IRI 2016 Predictions

[TheBoulderite]

I haven't seen one yet, so I decided to make one. It's less than a month away, and it seems like a great time to start predicting what will happen at the 2016 Indiana Robotics Invitational. Who will win? What memorable things will happen? You can guess on this thread. Here's my two cents.

First of all, the team list for this year looks stacked. Among all of the teams that qualified, there are 55 regional/district event winners, 32 regional/district event finalists, 9 district champions, 5 district championship finalists, 13 division champions, 10 division finalists, 3 Einstein finalists, and 3 world champions. That's quite the lineup.

Going into IRI, the teams are happy to see each other. Teams from the same area help each other out, teams from the same division say hello to each other, and the mood is competitive, but also friendly.

All compete well in the qualifications, with the new tower strength of 12 being an interesting challenge for many teams. At the end of the quals, the top 8 teams pick their alliances, and choose names for themselves.

1. 2056-5172-3620-3683 (Name: OP Dave's Average Gators)
2. 330-2481-1086-1511 (Name: Rolling Blue Beach-ateers)
3. 1241-610-1477-25 (Name: The Theory of Texan Coyotes (feat. Team 25))
4. 118-67-1011-910 (Name: The Hot Robo-crush Freeze)
5. 179-1619-233-2826 (Name: Children of the Pink Creek Wave)
6. 195-225-16-2451 (Name: Cyber Pwnage Bomb Fire)
7. 868-1024-71-3824 (Name: HVA Techa-hamma-bytes)
8. 27-133-217-1675 (Name: Bert's Ultimate Thunder Rush)

During alliance selection, things get interesting. The entire championship-winning alliance, sans 120, reunites. 1241 picks 610, then uses a magic potion developed after 2013 to summon 1477 and their robot to play with them in the eliminations. 179 picks another team from Florida, then two teams with water-related names. 195 puts together a high-scoring alliance, while 868 puts together a mainly Indiana-centric alliance. 2056 takes some of the best performers from the quals.

The quarterfinals occur. 1 beats 8 in some very close matches, and 6 upsets 3 after the potion wears off and 1477 disappears. During the 4 v. 5 matches, the crowd gets confused when 179 brings a live alligator onto the field and 1619 brings a bucket of water. The alliance then shows off a new autonomous mode where 1619 fills the moat with water and 179 throws the alligator into the moat. The alligator then attempts to eat the opposing alliance, taking bites out of 1011 and 118. Although 910 freezes the moat with an ice cannon during the next match, 5 moves on to the semis. 2 overcomes 7 after some crazy matches, and the semis matchup is set.

The semis are crazy. Much to everyone's disappointment, 5172 has no alligators with them, and in some very intense matches 179's alliance takes it to three. During the tiebreaker, 233's defense proves to be the reason that 179 advances to the finals. The championship-winning alliance finds a worthy opponent in 195's alliance, falling to them in the tiebreaker by less than ten points.

The finals arrive. Two very strong alliances prepare to face off. The tension is in the air. 179 sends themselves, 1619, and 233 onto the field. 195 sends themselves, 225, and 16 to represent their alliance.

Finals 1 begins. 195 makes both of their two shots during autonomous, and both 225 and 16 make theirs. 179 and 1619 both make their shots, and 233 crosses the defenses. Despite the fact that both 179 and 1619 make all of their shots during teleop, 195's alliance puts more boulders into the tower. Further, 233 is unable to make it back to the batter in time, meaning 179 doesn't get the capture. 195's alliance takes the first round 175-250.

Finals 2 commences. 195 makes one of their shots, 225 misses, and 16 doesn't fully get over the ramparts. 179 and 1619 make the shots, while 233 crosses. During the match, 179 and 1619 put up more shots than the previous match, making all of them. Meanwhile, 195 and 225 seem to be off their mark, but still putting in quite a few boulders. 233 makes it back to the batter in time, and both 179 and 195 capture the tower. 179 scales at the last second, desperate for points. It's close, but 179 pulls out a win 245-235.

