Div B Mid-Season Report 4/11

A recap on what's happened so far and some insight on what's going to happen for the rest of the season. Here is a group by group recap of SScam so far.

Group A

About half of the sets played in this group there is still a lot of action to play out here. The early story is Hope who has gotten off to one of the best starts by anyone through 2 games anyways walking through with only a 17-1 games w/l record. Amy is also off to a good start with 2 wins as well go along with one loss. No one is really out of it at all yet as Fahd and Brice are both sitting with a set win and Tim and Kris don't have a win yet but have only lost one each. Anything could really happen here and I'll be looking for Tim and Fahd to make strong second half pushes to challenge in this group.

Two key sets to watch:

ticooksey vs baby_merta - Last season Amy was able to squeak into the playoffs just barely on a tiebreaker with only 2 wins. He's got that again this time with two sets left to play and will be looking for a little insurance. Right now Tim is not looking so hot after a big loss to Hope where he didn't win one game. Definitely thought Tim was one of the favs in this group from the start though so I look to see a bounce back performance. This would help Tim get back on track but Amy is also looking to punch his ticket to the playoffs.

eat_pinaples vs showstopper.1985 - Well it would be hard to not feature Hope somewhere in here as she's almost presented herself as unbeatable in this group. The only remaining challenge that I see would be Fahd even if that is probably even a long shot. Fahd so far has managed to hand Amy his only loss while also losing a set to Brice which is a head scratcher. This probably isn't the most important set for Fahd but it does give him an opportunity to test himself against one of the top players in the division. Hope has been great so far and I expect her to continue so if Fahd doesn't challenge you can just sit back and watch her shoot.

Group B

Well it's supposed to be midseason but this group actually only has 3 total sets left to play so a lot has been decided already. Jon has actually clinched the group already with a big win over Derek who is also sitting with 3 wins with one set to play. Moon has returned to form after a poor previous season and she's also sitting with 3 wins with all sets played. Bryan needs to win his last set against Bubba while a loss for Bubba would take him out of the race at the same time.

Two key sets to watch:

FreeJackpot vs ss_lawbubba_ss - Now this set was actually already played out all the way and unfortunately there were 3 tape errors that have forced a replay of those last 3 games. Bubba was clutch the first time around coming back to win from a 2-4 deficit but will Bryan allow that to happen again. Definitely an unfortunate turn of events for Bubba who had picked up his biggest win to date in the competition but the cam settings are important and he'll have to do it all again.

sicc.stoned vs ss_lawbubba_ss - Well no big surprise with Bubba appearing in 3 of those 3 remaining sets that he shows up in both sets to watch. Derek has had another strong season with his only loss coming to Jon. He doesn't have a chance to win the group now but a high playoff seeding is still what's on the line here. For Bubba he's still no officially eliminated and he'll be looking to stay alive here. Also he's the kind of guy to play out all his sets and try till the end so look for Bubba to bring a strong effort here.

Group C

In this group about half the sets have been played and so far we have two clear front runners in Thomas and Scott. Thomas has already gotten into playoff position with a 3-0 record with some impressive wins against Will and Jenni. Scott has also taken out Will and Jenni and only lost two games while doing so and he looks to be the favourite in the group as expected. Will is sort of still alive as he sits in 2nd with 7 points with all of his sets played after a bit of a disappointing season for him. Jenna has the best chance to pass Will for the final playoff spot but all of her remaining sets are tough. Jenni and Gary are still alive but would both need wins in their final sets and some extra luck to make it.

Two key sets to watch:

sicc.sk1llz vs astro61200 - This one tops the list for obvious reasons. Both players undefeated so far and one of the two will lose that distinction after this. Thomas has been fairly surprising in his return to sscam with 3 quick set wins to start off the competition. Scott still needs a win to secure his playoff position and if he doesn't get it in this match he'll surely get it somewhere. Scott's last appearance in div B was as a finalist and while Thomas has shown some good stuff I don't see him at that level. If he manages to win though, tops in the group is on the line.

SuPeRSwEEt13 vs HoT_CaNdy_69 - A battle of girly rares is definitely always something that we like to watch. For the second season in a row Jenni is in the unfamiliar position of being out of the playoffs in this competition and this is a must win and by a lot to have any chance. Jenna is looking to make some noise in the competition for the first time and her best chance at picking up a second win comes in this match. Would go a long way towards helping her make her first playoffs and she might be catching Jenni at a good time because the results just haven't been there lately.

Group D

Another group here where most of the sets have been played already and the contenders have emerged. Prakash has only gotten stronger after his surprise playoff appearance last season storming out to a 4-0 record, he looks to be the favourite to win the group at this point. Both Shelle and Kerry are sitting in second place with 6 points apiece. Shelle does have the inside edge in that race as she did manage to pick up a huge win against Kerry already. Adam is definitely still alive as he'll like his chances in his final 2 sets. The great unknown in this group is JJ as he is replacing Musti and he has a fresh slate with 5 sets to play. He has a chance to change the shape of the group and look for him to contend in his sets.

