OFM World Championships 2010 - First Round Review

The First Round of the 2010 World Championships have come to an end, but who made it through to the Semi Finals?

The First Round of the 2010 World Championships finished on Saturday, and the standard was extremely high. Emotions were mixed, with some lucky managers smashing through their league comfortably, whilst others were made to sweat before qualifying on the final day, some only on goal difference. Elsewhere, others aimed not for qualification, but to enjoy the experience, and just to see how good they were, and most were pleasantly surprised. All 128 participants, however, can be proud of their efforts, regardless of where they finished.

The Portuguese lead the way, for the second year running, in terms of the numbers of SemiFinalists, but with only 12 of the 32 this year, there superiority has been reduced. The Romanians and the Dutch, with 8 and 6 SemiFinalists each, have cut huge swathes through the Portuguese, and both countries will be looking to be the dogs in the Final in just over a month. England are the only other country to contribute more than one SemiFinalist, with 2, and Albania, Australia, Bulgaria and Slovenia all have 1 representative. Special congratulations must go to Bulgaria, as they are the only country for whom 100% of their participants (in this case, their only participant) managed to reach the Semis.

On the crew stage, the Force have finally been usurped as top dogs, as no fewer than 3 crews have managed to get more than the Forces 4 managers into the SemiFinals. With 6 representatives, the Panzers of Romania retain their status of the most participants at this stage of competition, although they also took the highest number of casualties, with 10 of their managers failing to make the top 4. Only 1 back, with 5 SemiFinal representatives, stand Kanarifuglene and Lusos, and with both crews having their managers spread over both leagues, they will both be hoping that their men can all reach the Final, and give themselves a better chance of glory. The Force loiter one further back, with 4 SemiFinalists, all of whom have been put in the same league. Several crews offer 2 SemiFinalists, with 100 STRESS, Go For Glory, OFM Greats, the Romanian Gladiators Team and Upcoming Stars all hoping that either of their qualifiers can do it. Da Management and UNSTOPPABLE have one participant each, with one further manager currently being crewless.

In terms of entertainment, League 1 was certainly the place to be, with their 16 managers amassing a whopping 874 goals between then, nearly 50 more than their closest challengers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, League 7 provided goalkeepers and defenders with more joy, as only 714 goals were leaked, proving the emphasis there was on defending, rather than scoring. However, surprisingly, neither the most attacking nor the most defensively consciencous team came from either of these leagues. Krncdinho's NBA Players smashed in 81 goals as he won League 3, making him the rounds highest scorer. Filipe A7, from League 2, had his World Actors side well drilled, conceding a measly 20 goals in 30 matches; a phenomenal record. It was the current World Champion, Joao M.V. Guarino, however, who had the best control of his World Front Men, balancing attack and defence, as he qualified from League 5 with a goal difference of +38.

All ten managers who were mentioned at half-way for breaking the 30 point barrier went on to qualify from their respective leagues, although only 5 of them, plus 1 other, managed to break the 60 point barrier. Half-way "leader" Reidar Vagnes maintainded his advantage on his way to amassing a whopping 68 points from a potential 90; a wonderful achievement. Krncdinho came in 2nd, with 63 points, with Reidar's brother, Petter Inge Skjolberg, 1 further back with 62. Unguru Bulan made 61 points, as did Doffman, the only manager to break the 60 point barrier who had not amassed 30 points at half-way. Pi Antas G Onofre, with 60 points exactly, completed the group of six managers who averaged two points per game or more. At the other end of the spectrum, credit must be given to ciprib, who, despite not winning a game all season, gave the competition his all, and stayed with his team to the very end; the embodiment of courage in the face of adversity.

Interestingly, the points needed to qualify varied dramatically across the Leagues. Only two managers, antonio borges (52) and Arjanit Manchester United (51) managed to get more than 50 points, but still did not make the Semi's, so commiserations to both, whilst managers in Leagues 2 and 3 qualified with 48 and 49 points. The highest quality of managers, pointswise, was in League 5, where the 4th placed finisher, gheorghe sorin, amassed 57 points; a total which would have won some other leagues.

Moving onto the SemiFinals, a full list of qualifiers can be found here, in the designated WC 2010 topic in the ST Holders Forum, where the league numbers for the Semi's will be posted later too, when the leagues are created. The SemiFinals will no doubt be incredibly tight and close fought battles, and are eagerly anticipated by many of the community.

It only remains for me to wish each and every one of the 32 SemiFinalists the very best of luck, congratulate and thank the 96 managers who were knocked out in Round 1, for both their performance and their conduct in ensuring the spirit of fair play was foremost in the competition, and to thank each and every single person who has helped the World Championships thus far.