Welcome back for another season of our contest "Guess the Starting XI and Final Score". As always, thanks to former regular Spencer for starting this several years ago. Like last season, we will keep the non-MLS and MLS standings separate. We will also do a first half, second half, and overall standings. Finally, I will have various monthly contests where we add in an ‘extra’ thing to predict, like goal scorers, cards, suspensions, etc. With the basics out of the way, let’s get to the scoring.
MLS Scoring Details
- Contest article will be posted 2-3 days prior to game day
- We will keep track of overall, first/second half, and monthly winners so that late joiners will have something to play for
- I will have a separate ‘contest’ for Voyageurs and Champions League.
- As the MLS season is 34 matches, the overall standings will be based on each participant’s top 30 match guesses. This will allow everyone a few misses or bad guesses throughout the season.
- The first/second Half standings will exclude your worst two match guesses.
- Predictions will be 'valid' if posted prior to the lineup being officially announced (1 hour before kickoff)
How Scoring is Determined
- You receive 1 point for every player you correctly guess to be in the Starting XI. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly predicting 10 starters. Receive 3 bonus points for correctly predicting 11 starters.
- You get 5 points for correctly guessing Win/Lose/Draw.
- You receive 1 point for correctly guessing each team’s final score. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly guessing both teams final score (for a total of 3).
- That means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 22 points!
At the end of each week, I will tally the scores and update the standings, to be posted with the next week's match thread.
August Standings (with Houston match)
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Final Score | Interval Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Final Score | Interval Score |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | jacinto | 48 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | Rob R. Scott | 43 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | dfree646 | 41 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | Arjon | 40 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 | 0 | DougCuth | 39 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 6 | -4 | forbrydelsen | 38 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | 7 | -6 | olikchivas | 37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | robbosg1 | 37 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 7 | 8 | chuckbiscuits | 37 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | 10 | 5 | BlackPanther99 | 36 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 10 | 8 | GreyHouseEffect | 36 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | 12 | -5 | Westsider13 | 35 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | AtlantisB | 35 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | -8 | The Squirrel | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | 14 | -1 | edmondk | 34 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | 16 | 2 | rtomsheck | 33 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 17 | -10 | MarcusEarth | 32 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 18 | -6 | MarcoD77 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 19 | -6 | Jph003 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 20 | 0 | tecate | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 21 | - | Joel Prosser | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Second Half Standings
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | olikchivas | 59 |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | jacinto | 58 |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | chuckbiscuits | 56 |
| 12 | 4 | 8 | Arjon | 54 |
| 6 | 5 | 1 | BlackPanther99 | 53 |
| 2 | 6 | -4 | The Squirrel | 52 |
| 2 | 6 | -4 | forbrydelsen | 52 |
| 6 | 6 | 0 | AtlantisB | 52 |
| 6 | 6 | 0 | edmondk | 52 |
| 12 | 10 | 2 | DougCuth | 51 |
| 17 | 10 | 7 | GreyHouseEffect | 51 |
| 5 | 12 | -7 | MarcusEarth | 50 |
| 10 | 12 | -2 | rtomsheck | 50 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | robbosg1 | 50 |
| 18 | 12 | 6 | dfree646 | 50 |
| 15 | 16 | -1 | Westsider13 | 48 |
| 2 | 17 | -15 | MarcoD77 | 47 |
| 12 | 18 | -6 | Jph003 | 44 |
| 20 | 19 | 1 | Rob R. Scott | 41 |
| 19 | 20 | -1 | justcaps | 27 |
| 21 | 21 | 0 | tecate | 21 |
| 22 | 22 | 0 | Joel Prosser | 7 |
Match in Review (Houston Dynamo) and Preview (Seattle Sounders)
The Vancouver Whitecaps were successful on Saturday, and so many people had big weeks. The biggest came from jacinto, who was the only person to achieve a perfect week. This included correctly predicting the Caps first goal between 16-30 minutes. Congrats. That moves them up from 2nd to 1st in the August standings. While low in the Overall Standings, due to an additional ‘0’ week, Rob R. Scott kept their 2nd place in the August standings. In total, there were four perfect lineup scores. Sigh, I knew I should have gone with Techera and not Ibini. Oh well!
There is a quick turnaround as Seattle comes to Vancouver on Wednesday. Will Robbo field a different team? Probably a few changes, but not many I suspect. I think the biggest changes will come next weekend, when the team travels diagonal to Orlando! It is likely Tony Tchani starts again on Wednesday, as he avoided picking up a yellow. If he gets one on Wednesday though, we will know he is out for Saturday. Maybe Russell Teibert gets a start. HA! Like if Robbo will do that.
Seattle had a last minute win on Sunday night, and are on a bit of a hot streak. Can the Caps use these games in hand on their Western opponents to climb up the standings. Don’t forget, Cascadia Cup points are on the line too. What say you?
Known Out (will be updated as information becomes available)
Injured: Brett Levis, David Edgar, Matias Laba
Suspension: None