"Don't squeeze, please don't squeeze, I'm ready to go out."
"Isn't it easier to break through the two-quarters? The two big seeds are Virginia's Frank and Texas Tech's Suarez. They have been in average shape since coming to Athens."
"On the contrary, I think the quarters are a little weaker. Overall, there are no particularly strong players. Don't just look at the seeds. There are also strong players in non-seeds."
"Wow, four quarters is the group of death."
"No. 2 and No. 6 are playing against each other. Wow, it's exciting now. UCLA's Thompson is facing off against Virginia's Domyan. It's a strong showdown."
"Wait a minute, Kerbert is also in the four-quarters zone? Why are all the power players assigned to the same zone?"
"He, Gawain..."
Rustling.
Rustling.
"What?"
"Gawain is also in the four-quarters area?"
"Fighting Kerbert in the first round? Oh, God."
Rustling.
The air was stagnant for a moment, and as they looked at each other, they couldn't help but feel a little gloating - ready to watch a good show, no, ready to watch a wonderful showdown.
Athens, the main entrance to the Center Court.
At this time, more than a hundred players, almost all of them from various universities, were gathered bustlingly, browsing the lineups for the singles matches.
Yesterday, all team competitions came to an end. UCLA won both the men's and women's championships, but the universities did not leave Athens, because tomorrow the individual competitions will kick off, with a total of four singles and doubles competitions.
Entering the third stage of the United States Championship.
For singles, there are sixty-four draws; for doubles, there are thirty-two draws.
Not all players will get the opportunity to participate, but even if they are not shortlisted for the game, those players on the team will stay in Athens, watch the game, and cheer for their teammates.
Compared with team competitions, individual competitions are about fighting for personal honor. At the same time, individual competitions are closer to professional competitions and more interesting.
In individual competitions, the lottery rules for the NCAA and professional competitions are basically the same, taking singles competition as an example.
There are a total of sixty-four players participating in the U.S. Championship, of which sixteen players are ranked as seeds No. 1 to No. 16, and are then divided into two half-districts and four small divisions.
First, the top half includes the quarters and two-quarters, with the No. 1 seed entering the quarters.
Secondly, the lower half includes the three-quarters and the four-quarters, with the second seed entering the four-quarters.
Then, the No. 3 seed and the No. 4 seed will draw lots, and they will enter the two-quarters or three-quarters zone respectively. That is, see whether the No. 1 seed will play against the No. 3 seed or the No. 4 seed. This requires a little luck.
.
After the top seeds of the four subdivisions are settled, the second round will be drawn separately, from the fifth seed to the eighth seed, to see how they match up with the top four seeds; and then from the eighth seed to the sixteenth seed.
seeds, let’s see how they match up with the top eight seeds.
And so on.
After all the seed matchups are determined, the non-seeded players will be drawn, and a complete 64-lot matchup will be formed.
There is more or less luck involved in the lottery matchup.
Some players are not ranked high, but their strength is very solid; some players are ranked down due to injuries, but their real strength does not match the current ranking; some players are mediocre in rankings, but they are like a nerve knife with the ability to explode instantly...
Seed bombs are everywhere.
This is similar to the World Cup, European Cup, Champions League, etc. in football games, thus forming a death zone where experts gather.
However, luck itself is a part of competitive sports, and reaching the championship has never been that easy.
This year’s seed killer?
It has to be Gawain.
The rankings for the U.S. Championship were based on regular season results. At that time, Gowan was ranked 17th in the U.S. and unfortunately missed the top 16 seed spot.
Judging from the rankings, No. 17 is the highest pick among non-seeds. Naturally, no one wants to face such an opponent in the first round.
Then, the U.S. Championship kicked off, and Gauvin, who remained undefeated in the season, shined in Athens. With his continuous strong performance, he became the favorite to win the championship.
Objectively speaking, because of the special nature of the NCAA's competition system, the rankings are somewhat deceptive.
Taking Gawain as an example, he still has too few matches against truly top players.
Only Thompson and Giron of the Bruins team were ranked second and third seeds respectively in the National Championship, but Gao Wen had not played against them in official games, but in singles matches, they entered the deep rounds.
, they may need to face off head-on.
In addition, the top seed, Julian Lenz from Baylor University; the fourth seed, Mitchell Frank from the University of Virginia; and the fifth seed, seventh seed, and eighth seed.
Seed and Gawain have never met each other.
After all, the team competition is based on schools. Some schools will not meet once throughout the season, so naturally there will be no chance for competition.
To be stricter, among the players Gao Wen has defeated so far, the highest ranked player is the sixth seed, Domyan from the University of Virginia.
Then there are the eighth and ninth seeds, Saramento and Hanfman from the University of Southern California; and then the tenth seed, Kerbert from Ohio State University.
That's all, the other top 16 seeds have never met.
In other words, Gao Wen's "favorite" aura is more or less mixed with some popularity factors, and is not necessarily a reflection of hard power.
Despite this, no one can deny that as the 17th-ranked player in the United States, Gawain is likely to become a spoiler and disrupt the entire draw.
Obviously, any player who faces Gao Wen in the first round will probably get a chill down his back——
Just like Kerbert at this time.
Among the crowd, Peter Kerbert was astonished. He couldn't believe that his luck could be so bad. He actually met Gawain in the first round?
Grass. Grass. Grass. Grass.
Damn it, what kind of luck is this? Even the koi fish are not as brilliant as him! In just one week, he meets Gawain again?
Damn it!
Although Kerbert really wanted to curse, he needed to stay calm under the public gaze and must not lose his masculinity.
Don’t be a coward!
But why are my eyes warm?
wind.
It must be windy.
Kerbert turned around and wanted to leave the scene quickly and hide in a dark corner to vent his anger. But just as he walked out of the crowd, he looked up and saw MacDonald and Gao Wen, the Bruins players coming towards him.
Come and watch the draw results too.
Meow.
Kerbert braked in an emergency, then raised his chin high and looked straight at the sun. He didn't care that the golden sunlight stung his eyes and the wet tears were about to rush away. He pretended to be nonchalant.
Taking long strides, he turned around and walked in the other direction.
"That... is in the direction of the restaurant, not the training ground or the stadium. How does he get there?"
