Wow, what a day.

Here's my views. This is still only my second year doing this, so I may be overlooking some things:

From what I've seen, it looks like 341 tops the entire game, and will continue doing so with their 1st seed rank for the remainder of tomorrow. When it comes down to alliance selections, they'll want someone who can both hinder their opponents and score, so 125 with their amazing feeding and starvation strategy will be a steal away from their currently 3rd place seed (although tomorrow it may get up to second place, but IMO they'll stay 3rd or 4th due to the need for strong alliance partners). With an accurate scorer and a great feeder, they'll need a bot who is fast and can pick up and shoot balls fast to pair with Dasiy, and it looks like 973 will be the perfect bot for that. 973's "Emperor Swerve" has allowed them to be one of the most versatile teams at IRI, giving them the ability to not only collect balls and score quickly, but also play some killer defense (although who could expect less from the team who T-Boned their way through Einstein in 2011?). Another option instead of 973 would be 330. While the Beach Bots don't have a swerve, their accurate shooting and strong drivetrain will allow them to score very accurately, as well as push through most of the competition.


Other things I've seen:

67 has flown under the radar for most of the competition. Ending in 50th place, they are a team almost certain to be in the top 32 teams in the elimination rounds. Although I have noticed quite a few balls fall out of that utility arm....

1114 has been doing what they've always been doing, and doing it well, but they still seem to have landed in 31st place. Still a strong scorer, but seem to be held back by the competition (and some of their alliance partners).

1538 holds the title for the top ranked California team, and for a reason. Since the last time I've competed with them (SVR), their scoring ability has multiplied, and it's getting scary. A fast, reliable, and high scoring Hybrid mode has helped them pull through the competition. Unfortunately, that's some of the best they've got. Some shaky driving and a lengthy bump traversal time hits them hard in the bellypan (stick to bridges Holy Cows, they're faster in this case).

68 is another bot with a high chance of making it to eliminations. A consistent Hybrid mode and their ability to score high in teleop mode will surely bring them far.

1676 has been a bot I've always been interested in this season. Great driving, accurate shooting in both Hybrid and teleop mode, and excellent bridge balancing has brought them to the 5th seed, and almost for sure they'll stay in the top 8 tomorrow. The only letdown is their somewhat slow shooter. It's not too slow, but there are a lot of faster ones with similar accuracy out there.

I left out a lot of great teams (62, to be exact), but I can't write about all of them, and these are the 8 I've spent the most time observing.

Can't wait for tomorrow!