2019 NCCA Round 2 Recap

Competition is Heating Up

Now that round two is in the books, the competition in the 2019 NCCA Tournament is really starting to turn up. This week, we saw a few close races, some comeback wins and a couple of blowouts, and all the surviving contestants are set to go head to head in the Sweet 16 bracket next week.

The enthusiasm from round one has definitely carried over into round two, and we’re excited to see what’s still to come. Just in case you missed some of this week’s action, we wanted to put together a quick recap of everything happening in the competition and talk about what to expect going into the NCCA Sweet 16 bracket next week.

It’s Still Anyone’s Game

Just like in round one, this week’s voting was exciting to watch. The big story on the first day of round two came from the matchup between Steve Sarault with his National War Memorial coin and Tom Clawson with his Radiation Specialist coin. The radiation coin took an early lead and seemed to be running away with the competition, but Sarault’s coin slowly chipped away at the lead until the very end of voting. With only an hour left at the polls, Sarault’s coin took the lead, and the final tally was a 52 to 43 victory by the underdogs. 

This matchup shows that it’s still anyone’s game. A strong start right out the gate is always a good thing, but even if you fall behind, don’t count yourself out. In 24 hours of voting, anything can happen and the more a post is shared, the more votes it will generate. 
We expected a bigger turnout from 501st supporters in round one when the Star Wars coins made their appearance, but it turns out that round two is where they have shined the most so far. In round one, Nick Harrison’s glow in the dark Porgbusters coin only managed 15 votes, but scrapped by with a win. In round two, he jumped to over 20 votes within the first few hours, embarking on a neck and neck competition with Richard de la Cruize’s Operation Silver Star coin. With only 10 minutes of voting left, the two coins were locked in a tie with 44 votes each. The decision came down to the final vote and put Harrison’s Star Wars coin ahead with a final score of 45-44.   

Deez Willis’ Rancors coin had a much stronger show in round two as well. By sharing his coin with more people involved with the 501st and talking to his friends about the contest, Willis’ coin went from earning eight votes in round one to earning over 80 votes in round 2! Joshua Porter doubled the number of votes his 501st coin received in round one by sharing more as well. His round one matchup only had six shares but on the final day of round two, his second matchup had 32 shares! 

While these competitors have all made stronger appearances in round two, Jaime Patino and the Colombian Air Force didn’t make as big a splash in round two as they did in their first appearance. While the 158 votes the pilots’ coin earned were more than enough to secure a Sweet 16 spot, they come nowhere near the score of 482 votes in round one. This may seem like a severe drop-off, but it could be a sign of thoughtful strategy. In round two, Patino didn’t need near as many votes to secure victory as in round one. It’s possible they backed off a little to rest up before ramping up promotion in the next round.

Sarault’s comeback victory on the first day of round two shows you don’t need an early lead to win. But still, hitting the ground running is always a good idea. Matchups are posted on the event page at noon Eastern, so make sure to vote and share as soon as your coin goes up. We have noticed that coins that get their shares in early are more likely to get a steady stream of votes throughout the entire 24-hour window. Give yourself the chance to get as many people involved as you can by sharing as soon as possible.

What to Expect in the Sweet 16

The NCCA Sweet 16 bracket looks like it will hold some of the most intense matchups we have seen so far. Aaron Lemay’s submarine coin and Steven Schatten’s Red Mustangs coin have both brought in over 200 votes in each round, so the question is whether or not they will be able to keep the momentum going. 

Both Harrison and Wallis made a much stronger appearance in round two with their 501st coins than they did in round one, but next week they will be going up against each other. Star Wars fans may split the vote evenly, but we’ll have to wait and see. And theirs isn’t the only showdown from a galaxy far, far away. The matchup between Josh Porter and Aaron Curto is also sure to polarize fans of the Disney series. These matchups are on opposite sides of the bracket leaving open the possibility for a Star Wars challenge coin showdown in the championship round.

Another matchup to look out for is between Mosqueda and Blanks who scored 88 and 82 votes respectively in their round two appearances. They are sure to experience a close race. Other competitors have been consistently reaching between 50 and 80 votes to secure a spot in successive rounds, but everyone will have to dig deep to stay in the race. As we get closer to the end, we expect decisions to come down to the last seconds before we know who will be moving onto the semi-finals and eventually the championship. 
From here on out, the rounds will be moving much faster as more competitors are eliminated. Sweet 16 voting starts Monday, March 25, and will finish up just two days later on Wednesday afternoon, so keep an eye on our Facebook event page to stay up to date! Watch the polls and remember to share your coins as much as you can. Have fun and good luck to all the competitors!