Pool play is complete. xpoes won a 128–122 shootout to grab the last East seed, (Stitch)² clinched the West's, and the two No. 1 seeds — dan.k.memes and James W — closed the pool at 5–1. The bracket is set. We grade every team that dressed against xFGM — the buckets a side should have made given exactly who suited up and how strong each zone lineup was — and in the finale the number told three quiet stories the box score buries. GidTheKid2 and czz were on bye and carry no new mark; both were already locked into their seed. Eight teams are in, six are going home.
For every team that played we simulate the buckets it should have made given the exact lineup that dressed and each side's zone strength, then compare to what it actually put up. Positive = overperformed (made more buckets than the matchup implied); negative = underperformed. Two teams — GidTheKid2 and czz — were on bye this week and carry no new mark.
| Team | Actual FGM | Expected (xFGM) | Δ | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dan.k.memes | 14 | 8.6 | +5.4 | An Elbow 4–0 sweep of sumin (scaled 122–92) paced by Varyan J's 7 buckets at avg shot-clock 16 — the fastest trigger of the week. Clinched East No. 1. |
| (Stitch)² | 13 | 8.3 | +4.7 | A Transition–Elbow–Deep triple-sweep in a 129–93 rout of ChessFun that grabbed the last West seed. From −228 to a clincher in one night. |
| xpoes | 13 | 8.7 | +4.3 | A Corner 4–0 sweep and 13 buckets in the 128–122 shootout that clinched the last East seed. Rohan G's 28-point, 8-bucket, one-turnover night carried it. |
| jonathan | 11 | 7.5 | +3.5 | Beat its number by 3.5 in a losing effort — Edwin H's 28-point, 8-bucket farewell. The buckets were never the problem; 1–5 and out. |
| James W | 12 | 9.4 | +2.6 | Mid-range and Transition 3–1 edges ended Connor's season and clinched West No. 1. Five turnovers in a chippy one, but akhil's crew had the volume. |
| Fez_Keyreb | 10 | 8.8 | +1.2 | Shot a video-game 90% from the line (9/10) and STILL lost the shootout — out-bought 13–10. The most talented 1-win team you'll ever see. |
| mingle/Yunyi | 10 | 9.0 | +1.0 | Right on its number, coasting with the No. 2 seed already locked — anurag ran it 112–86. Four turnovers; a coast, not a collapse. |
| anurag | 10 | 9.1 | +0.9 | Played spoiler to the No. 2 seed on a Mid-range 0–4 and Deep 3–0 beatdown. Eliminated on the points tiebreak (468) even so — a week too late. |
| Connor Chang | 10 | 9.4 | +0.6 | Right on its number but out-volumed by James W; Kian D's 6 buckets weren't enough. The season ends in the play-in. |
| cryo | 11 | 11.1 | −0.1 | Dead-on its (high) number; a Transition 4–0 sweep locked the No. 2 seed. Wins without drama — the team nobody wants to draw. |
| sumin | 8 | 9.7 | −1.7 | Under its number in a 40-point (scaled 30) loss to close; still seeds 3rd on 504 points. Streaky right to the end. |
| ChessFun | 6 | 9.1 | −3.1 | The week's worst mark; run by 68 (scaled 36) and swept in three zones. The rotation questions never got answered. |
The season's highest-scoring game, and a win-and-in for the ages. xpoes overperformed at 13 buckets vs 8.7 (+4.3), swept the Corner 4–0, and rode Rohan G's 28 points, 8 buckets, one turnover to the last East seed. Not a single empty possession all night — pure volume on both ends.
Fez_Keyreb is the cruelest story of the season: it shot an absurd 90% from the line (9/10) — the best conversion line of the year — and still lost. xpoes simply out-bought them 13 to 10, and a 90% night wasn't enough against that kind of volume. Advik S (4 buckets) led a side that finished 1–5 with more talent than the record will ever show.
