📊 Competition · Strategist · Advanced
Alliance Selection & Pick Strategy
Elimination success is decided before your first elim match. How you scout, who you pick, and how you communicate determines whether you advance.
Alliance Structure
Top 8–16 teams by qualification rank form alliances of 2–3 robots. The #1 ranked team picks first, #2 picks next, down to #8 (or #16). Then picks alternate in reverse: #8 picks, #7 picks, back to #1.
The Snake Draft
Round 1 goes 1→8. Round 2 reverses: 8→1. This is why #1 seed gets first pick in round 1 but picks last in round 2 — seeding order matters less than pick quality.
Key rule: Teams can decline to be picked — they become a 1-robot alliance. A team you've watched all day may say no. Have your second and third choices ready before selections start.
🎯 What to Look For in a Pick
High priority
Auton reliability
Consistent 10-pt auton beats unreliable 18-pt every time across a best-of-3. Track win rate, not peak score.
High priority
Complementary robot
If you score goals, pick a stacker. If you're fast in one zone, pick a team that covers the other. Identical robots fight for the same game elements.
High priority
Highest floor, not ceiling
Elims punish inconsistency. A team that scores 28 every match beats a team that scores 40 once and 12 twice.
Consider
Drive team communication
Can they execute an agreed strategy? A weaker robot with a smart drive team often outperforms a strong robot that freelances.
Consider
Mechanical reliability
How many times did their robot break during quals? Pit time between elim matches is short. Fragile robots are a liability.
Avoid
Identical robots
Two drivetrain-only bots fighting for the same game elements cuts your effective score in half. Complementary function beats raw horsepower.
📋 Building Your Alliance List
Build your list during qualifications — not during the 4-minute selection window. Have it ready before the last qual match ends.
1
Sort by auton reliability first. From your scouting sheet, rank every team by auton win rate (column: auton works / total matches observed). Teams without reliable auton drop to the bottom regardless of driver score.
2
Filter by complementary function. Know what your robot does best. Eliminate teams that duplicate your strength. Keep teams that cover your weakness.
3
Check mechanical history. How many times did they visit the pit between matches? Did they have emergency repairs? One breakdown is noise. Two or more is signal.
4
Rank your top 5, not just top 1. Teams decline. Teams get picked first. Know who your picks 2, 3, 4, and 5 are before you walk to the alliance table.
5
Verify before selections. In the last 10 minutes of quals, walk by the pits of your top 2 picks. Confirm the robot is running. Confirm the team is present.
What to say when you pick a team: Walk to their pit before selections if possible. Say: "We'd like to pick you for alliance [N]. Our strategy is [one sentence]. Are you in?" A team that knows your plan is more effective than a team surprised at the selection table.
When you're picking
- State your team number clearly at the microphone
- Name the team you're picking, not just a number
- If they decline, move to pick 2 immediately — no hesitation
- Thank the team regardless of their answer
When you're being picked
- Know your answer before selections start
- If you want to be your own alliance: say "We'd like to be a first-round captain" — you must be ranked to do this
- If you accept: confirm your auton plan immediately after
- If you decline: be direct, be kind
⚔ Elim Match Strategy vs Quals
Quals → score points
In quals you play for ranking points. AWP, skills points, total score — all matter. You play somewhat independently.
Elims → win matches
In elims only the W/L matters. Your strategy shifts: play the score, not the game. Defense becomes valid. Every decision is about winning this match.
- Pre-match alliance briefing (60 seconds minimum): Agree on zones, scoring priority, auton coordination, and end-game plan. Say it out loud. Confirm the other drive team repeats it back.
- After Match 1: What did you learn? What did their auton actually do? Adjust for Match 2 before you queue.
- If you're losing: Switch to aggressive mode — pressure their scoring positions, increase pace, accept more risk.
- If you're winning: Lock it down. Defend your lead. Don't give them a route back.
- Between matches — only the engineer touches the robot. Driver and Strategist debrief while engineer runs checks.
Alliance selection is an expected value optimization problem with incomplete information. Each potential partner's contribution is estimated as (scoring rate x auton reliability) — a weighted average of observable performance metrics. Risk-adjusted EV accounts for match-to-match variance: high variance may underperform in critical matches. Selection maximizes combined EV while minimizing variance, the same principle used in financial portfolio construction.
🎤 Interview line: “We build our alliance selection list using expected value math — not vibes. For each potential pick, we calculate average score times auton win rate to get their adjusted EV, then rank by that number. This process found that our second pick had a lower ceiling but 40% less variance than the next team, making them the statistically correct choice for eliminations.”
Rank 3, you pick first. Team A: avg 14 pts, 60% auton. Team B: avg 9 pts, 95% auton. Which is the stronger first pick for eliminations?
⬛ Team A — 14 x 0.60 = 8.4 expected pts vs Team B 9 x 0.95 = 8.55 — Team B has marginally higher EV and far better consistency
⬛ Team A — higher ceiling score wins eliminations
⬛ Flip a coin — they are approximately equal
📝Notebook entry tip: Tournament Prep — Red slide — Write an alliance selection entry before elimination rounds: your top 3 targets with their average score, auton rate, and your selection rationale. After selections, add one sentence per pick. Quantified alliance selection reasoning is one of the clearest signals of strategic maturity — judges rarely see it and consistently reward it.