Richmond part 4: Community Pulse
Today is the day! After months of waiting for the tour to resume, NATS is back in the biggest way with the first ever pro play-in tonight before Saturday’s full day of action. We gathered some predictions from the community for a better look at what to expect tonight, as well as how people are feeling about tomorrow. We’re gonna run through this quick, so don’t go anywhere! NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.
Play-In 1: Ka-Chow vs Sweaty
-Two teams with dense calendars and reps together as partners, this matchup is viewed by the public as pretty even. Sweaty appear to have the slight edge, with the votes deeming them a 9 percentage point favorite. Justin Shaytar of Sweaty has the most pro experience on this net, and I too think he’ll be the difference maker to push his team over the edge. Gimme Sweaty in 3.
Play-In 2: Charlie’s Angles vs. Bigg Boys
-In an east vs west coast battle, Jackson Biggs and Andrew Greer unexpectedly find themselves playing together after Greer’s partner dropped with injury. Both talented players on paper, the public favors Bigg Boys by a large margin; 63% of respondents picked them to win the series. However, Noah and Sasha of Charlie’s Angles will surely be coming in with a bit more chemistry as partners. I see this aspect of the matchup being the difference, gimme Charle’s Angles in 2 close games.
Play-In 3: TLMG vs Come & Go
-If you asked me, this is the match I would have penciled in tonight from an entertainment perspective. You’re getting a little bit of everything archetype wise, several of these guys can serve but also have the athleticism to keep points alive. The public favors TLMG slightly, 54% picked them to win. I too think they have the slight edge, but it’s difficult to say for sure given the pop off factor Come & Go have in both serving and rally play. Gimme TLMG in 3, but it’s hard to say so with confidence.
Play-In 4: NEM Phantom vs Crave
-Arguably the best play-in team on paper, Tyler Fernandez and Caleb Cummings are favored rather heavily here against Sam Diani and Andrew Nee of Crave (77% picked Phantom to win). However, these two teams have never faced, and I would expect Sam and Andrew to be unfazed by the moment given their extensive college roundnet experience. That being said, gimme Phantom in 2.
Matches start at 6:00 tonight, all will be live streamed! Keep up with USA Roundnet on instagram for livestream information.
Community predictions are in! We also gathered public opinion on who the favorites are to win each division, along with dark horses to keep an eye on. Here’s the TLDR:
-51% of respondents said Fever will win Open Pro
-24% of respondents said Rogue will win Open Pro
-The most picked dark horse in open was Foolish(Gu/Pruett)
-53% of respondents said ABG Scale Theory will win Women’s pro
-The most picked dark horse in Women’s was Gunslide (Barklow/Radell)
I’m not gonna reinvent the wheel here either, Fever and Scale Theory are too difficult to bet against. My dark horse in Open Pro is Envy, Nathan Robertt and Gavin Hansen. Robertt has podiumed twice this year, and my gut is telling me he’ll know how to get it done if he finds himself in pressure points. In women’s, Nugget² are my dark horse and should be on your radar tomorrow. Tiff Ding is a player with more experience than most of the field, and tends to produce a high level when motivation is right and the tournaent is important enough. That, along with a newer player in Leah whose been able to fill the gaps in experience with sheer athleticism, makes me think they’re a team the top seeds wouldn’t want as their quarterfinal draw.
These storylines and more will all unfold in just under 24 hours! We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s writing to build some momentum for the big day. Save travels if you’re attending, and best of luck if you’re playing. We hope you’re as excited as we are!
