It's really hard to plan for the weird upsets that happen during the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's regional tournaments.
With the 2011 Championship about to get underway, those of you filling out your brackets may or may not have to rely on luck on this auspicious day (11-11-11).
Arguably the hardest first round match ups of Minnesota-Charm and Philly-Naptown could be the hardest.
Charm ended Minnesota's championship run in 2010 in the first round, but Minnesota returns this year as a higher seed and with the addition of Melissa MEDUSA Hopper, former captain and standout jammer for North Star.
Philly has taken some hard losses this year at the hands of standout teams, including two losses versus Rose City, and a loss each to Rocky Mountain, Rat City and Gotham. Naptown improved to a three-seed at Monumental Mayhem, WFTDA's North Central Region tournament, by beating then-NC2 Detroit, to earn a spot in the championship tournament. Naptown's defensive blocking and hybrid style could mat up very well with Philly.
In the middle of the bracket, the possibilities for key second-round match ups include the likely Gotham-Rocky Mountain and Windy City-Kansas City.
Windy City managed to rebound from their loss against Kansas City in their last game at the UIC Pavilion, Chicago, before heAding to regional play. After settling for a 1-1 series split with KC, Chicago gets an opportunity to avenge that loss.
Rocky Mountain looks to repeat what they did against Gotham during the 2010 championship tournament, when they beat Gotham 113-79. Gotham is bringing a different game this year, hoping again to capitalize on their impressive season record going 10-0, with 7 regular season games, and 3 regional tournament wins. The only time the two teams have played each other was that 34 point win by Rocky Mountain in 2010 championship tournament play.
Texas and Oly offer the best chance at heading to semis, thanks largely to their first round byes and pairings against winners of largely mid-level bouts.
