+1.35) / +2
5 We Have All the Time in the World 66.97 (-1.63) / -
6 Moonraker 66.08 (-) / +1
7 You Know My Name 64.9 (-) / +1
8 Skyfall 61.8 (-7.68) / -4
9 A View to a Kill 56.9 (-) / +2
10 Thunderball 56.55 (-3.07) / -1
11 You Only Live Twice 55.45 (-4.03) / -1
12 The World is Not Enough 52.36
13 GoldenEye 48.28
14 For Your Eyes Only 45.06
15 The Living Daylights 43.08
16 From Russia with Love 40.14
17 No Time to Die 36.4
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 34.18
19 The Man with the Golden Gun 25
20 Licence to Kill 24.78
21 Another Way to Die 23.2
22 All Time High 20.83
23 Underneath the Mango Tree 15.3
24 The Writing’s on the Wall 13.9
25 Die Another Day 12.5

Can it do it? Can Live and Let Die be usurped by Diamonds are Forever? They are up against each other in the Semi-Finals so let’s see.

Skyfall skyfell rather horribly, much to the advantage of some non-combatants failing upwards, and A View to a Kill slithers into a top ten finish from which it cannot now be dislodged. Maybe that’s “right”. Note the relentless march of Goldfinger… again.

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Semi-Finals done for Songs, and the form table reads as…

A Song Form % (% shift) / place shift
1 Diamonds are Forever 76.77 (-5.4) / -
2 Live and Let Die 76.66 (-3.51) / -
3 Nobody Does It Better 75.93
4 Goldfinger 67.75 (-2.02) / -
5 Moonraker 66.08 (-) / +1
6 You Know My Name 64.9 (-) / +1
7 We Have All the Time in the World 63.75 (-3.22) / -2
8 Skyfall 61.8
9 A View to a Kill 56.9
10 Thunderball 56.55
11 You Only Live Twice 55.45
12 The World is Not Enough 52.36
13 GoldenEye 48.28
14 For Your Eyes Only 45.06
15 The Living Daylights 43.08
16 From Russia with Love 40.14
17 No Time to Die 36.4
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 34.18
19 The Man with the Golden Gun 25
20 Licence to Kill 24.78
21 Another Way to Die 23.2
22 All Time High 20.83
23 Underneath the Mango Tree 15.3
24 The Writing’s on the Wall 13.9
25 Die Another Day 12.5

Suspect this might have been the tightest round of Deathmatches for some years. There’s still a lot to play for, at least for “form”, in the Third Place Death-Off and the Final. Slenderest of margins at the moment, but could Diamonds are Forever top out the table with a good showing in the Third Place match? There’s even a chance Nobody Does It Better might do best and betterest of all. MY GOD IT’S TENSE.

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OK, so…

Admin first - Group Stage for “Bond” i.e. performance as the lead, per film - will open on 15 June and voting runs to 17 June. So that’s next. Brace yourselves.

There is a winner for the Deathmatch for Songs - but it’s as an only just since the Final was a tie and had to be decided on penalties. As below:

Goal difference overall (including Final): Live and Let Die was +68, Goldfinger +44. Point to Live and Let Die. 1-0.

Group performance: Live and Let Die won its Group, Goldfinger was Runner-Up in its Group. Some might say that a Runner-Up getting into the Final should be rewarded. Smell my no. 2-0 to Live and Let Die.

Largest Group win: Both achieved a 16 point margin as their largest Group win (Live and Let Die vs All Time High; Goldfinger vs Licence to Kill). 3-1 to Live and Let Die.

Largest other win: Both had 9 point margins elsewhere (Live and Let Die vs. A View to a Kill Second Round; Goldfinger vs. Skyfall Quarter-Final). 4-2 to Live and Let Die.

Common opponent: Only Diamonds are Forever (which has strongly influenced this round of Deathmatches, see further on form) - Live and Let Die beat it in the Semi-Finals, Goldfinger lost to it in the Group Stage. 5-2 to Live and Let Die.

Overall form: Live and Let Die stronger % form throughout. 6-2 to Live and Let Die.

Accordingly:

Deathmatch knockout - Songs

Winner: Live and Let Die
Runner-Up: Goldfinger
Third: Diamonds are Forever
Fourth: We Have All the Time in the World

Form table etc to follow - some final surprises…

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Starting with the final form table for Songs, for 2024

Song (seed) Form % (% shift) / place shift
1 Diamonds are Forever (8) 76.2 (-0.57) / -
2 Nobody Does It Better (6) 75.93 (-) / +1
3 Live and Let Die (1) 73.33 (-3.33) / -1
4 Moonraker 66.08 (-) / +1
5 Goldfinger (3) 65.53 (-2.22) / -1
6 You Know My Name (5) 64.9
7 Skyfall (7) 61.8 (-) / +1
8 We Have All the Time in the World (2) 59.26 (-4.49) / -1
9 A View to a Kill (4) 56.9
10 Thunderball 56.55
11 You Only Live Twice (9) 55.45
12 The World is Not Enough (10) 52.36
13 GoldenEye 48.28
14 For Your Eyes Only 45.06
15 The Living Daylights 43.08
16 From Russia with Love 40.14
17 No Time to Die 36.4
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 34.18
19 The Man with the Golden Gun 25
20 Licence to Kill 24.78
21 Another Way to Die 23.2
22 All Time High 20.83
23 Underneath the Mango Tree 15.3
24 The Writing’s on the Wall 13.9
25 Die Another Day 12.5

And so it came to pass that Live and Let Die’s stranglehold on the category was eroded, at the final stages. Seeds scattered generally, and that tie in the Final could only be to the advantage of the top two finishers here. Still, something new and ultimately, a bit of a surprise?

