FIM Week 3 Event Preview - Muskegon

Competition District Events
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There are 5 Michigan districts this week and I’ll take a look at each event, as well as rank each event. This is Rank 1 for 2023 Week 3, Muskegon. Apologies in advance as this one is a little different.

Muskegon District

Last Year Winners (3357-2075-6128)

Favorites: I love robotics. Ever since my first event in 2012, I have loved robotics. The competitions between like minded individuals coming together to make an unforgettable experience. The reason I bring this up is that Muskegon is not an event to me, it’s a test. The true test of love. A relationship between two robots was shown last season as 3357- COMETS and 2075-Enigma Robotics blossomed into 2 district wins, including Muskegon, and a MSC Division Finalist run. Who am I to stand in the way of this connection? My dream is that they reconnect and continue this run together, and make more magic on the field. 3357 has proven to be one of the best, as my number 4 team in the state, after a dominant rank 1 win at Calvin University and 2075 was my personal favorite Michigan robot last season. So I am rather high on them going into the season and they even had success solo last season as they were an alliance captain at Worlds. I want this to happen, but I’m afraid there’s one team that will probably break this couple up, 3538- Robojackets. The robojackets are the true favorite of the Muskegon District, as they haven’t lost a single Michigan District event since 2017! Milford week 1 was no different as they aligned with the best team in the state 67, while Robojackets being the 2nd best, rolled through one of the hardest events of the year. The alluring appeal of Robojackets, or rather them finishing first and selecting COMETS or Enigma Robotics, will likely put an end to my wishful thinking, but I plead that 3538 choose someone else, so that 3357 and 2075 can reunite and fight arguably the best team in Michigan, to show that love conquers all.

Contenders: The Contenders to challenge this loaded top three, are not that far behind. Starting with the duo of 4381-Twisted Devils and 4422-Twisted Angels who both appeared on my week 1 Top 25, at 22nd and 23rd respectively. One of the most common conflicts with that initial list was the low placement of 4381, with them having a 3 game piece autonomous mode, so far one of the only in the state, if not the only. Instead of admitting I put them too low, I have decided to double down with putting them in Contenders and challenge them to win the event, like what my prediction says, and if they do so I can guarantee they have a spot on the post week 3 Top 25. Their win at Jackson was impressive but a win at Muskegon would mean a lot more. Back to 4422 who actually finished higher in qualifying then Twisted Devils, at second instead of third. They captained the number 2 alliance to a third place finish after losing to 4381 and their captain 302 in the loser’s bracket final, but we will have to see how successful they will be here, as I expect the devils to leap, and the angels to take a step back. Another team making their debut this week is 2960-Automation Nation, another one of my favorite teams to watch year after year. I saw a small teaser for their robot this season, and I predict they will outperform their past few seasons, but maybe not as successful as their 2017 campaign.

Dark Horses:
3572-Wavelength-10 at Wayne State, 4 Seed Pick 1, 4th
7202-Cyber Orioles-10 at Calvin University, 6 Seed Pick 1, 5th

Playoff Teams to Make a Jump:
3546-Buc’n’Gears
7501-Golden Gears, 14 at Jackson, 8 Seed Captain, Finalist
5167-Vi Bots-9 at Milford, 7 Seed Captain, 5th
7054-SC Sailors-14 at Calvin University, 2 Seed Pick 2, 3rd

Prediction:
1 Seed 3538-4381 v 2 Seed 3357-2075 :heart:

Next up is the Week 3 Recap which will more than likely come on Sunday.
Coming Soon.

2) Standish-Sterling
3) Traverse City
4) Belleville
5) Detroit

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I think you are spot-on with the 1 and 2 alliance predictions above, and the Winner will be the one that gets the best 2nd pick robot. Should be an interesting match-up because all four of those teams know how to scout.

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The 4381 auto is hard for robojackets to pass on, especially since they wouldn’t want to start a finals match in a deficit, if they were against them.

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Picking the team you’d least like to play against is a tried and true strategy. The Cheesy Poofs have used it.

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I mean, 3357 has a 2.5 piece auto and 2075 just put out a teaser with a 3 piece high (whereas 4381 only has 2 high and 1 mid/low depending on how the cube falls). And the tradeoff of one game piece in auto for an extra 3-ish pieces in teleop is a trade I’ll make every time. But what do I know.

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I remember a time when this event was the “easy” event in week 3…

Improving auto routines, cycle times, and cone retention seem to have been the best choices to pick for the 3 days we’ve had. If 2.5 game pieces is good this event is going be on a different level than last year.

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If all the good teams head for the “easy” event so they can scoop up an “easy” Blue Banner, that event starts to become “hard”.

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Play has definitely escalated quickly in just a few short years. We’re looking forward to it, although we were admittedly excited to avoid the 3357/2075 whooping that we received multiple times last year. I’m excited to see the Comets robot up close, but my heart might have sank a bit when they jumped on the team list a few weeks back.

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I had the same feelings but I guess we have to play the best to be the best. I am excited to go up against the Comets and the Robojackets just wish it wasn’t for our first competition out of the gate with our new swerve drive that was built and tested all during this build season! Yeah we are one of those crazy teams to dive head first into swerve. :crazy_face:

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Kind words, and looking forward to an exciting weekend of robots!

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Man we are in the same boat here swerve in 6 weeks

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I am excited to see your bot too because I have been helping out with Montagues team also so been getting updates on the RoboSharks throughout the build.

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I’m really excited for this event, especially to see how some of these teams rebound after their first events and the improvements they made. I can see 3-5 teams reaching that 50 EPA mark and anyone you listed in favorites/contenders can land the #1 seed with a favorable schedule. I personally think 3538-3357 will be the combo to beat but I’m hoping the twisted duo aren’t far behind. It’ll certainly be an interesting event no matter what happens. Good luck to everyone competing!

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Those two robots will look like four, if you’re trying to scout. Blink, and they’ll appear at the other end of the field.

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Im waiting for the qualifying schedule to release so I can see if any 3 team combos of 3538-3357-2075-4381 is there, it could be really close to a full grid.

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Q3 features Robojackets with Comets!

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Predicted result is kinda lopsided, as you’d expect.

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Also, I didn’t see a qual match in which COMETS and RoboJackets face each other.

Check out the statbotics seed prediction. No real surprise there, but surprises DO happen. So we play the matches!

Can Angels and Devils work together and win? Hmmm…

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Oh my goodness 141 predicted :rofl: that is insane

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It’s a shame that it’s so early in the day. There’s so much that goes wrong early that can affect matches so we probably won’t see a high score. But we might!

Also in statbotics robojackets are projected to go 10-2 (losses against devils and angels) but still finish 1st over the 12-0 comets. Wild stuff!

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So Blue didn’t disappoint in Q3. Big score. And 4RP.

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