Usual picture at the end of the season
At the third online tournament many teams had one last chance to improve their ranking. Because from 26 July onwards, the 16 best teams will compete in 4 groups in the battle for the title of world champion.
Exotic and record in the FSL
With 47 participating teams, the third online tournament set a new record. From league dominator Trelleborg to the exotic outsider Frming cZArs from South Africa, there was everything. Over 3 qualification rounds the wildcard teams played 6 places to fight in the play-ins against a seasoned seeded team for the final on Sunday. While Swiss Farming, BG and Team of Elite Guys missed the jump, the Honig Gäng also managed to collect points in addition to the usual strong playing Czechs (JZD and VK).
Contested places at the end of the table
Due to the results on Saturday it was already clear that tiebreaker matches will have to be played next Sunday (24 May 2020). Since mYinsanity and Amazone both missed the entry into the Top 8, they will be 14th and 15th place against each other. Due to the defeat of Honig Gäng against Trelleborg, which was tighter than expected by many, it was clear that there will be a tiebreaker for the 16th and last place for the World Cup. Here now 5 teams are fighting for the chance to be a stumbling block for the big ones in the group phase and maybe also to achieve a surprise win or a respectable result.
The chances in midfield
The draw of the top 8 resulted in exciting matches and allowed certain teams to improve their position on their own. For VK the move into the top 8 already meant an improvement of 2 places, but the defeat against John Deere (645 - 788) prevented them from advancing even further. Horsch (479 - 691 against Grimme) did not manage to overtake BG and Lindner to get into pot 2. Also JZD and Grimme could not pass the Landeier in spite of good results (JZD lost the semi-final against Grimme, the latter then the following final) and therefore remained in pot 2.
Approximate Top 3
Despite the defeat in the first round against JZD, Team Krone from 3rd place can look forward to the World Cup, because they will play in the bracket far away from Trelleborg. In the semi-final number 1 John Deere tried to show that Trelleborg can be beaten. But they showed strong nerves and won with exactly 50 points more. In the final, the dominator of the season met Grimme. This was already the second meeting of the two teams in a final this year. At the DreamHack Leipzig in January Grimme had to admit defeat 1-2 and also this time it had the better end for Trelleborg. With four tournament wins in a row and the ninth overall, it should be clear to everyone who will be the firm favourites for the World Cup.
World Cup Preparation
At the end of the tournament the groups for the World Cup were drawn by lot. Due to the fact that tiebreakers for places 14 - 16 still have to be played, these are not yet complete. The exact playing times and pairings will be known after next weekend and will be published with some background information after next weekend.
We would like to thank all teams, players, fans and responsible persons for this regular season of the FSL and we are looking forward to experiencing an exciting World Cup with you.
See you on the field.
