1) This week will see the S26 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?
As usual, 6 teams made the playoffs this season. Seeding, specifically in the NSFC, came down to the final game of the season, with the Sarasota Sailfish ultimately taking both the top spot in the conference and the top spot in the league as a whole. Alongside them in the conference were the Chicago Butchers at 12-4 and the Colorado Yeti at 10-5. The 1 seed came down to the points for metric, which gave the Sarasota Sailfish the edge, despite their and Chicago's identical records at 12-4.
From the ASFC, Honolulu, Sarasota's fellow S22 expansion team as well as the only other fish team in the league (fish teams best teams) led the conference with an 11-4-1 record. The second seed was earned by the Arizona Outlaws, who managed a record of 11-5 on the season. In third place, the New Orleans Secondline squeaked in with a 9-7 record.
Now I'll give a brief summary of each team's season and outline how each one ended up in the position they did.
Sarasota Sailfish: Sarasota absolutely earned the top spot in the league despite the race for 1st coming down to the wire with their conference rival, the Chicago Butchers. Sarasota started the season at 1-1 after a brutal loss to the Colorado Yeti before going on a six game win streak that defined the season as a whole. The team allowed fewer than 23 points in all six games while dropping 40, 38, and 48 points along the way. After a close loss to the Outlaws, the Sailfish got right back to their winning ways with 3 consecutive wins against the Hawks (doesn't really count), Salamanders, and Otters. The Sailfish then endured a tough loss in Yellowknife before winning their final game in Chicago. (OK just realized after writing this that the index has most recent games at the bottom so this is all out of order. Too lazy to change it though so if anyones reading this just take that into account).
Chicago Butchers: The Butchers have emerged as an elite team in the league in recent seasons, and put up a great fight for the ASFC this past season. The Butchers started 4-0 before losing 3 of their next 4, one of those losses being an 8-5 loss against the Salamanders (weird game). The Butchers then went on to win 7 of their next 8, the one loss being to the Sarasota Sailfish of course. Ultimately the Butchers failed to secure the top spot as a result of their inability to produce points at a rate equivalent to that of the Sailfish.
Colorado Yeti: For me, the Yeti kind of flew under the radar this past season. I'm used to them being either a 1 or 2 seed in the conference, so even seeing them drop to number 3 is surprising. The Yeti started off slow going 1-3 in their first 4 games, before rattling off 5 straight wins. The Yeti then won 4 out of their last 7, including a monumental win against the Sailfish which helped keep them firmly in the playoff hunt alongside the Butchers.
Honolulu Hahalua: The Hahalua put together their best season since inception, finishing with a record of 11-4-1. The Hahalua took an L week one to the Philadelphia Liberty before rebounding on a 3 game winning streak. They then lost a game to Arizona before winning another 4 in a row. They then lost a tough couple games versus the Silverbacks and Secondline before going on yet another 4 game win before ending the season with a 30-30 tie against the Colorado Yeti.
Arizona Outlaws: The Outlaws finished just behind the Hahalua in the standings with a record of 11-5 on the year. Their season was definitely a weird one, as they started out 0-2 before going on an incredible 9 game win streak. I'd like to discredit their 51 point performance against the Hawks by saying that it should be expected, but 51 points is incredible regardless of the opponent. The Outlaws were unfortunately unable to use this streak to propel themselves to the number 1 seed in the conference though, as they dropped 3 of their last 5 games.
New Orleans Second Line: The Second Line finished with a 9-7 record on the year, but got off to a rough 2 game skid to start the season. New Orleans got back to their winning ways soon after though with a dominant 49-17 victory over the Sabercats. The Second line then lost 4 of their next 6 before winning 6 of their next 7 to end the year.
Playoff Game Reviews:
Secondline 41-21 W over Arizona: Bit of a surprisingly dominant game here from Sloth as the Secondline go on to rout the Outlaws.
Colorado 24-19 W over Chicago: Major upset alert with this one. Sarasota fans worldwide must have been thrilled with the way this game turned out. Close game the whole way throughout.
Secondline 24-15 W over Honolulu: Another upset here with the Secondline just continuing to plow through strong regular season teams. Bit unfortunate that the Hahalua weren't able to make the Ultimus to play in the first ever fish bowl, but I'll give credit to the Secondline for playing a great game.
Sailfish 47-27 W over Colorado: In case the Sailfish's intentions weren't clear from the start, they most definitely were after this game. Just a dominant performance as the Sarasota D was all over Colorado to start the game out. The Sailfish never looked back and succeeded in making it to their first ever Ultimus Game.
ULTIMUS: SARASOTA 34-10 W OVER NEW ORLEANS: Sarasota wins it! I'm so glad the fishies pulled this one out. As one of the first players to ever set foot on the field in a Sarasota uniform, its so rewarding to finally achieve the ultimate goal! Congratulations to the Secondline for a great season and to all my teammates for playing fantastically over the course of the season!
