Best Matches Of All Time
 

Hey CD,
After watching championships for the past few days, I've been thinking about what the best matches in FRC history might be. I'd like to hear input from people about matches from numerous years. Your nomination could be because it won some teams a regional or a championship, because of a high score, because of a cool moment or an awesome intro, etc. If you have video to go along with it that would be great!

My nomination: 2012, Archimedes Finals Match 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABTTuwNsu6A

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I know that this is a bit broad, but Galileo elims were super intense! Especially the semi's 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I think the World Finals this year were the best matches I've ever seen. Absolutely breathtaking.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Any of the three Einstein matches in 2008 between 1114, 217, 148 vs. 233, 968, 60. Those matches were epic. I still watch them quite often for entertainment.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Einstein Finals in 2006 are my favorite matches of all time. Amazing strategy, great play and a final score difference of 4 points.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

This first one is one of the funniest and the second is a still standing highscore for 2012. This is from my experience. I'm sure there have been some incredible matches before my time. Haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3FzCCJaJi0 Bad Roomba!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Tb4dP2RmA 128!

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

2006 FIRST Championship - Newton SF2-2

A-BOMB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSns2...hiuKh0&index=4

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

One of the most memorable match moments IMO was in the 2009 Midwest Semifinals, It was the second match between a 111 and 1625 alliance (they ended up winning the regional) and a 217 led alliance. The 217 alliance was down the entire match but a last second super cell full court throw from 2022's human player was scored and shot them into the lead. 111 and 1625 went on to win the rubber match but it was still very exciting when it happened.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

The best moment in any match that I have been involved in was 2009 Newton Semifinal 1-2. The number 5 seed alliance, 1507, 121, and 177 was down 1 match to the powerhouse 1 seed of 1625, 234, and 768. It was a tight, defensive match, but at the end, 177's human player hit a buzzer beater full court shot (literally from one corner of the field to the far alliance wall) that somehow bounced into 234's trailer as time expired. In the end, it didn't change the outcome of the match but it was the most exciting moment I've ever seen in FIRST. You can see the video if you go to http://www.rhodewarrior.org/video/index.html and click 2009 then Semifinal 1 Match 2.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I was only in FIRST for one year, but I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one, I was the photographer for 4143 at World, and this was by far the hardest match I had watched the whole season. We missed Einstein by this much

>-------------------------<

Literally.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I had to watch a few times to see the one you were talking about, it comes in about 2-3 seconds after the buzzer. What a shot.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I don't remember a video of this one, but 27 shot corner-to-corner in 2008 for a game-winning hurdle. Note that this is a 40" trackball we're talking about, going 8 feet in the air at peak, going diagonally across an FRC field. I don't know that match, or even remember what event, but I remember it was talked about for a while.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

For me, my favorite match, without a doubt, is Finals Match 1 on Einstein from 2010. 469 + 1114, thought to be unstoppable, defeated by HOT's buzzer beater hang to win by 2 points. What makes this match so very special is that there is 0 video of this post buzzer hang, just Blair saying "watch this machine fly" and the video pans over to 1114 as the buzzer sounds, they have already pulled off their hang and are just sitting there but 67 is still pulling up, worst camera move in the history of FIRST.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I think this one has to be up there from 2002.Team 71vs Team 60. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmAnkYDUQM

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I always see these matches with 71 but one thing that never made sense to me, did scoring the balls do anything in that game?

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Yep. If you scored the balls into a goal that was in your scoring zone (the one just across the midfield zone from you), they were worth points. If you scored them into a goal in your opponents' scoring zone, they got the points. Moving a goal from your zone to your opponents' zone, or vice versa, changed which alliance they scored for. BUT... moving the goal out of one of the goal scoring zones entirely meant no ball points and no goal points for anybody, IIRC.

I know we won an offseason because we had one more ball in our goals than our opponents did, or something like that--they hand counted those.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Best or most memorable? Certainly the infamous Match 100 of Curie back in 2010 would make it onto the list! It was the only match of it's kind, after they figured a potential flaw in the ranking system that year.

http://www.thebluealliance.com/team/469/2010

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

At IRI last year, 118, 16, and 624 got a high score for Rebound Rumble (136) and after triple balancing, 118 scored a 3 pointer off of the bridge! It was exciting to watch.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Us RoboDawgs are happy to have been a part of that match! Definitely our most fun match of the entire year! I mean, it's not often that you get to be in a match with the likes of Simbotics, WildStang, and Las Guerillas!

