Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

The final week of regionals is fast approaching, and that means one last week for teams outside of FiM and MAR to earn a bid to Championship. And a number of FIRST legends and championship mainstays are currently subject to the mercy of the waiting list. Bobcat Robotics' season may be over already, meaning their streak of six consecutive appearances on Einstein is likely finished. Some of Rebound Rumbles' finest are in jeopardy of missing championship if they don't step up this weekend. The pressure is certainly on everyone this weekend, from multiple champions like 71 and 294 to NASA stars like 118 and 330 to regional powers like 1983 and 1771.

Week six has some incredible action in store, if the past two weeks are any indication. Rebound Rumble has evolved significantly since its debut, but with fewer events and significantly less elite teams in action, expect the pace of progress to slow a bit this weekend. Still, there are enough smart and influential teams playing this weekend that a strong elimination match-up could mean some new tricks are unveiled. It will be exciting to watch if some of the shutdown defensive tactics that were prevalent in many events last weekend make their way into week 6. Triple balances likely won't be quite as common this weekend, but with more and more "stingers" coupled with team experience should mean at least a couple.

Watch out for:

• Until 2008, no member of Team Hammond had ever gone through all four years of high school without tasting a national championship. The Class of 2011 was the first to ever go four years and not reach Einstein (or equivalent). 71 is not only at risk of prolonging their championship drought, but missing Championship as a whole this season. They displayed potential during their finals run at Midwest, but they're not going to find a partner the caliber of Wildstang (nor will they be matched up with opponents like the Bomb Squad and Robowranglers). They'll be one of the best in Cincinatti, but they'll have to execute.
• 829 found out how quickly things can turn sour at Boilermaker. After posting an 11-0-1 record on route to the #1 seed, everything unraveled in two matches for the Digital Goats as they went down in the quarter-finals. Queen City offers a chance at redemption, but they'll have to up the ante and avoid mistakes if they want to take home gold.
• Delphi Elite, Team Driven, and the Sabre Bytes each bring strong scoring machines to Cincy with aims at gold. 48 has already taken home two golds this season (and paired with Beatty to win an event last year). 772 dominated Knoxville, but couldn't find the magic and battled with technical issues last week in Toronto. 1730 was ejected in the quarterfinals in week one, but have had time to try and realize the potential they demonstrated.
• The North Carolina regional will be a fusion of the Virginia and Georgia events, with a number of teams attending who debuted at those two regionals. 1771 and 1311 paired up on the #1 alliance at Peachtree, but were outed in the quarterfinals. Modest production from 435, namely in autonomous, was a big contributing factor to their alliances' victory in Richmond. Expect these teams to be first round selections again, but the Georgians have better odds of winning the event.
• 1519 captained the #7 alliance all the way to the finals in New Hampshire, and they've had plenty of success in North Carolina before. Mechanical Mayhem is a favorite to take away hardware in Raleigh.
• It's rare that a team can stumble in the eliminations and still not only win, but exit an event with an undefeated record. That's exactly what the High Rollers did in Los Angeles. 987 is the lone remaining undefeated team in FRC, and is decidedly the favorite at their home event is Las Vegas.
• It's week six, and this will be the first time we see 968 in action.
• Fresh off admission to the Hall of Fame, 359 doesn't have to worry about securing a bid to championship. They would have washed out that concern by winning Hawai'i anyway. 1477 has secured their bid two fold, with a pair of regional victories. Both of them, along with 231 and 1429, will be strong contenders at Lone Star.
• The Robonauts are one of the premier scoring machines this season, and were selected #1 at both of their prior events for a reason. Unfortunately for 118 they were bumped from the elimination tournament in the semi-finals at both events. They're the favorite to take home gold in Lone Star, but surviving the elimination rounds is far from a guarantee.
• Skunkworks are arguably the best scoring machine in the Pacific Northwest, but 1983 has twice been stopped in the finals. They have one last shot to earn a spot in St. Louis. , and look to be the favorites in Spokane.
• 294 has often assumed a defensive role in their first event because they're not quite 100%, as that was the case this year. Poor execution limited their potential in Los Angeles, but their team has the ability to contend.
• Central Valley is poised to be one of the most competitive west coast events in recent memory. A strong upper crust exists, but there are a number of mid-tier teams that could break through. The relative lack of defense and highly valuable, but achievable, autonomous mode gives an opportunity for teams to unseat some of the elite. 1678 already won in Sacramento, and event where 1671 was undefeated before being eliminated in the semis. Both of them look poised to challenge the big names.
• 330, 973, and 1717 each displayed incredible machines with top tier potential, but were inconsistent. D'Penguineers managed to hook up with the High Rollers and still walked away with gold, but the Beachbots and Greybots definitely have unfinished work.
• The Poofs managed to be the top selection and Champions in SVR, despite not playing anywhere close to the level they demand of themselves. 254 has a lot left to prove to put themselves among the best in FRC, and avoid a letdown season coming off of their first championship. Expect them to elevate their play at CVR.

