Announcement | November 13, 2014
As we head into the final week of the regular season, a quick study of the standings reveals that there are many playoff spots still up for grabs. In the Upper Playfield Conference, six of the eight spots are rock solid, but there is still some question as to which teams will claim the remaining two playoff spots. The Lower Playfield Conference, however, still has much to be determined in the final week.
In the Left Orbit Division, the Terrorwrists sit comfortably at the top, and barring a sweep at home next week, they will hold onto the top spot and have home field advantage in first round of the playoffs. What is interesting is the battle for second place. Thank You, Enjoy the Show has a slim one-point lead over the Mutants right now, but they will face the first place Terrorwrists on the road next week, while the Mutants will be playing at home. Can the South Slope team with the second longest name in the league pull off the upset and hold onto second place? Just as interesting is the battle for the final playoff spot between the Compadres and Flipped Out. Both teams face very tough opponents next week on the road: Factory of Sadness and the Mutants, respectively. If one of these teams can pull off the upset win, then they will likely claim that fourth spot. However, should both teams lose, then the doors are open for the Casserollers to sneak past and claim that last spot. Got a feeling there are gonna be some tough battles on Monday night.
In the Right Orbit Division, Hard Plunge and Factory of Sadness are both assured a top-two finish, but who ends up in first is still up for grabs. The NYCFSA will be hosting the first place team, Hard Plunge, and, win or lose, they are guaranteed to make the playoffs. Lost in the Zone is the fourth playoff team, provided they win on Monday. If they lose, then this opens the doors for the Usual Suspects and the 2-for-1ers to claim the final playoff spot. As the Usual Suspects are hosting the 2-for-1ers on Monday, expect a hard-fought battle between these two teams.
Over in the Left Flipper division, both the Aristocrats! and Chillers Only are guaranteed a playoff spot, but neither is guaranteed home field advantage in the first round. Since these two teams play each other in the final week, this opens the doors for the Cartel to finish in second place should they emerge victorious on the road against the Misfits. A win by both the Cartel and Special When Lit assures that they both make the playoffs, but should the Midnight Vultures pull off a win against Special When Lit in the final match, then they would jump into the playoffs regardless of the outcome of the other matches. Given the Cartel’s current point total, and the fact that the 4th and 5th place teams will meet on Monday, the Cartel are guaranteed a playoff spot regardless of their outcome on Monday. Very nice, but trust me when I tell you — I would much rather play at home in the playoffs, so we’re playing to win on Monday!
Given their records and total cumulative point totals, the top two teams in the Right Flipper Division are in a pretty good position to make the playoffs. Since the second place More or Lesser Players are facing the third place Roseanne Jackbars on Monday, the winner is guaranteed home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With Autosave fighting for their lives, a strong win at home against the first place Pinbabes could not only get them into the playoffs, but it could, theoretically, knock the Pinbabes out of home field advantage. Danger Danger is the last team in contention, and should they win along with Autosave and the More or Lesser Players, the season would end with the More or Lesser Players on top at 8 and 2, and FOUR teams below them at 7 and 3. Such an occurrence would eliminate the team with the lowest point total: either the Roseanne Jackbars or Autosave.
Remember, we take the week of Thanksgiving off entirely and start the playoffs the first week of December. Good luck to everyone on Monday — I look forward to posting the results!