Looking Back…
Columbus was labeled last week as a preview of DCMP, a marriage of excellent top-end contenders and quality depth to round out alliances. It took very little time for that to develop in the qualification matches, where we saw pick plays, defense often reserved for eliminations, and high-end scoring that hasn’t been matched at other Peachtree events.
That play left the building right before alliance selection on Saturday. Some bizzare selections combined with mediocre defensive play and no single upset made the playoff tournament a relative snooze. That’s not to say there weren’t close matches, but it never felt like this event had a strategic peak during eliminations. In that regard, we think this was somewhat of a disappointment, or at least anticlimactic. But hopefully, teams take some lessons in this event to heart and improve for the district championship.
Probably the most notable strategic development from the event was the continued excellence of Walton Robotics, 2974. They completed a rocket in seven of their 12 matches (the only team who could consistently do it) and solidified that #1 rank we awarded them in our Midseason Power Rankings.
However, we are surprised more teams did not attempt to partner up to complete rockets, instead focusing on completing the cargo ship in an effort to secure a win. We hope this becomes an area teams reevaluate.
Returning to Metro Atlanta…
After an opening year at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, the state’s fifth and final district event takes a short trip west to Forsyth County. This is the smallest district event this year (which is surprising, considering its location) and may also have the least depth. As of this writing, there are just two robots in the field with working HAB L3 mechanisms, and those two teams will have a decisive advantage in selecting quality partners.
The Contenders
After featuring our top 5 contenders at Columbus, 1771 (#6 in last week’s rankings) enters the fray as the top team and the preminint favorite to win the event. They boast a strong cargo game, the rare HAB L3, and excellent defensive play when they decide to use it. If we have any criticism of their game, it’s to see a bit more hatch play from them. After finishing as finalists at Dalton, North Gwinnett needs a banner to extend their winner streak to three years. They’re more than capable of getting it here.
6829 came in just behind 1771 as the #7 team on our list, and after winning Albany and collecting their first banner in team history, they’re on the lookout for more. Featuring a strong hatch game, the competition is going to get amped up, and they’re going to have to play a little faster if they want to be picked first again. However, there’s no question Ignite will fit solidly into any top alliance.
1746 (#11) gets an event in their hometown, and with the longest gap between qualifiers they’ve had since 2016, they’ll be geared up for a chance at a collecting their first banner of the year. One of the fastest hatchers towards the end of Gainesville, OTTO will need to add a cargo game if they want a chance to collect many wins, but 1746 should easily be considered a top-flight contender for the first selection.
5109 (#20) has made a remarkable improvement over their 2018 form, and with one of the few L3 climbs at this event, has an opportunity to make the finals as a captain for the first time in team history. We found them to be inconsistent for our liking at Gainesville, but that might not matter if they can always end up on the top platform. However, if they want to grab that top spot, they’ll need to miss cargo drops a little less often.
Wildcards
Hall of Fame Team 1311 (#17) was an interesting team at Dalton, capable of doing both hatch panels at cargo at a solid rate, but neither spectacular enough to really make a mark on the game. However, last year Kell became notably better as the season went on, and they’ll have the opportunity to do that again this year and make a splash.
1683 may have dropped out of our rankings, but they were quite impressive at Albany, leading their seventh-seeded alliance to make the finals and give the top seed a run for their money. This is their third event, so there’s not much pressure, but if they can avoid breakdowns they should make semis easily and push a top seed.
6341 sported a solid cargo game with their four-bar linkage driving them to captain the #5 alliance at Dalton. Their hatch game could be improved, but regardless, they should be consistent enough to captain another alliance and lock up their DCMP spot.
Bubble Watch
With district championship on the horizon, we can now get a more accurate picture of the bubble line for district championship, and we expect it to be ~46 points this year.
That puts a few teams at Forsyth under pressure. 2415 and 4189 both have 17 points. 4509, 3815, and 4080 all have just 13. Maybe under the greatest threat of missing out is 6325, who collected just nine points at their first district event, despite having a white powdercoated robot. All of those teams and a few others are going to have to step up their play or risk missing out on the year’s big dance.
Chairman’s Contenders: 1683, 4468, and 6325
