At the NE Rhode Island District Event a crazy match in the playoff occurred. In semifinals 2, match 1, the second seed alliance of 4176, 5846, and 6620 was up against the 3rd seed alliance of 125, 1153, and 1100. The second seed alliance, with the exception of 6620 loading their pre-loaded gear on the peg immediately after autonomous, was able to get 4 rotors with only 2 robots scoring gears!!!
6620 was playing aggressive defense, while 4176 and 5846 were able to perfectly timing gear cycles so that they were able to get all four rotors spinning, and manage to climb in the end! Crazy finish. The match ended with a win for them at 445-247.
After a tough 5 point loss due to a just too slow climb, the tie breaker match was crazy as well!
The 2nd seed alliance pilots forgot about the reserve gear! The whole match it stayed in its original position, while the crowd was screaming at them to pick it up. Even without the gear, they still managed to get all four rotors spinning! It was only until a ref pointed it out to them during field reset when the pilots knew they forgot. Facepalm moment…
Teams, DONT FORGET ABOUT THE RESERVE GEAR!!!
Overall, that alliance was very efficient at cycling gears. From the stands, it looked like they had their timing for their cycles worked out ahead of time to avoid clogging in the retrieval zone. The synergy was amazing!
In Quals 57 of the Greater Pittsburgh Regional, Teams 4050 (my team) and 2252 did basically the same thing. While 4049 played primarily defense, 2252 and ourselves were running gears. The original plan was to get 3 rotors going and switch to defense/fuel, but we ended up getting the 3 rotors so quickly that our coaches decided to go for 4. We were successful.
Shout out to 2252 for their regional win later that day. (You should have picked us :P)
In Quals 75 of the Wisconsin Regional 93 and 2194 were able to get 4 rotors going while my team (Team 6223) mainly played defensively. The cycles were crazy fast and we ended up with a score of 345. At the Wisconsin Regional I know a few other matches were also like that, just match 75 is the only one I know by number as we were in that match as a defensive bot.
In Q3M1 in MABOS Fusion and The Grasshoppers (my team) got 4x rotors going after Schrodinger’s Cat got breached on fuel after delivering 1 gear. Having a ground pickup was key to this success as we were able snipe dropped gears.
That was our (winning) strategy at the Orlando regional as well. And i think it’s a valuable strategy at the world championship. If u can get 4 rotors with 2 robots and 1 playing defense and keeping the other alliance on 3 rotors, its hard for them to outscore you with the extra fuel. Though, i think you can get defended quite easily with that strategy
Also at NE Rhode Island, 2168, 78, and 6731 executed this strategy and dominated throughout the elimination rounds. They added a twist to this strategy by having 6731 drop its preloaded gear, placed on their frame, early in the match and then quickly go to retrieve a gear. 78 joined them while 2168 stayed behind to pickup and deliver 6731’s dropped gear. By the time 2168 was heading out to the retrieval zone, 6731 was coming back with theirs, which they would drop off and then go play defense for the rest of the match. (Their defense was outstanding, btw). This left 2168 and 78 to do what they do best…run gears very quickly. Using this plan of attack, this alliance (the #1 seed) was able to achieve 4 rotors in all but one match they played in elims.
That was one of the most exciting matches I have ever had to announce. It might’ve been a silly mistake, but the drama was incredible and the energy in the crowd at that moment was… un-bel-ievable.