Amazingly with just one week to go in the USCL season, 9 out of 10
teams are still in contention to make the playoffs. Three of the
playoff spots have already been decided (San Francisco, Seattle and
Boston), but the other 3 are still up in the air. This article is going
to break it all down team by team and try to demonstrate what these
teams need to do to get in the playoffs, and whether these teams have a
chance at getting second place in their division, and thus draw odds in
the wildcard round.
For those that don't know the exact format, the top three teams
in each division qualify for the playoffs. The division winner gets a
bye into the SemiFinals. The 2nd and 3rd place team from each division
play each other in the "wildcard round", with the 2nd place team
advancing to the SemiFinals on a draw. The winner of the wildcard round
then goes up against the Division Champion, and must win the match to
advance to the finals. So the Division winner advances to the final on
a draw in the Semi's. Then the two teams that advance to the Finals
play each other and if the match is drawn they will proceed to a
tiebreaker. For more details on this go to the Standings
page.
Anyway let's get on with the playoff preview, First I have
posted the League Standings, and underneath we will break it down for
each team:
@ = clinched Playoff
Berth
# = clinched Division Title
Whoever has the most points in the "W" (win) column, is in the
lead in the standings.
Total game
points + win percentage are used as a tiebreaker. To see the rest of
the tiebreak
procedures click here
WARNING:
THE FOLLOWING MAY GET EXTREMELY COMPLICATED!
Boston
(7-2): (Plays Baltimore in Week 10)
Boston has already qualified for the playoffs and has clinched first
place in their division. They will receive a bye in the first
round and will face the winner of the wildcard match AND receive
draw odds. The only thing they have left to play for is the right to
choose their color in the final if they should go up against San
Francisco or Seattle. The team with the better record gets to choose
whether they are white or black in the final match.
Baltimore (4-5): (Plays Boston in
Week 10)
If Baltimore wins: They
are in the playoffs. If they win 2.5-1.5 they will get draw odds in the
wildcard round, unless New York wins by the score of at least 3.5-0.5.
If Baltimore wins 3-1 they will get draw odds in the wildcard round
unless New York wins 4-0. If Baltimore wins 3.5-0.5 or more, they
automatically receive draw odds in the wildcard round. If Baltimore and
New York tie in match points and game points, Baltimore wins the next
tiebreaker which is head to head record (Baltimore has a 1.5-0.5 record
versus New York this season)
If Baltimore draws: They
are in the playoffs. If New York wins against
Philadelphia, New
York will receive draw odds in the wildcard round against them. If
Philadelphia wins against New York, Philadelphia receives draw odds
against them in the wildcard round. If New York and Philadelphia
draw,
Baltimore would receive draw odds against New York in the wildcard
round.
If Baltimore loses: They
"might" make the playoffs. Get ready for some extreme
complications:
If
Baltimore loses, Carolina doesn't win, and New York wins, Baltimore
automatically qualifies for the playoffs and will finish in 3rd place
and face New York.
If Baltimore loses and Carolina and New York
both win, Carolina must score two points more than Baltimore to
qualify
for the playoffs. So if Baltimore loses 2.5-1.5, Carolina would need to
win 3.5-0.5, if Baltimore loses 3-1, Carolina would need to win
3-1 and
etc. Baltimore has the better tiebreak than Carolina if they should tie
with the same number of match points and game points because they are
even in their head to head matches, but Baltimore has the better result
in the 3rd tiebreak (Divisional Record). So
to summarize, assuming New York wins, as long as Baltimore loses by
less than two points than Carolina wins by, Baltimore will face New
York in the wildcard round, but New York will receive draw odds
If Baltimore loses and New York and Philadelphia draw, Baltimore is
eliminated from the playoffs.
If
Baltimore loses, Carolina doesn't win, and Philadelphia wins, Baltimore
is eliminated from the playoffs if New York scores one more game point
than Baltimore. If New York only scores a half point more than
Baltimore, then Baltimore advances to the playoffs and gives draw odds
to Philadelphia.
If
Baltimore loses, Carolina wins, and Philadelphia wins then Philadelphia
gets the second place spot while Carolina gets the third
place spot if
Carolina outscores Baltimore by 2 game points. If Carolina doesn't
outscore Baltimore by 2 game points, Baltimore gets the third spot.
New
York (4-5): (Plays Philadelphia in Week 10)
If New York wins:
They are in
the playoffs. If Baltimore loses or draws, New York is
automatically
the 2nd seed and will receive draw odds. If Baltimore wins, New York
must win by 1 point more than Baltimore wins to get the second seed. So
New York must win by at least 3.5-0.5, and hope that Baltimore wins by
only 2.5-1.5 (or 3-1 if New York wins 4-0).
If New York draws: They
are automatically in the playoffs. They will be third seed if
Baltimore
wins or draws, and Baltimore will receive draw odds against New York.
If Baltimore loses, New York will be second seed, and will
receive draw
odds in the wildcard round against either Baltimore, Philadelphia or
Carolina, depending on other results.
