Playoffs & Championships

By Lois Slain

Since Division 2 play was introduced to the WFTDA Playoffs and Championships in 2013, the International WFTDA D2 Playoffs have consistently kicked off tournament season with batches of close and intensely exciting match-ups, with multiple games decided in the final jam by a point or two. This year promises to offer more of the same, with the difference in opposing teams’ rankings in some cases coming down to a fraction of a rankings point.

The first D2 Playoffs in Cleveland feature a bracket packed with teams that have experience competing at the Division 1 level in past years. The heart of the bracket seems certain to bring some highly competitive, fast-paced matchups to the first day of the tournament, with first-round games between evenly ranked Treasure Valley Roller Derby (4 Seed #49) and Demolition City Roller Derby (5 Seed #50), and feisty D1 veterans Columbia QuadSquad (3 Seed, #46) and Houston Roller Derby (6 Seed #53).

If WFTDA rankings hold true, the game between Treasure Valley and Demolition City is sure to be a nail-biter, as the teams couldn’t be more closely ranked without being tied. Treasure Valley has a ranking point average of 302.5, while Demolition City’s average is 302.48.

Treasure Valley, who took 5th Place in D2 Playoffs in Duluth last year, has had an active competitive season with a mix of results, beating the higher-ranked Oly Rollers (#37) by 15 points in May but losing to D2 competitors Brewcity Bruisers (#60) and Houston the following month at the Midwest Brewhaha. Their most recent game was a 34-point win over bracket-mates Jet City Rollergirls (8 Seed, #57).

Demolition City has a 3-5 record in sanctioned play for the season, though they filled out their schedule with unsanctioned matches. Their most recent games were losses to D1 teams Detroit Derby Girls (#21), Steel City Roller Derby (#29) and Ohio Roller Girls (#34). They met up with 7 Seed St. Chux Derby Chix for a 44-point win in April and are slated to play them again this weekend.

While they are slightly farther apart in the rankings, the game between 3 Seed Columbia QuadSquad and 6 Seed Houston Roller Derby also promises to keep fans on the edge of their seats, as both teams have D1 experience and are known to be hard-fighting competitors.

Columbia took 8th Place at D1 Playoffs in Charleston last year, after placing 10th in their D1 bracket a year before. They have a 5-2 record for the 2015 season, coming off a 35-point loss to Steel City this month, the highest-ranked team they have played this year. They beat 10 Seed Brandywine Rollergirls by 55 points during their home Southern Discomfort tournament in April but had a fairly heavy 79-point loss to the Nashville Rollergirls (#43) last month. Nashville is the top seed in the other D2 bracket.

Houston started off the season with a strong 4-1 performance at the Clover Cup in March but faced a big setback with triple-digit losses to the Detroit Derby Girls and Tampa Roller Derby in April. They’ve posted solid wins earlier in the season against 2 Seed Kansas City Roller Warriors and 4 Seed Treasure Valley, and lost to 1 Seed Santa Cruz Derby Girls by 30 points at the Midwest Brewhaha, putting them in a strong position to pull off some seeding upsets.

The Jet City Rollergirls (8 Seed, #57) were the first WFTDA Division 2 Champions in 2013 and competed in Division 1 last year, placing 9th in the Charleston Playoffs. They’ve dropped a bit in the rankings after going 0-4 for the season, including the loss to Treasure Valley.

In the first round, they’ll take on 9 Seed Oklahoma Victory Dolls, another team that competed in D1 last year, placing 10th in Salt Lake City. Oklahoma is heading into D2 Playoffs on a 4-game winning streak, including a 47-point win over 7 Seed St. Chux in June. OKVD has also played 2 Seed Kansas City this year, losing by 99 points at Clover Cup in March, and has a 5-3 record for the season.

The winner of their matchup earns a shot at top-seeded Santa Cruz Derby Girls (#42), who came within a fraction of a rankings point of being seeded into D1. Santa Cruz has had a strong 5-2 season that featured wins against several D1 teams, but had significant losses to high-ranked Angel City Derby Girls (#8) and London Rollergirls (#4) that kept them ranked in D2.

The other first round play-in game will pit St. Chux (#54) against 10 Seed Brandywine Roller Girls (#62). St. Chux, who took 3rd Place in last year’s D2 Playoffs in Duluth, has had a busy season, playing 11 games between March and June and winding up with a 4-7 record, although two of those games were unsanctioned. Aside from OKVD, this year they’ve already faced off against 5 Seed Demolition City Roller Derby, resulting in a 66-point loss at Skate to Thrill in April, and are scheduled to play Demolition City again this weekend.

Brandywine also competed in Duluth last year, placing 8th. They’ve had an active season and garnered a solid 7-3 record, including wins over some closely ranked teams. Although they were in the same Playoffs bracket last year, Brandywine and St. Chux have never met on the track.

The winner of St. Chux v. Brandywine will go on to play the other top seed in the bracket, the Kansas City Roller Warriors (#45). Kansas City, veterans of the WFTDA Playoffs and one-time WFTDA Champions (2007), have also had a strong season, featuring a mix of wins and close losses against teams at both Division 1 and 2 rankings levels. They had a particularly strong showing at Spring Roll in May, winning over the Chicago Outfit (#52) and Fort Wayne Derby Girls (#77) and losing to Toronto Roller Derby (#32) by only 3 points.

Learn how to join the can’t-miss D2 action in Cleveland and download a copy of the bracket at Tournament Central.

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