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

My (biased) favorite was 2005 Einstein SF2-3. With 1 second left, 503 capped a tetra breaking up a row (13 point swing). We won by 13 points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFBQdQXIuwY (the real time score was incorrect towards the end of the match as red owned one more goal then shown).

The match before it, we won by 3 points, so the combined winning margin was 2 tetras.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Can somebody explain the reasoning behind 1114 scoring for the red alliance?


I agree. I still watch those Einstein matches for entertainment :o

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

A ranking system that will hopefully never return. Basically, they figured they were going to lose the match anyway, and the ranking system rewarded you for losing if you kept your score very low. 1114's partners blocked their own goals immediately, 1114 joined in scoring for red, and there wasn't anything 469 and their partners could really do about it other than watch their ranking plummet.

It wasn't a potential flaw in the ranking system, it was a flawed ranking system. It's also Strike 1 on Coopertition in the rankings. (2012 was Strike 3--the bridge was used to destroy some rankings.)

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Long story short, in 2010 it was advantageous to win by a smaller margine than a large margine.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I remember that a little more now. It was a while ago. If I remember correctly, there was something similar in 2009? I wouldn't really know, as that was our (very) "off" year. Anyway, I really did not like the co-op bridge in 2012. I liked the bridges a lot, just not the co-op.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

1114 vs. 2056 at in Finals 1-1 2012's GTR West will always have a special place in my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQ85frlBzc

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Personally, it would have to be the finals at Philly, 2008.

You had the alliance of 103/272/834 (three high ranked, high powered shooters), VS the alliance of 365/341/84 (solid alliance, not as fast at hurdling).

No one thought that 103 would lose, at all. They had outscored everyone else by wide margins the whole weekend. Sitting in the stands, and watching the finals matches was one of the most exhilarating experiences ever, for me.

http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2008pa

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Not really accurate. The system rewarded you if you lost and the team you lost too had a very HIGH score. That's why teams scored 6 v 0 instead of just not scoring at all.

And I don't think they figured that were going to lose anyway...they just weighed the odds and with 111 also high in the rankings, the best strategy for them was to 6 v 0...and it proved correct as they ended up seeding first.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Every competition in FRC I have been involved with through 2011 used a system where the winning alliance received the losing alliance's unpenalized score and the losing alliance received their penalized score as part of "seeding points". In 2010, it was called the Coopertition Bonus and those values were doubled. Those were they tiebreakers until in 2012 your HP, and now in 2013 your AP counts as the tiebreaker, which I think everyone is a fan of.

In 2009, 2011, and 2013, your QS was based on the 2-1-0 system. 2 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss. Very straightforward.

In 2012 the coopertition bonus was scored under the 2-1-0 system and was included in the QS, which made some events... interesting.

2010 was a big exception in FRC. Teams earned "seeding points". Every team was given the winning alliance score, with a 5 point bonus if you win. 1114/111 lost the match but really only lost 5 points in the seeding system. At CMP, the matches were high-scoring enough for 5 points to be miniscule enough to overcome, unlike how losing 2 matches at CMP can destroy your hopes at being an alliance captain and 3 losses can really put you in serious trouble.
***
Back to thread
***

I liked the 2011 MSC finals and the 2012 Archimedes finals the most.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

In my opinion (also biased) that entire semifinal series in 2005 was awesome. How awesome it was with 330, 67, 503 versus 245, 217, and 766? Also that 330, 245 and 766 competed against each other in Sacramento and 67,217, 245 and 503 competing in michigan. I would say both alliances knew each other very well. Finally, I loved it was a huge slug fest between 67 and 217, they just kept on capping.

Do this day I am haunted by the second and last match, we should have tried to make a dive into your back row the break two of your rows.

I remember standing next Einstein after losing, frustrated; I stared at the crown and realized how lucky I was and how surreal it was. I swear it felt like a dream. I didn't even watch the finals, I was too shellshocked that I had made it to Einstein.

