I love thinking about Schmoedown brackets. The science behind it has always fascinated me. Because the Schmoedown is a combination of seeding and entertainment. So when making a bracket you cannot just purely decide the matchups on seeding since that’s not a Schmoedown is. But also you cannot ignore seeding and decide the matchups on pure entertainment since that is not fair. If you have a better record then you should have some sort of advantage within a tournament and there should be a disincentive for managers to send competitors/teams with worse records into these tournaments. So my goal with these brackets is to maximize both entertainment and fairness. Create a bracket that is not only fair seeding-wise but is also full of exciting and entertaining 1st and 2nd round matchups with enough history/storylines to maximize entertainment. It’s important to only think about the 1st round matchups of the bracket but also the possible 2nd round matchups. Finals are less important to worry about because any two competitors will be entering finals with momentum and big wins and there is no result where finals are not entertaining. So this is Schmoedown Bracketology, me sharing the brackets I created for each upcoming tournament with the reasoning behind each 1st and 2nd round matchup.
PLAYERS I EXCLUDED
- Thomas Harper
- Usually both competitors competing for the title before the tournament are ineligible for the tournament. I assume that is the case for Harper and the winner of Dimalanta/Kelly.
- Andrew Dimalanta
- Since he is the champion, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he will defend against Laura Kelly. But I also have thoughts if he were to lose; you can find those at the end of this article.
- Zack Burkett
- Kristian Harloff has stated on Twitter that there would likely be no further matches this year for Burkett due to his schedule. It is also unlikley he would have been chosen instead of Alex Damon.
- Sean Sullivan
- With KOrruption in a close race for the faction title, it just makes more sense to me to send Scrimshaw given his legacy and the seeding he will get.
MY BRACKET
EXPLANATIONS OF MY FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
- Alex Damon vs Eric Whiteley
- This matchup is mostly seeding. A. Damon is clearly the top seed and Whiteley is clearly the eighth seed at 0-2. However, there is not to like about a match. Whiteley is always entertaining and fun to watch no matter the result and this can continue the Roxy Striar vs Coy Jandreau rivalry. A. Damon’s last two matches was against the Mercs and they were both losses, this is a great storyline for a A. Damon first round matchup.
- Gold Leader vs Mollie Damon
- This would be a huge Dungeon vs Finstock Exchange matchup. Neither faction would want to lose in the first round given they are in the hunt for the faction title, both would love to prove themselves against A. Damon in the next round. This is a great matchup storyline wise and trivia wise.
- Joseph Scrimshaw vs Marie Wilson
- This is a chance for Wilson to prove herself and get a signature win against Scrimshaw. On the other hand, we see Scrimshaw on KOrruption which by itself is interesting but also, if Scrimshaw loses this match, his chances at a Star Wars belt will surely be over. It is the classic story of a young promising player trying to make a name for herself vs the experienced veteran trying to possibly go on one last run. Trivia wise, it will be fascinating to see Scrimshaw go against a Dragon Con player.
- Laura Kelly vs Lacey Gilleran/Ross Arsenault
- This is mostly a seeding matchup. Kelly is clearly the other favorite to win the tournament given her experience and whoever The Den sends will clearly be the seventh or eighth seed. The key with this matchup is just seeing if the Den can pull the upset against Kelly.
MY POTENTIAL SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS
- A. Damon vs M. Damon
- I feel like I don’t need to say this. Everyone wants to see Damon v Damon, and for it to be a semi finals tournament match!
- A. Damon vs Gold Leader
- This match quality wise could be the finals. Damon the veteran of the division and unstoppable force (unless your Andrew Dimalanta) against new blood within the division, one of the most promising accurate players within the division. Likely it will be a bloodbath. Also we get to see Striar vs Gucci which is always fun.
- Whiteley vs M. Damon
- Can Whiteley beat both Alex and Mollie Damon to reach the finals? Can Mollie avenge Alex’s loss? These are the questions which will ring in fans minds heading into this match. Either way with A. Damon falling in the first-round new blood rises in the Star Wars tournament. Also Quirky Mercs vs Dungeon could be highly important for the Faction Standings.
- Whiteley vs Gold Leader
- This is the ultimate hero vs villain scenario. Whiteley, one of the most likable Star Wars competitors, vs Gold Leader, arguably the least likable Star Wars competitor. The Quirky Mercs, the most likable faction, vs the Finstock Exchange, the least likable faction. Can Gold Leader make his second straight Star Wars tournament final or can Whiteley, just like Andrew Dimalanta, start out 0-2 and then right afterwards reach a tournament final.
- Kelly vs Scrimshaw
- This would be Kelly’s first match against KOrruption, which would be fascinating. Kelly not only could get redemption against Shannon Barney for choosing Marisol McKee over her, but she also gets a chance to avenge her first match, a loss to Scrimshaw. On the other hand, Scrimshaw would be a win away from the final and this win would rejuvenate his Star Wars career.
- Kelly vs Wilson
- This would be Kelly’s first match against a Dragon Con player which alone makes the match interesting. Wilson would be trying to get past the win one, then lose one funk that players get into. However, to avoid this funk, she would have a tall task ahead of her with trying to beat Kelly. If she can beat Kelly then that’s a career changing win for Wilson.
- Gilleran/Arsenault vs Scrimshaw/Wilson
- The story of the tournament would be Gilleran/Arsenualt if they could upset Kelly. That alone would make this match exciting. Could Gilleran/Arsenualt repeat their previous round performance? Or could either Scrimshaw or Wilson break out and make their first tournament final. This semifinal could be career deciding for both sides and that would add tension within the match to see which player would take the next step within their career.
MY MOST INTERESTING POSSIBLE FINAL MATCHUPS
- A. Damon vs Kelly
- A rematch of Spectacular IV, and the winner gets a ticket to Spectacular. Both titans within this division. Easily would be a must watch final.
- A. Damon vs Wilson
- Damon would have a chance to reclaim his belt and in order to do so he would need to defeat a Dragon Con player. Specially the one that beat him in the most recent Dragon Con.
- Gold Leader vs Kelly
- Two of the most talented and most interesting personalities in the Star Wars division face off. It would be really exciting to see the new blood within the division compete for a title.
- M. Damon vs Scrimshaw
- At the beginning of this tournament, both Scrimshaw and Damon’s records were less then stellar despite their talent. To make it to the finals, they both would have fixed this and beat some tough competition. Both would have a lot of momentum and would be motivated to get their first title during their first Spectacular. Also faction-wise, this could be very important since it is Dungeon vs Korruption, two teams that will likely be competing for the faction title till the end.
BUT WAIT, WHAT IF KELLY BEATS DIMALANTA AT COLLISION?
This is my bracket should Dimalanta lose to Kelly at Collision. Scrimshaw vs Cabrera was chosen not only because it is a blockbuster trivia PPV-worthy match between two of the most likable competitors. but they also both have a history with Dimalanta. Assuming Dimalanta made it out of this first round, no matter the result the fans would get a rematch of an instant classic from last year’s tournament. And if Dimalanta were to lose, the upset city vibe it would create would be enough excitement as an alternative. On the other side of the bracket, A. Damon faces Wilson who bested him in this year’s Dragon Con. I think the revenge narrative for A. Damon after a tough year would be very compelling, and to see his bounce-back begin with possibly avenging a Dragon Con loss would be exciting. And if Wilson could beat him, then I think she becomes an instant star and staple within the Star Wars division.
