Board 8 > Board 8's Favorite North American Subdivision: Bracket & Discussion [B8FNAS]

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://challonge.com/B8FNAS

A while back, I realized that there being 50 US states plus 13 Canadian provinces/territories makes the subject practically perfect for a contest, and I figured this was just the type of light, novel concept we might be interested in. I've been sitting on the idea ever since - until now, as I've decided to fill the void in user contests without distinct scenes while we wait for Advo's B8 Rivalry Rumble bracket. I gave the final slot to DC, as that felt most appropriate (sorry, Poka and any other users who live in a US territory), then I seeded the field by estimated population as of July 1, 2019, for an apples-to-apples comparison. I don't expect the seeds to be terribly predictive, but hopefully that'll be part of the fun. Oh, and naturally I've defined North America narrowly for contest purposes, with apologies to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The contest will begin right around 5 PM (PDT) on August 1st. From there, I intend to put up each new match topic within half an hour of 5 PM on the subsequent days. There will be four matches per topic for the first two rounds, two per topic for the next two, and one per topic for the final two, for a total of three weeks of matches.

In the meantime, I'll be accepting predictions for the next 49 hours using the Challonge link above. Unfortunately, and unlike Zen, I have no swanky prizes to offer the winner. Instead, the winner (or the runner-up if my favoritish bracket wins somehow) will get the right to fill my signature's currently empty second line with anything TOS-legal, which I'll keep there for at least the next month after the contest concludes.

Do you have any other questions? Things to discuss about this contest? Wish to slam me for thinking it could possibly be a good idea or that anyone would be interested? Post it all right here!

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Sounds fun, tag for later

this is a very MMS thing

tag

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Bumpo

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Bedtime bump.

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go my Arizona

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I'm starting to realize why user contests always have nomination phases no matter how set the field looks beforehand >_>

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Less than 24 hours remain for anyone who wishes to challenge MZero for my sig's second line to do so.

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MetalmindStats posted...

Bedtime bump.

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There's only one hour left for anyone who wishes to contest MZero to enter their bracket!

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And we're off: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78886349

I will be taking the role of impartial host rather than voting myself.

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oh no, i accidentally unpicked a match somehow, rip my bracket

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Just finding this after seeing my first set of matches. I was going to be like "hey, where are the Mexican provinces? I want to vote for Yucatan." Not because I wanted to, but just to ask why it was only US and Canada. Addressed here in the OP, though. Because this was done exclusively due to the total. Kinda like when I did a best song in Chrono Trigger -- which has exactly 64 tracks on the OST, even if four of them are one-second sound effects.

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azuarc posted...

Addressed here in the OP, though. Because this was done exclusively due to the total.

Yeah, pretty much. For what it's worth, I also doubt most prospective voters have much experience with a good chunk of Mexican provinces.

Anyways, here's our very first set of results:

California > Nunavut, 12-6
Connecticut > Oklahoma, 12-5
Montana > Arizona, 12-5
Massachusetts > Saskatchewan, 9-8

I would guess that Nunavut was about the purest antivote test possible; does that mean our 1-seed is in trouble against Connecticut next round, or just that Oklahoma was a pitiful foe? On the other side, Montana looks well-positioned to go on a dark horse run after a dismal showing by Massachusetts - so much for that potential contest winner status.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78888408

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Yesterday's results:

Ohio > District of Columbia, 9-5
New Mexico > South Carolina, 11-3
Alaska > Georgia, 9-5
Minnesota > Nebraska, 13-1

Votals were noticeably down yesterday; that's not surprising in the wake of our first day, but I hope it marks a contest low. In other news, Alaska scored what I'd consider a surprising margin over Georgia given what I've heard about living in the former, but that could be totally off base. Meanwhile, Minnesota slammed Nebraska with apparent SFF, and surprisingly, Saskatchewan won the first losers' poll going away. Maybe Saskatchewan's fans can enlighten me about all the things the province has going for it and why I should have expected this.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78890550

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Yesterday's results:

New York > Prince Edward Island, 9-3
Nevada > Kentucky, 11-1
Virginia > Nova Scotia, 8-4
Manitoba > Missouri, 9-2

