BlitzChamps Week 8: One final look at the playoff race

All right, folks! It all comes down to this. After eight grueling weeks of pool play, there's just one final slate of matches left before the playoff bracket is set.

We began the World Blitz Scrabble Championship with 80 players, all wide-eyed and hopeful and looking to assert their speed-Scrabbling dominance. Now, as we near the end of pool play, there are just 24 players left with a shot at winning the tournament - seven are absolute locks to make the bracket, while there are 17 more still in contention, duking it out in the final week to earn a spot.

As Week 9 approaches, let's go through the entire field, group by group. Here's a breakdown of who's a playoff lock, who's still fighting, and what might happen in the final week.

Aardvark Group

Playoff locks: None

Still in contention: David Eldar (7-1, 58.5-13.5), Anand Bharadwaj (7-1, 55-17), Weibin Toh (7-1, 53-19)

This group has been led by three players from wire to wire, and it remains that way heading into the final week - though that wasn't a foregone conclusion. Weibin needed a win against Anand this past week to stay alive, and he got it in dramatic fashion, grinding it out 5-4. That leaves us with a three-man race for two spots, with David, Anand, and Weibin all tied going into the final week.

Anand is a heavy favorite to advance out of this group. He's got the 4-versus-9 matchup in the final week of the season, which means he'll be improving to 8-1 barring a big upset. David and Weibin, meanwhile, have to play each other. The most likely scenario here is that Anand advances, and the winner of the David/Weibin showdown moves on with him. We've got two of the best players in the world doing battle this week, and a playoff spot on the line.

Buffalo Group

Playoff locks: Edward Okulicz (8-0, 62-10), Chris May (8-0, 59-13)

Still in contention: None

This group looks incredibly straightforward at first glance - the two top seeds were both unbeaten, so they advance. But it wasn't so straightforward until this past weekend! It was an incredibly close race until Week 8, with the two Aussies undefeated and Brian Bowman at 6-1. If Brian had beaten Chris, he would have knocked him out of the top two. And things looked a little dicey at first, as Brian won the opening game and started strong in game 2.

Chris righted the ship from there, though, winning seven of the last eight games and finishing off the match with little trouble. He remains undefeated, and he's now playoff bound. Chris and Edward now play each other in the final week - the winner will get the top seed out of the Buffalo Group in the playoff bracket, and the loser will be second.

Chipmunk Group

Playoff locks: None

Still in contention: Janul de Silva (7-1, 49.5-22.5), Jesse Day (7-1, 48.5-23.5), Jackson Smylie (6-2, 52-20), Christopher Grubb (6-2, 46.5-26.5)

This group has been crazy all tournament long, and it remains crazy in the final couple of weeks. Going into Week 8, we had three players at 6-1 - two of them, Janul and Jesse, took care of their business, while Chris slipped up against Jackson. We've now got a scenario where all four players still have a puncher's chance with one round to go.

Janul is in the strongest position, for sure. He's got the 5-versus-8 matchup in the final week, which means he's a favorite to finish 8-1 and lock up a guaranteed spot. But even if that does happen... who's getting the other spot? Jesse can lock it down with a win, but he's got a tough opponent the final weekend in Chris. If Chris beats Jesse, then they're both 7-2... and Jackson could also get to 7-2, with a better game record! Jackson's final opponent is none other than your co-director, Jennifer Clinchy.

In short, Janul and Jesse control their own destinies here. They just have to win, and they're in. But if they fall short, all kinds of crazy stuff can happen.

Dingo Group

Playoff locks: None

Still in contention: Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (7-1, 57-15), Jakob Teitelbaum (6-2, 56-16), Evans Clinchy (6-2, 51-21), Peter Armstrong (6-2, 51-21)

I wrote in this space last Monday that the Dingos might potentially wrap things up in a tidy fashion in Week 8. Conrad and I were the top seeds; all we needed to do was win our matches, and it was over - the two of us would advance.

That did not happen. I took a beatdown from Pete on Saturday night, 6 games to 3, while Jakob staged a dramatic comeback to beat Conrad, winning games 7, 8, and 9 to steal the match. We've now got a scenario where all four of us are still alive (well, barely).

