OFM World Championships 2010 - First Round Update

The First Round of the OFM World Championships 2010 has reached the halfway stage, and the battle for qualification is fierce in all leagues.

Right across the board, from League 1 to League 8, the standard has been mightily impressive, and the vast majority or the 128 participants still have 4th place, the qualification mark, firmly in their sights.

The stand-out performer of Round 1 so far has been Reidar Vågnes. With only 1 defeat so far, and a whopping 38 points (from a possible 45), Roelof is certainly looking like he could well be present in the Semi-Final stages. Other managers to average at least 2 points per game, and therefore has 30 or more points, include NeverBackDown 2oo9 (34), Pi Antas G Onofre (33), erik_1991 (32), Petter Inge Skjølberg, Valdrin Maloku, unguru bulan (all 31), FGORDO, Krncdinho and Stegesjaak (all 30), making them all favourites to qualify, but there is still a lot of work to be done by all.

In terms of entertainment, it a close run thing between League 1 and League 8 with regards to the number of goals scored. League 8, with 418 goals, just edge it, but League 1 are not far behind, with 412 goals, and are certainly helped by the contribution of goals from the top scorer so far; Jesus Love Me, who has already hit the net 37 times!

At this stage in the season, the Portuguese look like they have the edge, with 11 qualifiers as it currently stands, but the Romanians and the Dutch are not too far behind, with 7 & 5 managers in the top four of their respective leagues. Albania & England (both 2) complete the list of countries who have multiple managers in the Semi's as it stands, and France, Ireland, Malaysia, Slovenia & Turkey all contribute a solitary manager to the 32 Semi Finalists.

In the crew world, it is The Force who lead the way, unsurprisingly, with 5 managers currently in qualifying positions. However, they do not have it easy, as Kanarifuglene, Lusos & the Panzers of Romania all stand on 4 qualifiers, with OFM Big Guns (3) and OFM Greats (2) within striking distance. 100 STRESS, Predators of Romania, Romanian Gladiators, TAKIM TAKLAVAT, The Hell, TUGA Crew, UNSTOPPABLE and Upcoming Stars all have 1 representative in the Semi's as it stands, with 2 managers currently in the top 4 not being part of a crew, making 32.

However, there are still 15 matches to play, and an awful lot could change, so all the managers will have to focus on the target, the top 4, if they are to make it through to the next round.