[EricH]

Originally Posted by Mike Harrison

This might sound a little obvious at first but stay with me... it all depends on who gets #1 seed and who is in what division. If the two best hurdlers are in the same division (personal opinion: 1114, 217) and one of them gets the number one seed, then they will pick the other. I think you will be hard-pressed to find 2 robots that can beat this as it stands now. If one of them does not get the number one seed, then things start getting interesting, because there is going to be a face-off, now it all depends who gets the number one seed, is it a good or average bot?

Or if the first seed is smart, they can break up alliances before they are made. Let's say that 1114 and 217 are in the same division. #1 seed is, say, a not-so-good team. 1114 is third and 217 is fifth (random seeds). If that team is smart, they will: pick 217, then pick 1114. Note: only do this if you know both will decline...Now, 1114 and 217 CAN'T team up, and so both get a less-good alliance. They may even face each other at some point.

It all depends who is first seed. At L.A., with two good hurdlers and about three or four less-good ones, the first seed was one of the good hurdlers and picked the other. Game over.