There are 6 Michigan districts this week and I hope to do a preview for each event. I would rank the events but since two of the events are offset I have just a random order. This is Event 2 for 2023 Week 4, Lakeview 1.
Lakeview 1 District
Last Year Winners (2767-1188-1940) Lakeview
Favorites: Lakeview 1, as there are two lakeview events this weekend, has a clear alliance 1 at the top of the team list. These two teams are 6002-ZooBOTix and 1684-The Chimeras. Despite this, neither team has a win this season. 6002 had a shocking rank 1 performance at a top loaded St. Joseph event, against 2767, 3620 and 5712. They partnered with Stryke Force and made a nice Finals run, even going to three games, but couldn’t beat a triple offense strategy to secure the win. 1684 was at the Kettering 2 Event, where the scorched earth draft occurred; they ended as the 6 Seed Captain. Their playoffs are also interesting to look at, as they win the winners bracket and make the Finals three games. They may have only been awarded a Finalist Medal, but they technically tied the winning 4 Seed two games apiece, one of the many shortcomings of the new playoff system. I believe that these two will combine forces and get a win they had just fallen short of in their previous events. My last favorite is 5675-Wired Cats, who finished at rank 6 in St. Joseph, and led a 4 Seed to a better than expected 3rd place finish. Wired Cats has one of the fastest extension arms I have seen, and I could see them getting more cycles complete then most teams at Lakeview 1.
Contenders: The first Contender is another team that competed at St. Joseph, 5152-Alotobots. They may have finished one spot higher than Wired Cats in qualifying, but didn’t have nearly as much playoff success, settling for 5th, despite being a part of the 2 seed. The next contender may actually be the only previous winner at Lakeview 1, 1481-The Riveters. 1481 was the 5th Seed Captain at Lansing and took advantage of the 1 Seed Captain 51 having mechanical problems in the first finals match, and was able to win a banner in Week 2. They put together another alliance, where the triple offense strategy has worked out to beat a two offense one defense 1 Seed. I wouldn’t be shocked if they led another team similar to this and try to go back to back, however I think they will finish a lot closer to the top of the rankings to be able to try triple offense again. I had some trouble looking for a last Contender to fill this slot, but I decided to reach down a little on my shortlist and go with 2611-Jacktown Vectors. 2611 finished 13th at Jackson all the way back in Week 1, and as part of a 5 Seed, was swept out of the playoffs; courtesy of the 4 and 1 Seeds. Since week 1 was so long ago I should hope to see refinement and tuning on their robot, as they hope to do a lot better in the standings.
Dark Horses:
4327-Q Branch
9312-NERD Spark- at Jackson, 8 Seed Pick 1, Finalist, Rookie All Star
Playoff Teams to Make a Jump:
5676-The H.E.R.O.E.S.-11 at Jackson, 6 Seed Pick 1, 5th
9208-Eddies Circuit
4453-Red Hot Chili Bots-35 at Jackson, 1 Seed Pick 2, Winner, Judges Award
1504-Desperate Penguins
Prediction:
1 Seed 6002-1684 v 2 Seed 5675-4327
Next up is Midland.
Coming Soon.