Two key sets to watch:

shelle4461 vs dr_papsmear_at_your_cervix - This should be a pretty interesting set to watch as Shelle is having yet another solid season where she's playing meaningful games at the end trying to get into the playoffs. Shelle has the luxury of not necessarily having to win this set as she has two of them remaining but she'd definitely like to win this for a little security. Adam has dug himself into a bit of a hole with what might be considered a couple unexpected losses. He still has a strong chance to make the playoffs but he'll need to bring a strong level of play to knock off Shelle.

xl_bankqueen_lx vs jj.pwnz - Kerry is once again making things come down to the wire with her playoff qualification as she's in need of a win in her final set. It's hard to say how this one will play out because JJ hasn't done anything in this competition yet. JJ hasn't really shown a whole lot of success in any of the competitions he's been participating in lately so a win here might be a bit of a surprise but really Kerry hasn't been putting up her normal quality of play either.

Group E (by Nigel)

Group E has arguably gone to form with Naveen and Brad leading the way, although Sacha could still have a big say in things. Brad, fresh from winning a UIC Swiss tourney with an impressive 5-0 score, has won 3 out of 4, losing in a 5-4 thriller to group leader Naveen. Surprisingly, Dawn has stuttered in this season's competition; maybe her mind is on playing in EC, who knows, but 2 close 4-5 defeats have put her out of the reckoning. Nicki has tried hard to stay in contention, beating Dawn, but her 1-3 record spells curtains. Maria stands at 2-2, defeating the 2 ladies, but will be hard pushed to take anything off Naveen.

Two key sets to watch:

noobsquad_wolverine vs sa_c_h_a - The key match still to come is Naveen v Sacha where a close encounter will decide who takes top spot. With Brad likely to defeat a dispirited Dawn to go 4-1 and Naveen being favourite against Maria, this fixture is the biggy! Naveen is a consistently good player, calm and good sporting, whilst Sacha can be eratic – as his 7-2 loss against Brad showed – and a bit hot-headed but on his day can be as good as anyone in Division B. I think Naveen will edge this close battle and take top spot in the group.

Smartassbitch vs sa_c_h_a - Of the remaining sets, Dawn will want to restore some pride and give Sacha a really close run for his money. This English lady can play when her mindset is focused and if she catches Sacha not at his best, she could foil his chances of finishing in the top 2. However, with a record of 0-3 and bottom place, the question will be if Dawn can be bothered since there's little to play for but pride. Sacha should be too strong for her and if it goes to form, a win for him will help seal qualification.

Group F

Another group with about half of the sets played so far with a lot left to play out. So far Sterlo and Dorie have managed to get themselves back into the playoff picture after a season where both of them missed out. Sitting in 3rd with two wins is Joe and he has no losses to go along with those wins so he's probably still the favourite to win this group. Niks and Jan still have an outside chance to make the playoffs but they really need to win the rest of their sets. Rahul's drop off in play has left him on the outside looking in and he'd need Joe to disappear from the face of the earth to have any chance here.

Two key sets to watch:

doriebarnes84 vs joredon - Maybe it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Dorie is in this position again as it was only earlier this year that she had the top seed in div B. She's got 3 wins already with a chance to grab a 4th. That chance might not be the best one in the world as it comes up against one of last season's semi finalists in Joe. Joe so far has dealt Sterlo his only loss and took care of business against Rahul and his form is solid. Dorie is definitely also showing good things that we haven't seen in a while. If Dorie brings her best game she could challenge and even win here.

ll_pool_hustler_ll vs gangstapower - Jan is sitting on the verge of elimination here as he's started the competition out with a 2 losses. It's been a while now since he was in the playoffs all that time ago. Still he shows up every season and plays while also keeping active in the league. He's definitely getting better and this will be a chance to show those improvements against a pretty strong player in Niks. Niks is going to be challenged here to make the playoffs and will need to grab a win here to stay on track. After his 0-9 loss to Dorie it's hard to know what to expect from Niks so expect a close one here.

Group G

Here is yet another group with about half the sets played and so far nothing has really been determined so far with 3 players sitting at 2 wins and none yet at 3. Nigel and Chad are in the best shape so far and they'll have to play one another before all is said and done while Ravi only has one set to play and it will be a tough one against Jason. Jason also is not in bad position because he has not played a set so far and therefore has no losses to his name. He's been a playoff player in each of the past couple seasons so look for him to make his move before the final deadline. Praveen has taken over Drew's stats as a replacement and as a newcomer might have a tough time winning two more sets but his chances are still alive.

Two key sets to watch:

en_dk vs hustle - Nigel is off to an ideal start so far handling Rich with a big win and getting past another playoff contender in Ravi for a 2-0 record. On the other side Chad had high hopes going into this and those hopes can remain high but a win here is key so that he can grab his third win and focus on a good seed for the playoffs. Chad has been a div A player in seasons past so his skill level is probably higher than that of Nigel but Nigel has been known to rise to the occasion before in sets so this could be tight.

JasSuperStud vs winmyheart_143 - Well so far in this competition for Ravi it's been a rollercoaster as he had two early losses but now he's managed to come back and level his record at 2-2. Unfortunately for him the only thing standing in the way of a 3rd win is Jason who really is a good player. Jason so far hasn't been able to find time for any sets and is only alive on an exemption. Based on seasons past I think he'll be able to put a late charge together in this group and a win against Ravi will be an important way to start.