Predictions Championship 2013: Einstein

[Looking Forward]

At every level of play, robust design and execution are the two most critical factors in winning. Einstein is no different. Teams have to endure a marathon run of no fewer than ten matches in a matter of hours in order to capture gold. That puts a ton of demand on robots, drivers, and pit crews to keep everything close to 100%. To this point, a back up has never been called on Einstein (though there have certainly been some close calls). The teams that make it that far know what they're in for, and are up to meet the challenge.

Prior to reaching Einstein, alliances will already have had to deal with a variety of different machines and strategies during regional and divisional play. Don't expect alliances to be unprepared for an opponent with an excellent full court shooter or significant advantages in the autonomous or climbing department. The winner will be the alliance that can adapt quickly to their opponents, and who can maintain poise with the pressure on and the robot barely holding together.

Every alliance member will be able to consistently score at least twelve points in autonomous. As an alliance, each group will at least be putting up 48 points in the first fifteen second in virtually every match leading up to Einstein, and often scoring more than that. All four alliances will have a robot capable of scoring extra discs in autonomous, and at least three of them will have a team capable of scoring seven. At this level of play, alliances simply cannot afford a huge deficit coming out of autonomous. Expect the alliances that don't have center line autonomous modes to attempt to challenge those that do for the discs.

All the teams will be able to contribute points in tele-op, but it won't necessarily be their primary task. Situational defense will be omnipresent, but certain teams make take on more responsibility defensively when matched up against full court shooters or climbers. Ground loading will be important, especially for alliances that opt for a run and gun style or have a full court shooter. Expect most of the scoring to be done from the pyramid, but don't write off the possibility of full court shooters being present. The best alliances will know how long it takes them to exhaust their supply of discs, and adjust their strategies accordingly. When the disc supply runs low, they'll start taking higher percentage shots (think 610 at Waterloo or 217 at MSC).

The end game will be very interesting. A botched hang will prove very costly, so teams would be wiseot to rush their attempts. Expect no fewer than two alliances to have top rung climbers, and it's plausible that all four might be able to. The climbs must not interfere with shooting attempts, but as more and more teams become very comfortable with shooting from the wings of the pyramid, this is less of an issue (granted, it is harder to contact the pyramid there).

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. The shots in the dark at actually predicting which teams will end up on the big stage!

ARCHIMEDES:
469 seeds second and invites the Poofs to join their alliance. The round out their alliance with the Team Appreciate.It's not a smooth ride to the division victory, but they end up prevailing.
469/254/2468

CURIE:
OP Robotics is able to secure the #1 seed once again, thanks to their killer autonomous aiding with the first tie breaker. They select HOT with the first selection and 233 with the last pick of the draft. They're challenged in the semi-finals, but manage to outlast and prevail.
2056/67/233

GALILEO:
1114 declines the #1 captain after the Simbots can't seed on top due to a lack of autonomous points. They end up paired with Wildstang and Falcon Robotics. The Hall of Fame alliance gets plenty of trouble from 2169, but dodges having to play against the Robonauts, and ultimately prevails.
1114/111/842

NEWTON:
The Holy Cows are a middle seeded captain, and are joined by the Cyber Knights and sab-BOT-age. The 1538's ground loading and 195's long range shots can keep up with most alliances. 1640's climbs are still inconsistent, but they manage enough of them to pull a surprising upset over higher seeded 1986.
1538/195/1640

EINSTEIN:
AvC and GvN in the first round.

469/254/2468 defeat 2056/67/233 in two matches, but neither by a comfortable margin. 254's hang proves critical for keeping up with 67's end game.
1114/111/842 defeat 1538/195/1640 in two matches. The huge pyramid points from Galileo are simply too much for Newton.

469/254/2468 defeat 1114/111/842 in three matches. Las Guerillas and the Cheesy Poofs each get their second championship thanks to a huge autonomous edge.

These predictions are just a bit of fun. Neither these, nor the division threads, are meant to be comprehensive. Don't like 'em?
Go out there and prove them wrong!