Friday Night Update: Part 1 (may or may not get around to doing the western happenings in part 2, i apologize if I can't find the time)
As shocking as it sounds, there's more going on at Waterloo than Karthik and Paul joking around with Gameday!
Canada's first event of the year has been solid so far, but it's not quite on par with last year. There have been seven scores of 90 or higher, but 1114 has been involved in eight of them (the other had 2056, 68, and 1006). Other teams, such as 188, 1565, and 68, are doing well, but the decline of 854 and 1305 (as well as the lack of 1503, 610, and 1592) is being felt.
1114 is also sporting the top spot, at 7-1 right now, but there are enough matches tomorrow and enough teams within striking distance for that to change. Q50, which features 1114 against 2056, will likely have a significant impact on the final rankings. 1114 is still the hands down favorite, but it's possible that they might have some trouble if they fall from the #1 spot and a less capable teams climbs in. Duke pulled out a 1 point miracle yesterday, 1114 might have to do the same at some point.
Buckeye is shaping up to be very interesting during the elimination rounds. Any number of teams are easily within range to take the top spot. 94 is 7-0 and currently holding it, but 1024 still hasn't lost and has played one less match (5-0-1). 1629 is 6-1 and has a 5 RS lead on 94, so if they can pick up a match on them tomorrow they could pounce into the #1 spot from their current two position.
1731 has done very well again, although they've already landed 3 losses, all but removing them from contention to become an alliance captain. Their last two losses of the day were heart-breaking though, 10 points to 1024 and 4 points to 1629 (in which 1731 got stuck on the wall for about 25 seconds). They might not be able to land on the #1 alliance like in VCU, but they'll land high.
The eliminations will be tough to call, with at least a few alliance likely to land strong scoring machines. If 1629 can acquire either 1024 or 1731 to help them get balls from the overpass (both teams have done well at it, and are very strong hurdling machines) that alliance could be very dangerous. 1126 and 191 aren't slouching much either and could make a big impact.
West Michigan is also wide open. 2171 has a whopping 56 RS, and is still undefeated (although they're currently #2 because 1504 has played 1 more match), so if they can continue winning they're in prime position to take the #1 spot. While no team is clearly the best, 71 seems to be the strongest so far. With the new rollers added to their pick-up device they've improved on their biggest flaw of week 1. This field is still anyone's game, but if I
had to pick a favorite it would be 71.