But filming starts today, and here is what we have:-
1. Florence CL ~vs~ Leo S
2. Elliott M ~vs~ Dinos S
3. Ahmed M ~vs~ Eddy B
4. Tom S ~vs~ Adam L
5. Stu H ~vs~ James H
6. Luke JD ~vs~ Martin M
7. Dan B ~vs~ Steve H
8. Matt O'C ~vs~ Sam CL
Then it proceeds mathematically with Winner #1 playing winner #8, and so on.
From this, one finalist should come from TOP HALF:-
Florence, Leo, Matt, Sam, Tom, Adam, Stu, James.
The second finalist should come from BOTTOM HALF:-
Elliott, Dinos, Dan, Steve, Ahmed, Eddy, Luke.
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According to their TV Octorun performances, the players should be seeded as follows:-
1. Elliott Mellor (bottom)
2. Eddy Byrne (bottom)
3. Tom Stevenson (top)
4. Ahmed Mohammed (bottom)
5. Luke Johnson-Davies (bottom)
6. Sam Cappleman-Lynes (top)
7. Dan Byrom (bottom)
8. Matt O'Connor (top)
9. James Haughton (top)
10. Dinos Sfyris (bottom)
11. Florence Cappleman-Lynes (top)
12. Leo Smith (top)
13. Stu Harkness (top)
14. Martin May (bottom)
15. Steve Hyde (bottom)
16. Adam Latchford (top)
.
However, if you factor in other metrics, such as their actual performance in the series finals, and their recent form (based on Apterous and co-events), you get a more realistic seeding as follows:-
1. Ahmed Mohammed (bottom)
2. Tom Stevenson (top)
3. Sam Cappleman-Lynes (top)
4. Eddy Byrne (bottom)
5. Luke Johnson-Davies (bottom)
6. Elliott Mellor (bottom)
7. Florence Cappleman-Lynes (top)
8. Dan Byrom (bottom)
9. Dinos Sfyris (bottom)
10. Matt O'Connor (top)
11. James Haughton (top)
12. Stu Harkness (top)
13. Leo Smith (top)
14. Martin May (bottom)
15. Steve Hyde (bottom)
16. Adam Latchford (top)
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So, as you can see, by either of the seedings, the BOTTOM half is slightly stronger. However, unlike with the previous CoC which placed the top 6 seeds in the same half... this one cannot be accused of putting the "real final" in RD1 (i.e. Zarte vs Paul from 2019)
I dunno if it was by design, or merely coincidental, but either way, it is a big thumbs up from me on the curation of the draw. This should be a good 'un!
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So who's your winner?!
For me:- I am really unsure. I reckon conundrum speed is going to make a huge difference, and the ability to hold ones nerve. Based on that, my money might be on Sam overall.