The Margin of Error Narrows in the Shortest Round yet
Round one took a solid 10 days to complete (eight days of actual voting, but we have to account for the weekend). With 64 contestants spread out amongst 32 matchups, and only four matchups posted a day, it seemed to go on indefinitely. With the field cut in half each round, the second round took only four days, and the sweet 16 was wrapped up in about 48 hours. And yet, for all of its brevity, the sweet 16 round was as hotly contested as the rounds before it.As the contestants see the championship looming before them, they’ve pulled out all the stops to collect as many votes as possible. What might have seemed impossible on day one, is now looking very accessible to the eight contestants left. And with next week’s mad dash to the finale, the competition is only going to heat up from here.
In case you missed it, here’s a quick rundown of the fireworks from the sweet 16 and what to keep in mind for the last three rounds all taking place next week.
The Sweet Taste of Victory
An old fashioned Army vs. Navy showdown took place on day one of the sweet 16 round. Aaron Lamay’s impressive 18 piece puzzle coin has gained a steady total of votes in the first two rounds (244 in round one, 237 in round two), but it jumped all the way up to 451 votes in the sweet 16. Steve McNaughton did his fair share to rally his Army buddies to take down the Navy submarine, but in the end, his US Capitol Police coin only managed 233 votes.
If we’ve been a little harsh with our Star Wars contestants, it’s only because we had high expectations for them going into the tournament. After a disappointing first round, it’s been great to see these contestants rise to the occasion. The matchup between Joshua Porter’s 501st Legion coin and Aaron Curto’s Star Wars Chicago Celebration coin hit the ground running. Curto and friends shared the coin far and wide and jumped out to an immediate lead. But as the day went on, Porter slowly took the lead and held it through the end of voting. The final tally of 340 to 303 was more votes than either coin had amassed in the previous rounds.
The award for most improved has to go to Deez Wallis and his Rancors coin. To go from eight votes in the first round to 100 in the sweet 16 is as impressive as it gets. Might he be able to ride this wave all the way into the final matchup?
The Quarterfinals Looming Large
Now that we’ve got the logistics of the next rounds out of the way, let’s get down to what’s on everyone’s mind: The matchups to look out for. As stated above, Lamay’s coin jumped up to 451 votes in the sweet 16 round, and with Patino’s coin settling into regularly getting 200 votes or fewer, it looks like that matchup is set to go down to the wire. Will Lamay’s coin be the one to finally upset the Colombian pilots, or will Patino’s crew rally together for a repeat of their round one success?
John Mosqueda is another contestant who has been able to rally support for his Power Rangers coin throughout the rounds. However, Steve Schatten and the Red Mustang Registry haven’t had any difficulty amassing the votes needed to advance. Given their totals from the previous rounds, it looks like Mosqueda will really have a fight on his hands if he’s going to push his coin into the final four.
Scott Super’s USAF Diagnostic Imaging coin is another one that’s been consistent through the first three rounds. However, as mentioned Porter’s 501st coin has been gaining steady support throughout the competition. In order to push himself into the semifinals, Super might have to find a way to collect more votes than he has in any past round. Meanwhile, Porter is surely hoping for a trip to the finals and an epic showdown with Wallis’ Rancors.