The rout that grabbed the last West seed. (Stitch)² overperformed at 13 buckets vs 8.3 (+4.7) and owned three rooms — a Transition 3–0, Elbow 2–0 and Deep 3–0 triple-whitewash — with pancreas uvula (6 buckets, 20 points) leading the way. A team that sat at −228 a week ago closed the pool with a seed-clincher; volatile, but the pulse is real.
ChessFun laid the season's worst mark, 6 buckets vs 9.1 (−3.1), and got run by the scaled equivalent of 36. Four turnovers, swept in three zones, Eric L (4 buckets) the lone bright spot. At 2–4 and out, the rotation questions never got answered.
dan.k.memes stamped the East's top seed. They overperformed at 14 buckets vs 8.6 (+5.4) — the week's best mark — with an Elbow 4–0 whitewash and Varyan J's 7 buckets at avg shot-clock 16, the fastest trigger on the slate. The −6 point-diff on the season says the wins are narrow, but 5 of 6 is 5 of 6.
sumin came in under its number (8 vs 9.7, −1.7) and got run by 30 to close — but it still seeds 3rd, on 504 points. Streaky to the end; alphazom (3 buckets) the top line on a quiet night. The floor is a 30-point loss, the ceiling a team that can win any single game — and now it's in the bracket.
James W closed the pool the way it played all year — winning the rooms that matter. It overperformed at 12 buckets vs 9.4 (+2.6) on Mid-range 3–1 and Transition 3–1 edges, akhil (5 buckets) steering the best season in the West. The result clinches the No. 1 seed and ends Connor's year.
Connor Chang landed right on its number (10 vs 9.4, +0.6) but couldn't match the volume — Kian D (6 buckets) deserved better than a 2–4 finish. Both sides turned it over five times in a chippy game, but James W had the buckets. Eliminated in the play-in.
cryo cruised to the No. 2 seed the way it does everything — quietly and efficiently. It landed dead-on its (high) number (11 vs 11.1, −0.1) and won it in one room, a Transition 4–0 sweep, Edward (4 buckets) leading a balanced night with one turnover. Nobody wants to draw them.
jonathan actually beat its own number (11 vs 7.5, +3.5) on the back of Edwin H's 28-point, 8-bucket farewell — the season in miniature: individual fireworks, team math that never closed. Eliminated at 1–5.
The spoiler of the week. anurag — already eliminated — ran the No. 2 seed off the floor, overperforming at 10 buckets vs 9.1 (+0.9) with a Mid-range 0–4 and Deep 3–0 beatdown. Sanjay Suresh (6 buckets, 20 points) paced it. The cruelty: anurag finishes 3–3 but misses the bracket on the points tiebreak (468) — this came a week too late.
mingle/Yunyi was coasting with the No. 2 seed locked and it showed — right on its number (10 vs 9.0, +1.0) but with four turnovers and no urgency, theenash s (6 buckets) the lone steady hand. Still the East's best point-diff (+210) and a conference favorite; this was a coast, not a collapse.
Final regular-season rankings, both conferences. Order is playoff seed, then the eliminated teams by finish; the takes lean on xFGM — who's really as good as their result. GidTheKid2 and czz were on bye and hold their spots on merit, no new mark. Seeds are final.
