The Great Parity Simulation Experiment: Week 9 (Pre-Quarterfinals)

Parity playoffs got off to a flying start Monday with upsets galore in the pre-quarterfinals. Read on for the highlights, including a special report from veteran analyst Chris Keates, and then find out what happens in the quarterfinals this Thursday at 7:30pm!

As always, you can catch past videos and find details about upcoming streams here: https://bit.ly/OCUAParityStreams

Latest league standings: https://bit.ly/ParitySimStandings

Latest stat leaderboards: https://bit.ly/ParityStatLeaders

Full game reports from all simulations: https://bit.ly/ParitySims

Game summaries

#7 All the Single Bladies (Al) (25) vs. #10 Ratioxoxo (Kindha) (24)

Sorry Hadrian, and I’mma let you finish, but Kindha’s team just played one of the greatest games of all time. Of all time!

Kindha got robbed, and rumour has it Al slept on the couch after this one. Kindha, perennial “Best GM as Voted by the Players” and egalitarian roster assembler super-Queen, played an incredibly efficient and fair-minded game against her husband. She also showed up and put in the work. 2/2/1/1 (G/A/2A/D) across 12 touches, she didn’t turn it over once. Her succinct and to the point in-huddle messaging also drove her team to put up 24 points in just 143 throws. This is legendarily good in the history of the league! Everyone for Kindha was in the 10 to 20 touch range but for Rachel Ng (must have had a rough night being covered by Justine 2.0).

This was, in short, a spectacular performance and a clear example of the frisbee ideal of inclusion and shared fun, plus hucks for daaaaaaays. Nearly everyone on the roster was involved in scoring, and but for dominant performances from Étienne and Greg, the offense was really spread around.

Al’s team was nearly the polar opposite. Down one guy for the game, Al’s strong top end had more time on the field, and dominated the game. Lots of touches to go around, but still mostly concentrated on the 4 or 5 strongest men on the roster. Most of the goals and assists flowed through a handful of players, including Al. More than 150 touches for Al’s team came from 6 players, 5 of whom were men! Attitude reflects leadership, and his team played like it. His bizarre heel turn as a GM in Parity is a surprise to everyone!

It must be said that a few remarkable performances here stand out. Mark Donahue exploded for 8 goals. Steve Bisang had a Berry, as did Greg Ellis (I didn’t think he knew how to drop a disk). Kate Cav controlled the backfield for Al.  And the player of the game? Linh Pham-Vo.

Late in the game with an opportunity to take it to universe, Kindha’s team got the turn and then threw it away. With only a minute left, Al’s team only had to keep the disk alive to win. Stuck on a sideline near his own endzone with the rest of his team fatigued and not cutting, Kelsey needed a reset. In storms Linh late in the count, muscling her way open to bail out her team. She then proceded to play pitch and catch with Kelsey for the next 30 seconds to milk the clock before Kelsey hucked it away with 4 seconds left, sealing the win. Almost all of her touches came in that one series, right when her team needed her most.

#2 JT Got Us Fallin' in Love (Morgan) (27) vs. #4 How to Lose a Disc in 10 Stalls (Brian) (21)

Due to the funky 10-team Parity playoff bracket, neither Morgan or Brian was at risk of elimination tonight. But with preferential seeding on the line it was GM Morgan himself (3G, 5A) who led the charge in a convincing win alongside strong performances from Kristie Ellis (3G, 5A) and Lance Blackstock (4G, 2A). GM Brian, on the other hand, took the opportunity to experiment with new lines and new strategies in anticipation of a crucial quarterfinal matchup. Rachel Young (3G, 3A) led the way with help from youngster Alistair Campbell (2G, 5A), while Brian himself was limited to just 11 touches.

#5 The First Cut is the Deepest (Julia) (23) vs. #6 Be My Frisbae (Laura) (19)

Despite the close seeding, Vegas had Team Laura as heavy favourites coming into this match. The bookies were already counting their take at half as Laura led by 4, but the mostly-lefty Team Julia put jaws on the floor across the nation as they embarked on a 13-4 run in the second half to stage a breathtaking comeback. Hannah Lewis (2G, 2A) and GM Julia (3G, 4A) led the charge with support from Matt Hogel (4G, 3A). GM Laura (5G, 0A) played well in the loss and will be happy with Paul Klippenstein (3G, 3A), but has to be disappointed with Allan Godding’s 7 throwaways. They’ll be drilling bail passes between now and quarterfinals.

#8 Love Aggietually (MAnge) (18) vs. #9 When Cranky met Cara (Mehmet) (24)

Team Marie-Ange had a 2-goal lead at the hour mark but the wheels came off late as they became the second team to be eliminated from playoffs. Heather Wallace (4G, 2A) quarterbacked the comeback while Cory Boucher (2G, 6A) put in an impressive handling performance. Cameron Kennedy (4G, 4A) was a loose cannon for Marie-Ange as he put up 8 throwaways. Upper management will be looking to reign Kennedy in as the no-longer-accurately-named franchise now finds themselves playing for 5th.

#1 Date Night: Neena Yo Biswas (Sully) (16) vs. #3 Reason to love Ottawa #40 (Nat) (24)

All eyes were on the #1 seed coming into this game and Team Sully looked strong out of the gate as they took a 3-0 lead. But in a determined collective effort Team Nat fought back to take half by 4 and then extended their lead to pull out a comfortable upset win. It was a whole team effort from Team Nat as every single player on the roster cracked $50k in salary. It’s a remarkable achievement that has no meaning now that rosters are locked. Colin Scarffe (4G, 4A) had a strong night for Sully while Micheal Davidson (3G, 3A) led for the winning side.