Let's talk FIM

[FIMAlumni]

Chief Delphi is currently full of threads regarding Texas, California, and Canada. Where are all the threads about Michigan teams? Lets look at what's happened in the first 2 weeks.

Week 1:
Howell: Saw preseason favorites 862 and 1918 pair up with 3322 in the third alliance. They topped the quarterfinals, only to fall in the Semifinals. The fifth alliance of 4003, 1189, and 3536 took the top of the Semifinals, only to be defeated by the first alliance 4384, 4362, and 830 in the finals.

Southfield: Also saw the preseason favorites 33 and 1023 pair up on the first alliance with 4768. They struggled in the quarters and semis, falling behind the second alliance 3604, 548, and 2224 by and an average 21 and 11 points respectively. However, the first seed was victorious in 2 matches by a very close combined 13 points.

Standish: This seemed to be 1025's event. They took the first seed and paired with 3602 and 5524 and never looked back. This alliance was the only to break 100 points and came away with some well deserved gold over third seed alliance 5603, 5509, and 3570.

Week 2:
Kentwood: With 2054 showing off a "perfect" auto mode, they were the favorites going in. Their skill payed off when they were picked to join the first alliance with 3620 and 4482. They took second in the first two elimination rounds. The quarterfinals saw second alliance 4967 85 and 244 take the top, while sixth alliance 4381, 2959, and 5710 took the top of the semifinals. However, the first alliance was able to pull it off in the end and bring home the blue banners.

Kettering: 2337 was the biggest name here and they showed why. Being picked first overall by 314 and joined by 5784, this alliance marched all the way through the eliminations taking the top spot in all three elimination rounds. The eliminations were fairly consistent as second alliance 5533, 70, and 5201 took the second spot in all three rounds including the finals. This included a very close 5 point loss in F2.

Waterford: If you've followed FIM at all, you know who 67 is. They were not alone on the field as 2137, 217 and recycle rush veteran 1025 were also in town. These four robots were the first off the board in eliminations with 67, 2137, and 3707 making up the first alliance. While 1025, 217 and 5046 joined up to make the second. The first seed came out on top in the quarters averaging 164 points. The second seed took the semifinals averaging 138.33 points. The first seed would not go quietly though and took the win in the finals.

Week 3:
With Woodhaven, Full Lake and Traverse City this week. Some experienced teams will be eager to show their improvements (27*, 245, 830, 862, 1023, 3322). In addition, some of the big names in FIM are coming to play for the first time (51, 469, 2474, 3539). Michigan is also showing some power outside of the district at Komo City of Firsts District with 68 debuting and 107 coming from Howell.

Current Michigan Standings:
Rank:Number
1:1025
2:5524
3:5710
4:2337
5:1023
6:3620
7:2137
8:67
9:314
10:33

*27 competed outside FIM at the Northern Lights Regional in week one.
**If I missed your team or another big team name I am sorry. I was on a team from 2009 to 2012, so my memories of teams is from that era.

[Jarren Harkema]

Interesting to note that all blue banner takers have been 1st seed alliances. This isn't said to sound like they are a shoe-in, but rather that the teams really knew what they were doing. It is interesting that the alliance number that they competed against in finals varied. It is probably a testament to good scouting and a well organized strategy.

It does surprise me how little FIM is discussed, maybe with this nice weather people will feel more chipper and poke their heads out of their dens to see what's up.

[stuart2054]

Congrats to Teams 67 and 4003 on their 20 point auto's. We have a real good idea of how hard it is to make it work. I look forward to seeing all the teams at West Michigan next week. It promises to be a good competition with many very good teams.

[FIMAlumni]

Originally Posted by Jarren Harkema

It does surprise me how little FIM is discussed, maybe with this nice weather people will feel more chipper and poke their heads out of their dens to see what's up.

I'm curious as to why I never see threads posted in the district competition forum reach the front page of chiefdelphi. Is there a reason for this or are we simply not gaining enough responses/views to get there.

On the week 3 discussion side:
Q-11 at Woodhaven features 469 vs 3539.

[bduddy]

Originally Posted by FIMAlumni

I'm curious as to why I never see threads posted in the district competition forum reach the front page of chiefdelphi. Is there a reason for this or are we simply not gaining enough responses/views to get there.

On the week 3 discussion side:
Q-11 at Woodhaven features 469 vs 3539.

By "front page" do you mean the Recent Activity pane? You can configure what forums feed posts to your personal feed, and I think the District Events forum is not enabled by default. Click on "Config".

[FIMAlumni]

Originally Posted by bduddy

By "front page" do you mean the Recent Activity pane? You can configure what forums feed posts to your personal feed, and I think the District Events forum is not enabled by default. Click on "Config".

Thanks, that was what I meant (too much reddit). I wonder if that might be the cause for the lack of discussion. The regional events are up there, but I had to actively search for this forum to discuss FIM.

Week 3 Discussion:
1023 looks extremely good with their new ramp.
469 looks like it has a similar design to 33 (internal stacker with arm to get totes/Coop) but is struggling to get everything working right.
No videos are being posted from traverse city but 245 seems to have made some big improves from the scores.

[Wayne TenBrink]

I expect to see a lot of teams making improvements for their 2nd and 3rd events. Perhaps more this year than in the past since the robot rules offer so much more flexibility, and also because so many teams seemed to struggle with the basic game tasks in their first event. We sure did. I know that we are making more changes than normal. We find out next week at West MI if they were the right ones...

