This is an odd one

[Guy Davidson]

But I'd like to thank whomever posted a reference to last year's championships finals second match. Someone (in some thread I read today, but can't seem to be able to pinpoint out) posted that it was a classic. I finally watched it, and wholeheartedly agree. It was probably the most exciting match I've ever seen. There should be a thread for "Most Exciting Matches."

Thank you anonymous (for now) poster.

[David Brinza]

There was a thread titled: "2006 Best Robot Match Ever?" that included posts referring to the Championship Final Match #2, for example:
2006 Best Robot Match Ever: Championships

But, I think the best match was the 137-133 shootout in the semifinals at IRI (I was the "lucky guy" trying to clear the chute when the Beatty Beast filled the center goal). Here's a post with a video of that classic match:
IRI 2006: Aftermath of 71

The final score would have been 137-138, but Red took a 5-pt penalty for a human player stepping out of the box. Sean Lavery wrote a great post that captures a lot of "what-if's" for that awesome match (which he agrees was the best match ever in 2006):
2006 Best Robot Match Ever: IRI

[Guy Davidson]

Thanks for responding. I watched the IRI match, and it's at least equally exciting. The scoring in that match trumped everything I've seen before. The only reason I'm still uncertain about designating it as strictly greater is the stage - with all due respect to IRI, that match was not with a world championship at stakes. However, it was still amazing.

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by sumadin

Thanks for responding. I watched the IRI match, and it's at least equally exciting. The scoring in that match trumped everything I've seen before. The only reason I'm still uncertain about designating it as strictly greater is the stage - with all due respect to IRI, that match was not with a world championship at stakes. However, it was still amazing.

Some would argue that IRI is at least as competitive as Championship

[meatmanek]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Some would argue that IRI is at least as competitive as Championship

Mostly because it's the robot's last hurrah, and if it breaks, no worries.

[ay2b]

Originally Posted by meatmanek

Mostly because it's the robot's last hurrah, and if it breaks, no worries.

I don't think that any of the good drivers worry about breaking the robot during a match -- it can always be fixed. Also, IRI is often not the robot's last hurrah, as there are several other off-season events, extending well into the fall. IRI is usually in the summer.

IRI is generally one of the most competitive events because you have all of the best of the best robots there, all in the same division. Everyone's had time to rest and recover from the build season and the previous competitions. Everyone's had time to analyze the strategies from all the regionals and to know what works and what doesn't. And there's been time to make repairs and adjustments to the robot w/o the pressures and restrictions of FIX-IT windows.