When we first began organizing the World Blitz Scrabble Championship a few months ago, we knew from the start that this format would lend itself to some predictable results. Given the wide rating disparities within each group, there were bound to be some matches where a top seed got paired against a bottom seed and took care of business fairly easily. This was baked into the format, and we were fine with it. For those top seeds, winning the matchups you're supposed to win is part of the game - and for the bottom seeds, hey, maybe you catch fire once and steal a win from a world champion!

But here's the thing. Amid all the rating mismatches you see sprinkled throughout these first nine weeks, there are a handful of pairings where the players are evenly matched - and the result is hugely important for the playoff race. In fact, there's perhaps no bigger matchup than one that appears on the schedule this coming weekend.

Week 4 of BlitzChamps is upon us, and that means it's time for a major showdown in each group - the No. 2 seeds take on the No. 3's. In most groups, these are the two players most likely to be on the bubble for a top-two finish and a playoff spot, which means the outcome of each of these matches will have major playoff implications.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to look at each of those 2-versus-3 matchups, discuss their impact on the playoff race, and offer a big-picture view of how each group looks right now, with three weeks down and six to go in pool play.

Without further ado...

AARDVARK GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Weibin Toh (3-0, 18-9) vs. Kevin Fraley (2-1, 15-12)

Outlook: This group is a little interesting. According to the players' seeds, the group started out with David Eldar, Weibin, and Kevin as the three leading contenders to make the playoffs, but we've now got another major player in the mix. With a 7-2 win over Kevin last week, Anand Bharadwaj is now 3-0, and he's very much a threat.

At this point, Kevin looks pretty desperate for a win against Weibin this week to keep his playoff hopes alive. If he's got two early losses, that will make it mighty tough to chase down David, Weibin, and Anand, with all of them still undefeated. A win for Kevin would put him right back in contention; a win for Weibin, on the other hand, would strengthen his position in the battle against the other two unbeaten guys.

BUFFALO GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Edward Okulicz (3-0, 24-3) vs. Brian Bowman (3-0, 25-2)

Outlook: So far, the top seeds in this group have been absolutely dominant. Chris May is still totally undefeated at 27-0, while Edward and Brian have been almost as good. At this point in time, it looks like a three-man race for two spots in the bracket - and after this weekend, one of them is guaranteed to have a loss.

On paper, this particular 2-v-3 looks like one of the most important matches in the whole tournament. Chris is destroying everyone in his path right now, and this match between Edward and Brian will determine who moves to 4-0 and keeps pace with the top seed. The loser of this match will obviously still be very much alive in the tournament, but the winner will establish that it's their playoff spot to lose. So, yeah. There's a ton at stake here.

CHIPMUNK GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Christopher Grubb (2-1, 17.5-10.5) vs. Zachary Dang (0-3, 7-20)

Outlook: The Chipmunks have been the weirdest group in the tournament so far, and the toughest group to predict. Chris and Zach entered the tournament ranked second and third out of the 10 players; both have had some slip-ups already, and they're now sitting in fourth and ninth. The top players in the group so far are Jesse Day, who's 3-0, followed by Jackson Smylie and Victor Tung, each 2-1 and 1.5 game wins ahead of Chris.

That makes it hard to size up the Chris-Zach match other than to say, well, both of them could really use the win. Zach probably needs to win out from here to have a shot at contention; as for Chris, a victory this weekend would put him at 3-1, still very much competitive with the other top players in the standings. We'll see. It feels a little early to make any bold predictions about this group.

DINGO GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Evans Clinchy (2-1, 18-9) vs. Jakob Teitelbaum (2-1, 22-5)

Outlook: Oh, hey, that's me!

Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, Jakob, and I started out as the top three players in the race for two spots, but things have since gotten interesting. Conrad is crushing everyone at 27-0; meanwhile, Jakob took an early loss to Peter Armstrong (in an unbelievably dramatic finish, losing Game 9 in a time-scrambled 402-400 game), and I lost one to Cedric Lewis (also 5-4). That sets up a scenario where Conrad leads and there are five players - Jakob, me, Pete, Cedric, and Martin DeMello - all chasing him at 2-1.

