WFTDA Sets Championship Bracket
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Full bracket courtesy of the WFTDA.
LINCOLN, NE -- The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association tonight conducted a random draw to determine the bracket for November’s Championship Tournament. Each region’s #1 seed receives a first round bye; the #3 seed from each region will face a #2 from another region and the victor of that match-up proceeds to face a #1 from a third.
On the first side of the bracket, 2W Denver will face 3E Charm City, with the victor going on to face 1NC Windy City. Tournament hosts 2SC Atlanta will face 3NC Naptown, with the winner proceeding to tackle 1E and defending champions Gotham.
On the other side, 2NC Minnesota will face 3SC Kansas City for a chance at 1W Oly; while 3W Bay Area has to get past 2E Philly, with the victor going on to play 1SC Texas on Saturday.
Comments
A Champs classic
It looks like we're going to have to wait until the end of Sunday to see the Charm vs Minnesota rematch.
Tantalizing matchup possibilities
I don't think this bracket draw could have been anymore perfect. I'm looking forward to Atlanta (holy crap Atlanta!) vs. Naptown, Bay Area vs. Philly on Friday, BAD/Philly vs. Texas, (probably) Oly/Minnesota and (hopefully) Denver/Gotham on Saturday, and may the Bracket Gods give us Gotham/Oly on Championship Sunday.
I need to find a watch party!
Predictions
I got Denver/Windy, Gotham vs Atlanta,Oly vs MN, and Texas vs BAD with Gotham vs Windy and Oly vs Texas with a Oly vs Gotham champs final
On more or less the same track
I've got BAD getting over Texas and bouting Oly, prior to Oly v. Gotham III. 50/50 that either Denver or Windy get to Gotham.
Full predictions after thinking about it
I like the bracket set up: Denver vs Charm I like Denver, Atlanta vs Naptown I like Atlanta but it will be close, MN vs KC I gotta go with MN lol, Philly vs BAD this would be a good finish to the 1st day and probably the best bout with BAD eeking out a win. Windy vs Denver this will be close and could go either way, Gotham vs Atlanta of course Gotham, Oly vs MN will be fun and close and Texas vs BAD will be awesome. The semis could be good,I now am taking Windy over Denver and Windy actually giving Gotham a run for it but Gotham wins and Texas vs Oly will be awesome with Oly eeking out a win. For 3rd I got Windy over Texas and Gotham by 50 over Oly.
Mouth watering games: Bad vs Philly on Friday, if it goes right: Windy vs Denver, Oly vs MN, Texas vs Bad, Windy vs Gotham and Texas vs Oly on Saturday and Oly vs Gotham on Sunday.
Gotham
If Gotham only beats Oly by 50 I'll be more than shocked.
Remember last time that Oly got beat
by more than 50?
Didn't think so.
That said, they are not the same team as last year so I guess it wouldn't surprise me if they lost by a slightly larger margin this time.
OK
Maybe 50-100 sounds better lol.
What's Up With Atomatrix jumping ship from AZ to Oly?
Is this allowed. Is this the wave of the future to stack teams? How about a rule that if you start the season on one league, you can not shift to another? At the least put in a 6 month minimum for switching from one league to another.
Oh, I assure you...
... the topic has been discussed in extensive detail in the comments section of a previous article.
In the words of Basil Fawlty:
Don't mention the war...
You started it!
You started it!
No I didn't! Oly did. They
No I didn't! Oly did. They invaded Poland.
I heard that several were
I heard that several were going back to Oly several months ago. I have 2 daughters who skate and had heard it through the grape vine. My thoughts....if it was one of my daughters who had been skating on a team for the whole year and had helped the team make it to the regionals and the team brings on other skaters (no matter how good they are) and my daughters, or any other skater on the team gets bumped in order for these players to skate, I would be pretty po'd. Does Oly think that this will somehow tilt the advantage their way and they can beat oh say Gotham with this combo? Let those who have sweated and been knocked around all season be the ones to stand or fall together! Maybe there will be a big upset in the first round and Oly won't have to worry about the finals....hey, Dutchlands power move backfired on them last year!!!
I, for one....
...personally fancy Bay Area over Oly, should it come to that (and I suspect it will).
BAD have historically done better against Oly than would expected given the two team's standings at times they've played, and I think this year Bay Area are looking very, very strong.
I think their style of play will match up quite well with Oly's, and I can't wait to see Demanda Riot vs Hockey Honey on the track.
What?
BAD has never played Oly. If BAD meets Oly in the semis it will be the first time the two teams have ever played.
(Not that BAD hasn't tried to play Oly; Oly has always turned down BAD's offers to play them.)
You're right...
...I'm going mad.