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by Jarren Harkema

It does surprise me how little FIM is discussed, maybe with this nice weather people will feel more chipper and poke their heads out of their dens to see what's up.

It may be nice up MI way, but down here on the Gulf Coast, we're having weather drearier than anything we had all winter. And FWIW, I predict we're going to have a nasty mosquito summer.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Wayne TenBrink

I expect to see a lot of teams making improvements for their 2nd and 3rd events.

Well it is clear that Bedford Express is doing just that. At the rate they are improving their qualifying average, and considering they'll be playing again at their home event, they'll be a force to be reckoned with at MSC.

Way to set the bar high, 1023!

[FIMAlumni]

The week of Improvements:

Woodhaven: The improvements talked about earlier were evident in at least one team. 1023 dominated this regional (looks like 102Xs have a habit of that this year). They picked their southfield finalist competitor 3604 and 4405 and were the only alliance to average over 100 points in all 3 rounds. They won the finals over 3rd alliance captain 27 joined by 469 and 3542.

Gull Lake: 4381 improved over their Kentwood finalist position to captain the first alliance to the gold medals. Joined by 2834 and 5675 they were the only alliance to break 100 points at the event. The finalists included 2nd seed 3452, 2656, and 5152.

Traverse City: Another improved team used their experience to excel. 245 ranked first and picked 1711 and 5692. Not without their own improvements, 862 captained the second alliance with 3688 and 5183. These two powerhouse alliance clashed in the finals but in the end the first seed went home with the victory.

Historically good teams to watch out for next week:
Great Lakes Bay Region: 314, 910, and 2145
St. Joseph: 70, 469, 494, and 2474
West Michigan: 74, 85, 107, 1718, 1918, 2054, 2137, and 3572

Current FIM rankings:
Rank: Team number
1: 1023
2: 1025
3: 3604
4: 4381
5: 245
6:1711
7: 862
8:3656
9: 5524
10: 3322

Side note: First seed alliances are 9-0 in FIM, only way I see this changing is if the Arms race for the middle cans increases dramatically in the next few weeks.
Good luck to all teams!

[IKE]

Until 2 alliances can consistently outscore 126 points in elims, I don't know that the race to the middle is completely necessary, though I was glad to see some middle RCs getting utilized.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by IKE

Until 2 alliances can consistently outscore 126 points in elims, I don't know that the race to the middle is completely necessary, though I was glad to see some middle RCs getting utilized.

Yes, if by utilized you mean that the cans were grabbed and brought to the grabbing alliance's side of the field.

However, in most matches where middle cans were grabbed and 'owned', they were not incrementally scored; i.e., the same score or higher could have been achieved without grabbing the extra can(s).

----------

It is interesting to compare current FiM ranking against Ed Laws' OPR data:

FiM                                          World              FiM 
OPR Rank	Team	                     OPR Rank         Point Rank
1                1023 - Bedford Express		19		1
2	         67 - The HOT Team		20	
3	         314 - The Megatron Oracles	33	
4	         2337 - EngiNERDs		49	
5	         4967 - That ONE Team		50	
6	         85 - B.O.B.    		60	
7	         33 - Killer Bees		63	
8	         3604 - Goon Squad		75		3
9	         1025 - IMPIS			81		2
10	         3620 - Average Joes		92

[FIMAlumni]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

It is interesting to compare current FiM ranking against Ed Laws' OPR data:

Assuming every team doubled its district points from their first event to the second, the actual rankings would be as follows.

Rank:Team number. Points
1:2337. 154
2: 3620. 152
3: 2137. 152
4: 1023. 150
5: 2834. 148
6: 67. 146
7: 314. 146
8: 33. 146
9: 3602. 144
10: 2054. 140

[FIMAlumni]

Week 4 Review:
Great Lakes Bay Region: A second event and a second win for top ranked 314 who is starting to become a powerhouse in the last few seasons (5 blue banners). Joined by alliance members 2619 and 5712, they defeated 7th seed alliance 5509 1506 and 5229 in the finals.

St. Joseph: The Martians always come to play, but very rarely are ever able to team up. That changed with 70 seeded first and was joined by their twins 494 and partner 5623. Not to be outdone, 3452 (2nd seed) reached for a typical powerhouse in 469 and 5501. The second seed upset the first seed in the finals marking the first win by a non-first ranked alliance.

West Michigan: 1918 had something to prove after a disappointing departure in the semifinals of Howell. Seeding first and joined by 2137 and 2405 they won some decisive matches to become the champion. Also impressive were second alliance and finalists 4967, 107 and 3603.

Current FIM Standings:
Rank: Team Number(Points)
1: 2137(153)
2: 1023(150)
3: 314(146)
4: 1025(134)
5: 3452(131)
6: 3604 (127)
7: 4381 (125)
8: 70 (122)
9: 4967 (121)
10: 469 (120)

Historically good teams to watch out for in week 5: 27, 51, 67, 68, 74, 217, 548 573, 2851, and 3098.

Prediction: The winning alliance at Livonia will score 5 RCs every match.

Good Luck to All teams!

[Richard Wallace]

Just watching the early qualifying matches in FiM this week. Looks like teams at Livonia and Escanaba are coopertating and getting the benefit in their qualifying scores -- but at Centerline there is no coopertition at all through two rounds.

Any ideas why?