So, yeah. One of either Jakob or myself will notch an important win this weekend, moving to 3-1 and staying within striking distance of Conrad. But what if Pete wins this weekend? What if Cedric does? What if Martin does? It seems like no matter what, we're going to have a very crowded playoff picture with a whole slew of people in contention until the final weeks.

EMU GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Ben Schoenbrun (3-0, 21-6) vs. Doug Brockmeier (3-0, 20-7)

Outlook: This has been one of the more straightforward groups so far. Will Anderson, Bnjy, and Doug entered the tournament as the top three seeds, and so far those three players are all 3-0, with everyone else chasing them. The Emus are one of only two groups that have followed that pattern (the other being the aforementioned Buffaloes).

That means this upcoming matchup between Bnjy and Doug is hugely important. Both players are undefeated so far, but only one can stay that way after this weekend. We may well be headed toward a scenario where Will and the winner of this match are neck and neck in the race for first place in the group, and the loser of this match is in third, hoping for an upset later on so they can sneak back into the top two. Meanwhile, Lukeman Owolabi and Becky Dyer are each just one match back at 2-1, and they're both strong players who could go on a run. Things could get interesting here.

FALCON GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Piotr Andronowski (2-1, 20-7) vs. Josh Sokol (2-1, 14.5-12.5)

Outlook: Piotr and Josh entered this one as seeds 2 and 3, but we've seen some plot twists already. Piotr took a close loss last week against Irfan Siddiqui, 5-4; Josh lost as well, to Matthew O'Connor, also 5-4. We've now got a crowded leaderboard where Paul Gallen is 3-0; Matthew is 3-0; and Piotr, Irfan, and Josh are all tight in the standings at 2-1. Five strong players, only two playoff spots.

This match between Piotr and Josh will be pivotal. The winner moves to 3-1, still competitive with Paul and Matthew at the top; the loser is going to have a lot of ground to make up. We'll know a lot more about how this playoff race looks after this weekend.

GIRAFFE GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Dave Wiegand (3-0, 21-6) vs. Hubert Wee (2-1, 18.5-9.5)

Outlook: This is going to be an epic matchup. Dave is widely regarded as the scariest No. 2 seed in the whole tournament; Hubert, likewise, is a very formidable 3. It's largely because of these two guys that people have called the Giraffes the Group of Death. Now, the two heavyweights face each other, and only one can win. Oh, and by the way: Both of them still have to reckon with Andrew Fisher, who's a downright ridiculous 26-1.

All eyes are going to be on this match, as well as the two showdowns at the end of the season between Andrew/Hubert and Andrew/Dave. It's pretty likely that those three matchups will dictate who advances to the bracket from this group and who doesn't. I am psyched to watch these two guys square off. It should be a veritable banger.

HIPPO GROUP

2 vs. 3 matchup: Geoff Thevenot (1-2, 17-10) vs. Enoch Nwali (2-1, 19-8)

Outlook: Geoff and Enoch entered the group second and third; they're now ranked sixth and third, respectively. Geoff has lost two close matches in a row now, and Enoch also lost in a squeaker this past week, 5-4 against Aaron Bader. So we've now got a scenario where top seed Austin Shin is 3-0, Aaron is 3-0, and Enoch and Geoff are farther back in the pack, trying to make a comeback.

The winner of this match will still be in the mix, for sure. A win would put Enoch at 3-1, a very solid position for him; Geoff would only be 2-2 with a victory here, but he'd still have a shot, with head-to-head meetings against Austin and Aaron still to come.

We shall see what happens with this group. A lot of scenarios are still possible, to be sure, but this weekend will clarify some things.

I hope you're all looking forward to this weekend's showdowns! This will be the first time in the tournament that top-three seeds go up against each other in head-to-head action, so we should have some very high-quality matches for you all to enjoy. To check out the complete schedule, head over to our live coverage page and get the lowdown on who's playing who, when.