I think I might have been thinking about Oly v Kansas City last year, or something. Or it might just have been a brainfart.
Either way, I'd like to see *that* bout.
Can't Escape History
Well Lex, BAD will do everything it can so you can see a BAD-Oly bout, but BAD has some history to get over. BAD has only been to the championship twice, in 2008 and 2010. Both times BAD was eliminated in the first game.
This year BAD's first game is against Philly. In 2008 BAD's first game was against Philly, and it was an epic game. Philly took the lead on the first jam and never relinquished it. Philly's lead at one point was 47 points, but by the last jam of the game Philly's lead was 19 points. Kit Turbo got lead against Mo Pain and started scoring. Mo Pain finally got out of the pack and began her scoring pass as well, but BAD's last blocker, Liz Machete, forced a track cut and BAD had a powerjam. Kit Turbo, true to her name, hit the turbos and grand slam after grand slam narrowed Philly's lead. When the jam expired the scoreboard read 103-103 and the BAD All Stars went nuts. But then Philly's jam ref reported Mo Pain's last pass, 4 points, and Philly won the game, 107-103.
If BAD can get pass Philly they face Texas. In 2010 BAD's first game was against Texas, the lowest scoring bout played at championships that year. BAD just couldn't get any traction against Texas' defense. The game featured only two jams in which more than one scoring pass was made and the largest lead was 15 points. After a back and forward 1st half the score stood 37-38 Texas. In the 2nd half scoring got even tougher, but Texas slowly edged away from BAD winning the game 68-55.
Philly and Texas have extensive experience at Championships, this counts for a lot. They both have been in the position they are in now, multiple times. They've been to the big city, they've seen the bright lights, they know what to do and how to win. BAD has quite a hill to climb, if they're to play Oly on Saturday, a day BAD has usually watched, not played derby... but BAD knows this and will be ready.
What will happen I do not know, but it should be a lot fun finding out.
DNN thanks you
I think that the DNN preview team would like to thank you for entirely writing 20% of their article for them. I see some copy/paste in their future ;) Really enjoyable analysis SB
I concur....
...and thank you as well.
More recent history suggests it should be easier for BAD, though. Their 159-88 win over Texas in Texas this year (oh, and the 185-59 last year) suggest they should have a little bit of confidence going into a hypothetical game with Texas.
Philly is the tougher game to call, though. As ever, they're looking a stronger team as the season goes on; Antidote's been coming on as the season's worn on, V-Diva is just getting better and more effective as her packs get used to playing with her more in competitive games, and something intangible about Philly always seems to just click more the later in the season we get.
Neither team has played each other recently enough to provide much useful data; but having had the privilege of seeing them both play six times this year, I think Bay Area are likely to have the edge. It'll be close and undoubtedly the best bout of the opening round, in my view... but while I love Philly, I think BAD have got this. Just.
Experience, Smarts, Character and Poise
Philly's been to the tournament wars a bunch of times and in many cases dig down deep, don't get flustered and play teams that are arguably better than them very close--losing to Oly by about 20 or so points at the 2010 championships. V-Diva probably gives Philly the best "home run" jammer they've ever had and can be dangerous to BAD if they get too much penalty business. Philly does well for themselves by getting newer all-star members ready for the challenges of tournament play by giving them a lot of minutes during their season, which probably helps things click more late in the season (more teams should follow that example).
well
BAD still has to get through philly. we're happy to be discounted though, we like screwing up brackets.
Go get 'em, Philly.
Go get 'em, Philly.
LOL yeah right they will get
LOL yeah right they will get booted on saturday they arent a gonna win jack
Potentially an interesting bout
If it comes to it--BAD v. Oly. I kind of thought that BAD in the 2010 championships skated on eggs a bit against TX, but I don't think that will be the case this time. BAD goes about 4 deep in jammers for bouts--all will need good production, no half skatin from any for Oly will likely outscore what Rat and Rose did against them previously. They'll need to minimize penalty trouble, particularly power jams; Oly will have a bit more firepower from the jammer line to punish penalty trouble than the likes of Rat City and Rose.
Oly avoided BAD. I'm shocked:).
Some Good Games
Denver vs Charm, MN vs KC and Philly vs Bad should all be good Friday, then all games Saturday other than the Gotham game will be awesome. with 2 awesome semis in Gotham vs Denver or Windy and Texas/Oly will be great.
Why don't you nerds
go have a great big nerd-off in the nerd room?
This *is* the nerd room.
Seriously. Look at the decor! It's all pixels.
i logged in
just to upvote these.
aaaaand
case closed
My Bracket
I would not be surprised if Philly wins, I saw them watching the ECDX online and they are good but BAD I think is little better but not by much.
