[ WP ] Every 50 years all the different coalitions of planets come together to pit their toughest predator against each other in a duel tournament . This year the Terran coalition is out to win for the first time in 54 tournaments since their entry to the intergalactic stage .

Three humans, bundled up in clothes suited to winter weather, had stopped outside a newly constructed stadium. The stadium was impressive in size, larger than any other stadium, and it was all swooping lines and gleaming metal and glass. 
 
 “ It really is something, isn ’ t it? ” One human spoke, a male no older than thirty Earth years with nondescript features and a dark mop of hair. 
 
 Another human, a burly female with sunglasses, grunted in agreement. She carried a large duffel bag. 
 
 The last, a male wearing a pair of glass lenses in a plastic frame on his face, went for the door. “ We can ’ t just gawk out here, we ’ ve got a competition to win. ” 
 
 Entering, the three were in a room preceding the field, one that took after classical architecture in looks and had a colorful floor. Standing on that floor was a multitude of intelligent beings, from quadrupedal robots to invertebrates in pressurized suits filled with saltwater. In total, sixty-four were present. 
 
 At the center, the running champions for seventy successive tournaments, a species of amphibious bipeds called the Laek with colorful, scaly skin and forked tails. They also happened to be incredibly poisonous, one of the reasons that they, like all intelligent lifeforms that evolved on death worlds, didn ’ t get strangled in the cradle. In that way, they weren ’ t all that different from humans. 
 
 The laek, able to be clearly identified as female from the length of the ear flaps, among other features, walked over to the humans with her pearly beak showing and the corners of her mouth turned upwards. “ Humans! Glad you could make it on time, ” she chirped, “ Where is your champion? ” 
 
 The human male wearing glasses tugged his own lips upwards as he gestured to the other human male. “ Right here. ” 
 
 The laek female held the approximation of a human smile for a few more seconds before dropping it and letting out a long, unbroken whistle, a universal sign of amusement for her species. “ Yourselves? You squishy humans are entering yourselves? And here we were hoping for another good fight, like that big lizard of yours, Komodo dragon? Why not just enter a bigger one? ” 
 
 The competing human laughed reproachfully. “ You ’ ll see, ” he said, shaking his head. 
 
 Soon enough, as they were the last to arrive despite being the hosts, the screen over the gate flickered to life, which bade the assembled beings to halt their conversations and watch the brackets be announced. Animated images of rotating homeworlds were paired up randomly, with golden lines connecting them up until the final matchup. 
 
 Assuming they both won all their matches, both the human and the laek ’ s champion would fight in the fourth round. 
 
 *** 
 
 When it was time for his match, the human female handed the human male the duffel bag, out of which he retrieved a set of primitive yet excellently crafted weapons of stone and wood. Those weapons consisted of a bow with sufficient arrows, a spear, and a knife. All dulled, of course, as nothing was allowed to be harmed during the competition. 
 
 The first two fights were incredibly easy, the human always bigger than the other organism and well trained in the use of his bow. The third, an astonishingly clever fungus, was dispatched in a comparable amount of time to the other two, but did manage to give the human a few nasty bruises when he underestimated it. 
 
 And thus it was time to go against the reigning champion. It lived its entire life on land and walked on six limbs. Warty skin clung to its muscular figure, and its maw was long and filled with serrated teeth, and the wicked pairs of dewclaws on each limb were actually fairly effective. The last vestiges of a tail twitched in anticipation. 
 
 “ Begin! ” 
 
 The two predators knew better than to charge in. They circled each other, looking for weak points. 
 
 Eventually, the laek ’ s champion grew impatient and rushed the human, a mistake. 
 
 The human rolled to the side, getting out a swipe with the knife while doing so. The animal, in return, batted at his head, which he barely avoided. 
 
 This went on for some time, the animal pressing the offensive so as to not let the human get an opportunity. 
 
 “ The human dodges again! Can he keep it up? ” 
 
 He did feel a little winded, but his opponent was tiring more quickly, and it faltered in its unending attack; just what the human needed. 
 
 Hitting with the butt of the spear, the human knocked the animal to the ground. A few more hits, one with the pointier end, ensured that it recognized that it had lost and, therefore, would not get up and keep fighting after the end. 
 
 “ And the human wins! Why, dare I say it, their first win ever, not to mention the first win against the laek since their introduction… ” The commentator droned on about the historical significance. 
 
 The human champion knew he wasn ’ t done yet, though. Two more rounds and it ’ d be an actual win. 
 
 *** 
 
 Earth did in fact end up winning in the end. The other finalist had been a warm-blooded aquatic animal with stinging tendrils. After he hit it with enough arrows, it had stopped approaching him and he was declared the winner. 
 
 Every human in the stands cheered, even his taciturn female companion. Not that he was looking for her or anything, he just happened to spot a familiar face in the crowd, really. 
 
 After the moment of truth, a ceremony to award the trophy, a sphere of pure rhodium mounted on an opal pedestal, was conducted, and after that everyone went back to their hotel rooms.