EAST
| # | Team | The Take |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | dan.k.memes | 5–1, the No. 1 seed. The −6 point-diff says the wins are narrow, but 5 of 6 is 5 of 6, and an Elbow 4–0 close-out looked the part. Hosts xpoes. |
| 2 | mingle/Yunyi | 4–2, No. 2 seed and still the league's best point-diff (+210). The anurag loss was a coast with the seed locked; the ceiling is the East favorite. Hosts sumin. |
| 3 | sumin | 3–3, No. 3 seed on 504 points. Streaky — a 40-point loss to close — but the roster can win any single game. Travels to mingle. |
| 4 | xpoes | 3–3, No. 4 seed, and the story of the week: won a 128–122 shootout to grab the last spot by 20 points of offense. Rohan G is carrying them into a date with the 1-seed. |
| 5 | anurag | 3–3 but eliminated on the tiebreak (468 pts). Played spoiler to mingle a week too late; 20 points of offense short of the postseason. |
| 6 | GidTheKid2 | 2–4, on bye, out. Harry Gao came back but the six-turnover games sank the season. |
| 7 | Fez_Keyreb | 1–5, out — and yet scored 554 points (3rd-most in the East) and shot 90% from the line in the finale. The most talented 1-win team you'll ever see; the volume never matched the finishing. |
WEST
| # | Team | The Take |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James W | 5–1, No. 1 seed, +254 diff (best in the league). Closed by eliminating Connor; akhil's season was the West's best. Hosts (Stitch)². |
| 2 | cryo | 4–2, No. 2 seed. Quietly excellent (+202); a Transition 4–0 close-out. The team nobody wants to draw. Hosts czz. |
| 3 | czz | 4–2, No. 3 seed on the tiebreak. Wins ugly (−14 diff) and often; on a bye but locked into a date at cryo. |
| 4 | (Stitch)² | 3–3, No. 4 seed. Went from −228 to a 106–38 (scaled 129–93) seed-clincher; volatile, but the pulse is real. Travels to James W. |
| 5 | Connor Chang | 2–4, eliminated. The 122-point ceiling never stabilized; lost the play-in to James W. Kian D deserved better. |
| 6 | ChessFun | 2–4, out. Run by 68 in the finale; the rotation questions never got answered. |
| 7 | jonathan | 1–5, out. Edwin H's 28-point farewell was the season in miniature: individual fireworks, team math that never closed. |
No lines were posted for this makeup week, so instead a grade: the game-line model closed the pool season having called direction on roughly 3-in-5 games — solid, but humbled twice by the same lesson (it underprices home court and overprices a single star's ceiling). Its best signal all year was xFGM: the teams that consistently beat their expected buckets — mingle/Yunyi, James W, cryo — are exactly the top seeds, and the teams that chronically fell short — jonathan, ChessFun — are the ones going home. The full season breakdown, and a championship simulation off these seeds, lands in the season report.
| Player | Team | Pts | FGM | TO | Avg shot-clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohan G | xpoes | 28 | 8 | 1 | 27 |
| Edwin H | jonathan | 28 | 8 | 1 | 18 |
| Varyan J | dan.k.memes | 24 | 7 | 1 | 16 |
| Sanjay Suresh | anurag | 20 | 6 | 1 | 23 |
| pancreas uvula | (Stitch)² | 20 | 6 | 1 | 29 |
| Advik S | Fez_Keyreb | 16 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
⚡ Quickest trigger: dan.k.memes's Varyan J (avg shot-clock 16) set the fastest pace of the week in the game that clinched the East's No. 1 seed. Farewell fireworks: Edwin H's 28-point, 8-bucket night for jonathan and Sanjay Suresh's spoiler line for anurag were two of the biggest cards of the week — both from teams that were already out.
Pool play is done; the bracket is set. It's win-or-go-home from here — quarterfinals (within conference) into conference finals into the Grand Final (East champ v West champ) for the $1,000. The two No. 1 seeds — dan.k.memes and James W — host, and the two best point-diffs (mingle/Yunyi +210, James W +254) look like the favorites. A full championship simulation is in the season report.
The No. 1 seed hosts the hottest team in the field. xpoes arrives on the back of a 128–122 shootout and Rohan G's carry job; dan.k.memes answers with 5–1 and an Elbow-sweeping close-out. Narrow-margin champs meet a team with nothing to lose.
mingle/Yunyi (+210, best diff in the East) hosts sumin, the 3-seed that can win any single game and lose the next by 30. If the favorite's pool-play form survives a single-elimination floor, this is the conference's expected final-four side.
The West's juggernaut (+254, best in the league) hosts the field's most volatile team. (Stitch)² went from −228 to a 129–93 seed-clincher in a week; James W just needs to keep doing what made it the No. 1 seed. Form v pulse.
cryo (+202, the team nobody wants to draw) hosts czz, the 4–2 side that seeded 3rd on the tiebreak and wins ugly (−14 diff) and often. Two teams that grind — the lowest-scoring, highest-tension quarterfinal on the board.