Play-insThe play-ins were filled with many close battles but also a lot of 3-0 sweeps. Overall only half of the higher seeded teams managed to advance and the majority of the 3-0 sweeps were by the lower ranked team taking out the higher ranked team.
Round 1
The first round was filled with upsets. Half of the top 8 seeds fell in the opening round.
6 seed (0-0 at the time) fell to 29 seed also 0-0 at the time. 29 made it through the play-ins by a forfeit. 29 beat 6 by a 2-1 margin. Their next match will be against 22 seed(2-1) which based on the past match should be an easy one for them.
One of the more shocking upsets was 36 prevailing over 3. 36 was 3-0 going into the match up and kept things rolling with a 2-1 win over 3 seed. 36 is currently 5-1 and will look to continue moving on in the next 3 series match up against the 14 seed(2-1)
Next came 5 falling to 32. 32 went into the match 2-1. Losing a game in the play in bracket probably let some worry sink into their mind but they managed to edge another 2-1 victory over 5 seed and are now currently 4-2 going into round 2 of normal play. Their next match will be against 12 seed(2-1)
The finally upset came from 25 prevailing over 8. Another team that lost a game in the play in round came in for another 2-1 victory over 8th seed. They are now Sitting at 4-2 and will be looking to keep advancing. Their next match is with another top 10 seed. They will face the 9 seed(2-1) and this could be a tough one for them. We will see if they can continue to move their way through the tournament.
Only the 23 seed has still managed to keep an undefeated record after their 3-0 upset over the 10 seed.
The 1 seed may have been a little worried this round. Even though they were facing the 40 seed, they couldn't take them lightly. 40 seed swept right through the play-ins going 3-0. They almost delivered the biggest upset of the tournament but the 1 seed prevailed in the end by a margin of 2-1.
The next round will host some nail biters. Will 23 remain undefeated and move to 6-0 or will they even remain in the tournament. If they do then we will lose another of our top 8 seeds. 7 seed(2-1) will battle it out against 23 seed(3-0) and they're probably in for more than you'd usually expect from a 23 seed team.
25 is in a good place to pull out another upset. They will be going in against 9 seed(2-1) and they're looking for blood again.
32 will not be facing a top 8 seed this round but not too far off. They'll be up against 12 seed(2-1). Will they pull out another upset or be knocked out of the tournament?
By far the greatest matches to come will be 23v7 and 25v9
Round 2
In the end 23 was not able to prevail over 7. They had some close matches but 7 won by a 2-1 margin in the end.
25 on the other hand managed to defeat 9 and knock them out of the tournament by a margin of 2-1
25 seed is now up against the 1 seed who easily prevailed 3-0 over 17 seed. They are currently on fire and it's hard to say if anyone can stop them.
Both the 12 and 14 seeds got upset by 2-1 margin of victories. 12 lost to 32 and 14 to 36.
One of the worst cases of a dice caused upset was seen in the 4v13 match up. 4 lost the first game before it even started with 13's drop and dice. They had to make up for it in the next two games. Everything was going well and they should've had both locked up when the dice decided to go flat. It all started with a lost 9v2 roll and got worse from there. A game they were up by about 20 armies they ended up losing because they couldn't win a single roll. It was an unfortunate loss for the team as they were a favorite for the finals.
The big games to watch for this round are 1 seed(5-1) vs 25 seed (6-3) and 32 seed (6-3) vs 13 seed (4-2). If 13 manages to avoid the upset from 32 then they will likely be up against team 1 which will be a tough one to win.
After the quarter finals the 1 seed continues to be on fire. They took a 3-0 sweep over 25 and are creating a nice road to victory at this rate. They've only lost 1 game during the entire tournament and are going into the next match with an 8-1 record which is currently the best overall record of any team in the tournament.
Next we have the upset of 32 advancing over 13. The two teams had a tough match but in the end it was 2-1 in favor of 32. They currently sit on an 8-4 record winning all their matches 2-1 up to this point. The will be facing the 1 seed in the semi-finals in a best of 5 set. Team 1 could very well continue their crazy streak and sweep this one 5-0 going into the finals with a record of 13-1. Only time will tell.
After that 36 managed to prevail over 29 by a 2-1 margin. They're going into the semi-finals with an overall record of 9-3. The two have overcome many obstacles and upset many teams on the way here. They'll be put up against their biggest challenge yet of the tournament in the upcoming round.
Finally we have the 7 seed. They pulled out a 3-0 sweep over the 2 seed in a stunning performance. The match was expected to be much closer than it was but instead it was a completely dominant effort by the 7 seed. They started off strong and didn't give the 2 seed a chance for a comeback. Their match this round is with the 36 seed which would appear to be an easy win but they'll be giving a fight for sure in the 5 game series.
