UNDERRATED TEAMS

[Duke461]

a few that come to mind, ill make a bigger post later:

1218
234
3487
829
467
302
245
2415 (soon to change (in a good way))
176
134
116
78

etc.

[mrprezzz]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

188 is always an underrated team. They have 1114 and 2056 to play against in Canada, and have been getting closer and closer to beating them every year (with the help of 610 or 1503)

610 and 1503 seem to also be some underrated teams.
2481 was a great team in Queen City almost never missing a shot.
1730 and 3138 also great teams in Queen City.

Most of these teams don't get the spotlight on them because there were teams slightly better than them at regionals. or haven't been amazing for many years like the powerhouses, and just aren't heard of as much.

Well 610 actually got lots of attention at the Arizona regional this year haha. Took over the whole competition and won. Happy for them they are a nice team from what it seems from talking to them.

[Grim Tuesday]

610, 188, 1730

[hg273]

The pacific northwest as a region is underrated, but a few teams in particular come to mind:

2471 - always has very creative and innovative machines, not to mention a fantastic use of a variety of material selection
1425 - often overlooked, but has really upped their game in the last couple years
2733 is a team to watch over the next few years. They haven't quite broken through yet, but they're definitely figuring out how to build quality machines.

[jblay]

195 won CT for the second straight year and I don't think they are on anyone's map for championship but they really should be.
2168 who has, in my opinion, the best robot not at championship.
973 not exactly unknown, but boy do they have a beastly machine. With a few tweaks I would not be surprised to see it on Einstein again.
488 has an amazing and consistent robot that may not really look it but is one of the best scorers of 2012. Things just didn't pan out for them in the elimination rounds.
1985 is the personification of rocking the fender and seems to score every ball they put in the air.

As a person from a weekly top 25 show would say, the most underrated team this year is 1477.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by Duke461

a few that come to mind, ill make a bigger post later:

1218
234
3487
829
467
302
245
2415 (soon to change (in a good way))
176
134
116
78

etc.

I'm not sure how underrated 1771 is, but it's worth offering them up alongside 2415.

- Sunny G.

[jafisher]

3360
They have had a really tough season making it to finals in both GTR East and The Montreal Regional. Their robot performs extremely well and they are one of the easiest teams to work with

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by hg273

1425 - often overlooked, but has really upped their game in the last couple years

Their 2007 machine was one of my favorites that year. Played a couple great matches against them on Galileo when I was with 116.

[kmehta]

Originally Posted by MrTechCenter

2073 and 3256!

I'll second 3256. Two finalist appearances against 971 at Sacramento and Silicon Valley, and then a semifinal loss to 1717 and 330 at Central Valley.

[waialua359]

368 and 1056 from Hawaii.
If you check out 368's list of awards since their inception in 2000, you'll be mightily impressed.
Easily one of my favorite inspirational teams since I started.

[KevinGoneNuts]

1458 and 1280 are always very solid teams. They seem to be overlooked a lot. They're always very good fun to work with/against! I will also nominate 701. They're always on the cusp of being a powerhouse and they are a very GP team! They sat with our drive team this year and taught us the physics behind co-op balancing.

[Mr. Lim]

This year, the two most underrated teams I've personally seen are:

3161

and

842.

Both are effective "checkmate" shooters...

[PaW]

Originally Posted by hg273

1425 - often overlooked, but has really upped their game in the last couple years

Their interesting wheelbase and 'stinger' helped them win the Seattle Olympic Regional this year.

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Their 2007 machine was one of my favorites that year. Played a couple great matches against them on Galileo when I was with 116.

In 2007 Las Vegas, 1425 was the top seed. They picked 254 first. Their final pick: then-rookie team 1983.

[LeelandS]

Maybe I just haven't been in the right circles, but I haven't seen nearly as much recognition as I thought there would be for 1507 or 340.

340 is one of the best pure dumper bots ('pure' meaning no shooting, as in 548 or 1323) I've seen so far, and after a finalist and winning finish at Finger Lakes and Buckeye respectively, almost definitely the most successful. I'm surprised there is not a lot more buzz over them, being one of the most successful teams without a shooter.

1507 is, hands down, one of the strongest shooters. They may not necessarily be on par with 2056/67/1717/etc., but they rarely miss more than one shot per every 3 taken, and usually sink all 3. They've won both of their events this season, both times captaining their alliance as the number 1 seed. They almost always hit both shots in autonomous, and are more than proficient with tipping and balancing the bridge.

Unfortunately, the upstate New York region doesn't seem to get a lot of recognition, but both of these teams will be teams to watch in St.Louis. I can easily see 1507 on Einstein again, and 340 will be a strong contender in any division they're in.

3256 - Warriorborgs - Build awesome robots each year, and always seem to be finalists. Maybe that'll change in St. Louis?
846 - Funky Monkeys - Always build innovative and powerful robots, but sometimes paired with alliance partners who can't back them up enough
604 - Quixliver - Like Funky Monkeys, always strong but not always given the best qualification schedule. Plus, 604 and 846 are always against 254, where any team looks half as good as they're supposed to be.
701 - Robovikes - And I thought 254 was the team of constant improvement. I saw 701's robot this year, and 254's this year, and honestly thought 701's was cooler.
1280 - Ragin' C-Biscuits - These guys are powerhouses. Their robots are engineering feats, always plagued with being in on of the middle rankings in the top 8.
254 - Cheesy Poofs - I know what you're thinking: 254? Underrated? How's that possible? While everyone knows about the insanely awesome robots 254 makes every year, they are never as much recognized for their behind-the-scenes actions. Opening their lab to other teams is one thing, but the help they give to teams during the competitions is another. They have a whole section (called FIRST Aid, I think) devoted to helping other teams during the competition.


I only use 254 as an example in my post since they are the local "powerhouse team" in the Silicon Valley. Any other powerhouse could be replaced with their number (ie. 971, 1717, 330, etc.)