Region 1 Playoff Picture

Posted by: MarkDolven

With only a few matches left in the regular season, the playoffs are right around the corner. Only the top four franchises will advance to the playoffs, so every match now counts more than ever. The New York 3D sit in first ahead of everyone else at 6-1 and have pretty much already clinched a playoff berth. Behind 3D however, everyone will be fighting tooth and nail just to get in. The playoffs are slated to begin on July 2nd and it will feature a single elimination, four team bracket. The top two teams from this bracket will advance to represent Region 1 at the World Championships later this year. We have decided to break down what the teams need to do to solidify not only their spot in the playoffs, but also their position within them from a statistical and mathematical point of view.

Playoff Schedule:
July 2nd: Seed #1 vs Seed #4
July 2nd: Seed #2 vs Seed #3
July 7th: North American Final

Tiebreakers:
- Head to Head Records
- Point Differential (rounds for minus rounds against)
- Number of Total Games Won (all five games combined)

CGS Region 1 Regular Season Standings

Team Name	Wins	Losses	PF	PA
3D New York	6	1	172	166
Dallas Venom	6	2	192	153
Carolina Core	4	4	197	163
San Francisco Optx	4	4	171	174
Chicago Chimera	3	5	181	206
LA Complexity	0	7	121	172

As you can see by the standings, if the playoffs started today, the defending World Champion Chicago Chimera would not make the playoffs. They would be joined at home by the winless LA Complexity. Fortunately for those two teams, there is still a few weeks left in the season. Although it would take a miracle for LA to make a run, Chicago is still very much in the thick of things. It's likely the the Dallas Venom and 3D New York will fight each other for the number one seed, but if the Core or Optx go on a winning streak, they could steal it right out from underneath the two teams. The landscape is distinctly different this year at this time than it was last. Last year the Chicago Chimera was way ahead of everyone else, while the other five teams were all tied with a 3-4 record. The one thing that is certain is that the 2008 season is heating up and the action is going to be crazy.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 18th vs San Francisco Optx (4-4) [1-0]
June 20th vs Dallas Venom (6-2) [1-0]
June 23rd vs Carolina Core (4-4) [1-1]
June 25th vs Chicago Chimera (3-5) [2-0]
June 30th vs LA Complexity (0-7) [1-0]

Record of remaining opponents: [17-17] .50 %

Because they currently sit alone at the top the of the standings, New York obviously controls their own destiny. If they win out, they will easily enter the playoffs as the number one seed. Their next three matches are their most difficult. On June 23rd, they will rematch with the Carolina Core, the only team that has beaten them so far this season. Before that match however, they'll have to defeat the Dallas Venom who haven't lost in six games. 3D has clinched a playoff spot, so they just need to put it on cruise control as they near the playoffs. Their final match is against the currently winless LA Complexity, so that will be a perfect setup as they enter the playoffs likely as one off the top two seeds.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 20th vs 3D New York (6-1) [0-1]
June 23rd vs LA Complexity (0-7) [2-0]
June 29th vs Chicago Chimera (3-5) [1-0]
June 30th vs Carolina Core (4-4) [1-0]

Record of remaining opponents: [13-17] .43%


The Dallas Venom didn't make the playoffs last year, so they are doing their best to make sure that doesn't happen again behind six straight wins. After two narrow losses to open their season, Dallas has looked unstoppable. They definitely have their eyes set on the first seed, but that will require a victory against 3D on June 20th. If they win this match, they will be in control of the first seed behind their strong points differential. New York has won a lot of matches, but they have no blowout victories. The second tiebreaker is points differential, so this is a good thing for Dallas. If the Venom start to slip, they could easily fall down in the standings. Their final match of the year will likely determine seeding as they meet up with another likely playoff team, the Carolina Core. Dallas beat them the first time around, but should Carolina win the final match the tiebreaker will be forced again to points differential. The Core has a lot of blowout wins though, so every point will count coming down the stretch for Dallas.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 20th vs San Francisco Optx (4-4) [0-1]
June 23rd vs 3D New York (6-1) [1-1]
June 29th vs LA Complexity (0-7) [1-0]
June 30th vs Dallas Venom (6-2) [0-1]