As usual, 6 teams made the playoffs this season. Seeding, specifically in the NSFC, came down to the final game of the season, with the Sarasota Sailfish ultimately taking both the top spot in the conference and the top spot in the league as a whole. Alongside them in the conference were the Chicago Butchers at 12-4 and the Colorado Yeti at 10-5. The 1 seed came down to the points for metric, which gave the Sarasota Sailfish the edge, despite their and Chicago's identical records at 12-4.
From the ASFC, Honolulu, Sarasota's fellow S22 expansion team as well as the only other fish team in the league (fish teams best teams) led the conference with an 11-4-1 record. The second seed was earned by the Arizona Outlaws, who managed a record of 11-5 on the season. In third place, the New Orleans Secondline squeaked in with a 9-7 record.
Now I'll give a brief summary of each team's season and outline how each one ended up in the position they did.
Sarasota Sailfish: Sarasota absolutely earned the top spot in the league despite the race for 1st coming down to the wire with their conference rival, the Chicago Butchers. Sarasota started the season at 1-1 after a brutal loss to the Colorado Yeti before going on a six game win streak that defined the season as a whole. The team allowed fewer than 23 points in all six games while dropping 40, 38, and 48 points along the way. After a close loss to the Outlaws, the Sailfish got right back to their winning ways with 3 consecutive wins against the Hawks (doesn't really count), Salamanders, and Otters. The Sailfish then endured a tough loss in Yellowknife before winning their final game in Chicago. (OK just realized after writing this that the index has most recent games at the bottom so this is all out of order. Too lazy to change it though so if anyones reading this just take that into account).
Chicago Butchers: The Butchers have emerged as an elite team in the league in recent seasons, and put up a great fight for the ASFC this past season. The Butchers started 4-0 before losing 3 of their next 4, one of those losses being an 8-5 loss against the Salamanders (weird game). The Butchers then went on to win 7 of their next 8, the one loss being to the Sarasota Sailfish of course. Ultimately the Butchers failed to secure the top spot as a result of their inability to produce points at a rate equivalent to that of the Sailfish.
Colorado Yeti: For me, the Yeti kind of flew under the radar this past season. I'm used to them being either a 1 or 2 seed in the conference, so even seeing them drop to number 3 is surprising. The Yeti started off slow going 1-3 in their first 4 games, before rattling off 5 straight wins. The Yeti then won 4 out of their last 7, including a monumental win against the Sailfish which helped keep them firmly in the playoff hunt alongside the Butchers.
Honolulu Hahalua: The Hahalua put together their best season since inception, finishing with a record of 11-4-1. The Hahalua took an L week one to the Philadelphia Liberty before rebounding on a 3 game winning streak. They then lost a game to Arizona before winning another 4 in a row. They then lost a tough couple games versus the Silverbacks and Secondline before going on yet another 4 game win before ending the season with a 30-30 tie against the Colorado Yeti.
Arizona Outlaws: The Outlaws finished just behind the Hahalua in the standings with a record of 11-5 on the year. Their season was definitely a weird one, as they started out 0-2 before going on an incredible 9 game win streak. I'd like to discredit their 51 point performance against the Hawks by saying that it should be expected, but 51 points is incredible regardless of the opponent. The Outlaws were unfortunately unable to use this streak to propel themselves to the number 1 seed in the conference though, as they dropped 3 of their last 5 games.
New Orleans Second Line: The Second Line finished with a 9-7 record on the year, but got off to a rough 2 game skid to start the season. New Orleans got back to their winning ways soon after though with a dominant 49-17 victory over the Sabercats. The Second line then lost 4 of their next 6 before winning 6 of their next 7 to end the year.
Playoff Game Reviews:
Secondline 41-21 W over Arizona: Bit of a surprisingly dominant game here from Sloth as the Secondline go on to rout the Outlaws.
Colorado 24-19 W over Chicago: Major upset alert with this one. Sarasota fans worldwide must have been thrilled with the way this game turned out. Close game the whole way throughout.
Secondline 24-15 W over Honolulu: Another upset here with the Secondline just continuing to plow through strong regular season teams. Bit unfortunate that the Hahalua weren't able to make the Ultimus to play in the first ever fish bowl, but I'll give credit to the Secondline for playing a great game.
Sailfish 47-27 W over Colorado: In case the Sailfish's intentions weren't clear from the start, they most definitely were after this game. Just a dominant performance as the Sarasota D was all over Colorado to start the game out. The Sailfish never looked back and succeeded in making it to their first ever Ultimus Game.
ULTIMUS: SARASOTA 34-10 W OVER NEW ORLEANS: Sarasota wins it! I'm so glad the fishies pulled this one out. As one of the first players to ever set foot on the field in a Sarasota uniform, its so rewarding to finally achieve the ultimate goal! Congratulations to the Secondline for a great season and to all my teammates for playing fantastically over the course of the season!