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

LSR is going to be intense this year !
2415, 624 also have regional victories.

57, 364, 2936 and 418 are hungry for a championship spot!

As they do every year, 118 has a high probability of winning the event , chairman's or Engineering Inspiration !

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

It's not QUITE the last chance - we still have Michigan and MAR in week 7!

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

I can't wait to see the predictions for Week 7. These Championship events will be absolutely crazy.

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

2481 plays in Queen City, and they're GOOD this year. They can sink a lot of baskets, and they're good on the bridges.

I'm also hoping to see 1730 pull off a triple balance at that event. Their design is sick! Very gutsy and impressive.

Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens at Queen City with a bunch of other great teams also in the mix.

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

Thanks for the mention! I was a bit disappointed we were overlooked going into GSR; however, we hadn't reached our scoring potential at GSR anyway. Looking Forward has a big job to do anyway! With the FIRST growth rate, keeping up with all the teams is impractical!

2614 seems like a far more memorable team to forget, though! They left Pittsburgh the Regional Winner and #1 pick with a single loss... not to mention the Innovation in Control Award! Expect a lot of them this weekend at NCR.

2363 and 1086 shouldn't be forgotten, either. 1086 has been strong for years, despite turning in a less memorable eliminations performance in Virginia a few weeks ago. 2363 had a phenomenal "break-out" year last year, but those sort of expectations can be hard to follow up. Regardless, expect both of them to reach more on-field success in Raleigh than they did in Virginia.

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

Three. ;) Engineering Inspiration as well.

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

Yep. Personally, I think this will be the most competitive regional of the season. Not only is there a very large contingent of top level teams coming (118, 1477, 624, 359, 364, 2415, 231, 2587, and more), but Lone Star's group of "up-and-coming" teams should provide some really deep alliances.

Teams like 3847, 3320, and 3997 are coming in with very solid robots, and there's also 3103 with their much improved machine. 441 and 2936 are always in the mix, and should add a lot to the competition. I could go on and on. Definitely going to be no problem at all finding 24 teams to compete in eliminations!

Plus, most of these teams are coming in very well prepared. Some of us have caught wind of how 118 set up a little Texas Scrimmage back in Week 4, giving a lot of these teams some much needed practice time on a full field with other teams. ;)

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

Ouch!
Our match schedule has us against 118, 231, 57, 364, 1477, 624, 2587, and 3320 in 8 out of our 10 matches. Reminds me of Vegas 2011.:ahh:

Re: Predictions Week 6: Last Chance
 

Aww Glenn,
Great teams always relish a challenge and rise to the occasion, right?;)

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

Just browsing through the match schedule has got me really excited. No team is safe.

I also especially like that the very first match sees two of the defending champions on an alliance together. :D

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

On the bright side you guys can probably do a coopertition balance more often. :p

Re: Predictions Week 5: Last Chance
 

Coopertition time!