My Bracket
I'm with you. Since ECDX there have been a few changes in the Belles lineup. If you watched them skate RollerCon or even in the East Regionals, you will see that they have really changed since ECDX. Even when they get behind also, they don't give up and will skate right til the last whistle! I think they have the potential to suprise several teams at Nationals, especially if they skate like I know they can and stay out of penalty trouble! Go Belles!
Ok
I did not pay to see the Easterns so I would not know how they did lol, but in the champs its anyone's game.
TX2 KILL3
AND THE STREETS OF ATLANTA WILL FLOW WITH RIVERS OF BLOOD!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEXAS TEXAS KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
American by birth...
...southern by the grace of God. VERY happy to see Atlanta in this bracket!
Schedule Changes
Denver vs Charm is 2pm Friday
MN vs KC is now at 4
BAD vs Philly is at 6
Atlanta vs Naptown is now at 8pm
Saturday:
Texas vs Philly/BAD 10am
Oly vs Kc/MN Noon
Windy vs Den/Charm 2pm
Gotham vs ATL/Nap 4pm
Semis are at 630 and 830 ( Gotham plays at 830)
Finals:
1 and 3 Sunday
gotham cant be beat
YEAR in and year out we put these meaningless brackets up in hopes for some team to come out of the shadows to shake things up.. some times its happens most of the time it doesn't. We need to stop wasting time. I say what most think and are afraid to say from fear of being black balled for having an opinion. Th brackets are total bull- - - - . everyone know its gonna be oly vs new york in the finals unless some some can pull a rabbit out of there butts. Really who going to stop oly texas?? kanas?? philly?? come on these teams aren't going to able to deal with the onslaught of the the power of oly. As far as gotham goes no one can stop them they can only hope to contain them. Even if you took the top two from every team and pitted them agianst gotham . gotham would win. Hey Gotham leave book the hydra on a round trip ticket. Everyone else flew to Atlanta just to watch them win. hey people my not like what iam saying but agian the truth is a harsh thing at times.
So?
"We need to stop wasting time" by doing away with a championship tournament?
Lame.
No one stays at the top forever.
you need to read correctly
Hi Blackie how are you? I didnt say anything about doing away with championship tournament .I said the brackets are lame, just take the top four teams and let them do battle in a best of 5 bout series for the championship .. I said we all know that Newyork is slated to 3 peat .Having all of these other lucky teams in the bracket takes away from true competition. best of 5 bout series would be more exciting then knowing a team is about to get trashed and then having to sit through it . some bouts are like movies you saw about 1000 times.
What? LOL. So, instead of
What? LOL. So, instead of watching a team trash another team once, you want to see it three times? I'm not getting the logic here.
the logic is have you ever
the logic is have you ever saw a team win a game by 3 points and you knew if that team had another chance it would be a better match up. Instead of waiting a whole year to see the battle agian Id rather see it a day or two later. I dont get your logic of wanting to see one team destroying another simply because of brackets some teams shouldnt be on the same track as the other. why does some people think in the box???
So, what exactly are you proposing?
Just putting Gotham and Oly in a championship series (since you said Gotham and Oly are going to wipe the floor with everyone else)?
But, you also think Gotham is unstoppable, so why do you think a series of Gotham/Oly games would be more entertaining than seeing a first round of good matchups and a couple good matchups in the quarterfinals and a good matchup in the 3rd place game?
Not to mention that you think that this would actually be good for the sport. It's good to have only two cities directly involved in deciding WFTDA's champion, instead of 40 spread across three countries (maybe 4 or 5 countries next year)? That's better for fan interest? It would also be very suspiciously like the BCS in college football where no one gets a shot at a championship except the two teams that the media decides are best. What a good format to follow, right? Because everyone LOVES the BCS.
Oh I know how to read correctly.
I think you mean I misunderstood your statement.
Still, I stand by my statement of: lame.
I'd rather see twelve different match-ups.
You can stand by your
You can stand by your statement you can sit by your statment it really doesnt matter. In fact its thinking like yours that makes Derby lame. You rather see a bunch of meaningless derby in which you know who the winner is going to be fore the bout starts. Why not have a the best of the best battle. This is why women can get anywhere in sports. Look at the most successful women sport on t.v Like the WNBA because backward thinkers the sport is barely hanging on.Derby by nature is fun and exciting yet backward thinkers are killing a potential new age sport. I mean so what we had the derby cup.It still hasnt made waves and still wont as long as people think in the box...by the way blackie where is your team in the brackets??? LOL
GOTHAM YEAH!
MY TEAM IS IN THE SAME BRACKET AS GOTHAM AND I'M PRETTY EFFIN PSYCHED ABOUT THAT.
