[LeelandS]

For years, people have questioned the legitimacy of 2056's winning streak. I've seen many people say that they've only remained undefeated because they always have the best partner at the regional backing them up (be it 1114 or another), and that can certainly be one of the reasons. But they've always built an outstanding robot to earn the right to have those partners.

Today, I think 2056 proved that they don't need the best partner at the regional to go the distance. No offense to 2200 or 4001, as they certainly proved to be great partners to OP Robotics, but 2056 was definitely in a league of their own amongst many of the Greater Toronto West Teams. They proved they don't need one of the Canadian powerhouses alongside them to take a regional. A lot of people are going to argue that they didn't deserve the win, because the opposing alliance wasn't necessarily at 100%. And that may be true. But the record books will forever show that 2056 won a regional without a powerhouse alongside them. In my humble opinion, 2056 has stepped out from the shadow of their recurring partners, 1114, and has reached the same level as the Simbots and, arguably, ascended even higher.

On another note, with the whole "1114 tried to screw 2056" thing, I know that 1114 will never build anything less than the best alliance they can. They wouldn't even consider an offer from a team if they didn't think they had a strong chance of winning the event with them, or they were backed into a corner into accepting (being ranked low and declining would mean no eliminations). 3161 came amazingly close to taking the #1 seed at Greater Toronto East, and it's no coincidence that they took it this time. They are one of the strongest Canadian teams out there right now. And though they may not be as strong as 1114 or 2056, I certainly wouldn't argue with 1114's decision to accept. Were 1114 to decline, 3161 would have certainly made 2056 their next choice. If they'd accepted, they would have still had a great chance of winning. If they'd declined, 3161 would get their pick of the next strongest team, and 1114 and 2056 would still be split, since 1114 wouldn't be able to pick 2056. 1114 made a smart move accepting 3161's offer. Declining would have been a poorly thought-out decision. And 1114 always thinks their moves through all the way.