By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Tue Nov 10 2009 7:35pm

Philly | Gotham | Boston | Windy City | Madison | Detroit | Texas | Kansas City | Houston | Oly | Rocky Mountain | Denver

Philly (East #1)

First Bout: vs winner of Rocky Mountain vs. Houston, Saturday 11:45am

2009 WFTDA record: 9-1

2009 biggest win: 291-50 over Steel City, September 11 (Eastern Regionals)

2009 biggest loss: 149-74 to Charm City, August 22

2009 closest bout: 90-89 victory over Gotham, September 13 (Eastern Regionals); also 70-69 victory over Windy City, July 25

2009 background: Philly spent their first few bouts of 2009 quietly scoring convincing wins over regional rivals Carolina and Boston, but it was their turn at the East Coast Extravaganza that really showed they were prepared to be a challenger for the national title, as they squashed two tough teams in Kansas City and Rat City by 100+ each on consecutive nights. The only blemish on their year was a rather lopsided 149-74 loss to Charm City when they sat most of their star players in a bout just before Regionals, but in one of derby's great ironies, the Philly-Charm rematch at Regionals went to Philly by the exact same score.

In another statistical anomaly, Philly dealt both Gotham and Windy City their only losses of 2009 -- both by 1 point -- both scored in the final jam by Teflon Donna.

Tournament history: Like Windy City, Philly has a long checkered history with Gotham when it comes to WFTDA tournaments. In the 2007 cycle, Philly was seeded higher than Gotham going into Easterns and had a first-round bye, but Gotham steamrolled them to eliminate Philly after just one bout. In 2008, Philly was the only team to come close to Gotham all year long, falling just 5 points short in the Eastern Regional semifinal -- but Philly was crushed by 137 points when they met again the following month at Nationals. This year, of course, Philly finally got their revenge by ending Gotham's 18-game winning streak in the finals of Eastern Regionals 2009, claiming the #1 seed in the East along with it.

Lowdown: Philly is not a very flashy team; when faced with a team near their skill level, they'll generally rely on workmanlike point-denial to start building a lead slowly and surely rather than exploding for big jams early. Often they seem not as concerned with locking up the opposing jammer indefinitely as they are with delaying her just long enough to claim lead jammer status and some daylight out of the pack for their own jammer. That keeps them from putting up the multiple grand slams and astronomical scores of teams like Denver or Texas ... but it's hard to argue with the success of their style.

If history is any guide, look for a lot of 4-0 jam calls and the lowest point totals this weekend to come from Philly; in the past Philly has played some remarkably low-scoring games, including a 70-69 and 92-76 against Windy City, an 85-46 against Carolina, and the 5th lowest-scoring bout in WFTDA history, a 62-56 against Bay Area a couple of years back in 2007.

Players to watch: It's particularly hard to single out players on Philly as ones to watch; this is one of the most even teams in the sport. Philly sports an incredibly well-rounded jammer lineup -- top speed is probably held by the small but mighty Mo Pain and Persephone, while Shenita Stretcher and Teflon Donna are plenty fast and also have the size to absorb potential takeout hits. Violet Temper and Elle Viento can also step in when needed, giving Philly a lot a depth offensively. Philly's D is equally deep with hard hitters: Nina Knockout, Robin Drugstores, Gloria Grindem, Olivia Face, Ivana Rock and 2009 addition Heavy Flo are all capable of putting an opponent in the air.

Road to the championship: Philly has a first round bye and faces the winner of Rocky Mountain / Houston on Saturday. If they are victorious there, they will go up against Texas, Madison or Boston in the final four. Philly has the chance to be the first hosting league to win a WFTDA tournament.

Roster: Annie Christ 7 // Dara Licks 67 // Dotti Horror 77 // Elle Viento 22 // Eurothrash AK47 // Gefilte Fists 18 // Ginger Vitis 933 // Gloria Grindem 1972 // Heavy Flo 527 // Ivana Rock 11 // Leggs Benedict 04EZ // Mo Pain 8 // Nina Knockout 911 // Olivia Face 668 // Persephone 15 // Robin Drugstores 714 // Shenita Stretcher 305 // Teflon Donna 85 // Violet Temper 06 // Wendy Whiplash 13