Ahead of our post-championship review, I wanted to take a quick look at our championship scouting data and then do a deep dive into one of my favorite matches that we played in: Qualification Match 120.
Scouting Confidence/Completion
In Houston, our scouting group was a little more sparse than normal and a lot more distracted. They each wanted to attend conferences, chat with the coolest teams that they’ve been following all year, meet teams from different countries, and head to different fields to watch some exciting matches. And who am I to deny them of that experience? After all, I believe that is what makes the Championship experience so great. That said, our scouting data is back down to that .67 average confidence/completion rating, the same as it was in Heartland.
We also shared our data with 1073’s data visualization project, found here:
Qualification Match 120
Let’s set the stage. It’s late in qualification matches, Friday afternoon. Several teams are jockeying to be in a picking position on the Daly field. The schedule shows match 120 coming up. We are in a match with 5460 - Strike Zone, the captains of last year’s Daly field champion alliance and Einstein finalists, and the legendary team 118 - Robonauts. On the opposite alliance, we are facing off against 694 - StuyPulse, an incredible team out of New York (edited from New England), 368 - Kika Mana, our future elimination alliance partners on alliance 1, and the Hall of Fame team 27 - Team RUSH.
Initial Strategy
Initially, we wanted to play to everyone’s strengths. 118 had the perfect bot to play cleanup, while 5460 and us had been confidently feeding alliance partners throughout the tournament. The perfect makeup for a double feeding strategy. 5460 had priority on their feeding spot, and would take the outside lane. They would be responsible for taking the close note from the source, driving up along the field wall, and then passing to the corner where 118 would be playing cleanup. That left us with the center lane - a position we were not too comfortable in, but willing to try. Our drive coach was open and let the alliance know that we were not confident in our ability to pass from the middle of the field, but we were willing to try if that is what gave us the best chance to win this hard matchup. Luckily, 118 and 5460 were accommodating and suggested we start with this strategy, but if things weren’t working, we had a backup plan.
Into the match
Auto
We were responsible for the close 4 notes. Meanwhile, the faster teams 5460, and 118 would rush to the middle of the field to win the battle for the center line notes. 118 drops their first note as expected, and makes a beeline for the middle of the field. They beat StuyPulse by a half second. 5460 takes their first shot and then heads for the second center line note from the source side. RUSH has already grabbed the first note on that side by the time 5460 gets to theirs. So far everything is working out exactly right.
During auto, 118 tries to pass a note to our side so that they can pick it up later, and then tries to pick up the next center line note. They get the pass off, but StuyPulse has a backup plan at the center line. Since 118 grabbed their initial note, 694 then turned and scooped up the next note on the line. The Robonaut machine must have recognized this, so they head back to where their pass was to have landed. All the while, 1710 is going through our 4 note auto. Our robot sees the pass from 118, scoops it up, and fires it into the speaker. Super cool! This is why I love piece detection. 118 and us finish up our routines.
Back at the center line, 5460 goes back to get the second note in their routine, but they come to find out 27 beat them there. Somehow, 5460’s robot sees 2 notes way off their starting position, hunts one down, and confidently fires it into the speaker. This gives our alliance the lead coming out of auto. 46 - 36.
TeleOp
It looks like our opponents are also going to be running the double passing strategy. Just like usual, 118 and 27 (the two opposing cleanup bots) start the match by cleaning up any leftover auto notes, then immediately play defense at the opponent source. After a couple notes drop in the right zone, the cleanup bots head there and start the barrage of scoring.
1710 starts grabbing the far note at the speaker, and heading to the middle of the field. Our first note goes out of the field. 5460 takes the near note at the speaker and shuttles their first note to our side of the field, avoiding 27’s defense. Both of our next cycles land in 118’s corner at almost exactly the same time.
On the third cycle, one of the human players at our source throws a perfect note, basically right into 5460’s intake. Unfortunately, 5460 must have had their eyes on the far note, as they continue driving and accidentally pick up both notes. They will be working on this for the next several seconds. Fortunately, they have some really bright drivers that make the heads up play to shuttle both notes to our side. Zero panic. While this is happening 1710 fires two more notes out of the field. OK, maybe a little panic.
It’s at this point the drive team coaches call for the backup plan! From my point of view, in the stands, I think this was exactly the right call at exactly the right time. 1710 shuttles a note all the way across the field, and helps get the 4th note into the amplified speaker, all the while, 118 is doing typical world class stuff like scoring 3 notes in 5 seconds. After the 4 notes are scored, ending the amplified period, 1710 makes their final cycle to the source. From here on out, 118 and 5460 will be doing the passing, and occasionally making the full trip down the field to maximize amplified periods.
Throughout the rest of teleop, 694 comes and steals one of our notes, but other than that, it is a pretty typical match. 2 notes into the amp, 4 notes into the speaker. This is happening on both sides of the field. We come 1 amplified set of notes short of the other alliance in teleop. We’re down, 112 - 124 at the 15 second mark.
End Game
118 grabs their last note, climbs and scores in the trap before I can blink. Incredible. 5460 grabs their last note, and gets defended with a well-timed bump from 694. This slows them down just enough to barely miss their own trap score. We head around to center stage and climb. 14 more points. But, we look at the blue stage. Kika Mana has scored in the trap. So has StuyPulse. 27 is climbing at the last second. They have 19 end game points.
The End
The scoreboard cuts to show a blue win. 126 - 143. Just a single, 2 point foul (G409 - greater-than-momentary control of more than 1 note). 6 Ranking points are awarded, 4 for blue and 2 for red. What an incredible match to witness, and such a fun match to be a part of. I wish we could have come away with the win, but even so, I had a blast watching this one.