Now watch me figuratively walk away from feeding the troll.
lol while your walking
you have nothing to be psyched about... LOL ENJOY your lost wasted airfare,wasted hotel fees and most of all you called off work or took vacation days for a hobby that you dont even get paid for ...BURP thanks for feeding me :)
They're hosting.
So, you know, troll fail.
A gentle reminder to keep it friendly
You can stand by your statement you can sit by your statment it really doesnt matter. In fact its thinking like yours that makes Derby lame. You rather see a bunch of meaningless derby in which you know who the winner is going to be fore the bout starts. Why not have a the best of the best battle. This is why women can get anywhere in sports. Look at the most successful women sport on t.v Like the WNBA because backward thinkers the sport is barely hanging on.Derby by nature is fun and exciting yet backward thinkers are killing a potential new age sport. I mean so what we had the derby cup.It still hasnt made waves and still wont as long as people think in the box...by the way blackie where is your team in the brackets??? LOL
Let's ease down a little. You're treading perilously close to violating DNN's Site Code of Conduct, particularly through personal discourtesy ("it's thinking like yours that makes Derby lame") and informal fallacy ("this is why women can['t, I presume] get anywhere in sports"). Please rein it in.
We realize that sports sites often tend toward aggressive commentary spurred by the passion of the sport's fans. We're all about the passion, but aggression's not welcome here. We believe you can be passionate, and make your points persuasively, without making it personal or derogatory.
To the content of the comment: I agree, completely, that it's important for the competitive structure of the sport, micro and macro, to stay nimble and responsive during this early evolution period. If you and I made lists of areas for potential improvements, I suspect there would be near-total overlap between them.
One place we'll disagree, though, is in this idea that "if we just make these changes, suddenly the sport will take off." It's Field of Dreams thinking, as we outlined a bit in our recent editorial. No sport has ever gone from nothing to widespread participation and commercial success in anything less than several decades, and there's no reason to imagine derby will be any different. Growing a sport takes generations.
2009 called. They want your unstoppable Gotham back.
Gotham won the Hydra in 2008, and proceeded to complete a record-setting streak of eviscerations over the course of the following year. Conversation after conversation circled around the question of who was ever gonna put an end to it, and we might as well retire the trophy, as Gotham was clearly unstoppable.
Then this happened. Strong contender for the best game in modern roller derby history.
Philly beat 'em in regionals, then Oly beat 'em a few weeks later on the way to the Hydra and a winning streak that'd supplant Gotham's. The next year it was *obvious* that nobody could beat Oly... and then Rocky Mountain did, twice.
Gotham is unbeatable until somebody beats them. I am not a betting man, but if I were, I would bet it happens sooner rather than later.
Word
I happen to know a bunch of ladies who are working hard to prove your prediction true.
stats don't lie
of coures. new york. will be the top team to beat. no one has figured out how to take them down!
just like like in football numbers don't lie ,I ve looked all over from wftda tv to flattrackstats.com.
new york has a way to come and controlling the game with thare lead jamer status. the one team
I 'ed put my money on is philly. .o and philly did beat them by one point.
"Unstoppable" teams are a fallacy
No team is unstoppable, no game is a foregone conclusion, and no team should *ever* be written off. Upsets are so-called because supposedly stronger teams are beaten by supposedly weaker ones. They happen from the lowest levels to the highest. Look back at the last five years of tournaments and show me one that went entirely "according to plan".
Hell, look at regionals this year, and see how many people's brackets were still intact by day two in each region? Single figures in many cases. This argument comes up every time a team makes consistently successful representations at the highest level, in every single sport, and it's just as ridiculous every time.
Here's the truth of it; if a team is doing consistently well, it's up to every other team to find a way to bring themselves up to that level and defeat them. To do anything else, would be a disservice to the sport, to the teams, and to each individual player on a personal level, for to dismiss any of them just because someone is a favourite to win, is an affront to their years of hard work and dedication.
exzachary
don't we want teams to be awesome and keep pushing the sport to a new level of game play and all round radness? Gotham are human, they work hard, they wanna be top notch and I think its rad to watch. I remember watching that regional bout when philly beat "the unbeatable" and screamin down the phone at 5am in australia to my hubby who was trackside during the last jam of "the unbeatable" oly vs rocky. I hope Im watching when this "unbeatable" crown gets taken. Its only a matter of time. I hope like hell I'm there watching on my 'puter whilst executing some outlandish tom cruise couch jumping stylin.
Ive already booked leave off work for the final day, worked out my grazing menu and beer list for championships. Most of the action is at stupid o'clock for us crazy aussies...Its going to be watch party central at Hotel Vader come Nov and IM EXCITED!!!