Finals 3 has 233 test their high goal autonomous. All three robots on all three alliances make their auto shots, making the game tied. Then, 233 goes to work. They play hard defense on the blue alliance, but it's difficult to stop three high goal shooters. While some of the shots are off, most make it in. Meanwhile, 179 and 1619 make all the shots they can, and put up a lot of them. During the final thirty seconds, 233 races back to the tower, and goes for the climb. 179 goes for the climb. 1619 goes for the climb. All three robots manage to scale, while only two climb 195's. The match ends and the referees convene, with the score a minute later. Due to a few defensive moves by 233, foul points are awarded to 195's alliance. It ties the score at 230-230, taking it to a fourth match.

Finals 4 sees some new developments. 179 swaps 233 with 2826 so their alliance can have three consistent high goal shooters. The match starts, with all six robots making a high goal shot. No defense is played, just each alliance shooting as many high goals as possible into the tower. The match is intense, and the scores close. Whatever 195 does, 179 responds with. Both alliances pull off a triple scale, and both weaken the tower to exactly the same number. In one of the coolest and perfectly orchestrated matches of the tournament, both alliances tie at 250-250.

Finals 5 sees 195 make their two ball auto, while all other robots make one. During the match, 16 suffers a drivetrain failure, but is pushed onto the batter by 225. However, 179's crew is unable to capitalize on it because of missed shots. Due to 195's two ball auto, the score ties again at 215-215. The driveteams of each alliance are quite exasperated by now, and the drive coaches of both sides convene to plan how to beat the other alliance.

Finals 6 has 195 swap 16 with 2451, as 16's robot is out of commission. 195 has a slight edge in auto, with scores remaining close for the entire match. 179's alliance scores one more boulder than 195's during teleop, as 2451 runs out of time and can't shoot their stored boulder during the endgame. The crowd almost can't deal with the stress and intensity as the scores tie yet again, at 225-225. Both drive teams disappear to their pits to prepare for the final match.

Finals 7. THE deciding match. 179 keeps 2826 on the field, while 2451 remains on the field for 16. 179 and 1619 break out the alligator and bucket of water once more, while 195's alliance prepares for the match. The countdown begins. "3...2...1...GO!" says the MC. As soon as the match starts, no robot goes for the high goal. 179 and 1619 fill the moat and place the alligator into it. The crowd is stunned by the other alliance's response as 225 turns into a mechanical dragon and takes flight. As soon as teleop starts, 225 goes for 2826, preparing to breath a ball of fire. Then, 2826's driveteam presses a button, and their robot turns completely into water. 225 is unable to burn up Wave, and goes for their tower instead. No matter how many boulders 1619 shoots, they are burned up by 225. The field reset crew notices and runs off to open more boxes of boulders. At this point, the MC gives up on trying to narrate the match. Seeing that their alliance needs help, 233 runs to the field with their robot, enables it, and tosses it onto the field to assist their team. 16 does the same thing moments later. 233 launches Greek fire into the tower, causing the electricity to short and the tower health lights to go off. Meanwhile, the alligator in the moat attempts to eat 195's robot to no avail, as their robot is alligator-proof. 2451 seems to be the only team that is successfully scoring points. The final thirty seconds begin, and 16 stops on the field. Their drivetrain has broken again, and people from the Bomb Squad start freaking out. 179, 1619, and 2826 climb the tower, with 233 getting on the batter under 179. 195 and 2451 make some last minute shots, and 195 climbs. 2451 climbs, and makes their endgame shot. 225 has stopped, their driveteam preparing for something truly unbelievable. With five seconds to go, 225's dragon grabs 16's robot and flies to the top of the tower with it. They set it down and transform back into a robot. With one second left, 225 grabs onto the tower and pulls up high enough to scale.

It is deathly silent in the room as everyone tries to process what just happened. The anticipation of the score keeps the room quiet, as everyone is on the edge of their seats to find out what it is. The final score arrives. By a difference of five points, Cyber Pwnage Bomb Fire wins the 2016 Indiana Robotics Invitational, with a final score of 295-300. The crowd goes wild, and no one can believe anything that just happened.

When the finals and awards ceremony conclude, the teams say a teary goodbye to each other, knowing that many of them will be attending a different championship and will never see them again.

Those are my predictions. What are yours?

TL;DR: Nope. Read the whole thing.