May 7, 2016
Tomorrow we begin the semifinals for the Spring 2016 season! We have four amazing teams gutting it out for a chance to win the championship banner (and the trophy, once it’s complete!) at a currently-undisclosed location on May 15th! We are very excited to have such stellar matchups for the first week, and now we will delve into them in a little more detail here in our official Spring 2016 Playoffs Preview!
It’s not an overstatement to say that CSPFC had the best single season of any team in our league’s (admittedly short) history, from a number of different angles. CSP has accumulated the most wins in one season (nine), most points in one season (104), the highest average point total per match (10.4), the best win percentage at home based on points (.713), the longest win streak in league history (7), and the second best win percentage by points on the road (.588, second to Hungry Tiger’s Spring 2016 total of .600). CSPFC has, after dropping their first four games in the Fall 2015 season, posted a record of 12-2 in their last 14 matches. League MVP Jeff Hart has led this team in their resurgence after failing to make the playoffs last season, posting several league records himself. However, it’s not all Jeff – the core six players of this team (Jeff Hart, Jeff Lee, Derek Miazga, John Martin, Paul Schaffer, Zoe Winter) have all posted win percentages above .500 for the season. Derek Miazga finished the season ranked second in the league by the league MVP ranking algorithm, and Jeff Lee finished in fourth. The two Jeffs and Derek have posted a combined win percentage of .765, which is higher than last season’s highest win percentage of .762 set by Colin Urban.
However, if there is a team out there that could take the fight to CSPFC on their home turf, The Ship Show could certainly fit the bill. This team, despite not fielding any players in the IFPA’s top 500 (Counts of Belmonte Cristo and Slingshot Through The Heart also fielded zero), has managed to grind and hustle their way into the playoffs. It’s hard to point to a specific person who could be considered their #1 player, because this team’s depth and versatility has seen many different names pop up in the spotlight this season. It certainly shows in their playing time, as well – Rob Iggulden leads the team with 23 attempts this season, which is the lowest total of attempts for any person who leads their team in playing time this season. Many players on this team have made drastic improvements from last season – Steve Bond, Kasey Bond, and Melissa Schewgel batted a collective .323 for their teams last season; they have together improved that figure to .592 overall this season. A few of their new pickups have done good for Ship Ahoy as well, notably Spring 2016 Best New Player award winner Ivan Gwynn and James Adamson. The two of them along with Brooke Crisp are batting an impressive .641 for the season.
In their one match this season, CSPFC defeated The Ship Show by a margin of 10-6 at Ship Ahoy. This was Ship Ahoy’s lone loss at home, they have otherwise gone 2-3 on the road this season. CSPFC, however, are 5-0 at home and have won their home matches by an average margin of 6.8 points thus far this season. CSPFC’s aforementioned win percentage at home (.713) is a league record, and the their top three (Jeff Hart, Jeff Lee, and Derek Miazga) are collectively shooting .814 at CSP this season. The Ship Show’s collective .500 win percentage on the road pales in comparison to that figure, but they still have some tricks up their sleeves. Both Rob Iggulden and Ivan Gwynn have been tearing up opponents on the road, collectively hitting a .739 win percentage facing opponents on the road. The versatility of this roster leaves the door open for at least a couple of others to step up as well. The two clubs both have a Game of Thrones, The Ship Show has posted a .478 win percentage on that machine this season. However, Game of Thrones is a bit of a CSPFC specialty – CSPFC has knocked off 20 wins this season on Game of Thrones, with a .741 win percentage.
When it comes down to it, it’s a classic David vs. Goliath sort of thing. Will the scrappy underdog take the day, or will the league’s top seed smash down their competition as the have all season?
A rematch of last year’s championship game, except it’s in the first round and it’s at POP’s house this time. These two teams have met twice this season and have split the series 1-1. Hungry Tiger notched the first win with a tense tiebreaker on Walking Dead deciding the match between the two, then POP returned the favor when the matchup headed over to POP with a 9-7 victory that was sealed in the third round. Tiger Balls are currently 0-2 in matches at POP, the other loss having come last season in a 12-4 romp in the sixth week of the season. The only machine shared between these two locations this season is World Cup Soccer, Tiger Balls posted a respectable .571 this season on it, but POP has absolutely torched its opponents on WCS – a .950 win percentage in 20 attempts, the only loss having come to John Escobar of Tiger Balls.
The core of the Pinball Outreach Project team is mostly the same from last season – they lost Zoe Vrabel to Show Us Your Tilts, but picked up Kris Fast from the now-defunct Silverball Trial of Death of The Standard. It goes without saying, however, that what was not broken did not need to be fixed, and this team is just as formidable as they were last season. Karl Lind has been the main driving force for Team POP, posting an impressive .720 win percentage (including a perfect 12 for 12 in Singles rounds this season) and falling into third place in the season’s MVP standings. Colin Urban is also in peak form, having put up a .737 win percentage this season. This team is notorious for their vast home field advantage, with many machines that cannot be found anywhere else in Portland. It shows in their record at home as well – they posted a .688 win percentage at home, second only to CSPFC.
However, POP’s opponents have been warriors on the road this season. Tiger Balls posted an all-time league record win percentage on the road this season (.600), and are tied with POP for second most wins on the road (CSPFC had four). Drew Mulkey leads the team in overall win percentage (.708) and set a new all-time league record with his win percentage on the road (.818). Mike Smith, who finished just one spot back from Drew in the MVP rankings (#6), also improved from last year’s total with an overall win percentage of .643. Those two, along with Mathew Peterson and runner-up for the Best New Player award Stefen Novak have shouldered most of the burden for the Tiger Balls this season, having gone 66/104 (.635) in all games for the four this season. However, much like The Ship Show, the depth of this team is also a huge strength. The Tiger Balls all finished with win percentages above .500, and they are the only team in history to perform such a feat. Seven players played at least 10 attempts and had win percentages of .500 or higher, which is also an all-time league record.
No team has ever gone into POP and come out a winner. The best that any team has ever managed was an 8-8 tiebreaker loss for The Ship Show earlier this season. There isn’t a team more prepped for success on the road than the Tiger Balls have been this season, though. Will the home team continue its dominance over its home field, or will the road warriors finally end the streak?