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Gainesville Review
Even though Gainesville is just the first event of the season, it’s never really been short on excitement. We saw 35 teams take the field and give Infinite Recharge a go for the very first time. What resulted were a messy set of qualification matches, but a brilliant set of elimination rounds that provided an exciting preview into what’s in-store for the district going forward.
Dalton
However, even with week 1 out of the way, the Dalton qualifier will be a refresh of Gainesville. With a majority of teams coming online for just the first time, teams will be going through the process of getting their systems working, tuning their machines, and getting some much needed driver experience.
For any teams looking to have success at Dalton, the keys are clear: autonomous and climb. For teams at Gainesville, just the autonomous and endgame periods accounted for nearly 75% of their offensive output.
What does this mean for Dalton? Move off the initiation line, get to the low port, feed other teams, park, hack together a climber - do whatever you have to do to contribute to the autonomous and endgame components of Infinite Recharge.
Perhaps the most dominant team in Dalton’s recent history has been 4910, who has reached the finals in each of the past two seasons. But even more impressively, ECR has come out firing on all cylinders from their very first match. We expect nothing less from ECR this season, but their going the distance at Dalton, and the rest of the season, depends on their ability to display the raw competitive prowess that has eluded them for much of the past two seasons.
2974 is hitting the field with an unassuming, low-slung machine that’s looking to shoot out of the gate. Last season, Walton definitely made a splash with a hatch mechanism that put them a step above the rest. However, this season, Walton’s standing remains to be seen. If they can make an early start, they may be able to do relatively well. However, even if they have a slow start, Walton is one of the few teams that’s shown they can make incremental improvements and get in the game at the end.
7514 made a name for themselves last season with a quick cargo robot that quietly overwhelmed many alliances. As this second year team looks to build on their success, it can be very easy to overreach and overextend on their abilities. For EVE Robotics, the actual design doesn’t quite matter - as long as they hit the field with the same quickness and ferocity they had last season, they’ll make a nice centerpiece to any playoff alliance.
1102 is coming into Dalton as the number three team in the district. They feature a “spindexer” design that’s been the cornerstone of many powerhouse and top teams around the world. However, these designs are notoriously complicated and the smoke signals from 1102’s camp indicate they may not have captured the magic they need for Dalton. So, Maiken Magic may not be on the most solid footing going into Dalton, but they’re an experienced team who knows how to make their strategy work for the robot they have.
1771 is the little juggernaut that will. This defensive powerhouse has a short robot that’s looking to compete with the best of them when it comes to offense. However, when push comes to shove, 1771 shoves back hard and their bite is much worse than their bark. If NGR can avoid some of the penalties that plagued them in previous seasons and the rest of the field this season, we could see 1771 fight their way to another banner.
Last year, 7451 came out of the gate as a modest hatch panel specialist that kind of flew under the strategic radar. But with a couple of Rookie All-Star awards under their belts, the Avengers are looking to establish themselves as a team that’s here to stay. With a low-port focused machine that, arguably, scores faster than everybots, 7451 may have struck the perfect strategic balance between taking a step forward in their second season while still fielding a very competitive machine.