Analysis of KOC final at the 2021 Tally Rally

This was a solo, KOC final of four players. Each player played with each of the three others against the remaining pair. The four finalists were: Conrad Damon, Jim Elsner, Jordan Huston, and Harvey Brandt.

The wind was swirly and variable, evidenced by the fact that serves, leads, and rally shots were thrown about equally with each spin. There are also more drops than usual as the discs tended to bounce up and down in flight.

Video

Here's a quick summary of the scoring in those three games:

Game 1: CD/JE vs HB/JH

0-1	CD drop (bad read)
0-2	JE drops JH burn
1-2	JH burn rolls out; nice tip earlier by JE
2-2	HB drops rally shot
2-3	JE misses serve that almost hits CD (who should pay more attention)
3-3	CD burn winner after smooth double-tip escape
5-3	double - switch call froze JH
5-4	JE drops HB offside attack (bad read)
6-4	HB drops tip
6-6	double - bad tip by CD
7-6	HB burn out; good rally
8-6	JH off out
10-6	HB lead out, JH burn out
10-7	CD drops serve; cannot even touch it
11-7	HB drops serve; CD's revenge
11-9	CD bails on lead, expecting tip; JE off is short
12-9	HB rally shot rolls out
12-10	CD drops lead after JE tip
14-10	HB drops tip of low backhand; JH off is short
14-11	JE serve out
16-11	HB drops tip, JH doesn't get to attack; good UD/dump combo
16-12	HB offside winner
17-12	HB drops sidearm serve
17-12	HB bad kick tip, JE burn rolls out
17-13	JE drops tip after CD tip
19-13	HB drops lead, JH drops CD's staker burn
19-14	CD drops lead (go call, hoping for tip)
21-14	HB and JH bad reads on short UD lead and deep dump

Game 2: CD/JH vs JE/HB

0-2	CD solo offside burn short, compounded by bad read of lead
1-2	JE serve rolls out
3-2	double - JE not off in time
3-2	JH left off out, JE drops CD burn
4-2	HB sidearm lead out
6-2	JE off is short, HB burn slides out
6-4	double; JH tips after big CD tip, they come down together
8-4	HB drops tip, JE drops CD staker burn
8-5	CD bad read of lead
9-5	HB drops tip; JE nice off of CD offside
10-5	CD solo winner (was in attack mode)
11-5	HB drops lead (timing was tight)
12-5	JE burn rolls out as CD tips maybe-out lead
12-7	JH drops tip as CD off is wide (nice attack)
12-8	JH burn rolls out
13-8	HB bad read of JH lefty off
14-8	CD solo offside winner
14-9	JH solo burn slides out
15-9	JE drop tip of JH dump
15-9	CD bad read of JE lead, HB burn rolls out
17-9	JE drops tip, HB off is short; wet blanket made an appearance
17-10	CD serves out
18-10	JE serves out
19-10	HB burn short (and somehow kills the audio)
19-11	JH dump long
20-11	HB burn short
21-11	CD solo offside winner

Game 3: HB/CD vs JE/JH

1-0	JH burn out
1-1	CD serve long
1-2	CD lead wide
1-2	JE drops lead, HB burn rolls out
1-3	HB rally shot out
1-4	HB offside burn is wide
2-4	JE drops tip (tangled with JH) after long rally
2-5	HB drops tip
3-5	JH bad read on CD sidearm serve
3-6	HB sidearm rally is wide
4-6	CD burn winner (good timing)
4-7	HB off is out after double tip
4-7	JE off and JH burn in after double called; JH nice tip of wet blanket; point replayed
4-8	HB burn rolls out; CD moves to back
5-8	JE lead is out
6-8	JE drops HB UD serve
7-8	JH lead is out
8-8	JH bad tip
9-8	CD solo dump winner
9-9	CD off short after double tip
10-9	JH bad tip
11-9	JH lead out
12-9	JH burn out
12-10	CD bad double tip
13-10	JH burn out
14-10	CD solo offside winner
14-11	HB off short
14-12	HB drops rally
15-12	JE serve out
15-13	HB rally shot out
15-14	HB drops rally shot; JH with great layout catch of solo CD burn
17-14	double on JE tip of UD lead and JH catch of CD scoober burn
17-15	HB serve out
19-15	dual bail by JE/JH on UD plus dump attack
20-15	JH lefty off is long
20-16	CD solo dump is long
20-17	HB drops rally
21-17	JE drops tip

Stats

Here's yet another attempt to break down scoring in DDC, into common ways of throwing out and defensive mistakes. Most of the categories are self-explanatory. I considered a "bail" to be any disc that a player lets land in, for any reason - they may have thought it was out, or were concerned about getting doubled. In general I set the bar high for the defense - a team is expected to escape everything unless a clear winner was thrown.

WhatCDJEJHHB
Serve/rally OUT2305
Lead OUT1122
Doubling shot OUT0278
Solo attack OUT2010
Quick off OUT2233
Drop4539
Dropped tip1535
Bail4221
Winner (good)7001

Summary

WhatCDJEJHHB
Out throw781318
Drop912815

That's a lot of drops, and the wind had a lot to do with that. It was one of those days where you had to watch the disc all the way into your hands. It wasn't used a lot, but the attack combo of a UD lead followed by a dump was very effective. In that wind, Conrad was the only person really trying to throw winners or attacking when left short with the yellow disc.

Three days of Escape revealed a nuance that reduces its appeal to me: If an escape results in the yellow disc being the lead for a possible counterattack, the escaping team almost always just waited since the other team becomes des. That breaks up the flow a bit, and cuts down quite a bit on counterattacks. That's unfortunate, as escaping and then going after the other team makes the game exciting and dynamic. Pausing after an escape to wait for a "set piece" for the next attack gives the game a more measured feel. That's ironic, as the initial intent of the Escape variation was to prevent endless rallying.