I joke that 2005 SF2-3 cursed me that day, I had to become a mentor because I have to return to Einstein. I have been chasing it ever since (well sort of, I put it on hold for college)

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Lets not forget the fact that in one of those finals matches 341 released a ball from their claw at the buzzer and it rolled past the line to give their alliance 2 points and the win.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

If someone hasn't mentioned the finals of NJ '10, those were nuts.

25 v 2016, 25 was on a rampage all day. They won the first match, and it appeared they won the second. Scores came out, 0-6 in favor of 2016. Someone on 25s alliance incorrectly placed a ball on the return ramp, and it fell off onto the field before going through the sensor triggering the 1 pt/second penalty rule for delay of game.

Biggest. Crowd. Roar. Ever.

25 won the last match.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

My personal favorite match of all time is probably Newton F1-1 in 2006. Team 25 spends the first 90 seconds of the match being double teamed in the corner by 111 and 176. The persistence and determination that they show getting out also impressed me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo_HHFQ_waY

Another one (also featuring 25) that always stood out to me is IRI SF 1-2 between 71-1625-910 and 25-1114-33. The saddest part is that the final score was decided by a foot fault on the 33 Human Player does nothing to change the fact that it was an unbelievably awesome match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fep3iJ5e8

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Those matches would've been closer if the #2 captain didn't suck :rolleyes:

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I may be in the minority, but I really liked 2010's ranking system. I think it produced some of the most accurate rankings of any game. By ranking based on in-match performance and weighting the opponents heavily, rather than just win-loss, the best match schedule for a team was the hardest schedule they could win, not the easiest schedule. It inherently took into account the strength of schedule. My favorite part was the worst possible score was a 0-0 tie. Nobody got any points for that, unlike now, where even though nobody scored, it's still better for both teams than a loss.

The flaw only exists in games where teams are allowed to score for their opponents, which unfortunately was the case in 2010.

In order to use that style of ranking system, the game must be designed to disallow scoring for opponents (eg 2007, 2008, 2011). If implemented with a game which does not discriminate object (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) then 6v0 will happen. It also has the downside of being incredibly difficult to explain to spectators. I doubt it will ever return, since it's too restrictive on game design and it's too different from what's used in traditional sports to make sense to the layman, but the concept behind the ranking system was sound.

[/tangent]

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I've heard stories of a match in 2002 where 71 pulled all the goals and 2 opposing robots across the field.

I heard about it at Karthik's presentation but don't ever remember the driver of that robot who is a fellow mentor on 1675 telling me that story before :)

I was wondering if anyone knew if there was video of this match out there in cyberspace?

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I think you mean this one... This being one of my favourites as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1N5doWRskw

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I have this video on my computer...I know I downloaded from somewhere but I don't remember where. If nobody else has the link, I can upload it to youtube

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Here is a good example of FRC team 71 in 2002

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eKvva_ZCHw

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Here's the video you're looking for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cnnK...ature=youtu.be

71 latches on to two goals and 67. 68 latches on to two goals, including one of the ones 71 had grabbed. 71 proceeds to drag all three goals and two robots across the field to their demise.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I'm going to be like the 5th person to post a match from 2006 involving 25. To give a little back story as to why this one in particular is just so darn awesome.

It's the IRI semi-finals. Alliance #1 is composed of 1114, 25, and 33. The Simbots and Raider Robotix are widely considered the two best teams anywhere in 2006, both with truly awesome scoring machines. The Killer Bees are certainly no slouch either, and are the perfect fit to be that alliance's "back bot" with their turreted shooter and quality ground pickup. It seems like an unbeatable alliance, and performs that way in the quarterfinals. All three teams come out on fire in QF1-1, and look like they might not only break the FRC high score for that year (171), but completely shatter it and top 200 points. Unfortunately, it's blown dead for a field fault and their autonomous doesn't quite work as well in the replay. Either way, the #1 alliance dominated the quarters.

The #4 alliance is captained by a little known second year team that had just started to earn their reputation as a elite team, 1625. They were paired with 71 and 910, who was a defensive powerhouse that year. They were certainly a very good alliance, but nobody gave them much of a chance. Maybe they'd keep it close until the final period, but then 1114 would put the match away.