Record of remaining opponents: [16-14] .53%


The Carolina Core has likely solidified their playoff position, but nothing is for certain. The Core hold the tiebreaker over the Chicago Chimera because Carolina won two out of their three meetings. On June 20th, the Core will need to defeat the San Francisco Optx or they will not hold the tiebreaker in this matchup. If they do beat San Francisco however, the Core will basically clinch their playoff spot. They will also clinch their playoff spot if either the Optx or the Chimera start to go on losing streaks. The Core has been the model of inconsistency this year, so there's nothing in writing that says Carolina can't go on a losing streak as well. With their next two matches against San Francisco and New York, they'll need to bring their A-game. The Core has an outside shot at the first seed if they win their final five matches, but making the playoffs for sure is priority number one.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 18th vs 3D New York (6-1) [0-1]
June 20th vs Carolina Core (4-4) [1-0]
June 25th vs LA Complexity (0-7) [2-0]
June 30th vs Chicago Chimera (3-5) [0-1]

Record of remaining opponents: [13-17] .43%


The Optx entered last year's playoffs as the number two seed, but this year they look to be fighting just to get in. They are in a battle with the Core and Chimera for the final two spots in the playoffs. Their final match of the season is indeed against the Chimera, so this could be a winner makes it into the playoffs situation. The Chimera already beat them once this year though, so the Optx have to win that match to get past the first stage in the tiebreaker system. If the Optx can handle their business against Los Angeles for a third time and muster a win in any of their other three games, they should have no issues making the playoffs with a 6-6 record. Just to be safe though, the Optx might want to make things easy on themselves by defeating both 3D and Carolina in their next two matches.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 18th vs LA Complexity (0-7) [1-0]
June 25th vs 3D New York (6-1) [0-2]
June 29th vs Dallas Venom (6-2) [0-1]
June 30th vs San Francisco Optx (4-4) [1-0]

Record of remaining opponents: [16-14] .53%


This time last week the World Champions sat at a record of 2-5 and a mile away from the top four. After an upset victory over the Core in their DirecTV debut, the Chimera is back in the ball game. They sit only one game behind both Carolina and San Francisco. The Core holds the tiebreaker over Chicago, so their target and team to cheer against has to be San Francisco. If the Chimera go on a run in the next few games, they could easily position themselves nicely. They already beat the Optx once this year, so another victory over San Francisco in the final game of the season could equate to a playoff spot for the World Champs. In their next match, Chicago has to step up and win against Los Angeles or their hopes are pretty much over. Chicago has a chance at the playoffs, but it is slim, but they are the World Champs until they are officially eliminated.

Remaining Matches (overall record) [record vs]
June 18th vs Chicago Chimera (3-5) [0-1]
June 23rd vs Dallas Venom (6-2) [0-2]
June 25th vs San Francisco Optx (4-4) [0-2]
June 29th vs Carolina Core (4-4) [0-1]
June 30th vs 3D New York (6-1) [0-1]

Record of remaining opponents: [23-16] .59%

At 0-7, Los Angeles is only playing for themselves at this point. They are not mathematically eliminated because they could win all five games coming in and hope the other teams all beat the crap out of each other. New York did make the playoffs last year with a 5-7 record, so you never know. The reality of the situation is that LA plays every team once to close out the season, so they will be the one team that everyone expects to beat. Because of this lack of respect, Los Angeles could sneak in some victories. Everyone will be looking past them as they circle their rivalry matches on their calendar. For the fans of Los Angeles, Complexity wants to finish strong, but unfortunately a miracle would have to occur for this to extend their season.

Conclusion:
These last matches for each franchise of the regular season will definitely be exciting to watch and anything could happen. Between 3D controlling almost everyone’s destiny, the Dallas Venom lurking in second, Carolina and San Francisco holding the final two spots and the World Champions trying to save their season, we will definitely see the emotions riding very high. While it is expected that New York, Dallas, Carolina and San Francisco make the playoffs, if one this is certain from the way this season has already played out, nothing is impossible. Make sure you tune into the 101 on DirectTV on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM PST to catch all the action. Also, stay tuned here to CarolinaCore.com for all of the previews and recaps to the Core’s matches.