I'm pretty confident Josh Knitt would have beaten JD's CoL offense in the final round if it wasn't for a mistake followed by a bad decision when he was on tilt from said mistake.
Indeed, though playing CM when I thought JD was forcing me to didn't matter since Claudia would have never been able to band again (JD still had 3 Woes). The game was over when Claudia hit the table and I didn't realize the Forsaken Soul was out.
My loss was mainly a compilation of a few different factors:
1. My not recognizing the Forsaken Soul
2. JD's first turn or two of soul drought to begin the game in a stressed mindset
3. The lingering bad taste in my mouth from my prior 3 games (Dom-blitzing Jay, ripping a plot to win against Drew, and being denied the full win against Josiah)
4. My overall tiredness combined with the high pressure by that point
Pretty much, I accept all of the blame, and my mistake in JD's game was my own.
Despite what people think, I don't think of myself as an ultra-competitive player. Plaques and awards aren't why I play- the only reason I'd play at such a tense high-level tournament anymore is for the chance to make cards; otherwise I'd probably sit out and play games on the side. I would actually say I'm one of the most competitive
casual players you could ever play.