Keep in mind the scoring in that year's game was much lower than this year. It was more in line with 2012, where 100 was considered a really impressive score. You could win most regionals with scores in the 50s or 60s, and most championship alliances were only scoring in the 60-80 range.

Here's the match in question. I can't remember if it was the second or third match of the semi-finals, but either way, it was incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fep3iJ5e8

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Best match I saw in person was the 2007 semifinals match 3 at the Sacramento Regional. The winner would go to the finals and we were ahead by 30 points with only seconds left. Our opponents however were raising their robots, which would give them 60 points. Our robot and one of our partners both attempted to hang a final tube but we both missed the rack. The buzzer rang, and the robots on the opposing alliance were lifted up enough for the 60 points. It was over.....

Only it wasn't. After the buzzer, the robots came back down, and the opposing alliance got no points for their attempted lift.

It sent us to the finals, and was the most jaw dropping finish to a match I've been a part of.
:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5Pu...ature=youtu.be

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

2001 Midwest Regional setting high score for the whole year. 71, 234, 111, 269
While this video doesn't capture the crowd reaction, there was a brief pause where everyone realized that the impossible had been accomplished. The crowd went silent for just a second. High score 710 which surpassed the previous high score by more than 200 points as I remember.
Watch closely to see several CD posters as students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsp2LjfJHsA

Oh by the way, we were beating Beatty Beast once in 2002 until our human player began scoring balls for them and we lost the match.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

My favorite match ever for many reasons. I was the lead scout and human player for 1625 at the event.

To make a correction, 71 was the 5th seed alliance captain. 71's human loading paired with our floor pickup was a perfect offensive combination. While the scores may not reflect it, 910 played brilliant defense. The best instance being their autonomous mode in SF 1 match 3 where they hit all three of the opposing robots allowing our alliance to win the autonomous period. Without that defensive autonomous in match 3, I would be willing to bet that we wouldn't have pulled out the win to advance to finals. Their robot seemed to know exactly where all three of the their robots would be.

Also, it was the second match of the semi-finals.

All of the eliminations matches for the 5th seeded alliance:
QF2 match 1
QF2 match 2
QF2 match 3

SF1 match 1
SF1 match 2
SF1 match 3

Finals match 1
Finals match 2
Finals match 3

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I nominate the 2004 Michigan regional where 1241 played against 67, in which Hot placed the doubler ball into the 1241 robot hopper to keep it from catching any of the balls!!!
This was the last qualifying match that cost 1241 first place at their rookie competition.

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I agree - Best Ever Match... wow did 67 do a number on 1241...
This was one of the lessons that helped us to understand the depth of scouting and its importance in any game!
I also remember the Killer Bees helping us at worlds in our last qualifying match against team 45 in that same rookie year 2004, they gave us good intel to consider when strategizing to play team 45, and it worked...
Well, this year 1241 won worlds...so we did our best to listen to all of the great teams out there in our FRC community.
Thanks everyone, what a terrific sport...see you all at St. Louis:D

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Here are couple of 701's best matches from the time when I've been on the team. Not from championships, but great matches.

2012: First Unassisted Stacking Balance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShVkw...e_gdata_player

2013: High Scoring Cross Field Shooting and Blocker Defense (score of 212 to 78)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXXGj...e_gdata_player

I'll also add the match we played in against King TeC where we blocked their cross field shots. We were allied with them in eliminations because their cross field shooter was sooo good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrBNS...e_gdata_player

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

I know that this is somewhat biased but Finals match #3 of 2009 Newton division was insane (Even though we lost :( )

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Also IDK the match # but i believe that it's a 2007 West Michigan Regional match when BOB tossed a ringer (Because of AWESOME defense being played on us) and it landed on the spider (on an open arm) Pretty cool...

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

2013 Michigan State Championship, Semifinal 2 Match 1. World record Autonomous score of 90 points (15 discs) by teams 469, 217 and 3539. The highlight of my entire FIRST experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dmF_R4jlDY

Re: Best Matches Of All Time
 

Some of my favorite matches were from the Galileo quarterfinals in 2012. Specifically, quarterfinals 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3. These matches prove just how important strategy and defense are. It allowed the number 8 alliance to upset the number 1 alliance.

The matches start are at 2:30, 26:30, and 59:55

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOdXgFsUqz4