*Thank you to our readers for pointing out that an incorrect version of this week’s Power Rankings were published earlier today. Below are the correct rankings that correspond to explanations that follow. We are sorry for the confusion.
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Coming Out on Top
It’s an age-old question: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Unfortunately, we won’t have an answer until Nationals. No team has been able to get past the Polar Bears, who have gone undefeated since the US Open. In July and August, only three teams lost by less than five points to the immovable Polar Bears.On the other end of the country Drag’n Thrust looked unstoppable as it walked through the competition at last weekend’s Chesapeake Invite, where they bested Slow White 13-10 in the finals.
The issue is that these teams have not played a common opponent since the US Open, and considering how much time has passed, deciding on the top nation’s top team comes down to speculation. However, the Polar Bears get our nod this week. After all, they won the US Open and have not lost since – Drag’n Thrust has one recorded loss since the US Open to Chad Larson Experience at the Minnesota Ultimate Disc Invite.
East Coast vs. West Coast
Then next six teams on the list clearly deserve to be in the top half, but ordering them is touchy. On the West Coast, the Emerald City Classic saw some of the most competitive and telling match ups this season. GrasSFace and American BBQ both finished behind the Polar Bears with a 4-2 record. GrasSFace proved that they growing stronger in their 12-14 loss to Polar Bears; that result is the closest any team has come to defeating Polare Bears since the US Open. (Mental Toss Flycoons lost to Polar Bears by two points at ECC as well).
Blackbird has dropped behind other leaders after a lackluster showing that included a loss to ECC’s last place team Great Northern Ultimate. Blackbird’s 3-3 record may have landed them behind runner-up American BBQ and third place GrasSFace, but their win against American BBQ keeps me confident that Blackbird ought to remain near the top of our list. Although 7 Figures also finished with a 4-2 weekend, they didn’t have to play either of the top two seeds and they lost their crossover against GrasSFace 3-13.
On the East Coast, Slow White reclaimed their spot as the top team in the Northeast, defeating the previous leader, The Ghosts, in pool play and in the semifinals of last weekend’s Chesapeake Invite. Ambiguously Grey also pulled away from the rest of the pack last weekend with a strong 13-8 win over Mid-Atlantic Regional rivals Termite’s Entourage. They would go on to lose to Drag’n Thrust in the semifinals.
Without many common opponents, its hard to compare the top teams on opposite sides of the country in order to determine who fits where. Despite there being a number of Mixed powerhouses in the Bay Area, Slow White is one of the few teams that has been able to put up a win on the top ranked Polar Bears. For that reason, Slow White fell into our three spot. Given The Ghosts’ perfect season prior to the Chesapeake Invite, which included a 15-10 win over Slow White, they fit in just behind. The five and six spots went to the teams out west, and Ambiguously Grey and American BBQ filed in after.
Rounding out the Bottom Half
Chad Larson Experience is coming off of an undefeated run at the Chicago Heavyweights Championship. Although this tournament featured noteworthy out-of-region teams Mesteno, Southern Revival and Cosa Nostra, there were no teams that made this week’s power rankings. Without many teams on our list to compare CLX to, they didn’t make it into the top eight. Considering their history and their close game with Drag’n Thrust at MUDI, they certainly will be a force come Regionals.
Overhaul ended the Chesapeake Invite with a somewhat surprising loss to Termite’s Entourage in the fifth place game. Termite’s Entourage, who had previously struggled at the Philly Invite, had a breakout performance; their wins over Bucket, Wild Card and Overhaul earned them their spot. Overhaul’s more consistent season is what keeps them hovering above Termite’s Entourage despite the loss.
Mischief and Odyssee both have notable wins over teams in the top half of the rankings, but both teams have also been on hiatus from USAU sanctioned tournaments. Their ability to hang with the top ranked teams is undeniable, but where they still fit into the rankings is in question.
Bigfoot is representing the Northwest on the board this week. Although they finished seventh at ECC, they put up wins on ranked teams GrasSFAce and American BBQ. They also defeated regional rival Mental Toss Flycoons twice – once in pool play and once in their crossover.
Finally, Killjoy is a team that doesn’t have very many sanctioned games under their belt this year, but you can tell a lot by who they’ve beaten. Killjoy went undefeated at the relatively small Colorado Cup, their win streak including a big 15-10 victory over Mesteno. Just last week, Mesteno made the trip to Heavyweights, where they played a tight semifinal match with CLX (final score 11-13) and defeated fellow South-Central team Cosa Nostra. While Mesteno certainly deserves credit for a good weekend, their 10-15 loss makes us think Killjoy will make a lot of noise out at Labor Day and will probably be the team to contend with in the South-Central.
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