GETTING THROUGH BOASTERS

Boasters League February – March 2021

The most satisfying part of this Boasters League was the fact that we were able to run it at all. Pandemic affected like everything else, we had to adjust the structure a little in order to accommodate which of course made everything that smidgeon more complicated. All the matches were self-scheduled to avoid the Wednesday night congregations and only 4 teams advanced to the finals as opposed to the usual six. The bonus point structure was also modified, rewarding players that completed more matches overall.

Additionally, the captains did not draft their own teams. I took it upon myself to do that as randomly and fairly as possible. Ranking players accurately was made all the more difficult since many players that entered the league hadn’t picked up a racquet since the initial lockdown – almost a full 12 months ago. Given all that, was it surprising that the same familiar teams reached the finals? Mongoose and Winky-Dinks once again ended up in the mix. The one common denominator here are obviously the captains… or is simply coincidence this time? It wasn’t their drafting prowess. The stats will explain why:

·         We had 99 registrations. Pre-pandemic times, we cap it at 153. We ended up with 94 players in the end. A couple of injuries and a couple who decided that they weren’t actually comfortable playing after all.

·         33% of matches were completed overall. Yes, that’s very low. But no, I’m not overly shocked. Given that all matches were self-schedule, expectations were rather bleak.

·         Round 1 had the most matches played. Round 9 the least.

·         Winky-Dinks played the most matches with 38%. Over Served and Wardogs were next with 36%, and then Mongoose with 35%. Guess where these 4 teams ended up?

·         Nicker Ballers and Nick at Night played the least. Guess where they ended up?

·         Mongoose had the best win percentage with 62.5%. Of those wins, they would win 3-0 53% of the time.

·         When Foss Nation would win a match, they would win it 3-0 67% of the time – the highest in the league. Unfortunately, their win percentage overall was only 43.9%.  

·         Lowest win percentage was Nick at Night with 37.5%.

·         The most points scored in any one round was the Nicker Ballers in round 1 with 17 (not including bonus points). They only reached double digits once more all season. They scored zero in round 9.

·         The top 4 teams also picked up the most bonus points. Not surprising considering they also played the most matches.

·         4 players played all 8 matches – none of them were undefeated. 4 players didn’t play any.

·         Matt Wilson from Vivio’s scored the most points in the league with 21. In fact, he scored 23% of his team’s total. 

The top 4 teams have advanced. Winky-Dinks v Wardogs on the top half. These two played each other in round eight and 7 of the 11 matches were completed (not bad!) with Wardogs coming out barely with their noses in front 11-10. We’ll have 2 byes, which means only 9 matches can be played here. Too close to call if all matches get done I think, but what the hey, let me go out on a limb and predict the Wardogs will survive another tight one by just a couple of points.

On the bottom half we see Mongoose battling Over Served. Also a repeat of round 8, and again 7 of the 11 matches were completed back then. Mongoose ruled that day 12 to 9. I think that trend will continue and I predict another Mongoose victory by a similar margin of 3 – if not 4 – points.