Conrad is still a favorite to advance. He's in with a win against me this coming week, and he can even make it with a close loss, like 5-4 or 6-3. Jakob is also looking solid, as he's got the 3-versus-10 matchup in the final week. For Pete to get in, he'd need a blowout win for himself and a lopsided loss for Conrad - unlikely, but not impossible. As for me, I'm a massive underdog, probably needing a 9-0 sweep against Conrad even to sniff a top-two finish.

Emu Group

Playoff locks: Will Anderson (8-0, 62-10), Ben Schoenbrun (8-0, 59-13)

Still in contention: None

This has been the most boring group in the whole tournament. Will and Bnjy entered the group as the top seeds, and true to form, they've demolished everyone.

It's not like their competition was soft, either - the 3-4-5 seeds in this bunch were Doug Brockmeier, Ricky Purnomo, and Lukeman Owolabi. Will proceeded to beat those three players 8-1, 5-4, and 6-3; Bnjy beat them 6-3, 9-0, and 5-4.

Will and Bnjy are now on a collision course in the final week of the season. Obviously, both players are playoff bound no matter what, but only the winner will get a higher seed in the bracket.

Falcon Group

Playoff locks: None

Still in contention: Piotr Andronowski (7-1, 53-19), Paul Gallen (6-2, 52-20), Irfan Siddiqui (6-2, 47-25), Matthew O'Connor (6-2, 46-26)

This group has been absolutely bonkers. Three weeks ago, Paul and Matthew were each sitting pretty at 5-0, and it looked like they'd cruise into the bracket. Now, not so much. Matthew's last three weeks were an upset loss against Leon Tan, a win over Paul, and then a loss to Piotr, who's moved into first place. Paul's last three: a win, then back-to-back losses against Matthew and Josh Sokol. (Josh even managed to beat Paul despite playing in two tournaments at the same time, and streaming both of them. Holy moly.)

What happens now is anyone's guess. Paul plays Piotr in the final week of the season - if he wins a close one, this is all quite simple. He and Piotr will both be 7-2, and no one else will have enough game wins to catch them on tiebreakers. They'll both advance.

Anything but a close win for Paul, and things aren't so simple anymore. A blowout win for Paul, and Piotr may fall out - say, for example, Paul goes 1-8 and Irfan or Matthew goes 8-1. Then, you've got a scenario where those guys pass him.

If Piotr wins? Then he's in, and it's a close race for the second spot. Paul will have only 6 wins, and Matthew and Irfan can each pass him and make a run at second place. Matthew has the 4-versus-9 matchup this weekend, and Irfan has the 5-versus-8. Both players have a chance to put up big wins when it matters most.

Giraffe Group

Playoff locks: Andrew Fisher (8-0, 59-13), Dave Wiegand (8-0, 59-13) 

Still in contention: None

This is another group where the final outcome looks straightforward, but the path there wasn't so straight. Andrew had a real chance of getting knocked out here! Going into last weekend, Andrew was ahead of Hubert Wee by 2 match wins and 7 game wins. Seems like a big lead, but Hubert had a chance to beat Andrew head-to-head in Week 8, and then Andrew's slated to play Dave in Week 9! So his spot in the playoffs was definitely not guaranteed.

Hubert even led his match against Andrew, 4 games to 2, putting Andrew in a do-or-die position in the last three. Andrew won games 7 and 8, then fell behind again in game 9, as Hubert opened with HAYWIRE and led by 100 early. Then things went... haywire. Andrew rallied back, ended up winning handily, and took the match.

Andrew and Dave are now clear to the bracket. They'll play each other in the final week, with the top seed out of the Giraffes up for grabs.

Hippo Group

Playoff locks: Austin Shin (8-0, 64.5-7.5)

Still in contention: Aaron Bader (7-1, 41-31), Idorenyin Anthony (6-2, 50-22)

Austin was already looking like a virtual lock before last week, and with another 9-0 win, he's now officially sewn up first place among the Hippos. As for second place, there isn't much intrigue there either - Aaron has a lead over the rest of the field, and he's up against the No. 9 seed in the final week. It's looking like he will advance too, barring a miracle.

For now, there are 24 players left with a chance to become World Blitz Scrabble Champion. By this time next week, there will be 16. Tune in and watch this week's action to find out who will break through to the playoff bracket! Our live coverage page has all the info on who's playing who, and when.