If New York loses: They
"might" make the playoffs
If
New York loses and Baltimore draws or wins or Carolina wins, New York
is eliminated from the playoffs (should Carolina win by the narrowest
margin and New York lose by the narrowest Carolina will be the higher
seed after going to the fourth tiebreaker, total game points
versus
divisional teams).
If New York loses and Baltimore loses and
Carolina doesn't win, New York must lose by at least 1 full point less
than Baltimore loses to get the third seed. So if New York loses
2.5-1.5, Baltimore must lose 3.5-0.5 or New York is eliminated from the
playoffs.
Philadelphia
(3.5-5.5): (Plays New York in Week 10)
If
Philadelphia loses: They are eliminated from the playoffs
If Philadelphia wins: They
automatically qualify for the playoffs. If Baltimore loses or draws,
Philadelphia automatically gets the second seed and draw odds
against
either Baltimore, Carolina or New York, depending on other results. If
Baltimore wins, Philadelphia gets the third seed and plays
Baltimore in
the wildcard round, but Baltimore receives draw odds.
If Philadelphia draws: They
"might make the playoffs"
If Philadelphia draws and Baltimore wins or draws, Philadelphia is
eliminated from the playoffs.
If Philadelphia draws and Baltimore loses and Carolina doesn't
win, Philadelphia automatically qualifies for the playoffs.
If
Philadelphia draws, Baltimore loses, and Carolina wins 4-0,
Philadelphia is eliminated from the playoffs. If Carolina wins 3.5-0.5,
Philadelphia qualifies for the playoffs as the third seed (since if
Philadelphia and Carolina tie on total match and game points,
Philadelphia is the higher seed because they have the
superior head to
head record).
Carolina (3-6): (Plays Tennessee in
Week 10)
If Carolina draws or loses: They
are eliminated from the playoffs
If Carolina wins: They "might"
make the playoffs (always as the third seed).
If Carolina wins and Baltimore wins or draws, Carolina is eliminated
from the playoffs.
If
Carolina wins, Baltimore loses, and Philadelphia draws, Carolina must
win 4-0 to qualify for the playoffs to take on New York.
If
Carolina wins, Baltimore loses, and Philadelphia doesn't
draw, Carolina
must score 2 more game points than Baltimore to qualify for the
playoffs. So if Carolina wins 2.5-1.5, they would only qualify if
Baltimore scored only 0.5/4. If Carolina wins 3.5-0.5 they are
automatically in the playoffs in this scenario. If Carolina wins 3-1,
Baltimore must lose by at least 3-1 for Carolina to qualify for the
playoffs (where they would face the winner of the New York/Philadelphia
match)
Western Division:
Fortunately this division is much less complicated than the East.
San
Francisco (8-1): (Plays Miami in Week 10)
San Francisco will clinch the best
record in the league with a draw, and thus the right to choose colors
in the final match. If San Francisco loses and Boston doesn't
win, they will still have this right.
Seattle (6.5-2.5): (Plays Dallas in
Week 10)
All that Seattle can gain in this match is the right to
choose colors in the final should they win while Boston draws/loses or
should Seattle draw while Boston loses. Otherwise Boston gets to choose
colors should they face Seattle in the finals.
Dallas (4-5): (Plays Seattle in Week
10)
If Dallas wins or draws:
They qualify for the playoffs, and face Seattle, with Seattle receiving
draw odds.
If Dallas loses: They
"might" make the playoffs
If Dallas loses and Miami draws or loses, Dallas qualifies for the
playoffs and gives draw odds to Seattle.
If Dallas loses and Miami wins, Dallas is eliminated from the playoffs.
Miami (3.5-5.5): (Plays San Francisco
in Week 10)
If Miami draws or loses: They
are eliminated from the playoffs
If Miami wins: They "might"
make the playoffs
If Miami wins and Dallas loses, Miami qualifies for the playoffs
and gives draw odds to Seattle.
If Miami wins and Dallas wins or draws, Miami is eliminated from the
playoffs.
Tennessee
(1.5-7.5): (Plays Carolina in Week 10)
Tennessee is eliminated from
playoff contention.
Well there you have it. Hopefully it's easier to read than it was
for me to write, but I doubt it somehow. With all the various
possibilities, it should be an exciting final week in the US Chess
League.
Boston
(7-2): (Plays Baltimore in Week 10) 
Baltimore (4-5): (Plays Boston in
Week 10)
New
York (4-5): (Plays Philadelphia in Week 10)
Philadelphia
(3.5-5.5): (Plays New York in Week 10)
Carolina (3-6): (Plays Tennessee in
Week 10)
San
Francisco (8-1): (Plays Miami in Week 10)
Seattle (6.5-2.5): (Plays Dallas in
Week 10)
Dallas (4-5): (Plays Seattle in Week
10)
Miami (3.5-5.5): (Plays San Francisco
in Week 10)
Tennessee
(1.5-7.5): (Plays Carolina in Week 10)