The most impressive performance was once again by a Western state against a Southern state. Meanwhile, Manitoba continued the Canadian Plains' surprising streak after its westerly neighbor's good shows against Massachusetts and in the losers' poll.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78892585

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Yesterday's results:

Ontario > Newfoundland and Labrador, 11-2
Louisiana > Arkansas, 13-0
New Jersey > South Dakota, 8-5
Hawaii > Maryland, 10-3

We've seen some major blowouts already, but never before has a subdivision been completely shut out. It happening here isn't completely shocking, though - Arkansas was inevitably going to be among the weakest contest entrants independent of its substantial overlap with Louisiana. Also, Hawaii managed to look like a potential contest winner despite its low seed.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78894785

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I mean, Louisiana-Arkansas is pretty SFF, except one of them has New Orleans and the other doesn't.

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i dont mind NJ going out in round 2 but if it had bowed out in round 1 i would have been pissed

best beaches in the union baybeeeeeee

(continental union)

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Yesterday's results:

Yukon > Texas, 8-4
Oregon > Utah, 8-4
Washington > Rhode Island, 10-2
Maine > Tennessee, 9-3

All the more northerly subdivisions won this time around, and none of the matches were particularly close, as 2-seed Texas notably fell victim to antivoting.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78896932

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Utah should have done better, its got plenty of amazing National Parks.

It got SFFed, all of the western states are absolutely filled with beautiful places to see

Paratroopa1 posted...

It got SFFed, all of the western states are absolutely filled with beautiful places to see

(except idaho)

Yesterday's results:

Vermont > Illinois, 7-5
British Columbia > Kansas, 11-1
North Carolina > North Dakota, 9-3
Colorado > West Virginia, 11-1

Vermont scores a big upset over Illinois! I can't say the shock factor is really there, though.

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78899044

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Yesterday's results:

Northwest Territories > Florida, 7-3
Alberta > Iowa, 6-4
Quebec > Delaware, 9-1
New Hampshire > Indiana, 7-3

Vote in today's matches here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78900944

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Yesterday's results:

Pennsylvania > Wyoming, 7-4
Mississippi > Alabama, 6-5
New Brunswick > Michigan, 6-5
Wisconsin > Idaho, 8-3

Can I just say that I'm very disappointed by the juxtaposition of those last two results? I hope so, because that's what I'm saying.

Vote in our first set of Round 2 matches, featuring the likes of California and Minnesota, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78902634

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Yesterday's results:

California > Connecticut, 12-5
Massachusetts > Montana, 9-8
New Mexico > Ohio, 9-8
Minnesota > Alaska, 10-7

Those are some nice votals! Let's hope they stay about this high for the rest of the contest. In other news, California recovered well from last round, even as the other three matches were among the closest we've seen yet. I'm still amazed by Saskatchewan's prowess an entire round later, to be honest, even though I sort of predicted this with my write-up.

Vote in our next set of Round 2 matches, featuring the likes of New York, Ontario, and Hawaii, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78904611

Also, don't forget to check out Advo's B8 Rivalry Rumble: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests?search=rivalry%20rumble

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Not-actually-yesterday's results:

New York > Nevada, 9-5
Manitoba > Virginia, 7-6
Ontario > Louisiana, 11-3
Hawaii > New Jersey, 12-2

I don't think there's much to report on here. I will apologize for the impromptu break, though.

Vote in our third set of Round 2 matches, featuring all the Cascadian subdivisions among others, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78908531

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i live in new jersey and i would not have voted it over hawaii

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ZenOfThunder posted...

i live in new jersey and i would not have voted it over hawaii

Yeah, probably same here. I was disappointed when I saw it among the "yesterday's losers", but seeing it lost to Hawaii, that's perfectly acceptable.

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Yesterday's results:

Oregon > Yukon, 8-7
Washington > Maine, 9-6
British Columbia > Vermont, 8-7
Colorado > North Carolina, 14-1

In a relatively active day, all three Cascadian subdivisions managed to win, but none without a struggle. It looks like we're on course for some very interesting matches next round.

