... that Round 9 in 8way was one of the most dramatic rounds in Dubai?
8way indoor training this weekend at Paraclete XP
posted Jan 4th, 2013 -
The NSL News is once again going back to the Mondial Dubai 2012 for several good reasons. The NSL-TV coverage of the 8way competition was not completed at the competition site. The last meet videos were uploaded after Round 8.
The 8way coverage now continues, while the NSL News also focuses on another 8way event this weekend. John D'Annunzio and Kirk Verner are organizing another 4-on-4 training camp at the Paraclete XP windtunnel in Raeford, and the NSL News will show how the 8way experts are bringing new 8way fans up to speed with indoor training.
Round 9 was probably the most dramatic one in 8way at the Mondial 2012. This is not related to the top of the leaderboard where the final outcome was set in Round 3. The Top 6 teams and finalists changed their positions on the leaderboard only once, which happened when the Golden Knights took the lead from Aerodyne Maubeuge in Round 3. Nothing changed in the rankings from then on forward.
The situation was completely different in the race for the slots in the semifinals and finals. This time, the NSL News focuses on the dramatic events of the four semifinalists who were in the mix for the 6th place and the final slot in the finals.
The first leaderboard shows the situation of the teams between 6th and 10th place after Round 8, including the point deductions. Brit Chicks, M8Trix and Dubai Asaar 8 were totally clean until then. The well prepared Brit Chicks had a 2-point lead and seemed to be on a safe way into the finals and Round 10.
However, the highlighted highscores for each round are also showing how close the competition was. Each of the teams had posted at least two highscores, including South Africa who started the 8way competition in this group of teams with the lead throughout Round 3.
Peaking at the perfect time: Dubai Asaar with coach Craig Girard
The same leaderboard was completely shaken up after Round 9, and the new round of NSL-TV features the dramatic events.
The Brit Chicks collapsed after the team's weakest round of the meet and three point deductions. The UK 8way team with the exclusively female lineup had to watch how M8Trix from the Netherlands and the UAE home team both moved up and by while maintaining their totally clean score sheets.
The 8way drama was not over then. M8Trix was the closest challenger before Round 8 and had to hope for the Brit Chicks slipping. This happened, but the Dutch 10-pointer in Round 9 was still not good enough yet to secure the 6th place. There was another team lurking for the same slot. Dubai Asaar's 8way lineup peaked at the perfect time with the best round of the meet. The 12-pointer in Round 9 would also become the tie breaker between M8Trix and the UAE team for the slot in the finals.
