Festival of Champions Preview - Today’s the Day!
How do you crown the champion of the world? By having a World Championship, of course! But what if you have to have 2 Championships? Well, then you have a Festival of Champions! Buckle your seatbelts fellow MARtians, because one of our own will be vying for the title of the true 2017 World Champion this weekend up at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena!
Now in their 13th season, Team 1676, the Pascack Pi-oneers, has always been one of MAR’s best. With 4 regional wins, 5 MAR District Event wins, 5 Chairman’s Awards, and 8 Engineering Inspiration Awards already under their belt, the Pi-oneers set off this year on a search for their 10th competition victory. But, coming off a season with two MAR District wins and a Division Engineering Inspiration Award, their 2017 year started off a bit lackluster.
Their 2017 journey started down in Blacksburg, Virginia, where they competed at the Southwest Virginia Chesapeake District Event along with fellow MAR teams 223, 3314, and 4653. As the first pick of the #8 alliance by 2534 they joined 1599, but fell to the #1 alliance in the quarterfinals. Back in MAR, 1676 then attended the Bridgewater-Raritan MAR District Event, which they had won thrice in the past four years. Ranking 15th, they were selected by #3 seed 3142 along with 4954, but again were knocked out in the quarters. For their third event, 1676 took their first trip to the Montgomery MAR District. Ranking 16th, they were picked by the #5 seed 1279, joined later by 223. Though their alliance showed great potential going into the semifinal round, unfortunate comm issues cost them the series. Out at MAR Champs, 1676 finally broke into the top 8, seeding 5th after Qualification Matches, and chose 5895 and 3314 to join them in the eliminations. Their alliance won their first quarterfinal by a small margin thanks to their partner’s autonomous shooting capabilities, but were unable to pull off the win and move on.
At the final St. Louis World Championship, 1676 was placed on the first-ever Daly Sub-Division. The Pi-oneers had a rough time on their first day, going 0-4 in Qualification Matches on Thursday. But they fought back, winning all 6 on Friday and ended up ranked 22nd. They rounded out the #1 alliance as the 3rd pick, accompanying 2767, 254, and 862. Although they sat out for most of the Daly elimination matches, 1676 was subbed in for Daly Finals 2, helping their alliance win the sub-division even with 2767 losing comm midway through the match.
For the first time ever, the Pi-oneers were headed to Einstein. They were benched for the initial Round Robin matches and put into play to win the fourth round, against the Carson alliance. While their final Round Robin match was a loss to the Darwin alliance by just three points, the Daly alliance achieved enough Championship points and total match points to earn a spot in the Einstein Finals, again against the Darwin alliance. With 1676 on the field, 254 successfully hitting their hopper auto, and their alliance executing their two-rotor autonomous, the Daly alliance won the finals in two matches. Finals 2 was one of the most exciting matches all season; with a win margin of again only three points, the Daly alliance was crowned the 2017 St. Louis World Champions, earning their spot to the inaugural Festival of Champions. 1676 is just the third team in MAR and second NJ team to bring home a World Championship, preceded by 365 in 2001 and 25 in both 2000 and 2012.
1676’s success continued back home, winning MidKnight Mayhem with 225 and 333. Qualifying for the prestigious Indiana Robotics Invitational for their first time since 2013, the Pi-oneers journeyed to the Midwest and seeded 24th. Surprisingly, they were not selected for the playoffs, even by their Daly alliance captains 2767. However, 1676 and 2767 did have a great showing in the event’s final qualification match, helping 2767 clinch the #1 seed. 2767 went on to captain their alliance to the finals, losing to another MAR team: 2590 and their alliance. 862 has also been busy since St. Louis, finishing as finalists at the Big Bang Competition.
Now, 2767, 254, 862, and 1676 will join together once again to compete against the Houston alliance of 973, 1011, 4188, and 5499 in an intense best-of-5 matches up in New Hampshire. While St. Louis has the advantage of two great shooters, 973’s Bloodhound is hot on the trail, and who knows how 4188 subbing in for 2928 will affect the outcome. One of these two alliances will earn the ultimate title of the true 2017 World Champion, but we all know who the real winner will be: All of us, thanks to 1676’s full-field footage.
Best of luck to Team 1676, the Pascack Pi-oneers, at the inaugural Festival of Champions this weekend! The MARtian, along with the rest of MAR, will be rooting for you! Be sure to tune in at 10:30 AM here: https://www.twitch.tv/events/60297!