Club Regionals Preview: NE, MA, CN

Northeast:
Favorite: GOAT - the Canadian runners-up have had the most impressive season of any east-coast team, winning five tournaments and coming second in two others. They have since avenged their double-game point loss to BAT and their only other losses come to Boston Ultimate during tryout season and Furious in the finals of Canadian Nationals. They've beaten every team with Nationals aspirations in the Northeast, Central, and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Contenders: This is a three-team race, with Boston Ultimate and PoNY rounding out the field. New Noise is the fourth-best team but a long distance back. Boston has had the better season to date, and although their head-to-head with PoNY is 2-2, they won the most recent meeting 13-6 at Chesapeake. Their travels out west to the Colorado Cup and ECC brought better competition than CHC, and they performed better against the higher-caliber teams. Both Boston and PoNY are struggling with a lot of new additions trying to gel, and I expect that this matchup will be for 1/2 in the region next year, not 2/3.
Qualifiers: GOAT wins and Boston beats out PoNY in a close game-to-go.

Mid-Atlantic:
Favorite: Ring of Fire. It's been a long time since Ring has lost MA Regionals. They proved that they were in good form with a second-place finish at Chesapeake, and their wins over Chain and Boston earlier in the season bode well for their performance at Nationals, which has been disappointing in the last few years. They traveled out to ECC as well and beat up on the 5th and 6th teams in the NW Region. Ring is a team that relies on their athleticism and aggression to create difficult matchups for opponents, but they have been known to crack under pressure at Nationals.
Contenders: Truck Stop and Pike both have Nationals ambitions, with Burgh lurking in the background. Truck Stop is the clear second team in the region, and they will not be "just happy to be there" if they qualify for Nationals for a second straight year. With that experience under their belts, as well as travels to Colorado Cup and Labor Day, they are well-poised to make pre-quarters at Nationals this year. Pike is looking to play spoiler, still trying to regain the form that saw them upset Sockeye and make the semifinals at Nationals in 2004. Atrocious performances at Chesapeake and a lackluster CHC makes them the definite 3rd option for the Mid-Atlantic.
Qualifiers: Ring of Fire and Truck Stop, with Pike not nearly as close as last year.

Central:
Favorite: Sub-Zero is the clear top dog in the Central Region, and they've only strengthened by picking up six new college champions from Wisconsin and a few young guns from Carleton. They were 3rd at Colorado Cup, 5th at ECC, and 2nd at CHC. They beat Chain, Revolver (twice), Condors, Boston, Truck Stop, and every other contender from the Central region except Front Line, whom they haven't played in a competitive game. Their closest in-region games were two-point wins over BAT and the Van Buren Boys at CHC.
Contenders: The Central Region is the most competitive in terms of the number of teams who legitimately have a shot at Nationals. With the size bid all but wrapped up, BAT, Machine, Madcow, Front Line, Van Buren Boys, and possibly General Strike (should they make the trip to Tulsa) will be fighting for two spots. The way things look to shape out are BAT taking the second bid, and then Madcow, Machine, and Front Line fighting it out for the third. But Madcow seems to be a bogey team for BAT, and they could upset things depending on how the brackets are formed. BAT and Machine are the only teams with victories over Nationals-caliber teams (GOAT/Ring and Revolver/Boston respectively). If chemistry is the decider as it often is, look for Machine to get their return bid to nationals.
Qualifiers: Sub Zero sweeps through the region with little difficulty, but Madcow upsets BAT in the semifinals and loses to Sub Zero in the finals, then BAT in the backdoor in the grudge match. Machine takes the last bid to Nationals over an exhausted Madcow. VBB and Front Line are still on the outside looking in.