Where this leaves next year’s Deathmatch round of Songs is…

Seedings and pots based on form over the years

Film (2024 seeding) 2021 2022 2023 2024 Average 2025
Dr No 24 24 24 23 23.75 Pot 3
FRWL 19 10 17 16 15.5 Pot 2
Goldfinger (3) 4 9 2 5 5 3rd seed
Thunderball 9 11 12 10 10.5 Pot 1
YOLT (9) 11 6 6 11 8.5 9th seed
OHMSS (2) 2 8 4 8 5.5 5th seed
DAF (8) 12 4 5 1 5.5 4th seed
LALD (1) 1 1 1 3 1.5 1st seed
TMwtGG 20 19 19 19 19.25 Pot 2
TSWLM (6) 8 7 3 2 5 2nd seed
Moonraker 13 13 14 4 11 Pot 1
FYEO 10 15 13 14 13 Pot 1
Octopussy 21 20 20 22 20.75 Pot 3
AVTAK (4) 3 3 9 9 6 7th seed
TLD 14 14 16 15 14.75 Pot 1
LTK 16 22 21 20 19.75 Pot 2
GoldenEye 18 17 11 13 14.75 Pot 1
TND 17 16 18 18 17.25 Pot 2
TWINE (10) 5 12 10 12 9.75 10th seed
DAD 25 23 25 25 24.5 Pot 3
Casino Royale (5) 7 2 8 6 5.75 6th seed
QoS 22 25 22 21 22.5 Pot 3
Skyfall (7) 6 5 7 7 6.25 8th seed
Spectre 23 21 23 24 22.75 Pot 3
NTTD 15 18 15 17 16.25 Pot 2

Some interesting levels of consistency there. Not necessarily admirable consistency, but interesting nonetheless. Pot 1 next year could easily challenge some of the seeds otherwise on the slide…

With two rounds down for this year, time to start looking at the bigger picture.

Deathmatch knockout outcomes per film per category, so far

Villain Song
Winner Goldfinger Live and Let Die
Runner-Up OHMSS Goldfinger
Third Skyfall Diamonds are Forever
Fourth Casino Royale OHMSS

Some way to go, of course, but patterns are emerging already. A couple of years ago, Goldfinger appeared at least fourth in every category; a Grand Slam, as t’were - can it do it again?

Top Ten of everything to date

2 visits to Top Ten 1 Visit to Top Ten Yet to bother the scorers
Goldfinger From Russia with Love Dr No
Thunderball Diamonds are Forever You Only Live Twice
OHMSS Live and Let Die For Your Eyes Only
The Spy who Loved Me The Man with the Golden Gun Octopussy
Moonraker A View to a Kill The Living Daylights
Casino Royale Licence to Kill GoldenEye
Skyfall Tomorrow Never Dies
TWINE
Die Another Day
Quantum of Solace
Spectre
No Time to Die

Possibly a bit early to draw too many conclusions from this. Some speculation maybe as to which film or films will be left in the zero column come the end of all of this. Pleasing start for Moonraker, there. Inevitable start for the Brosnans.

Most Valuable Player - has to finish at least fourth (a “placing”) in the knockout to be counted

Placings Wins Top Ten Top Form Points
Goldfinger 2 1 2 1 6
OHMSS 2 0 2 0 4
DAF 1 0 1 1 3
LALD 1 1 1 0 3
Casino Royale 1 0 2 0 3
Skyfall 1 0 2 0 3

Again, may yet to be too early to call but it’s a strong start for Diamonds are Forever this year; can it mount (fnarr) a challenge?

Form – the road to Best Picture

Villain – form placing Song – form placing
Dr No 12 23
From Russia with Love 2 16
Goldfinger 1 5
Thunderball 8 10
You Only Live Twice 13 11
OHMSS 4 8
Diamonds are Forever 16 1
Live and Let Die 15 3
The Man with the Golden Gun 9 19
The Spy who Loved Me 7 2
Moonraker 5 4
For Your Eyes Only 20 14
Octopussy 19 22
A View to a Kill 11 9
The Living Daylights 25 15
Licence to Kill 10 20
Goldeneye 14 13
Tomorrow Never Dies 17 18
TWINE 18 12
Die Another Day 24 25
Casino Royale 6 6
Quantum of Solace 23 21
Skyfall 3 7
Spectre 21 24
No Time to Die 22 17

Ultimately to be calculated at year end, based on the average finishing position in the category form tables. Probably won’t be Die Another Day’s year.

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DAF is the Jerry West/Chuck Howley of the Bond Songs Deathmatch.

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If only I knew what that meant. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Jerry West of the L.A. Lakers was named MVP of the 1969 NBA Finals, which the Lakers lost.

Chuck Howley of the Dallas Cowboys was named the MVP of Super Bowl V (1971), which the Cowboys lost.

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One thing’s for sure: Dame Shirley is MVP this year (and arguably of all time). Three turns at bat and a homerun every time. She’s the Babe Ruth of Bond songs.

Meanwhile, despite the famous line from her own movie, Madonna learns there is indeed crying in (metaphorical) baseball.

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Dame Shirley is forever.

Fun question (not Sideswipe caliber):

Which Bond theme song other than the ones she sang would you want to hear Dame Shirley do?

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