[Shankar M]

I feel like people are getting a little bit worked up over this finals match and it is overshadowing what was yet another incredible Greater Toronto Regional.

I think that the suggestions of bias in the decision-making processes of the volunteers (who helped to run an incredible event) are a little bit harsh. Many members of the volunteer staff on the field have connections at various levels with 188, just as many of them have connections with Team 1114 (and likely the other 4 teams on the field at that time).

I also think it is equally important that fingers are not pointed at teams over the events that transpired. The first alliance did attempt to call a timeout, but (as EricH mentions above) the rules disallow it. Once the calls were made, the alliance's hands were tied. They did what they could, and when they were out of options, they played their game, can we really fault them for that? (We dealt with a similar situation last year, when 2 of our opponents were not able to make it onto the field in time for the buzzer and were thus left off the field.) It was certainly an unfortunate event and left many people disappointed, but it is integral that we respect the decisions of the officiating crew. They simply followed the rules that they were to enforce. If we as a community have disagreements over what happened, constructive means are the best way to seek resolutions.