Vote in our final set of Round 2 matches, featuring Quebec vs. New Hampshire among others, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78910514

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Phew, glad I remembered to vote, I had to come in clutch for Cascadia there

Yukon, Maine, and Vermont all seem like really chill and pretty places, so I kinda feel bad about the matchups

Yesterday's results:

Northwest Territories > Alberta, 6-5
Quebec > New Hampshire, 6-5
Pennsylvania > Mississippi, 9-2
New Brunswick > Wisconsin, 6-5

There were three single-vote margins, particularly with a heated back-and-forth between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, but interest as a whole wasn't very high. Is that a bad omen for the forthcoming day these four winners will have to themselves?

Vote in our first set of Round 3 matches, California vs. Massachusetts and New Mexico vs. Minnesota, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78912569

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Yesterday's results:

California > Massachusetts, 7-2
Minnesota > New Mexico, 7-2

Those single-digit votals are entirely my fault for not keeping the topic bumped during six crucial evening hours. On the plus side, maybe this means California and Minnesota will have a good match next round?

Vote in our second set of Round 3 matches, New York vs. Manitoba and Ontario vs. Hawaii, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78914404

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ph shoot i forgot to vote yesterday; on the day with my favorite state too : ( rip new mexico. at least my vote wouldn't have mattered at all with scores like that
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Yesterday's results:

New York > Manitoba, 10-3
Hawaii > Ontario, 9-4

Hawaii certainly seems more impressive here, but who really knows what will happen next round?

Vote in today's matches, Oregon vs. Washington and British Columbia vs. Colorado, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78916300

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RIP Canada.

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Yesterday's results:

Washington > Oregon, 9-5
British Columbia > Colorado, 8-6

I thought British Columbia had looked less impressive to date than Washington, but that particularly hierarchy seems reversed now. What will happen next round, I wonder?

Again, I'd like to apologize for the second missing day. I had some sleep schedule troubles yesterday resulting from IRL events; I'm hoping we can proceed reasonably on schedule over these last six match days.

Speaking of which, vote in our final set of Round 3 matches, Northwest Territories vs. Quebec and Pennsylvania vs. New Brunswick, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78920388

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Yesterday's results:

Quebec > Northwest Territories, 7-2
New Brunswick > Pennsylvania, 6-3

At this point, I'll just have to keep up with one match topic per day these last five days, rather than also shooting for a specific time each day. Again, sorry I'm so bad at keeping up a schedule.

Vote in our first set of Round 4 matches, California vs. Minnesota and New York vs. Hawaii, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78922863

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Yesterday's results:

California > Minnesota, 9-5
New York > Hawaii, 9-5

Minnesota was actually leading early, only to get completely swamped later on. The California we've seen these last two rounds has looked like quite a different beast from its previous prowess; perhaps it actually benefits from lower votals?

On the other side, New York vs. Hawaii started in spectacularly anticlimactic fashion, and while Hawaii did close the gap somewhat after that opening, it never really fought its way back into the match. Oddly enough, this is the exact same margin by which New York trumped Nevada two rounds prior, and it also makes Ontario look barely better than Manitoba.

With that, @hylianknight3 's sneaky last-minute bracket with a match missing officially takes the crown! Contact me with your choice of second line for my signature at your earliest convenience, and I'll be sure to add it when I see it!

Of course, this contest isn't done just yet. Vote in our last set of Round 4 matches, Washington vs. British Columbia and Quebec vs. New Brunswick, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78924937

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Yesterday's results:

Washington > British Columbia, 7-2
Quebec > New Brunswick, 7-1

Turns out 'Oops! All SFF!' doesn't make for a very exciting ending to one division, much less two. These will be some seriously screwed up LOL x-stats...

Vote in our first semifinal, California vs. New York, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78926880

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Yesterday's results:

California > New York, 5-4

Well, it was a close match, but that's about all it was. I blame my lack of a proper schedule of late causing me to post yesterday's topic when most of North America was asleep.

Vote in our second semifinal, Washington vs. Quebec, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78929616

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Yesterday's results:

Washington = Quebec, 4-4

Vote in our first ever tiebreaker here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78931715

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Yesterday's results:

Washington = Quebec, 6-6

Come break the continued tie right here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78933638

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Yesterday's results:

Washington > Quebec, 10-3

Well, that's one way to break a tie!

Vote (hopefully) one last time, in our grand finals of California vs. Washington, right here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78935895

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https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78938064

That's a farewell to B8FNAS!

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