Heading into the final week of the regular season, no final seeding has been determined! As a reminder, regular season seeding is determined by:
1) Points
2) Wins
3) Head to head
4) Point differential
Sunday’s matchups
In the first matchup of the night at 6:00, Teal versus Green, Teal enters in 4th place and needing a series evening win, and a Purple loss against Black later, to finish in the 3rd playoff seed. A Teal loss and a later victory for Gold over Red would have Teal drop to the 5th seed. All other scenarios have Teal finishing in the 4th seed. Green enters in 2nd place where they need a win and a Yellow non win, or a tie and a Yellow loss, to move into the 1st seed. All other scenarios have Green in the 2nd playoff seed.
Following this at 7:00 Neon skates against Yellow. Neon enters the game in 10th place and looks to even this series, which combined with a later Silver loss to Orange would have Neon finishing in the 9th seed. All other scenarios have Neon finishing in the 10th seed. Yellow enters the last week of the season in 1st place with only Green competing with them for the 1st seed. A win, or otherwise matching Green’s result will lock Yellow in the 1st playoff seed.
The third game of the night will feature Black and Purple at 8:00. Black enters the last week in 6th place with the most variance possible, with scenarios leading to the 5th seed through the 8th seed. A Black series evening victory and Gold loss to Red will have Black in the 5th playoff seed. A Black loss would allow either or both Orange and Red to pass them with their victories, moving Black as far back as the 8th playoff seed. Purple enters in 3rd place, and only a loss and a Teal win can move Purple to the 4th playoff seed, otherwise they will finish with the 3rd playoff seed.
The fourth game of the night pits Gold against Red at 9:00. Gold enters in 5th place and will need a series sweeping win over Red and a Teal loss against Green to move into the 4th playoff seed. Only Black can pass Teal with a Teal loss and Black win, moving into the 6th playoff seed. All other scenarios result in the 5th playoff seed. Red enters in 8th place only looking to move up. A win over Gold and they can pass either or both a losing Black and an Orange team who ties or loses, able to move as high as the 6th playoff seed, or hanging back as far as the 8th playoff seed.
The evening ends with a Silver versus Orange rematch at 10:00 for prime viewing by our west coast viewers. An earlier Neon victory would require 9th place Silver to secure a tie or better to retain the 9th seed, where a loss with a Neon victory would drop Silver to the 10th playoff seed. Orange enters in 7th place, where a victory and a Black loss will move them into the 6th playoff seed, or a loss and a Red victory would move them into the 8th playoff seed. All other scenarios leave Orange in the 7th playoff seed.
Playoffs – round of three
How are matchups for these three games determined?
This will be the fifth year we’ve used this playoff format, where four will advance from this round of three to the semi-finals. Intent has been to favor results from the regular season, but provide everyone with an opportunity to advance. Four seasons isn’t enough to be statistically significant, but it is interesting. Of the four seasons, the 1 seed has advanced twice, the 2 seed three times, the 3 seed twice, the 4 seed three times, the 5 seed never, the 6 seed all four years, the 7 and 8 seed once each, and the 9 and 10 seed have yet to advance. I am now most curious what will happen with those 5 and 6 seeds this season, as there are five teams in the hunt for these two spots.
Look for updates next week about the Playoffs and matchups. While the lower seeds certainly have a tougher schedule to make it to the semi-finals, all teams will begin the Playoffs needing only three wins to ensure their semi-final berth. Good luck!