Finals
Group A: Daniel Goldblatt (8-2) v Ivy McConarty (5-1), Aug 7-8
Group B: Alvaro Orlove (3-0) v Luke Mearns (3-5), 6 pm, Aug 4.
Group C: Renata Cavallo (6-0) v Cole Piraino (3-3), Aug 7-8
Group D: Razi Dinan (4-4-1) v Steven Herrle (4-1), Aug 7-8
Going into the last weekend of regular play, Ivy McConarty sat behind three others in the succession line to the Group A throne. Three wins later, including a dramatic defeat of Adriana Gross, 7-6, she finds herself playing for gold against a familiar face.
Daniel Goldblatt leads Group A with a resounding 24 points, but he's fallen in both matchups with McConarty this season. The first went to a thrilling tiebreak; the second was 8-3. It must have felt like a playoff match for Ivy in this most recent meeting, just last week, because she needed to win it to qualify. Goldblatt had already qualified. This time, it's for the championship, and the pressure on both will be different.
Group races around the league wrapped up this weekend, some in dramatic fashion like Group A, and others by virtue of the rain washing out potential redistributions of wealth. Razi Dinan and Asher Roush had the chance to qualify themselves for the Group D Final, when Dinan proved the NFL maxim that nothing's more difficult than to defeat the same opponent three times in one season.
Awaiting Dinan in the championship is Steven Herrle, whose loss to Devin Leung in Week 7 proved harmless to the previously unbeaten player. Leung may look back at his draw with the group leader Dinan as what kept him out of the final; he's 3-0-1 and has the victories over top opponents to make a fine argument for the final, but he trails second place by just two points.
In no other group did top seeds trade victories like in Group D, where it seemed to come down to who had their stuff on a given day. Indeed, the rain put a halt to any planned upheavals the bubble players had. Renata Cavallo's place was never in doubt. She'll play Cole Piraino for the Group C title.
Meanwhile, plenty of madness could have been in store in Group B. As that parade was rained on, it'll be as-you-were for the championship this week. Alvaro Orlove retains the group lead, and his challenger will be Luke Mearns. The two have met only once, an 8-4 Orlove triumph, but months of play have only improved the challenger.
It's all a race to CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND, August 7-8! Find the current standings and Power Rankings below.
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BGO Power Rankings - August 3, 2021
Currently registered players among the overall top 50 only.
BGO Group Standings - August 3, 2021
Top two from each group automatically qualify for group final.
Players are ranked by points (three for win, one for draw), then wins, percentage of games won, and games won.
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