Predictions Championship 2015: Galileo
 

Tips:
The Beachbots have always been known for finding ways to make a single-jointed arm highly effective. However, this year 330 needed to incorporate a wrist rotation in order to pull of their unique capping strategy. Even still, their Recycle Rush machine is still very much a Beach Bots-style design. Their long arm can either be used to fight for the step containers or in their signature fashion of placing a set of three RCs on top of only two five-high stacks after completing a container set on their own during autonomous. The latter strategy can be worth more than 100 points individually when pulled off correctly, but it remains to be seen if it's efficient enough with the recycling containers to be viable in the Championship playoffs.

For a long time, the only times Israeli teams visiting the US was for championship. Over the past couple years, a few have began venturing stateside for regional events. After being ousted in the quaterfinals in Israel, 1690 upped the ante and earned the top seed in both SBPLI and Chesapeake. Orbit's long arm allowed them to grab containers off the step, and they build stacks from the human player station in order to reach the finals twice and win Chesapeake.

Missing the eliminations is always a discouraging moment for a team. But opting out of the eliminations as an alliance captain because of robot issues is a particularly strange scenario. 2451 bowed out of the playoff tournament in Chicago because of issues with their control system they weren't able to resolve in time for alliance selection. However, they had already earned a bid to St. Louis with their oustanding play at Rock City, which made them the 2nd seed, first selection, and regional champions. Pwnage will be looking to put their Midwest regional issues in the rear view mirror with an elimination berth in St. Louis.

Talon Robotics took a big leap forward from their first even to their second. 2502 ranked 36th in qualifications and was the 10th selection at Northern Lights, but jumped up the the #2 ranking and was picked first a few weeks later at 10,000 Lakes. The addition of a tethered ramp helped transform 2502 into a team capable of making multiple 42 point stacks from the feeder stations. If they can keep up, or even improve, on that productivity, Talon should be in the St. Louis playoff tournament for the first time in their history.

The alternating quarterfinalist and finalist results that 27 achieved over the course of 2015 highlight the perils and rewards of designing a complimentary robot. While many teams focused on how to build capped stacks on their own, Rush opted for a capping specialist. Their quick canburglars enabled them to access plenty of cans, and if they can find a partner that can churn out stacks of totes, they can put up some serious points.

Dark Horse:
All the Swartdogs do is build stacks, but they're quite good at it. 525 won Northern Lights and 10,000 Lakes on the backs of their ability to create multiple 6-high stacks. They added noodling of those stacks to their arsenal during their second outing, but otherwise they didn't need to make any dramatic changes. After missing eliminations at championship the past two years, the Swartdogs should be playing on Saturday.

Sleeper:
Being able to canburgle and mine the landfill are two in-demand skills that already would make the Dragons a potential playoff pick. If 1595 can work out the kinks of their "dragon tail" autonomous, it would provide yet another marketable skill to their resume. While 1595 isn't going to blow anyone away with their solo point output, their niche skills could make them an excellent complimentary partner. There's a good chance that they could see Championship elimination play for the first time since they captained an alliance in 2007.

Locks:
The New York Yankees and Montreal Canadiens are legendary franchises in their sports due to their 27 World Series Championships and 24 Stanley Cups, respectively. Orchard Park Robotics is nipping at their heels, now with 22 regional championships. While a regional event doesn't carry the prestige of winning the overall championship in your sport, neither the Yankees or Habs managed to win all their championships consecutively, which is precisely what 2056 has done since their rookie year in 2007. And OP Robotics is the last ones you'll have to remind of the difference between a regional and FRC Champs banner, as the one thing missing from their on-the-field resume is a victory on Einstein. 2056 is capable of clearing the upright totes from the landfill on their own, stacking rapidly off their ramp, scoring a 20 point autonomous, and has a speedy canburglar. There's little that 2056 can't do in this game, and it would be shocking to see them eliminated early for the second straight season.

Where OP Robotics has 22 regional championship, this lock has two. Both this season. 1619 elevated their play well beyond any machine they've built before. Up-A-Creek not only stands a tremendous chance of reaching the playoffs in their first ever trip to Championship, they could have a deep run on the right alliance. Their ability to create three stacks from the human player propelled them to victories in Colorado and the high scoring Utah regional. While their partners won the step cans in Utah, they handled the role themselves in Denver. Up-A-Creek even handles the little things well, like working with tipped over cans and dragging the cans off the step all the way into the auto zone. This is their season to shine.