GEM's Crystal Ball: 2022 DCI Open Class Finals Week Predictions
Our final set of Open Class predictions features a new corps in first and a very tight race atop the leaderboard!
Welcome to General Effect Media’s Crystal Ball for Open Class Finals Predictions! It is hard to believe that we are already in finals week, and in only a few days, we’ll know the 2022 Open Class Champion. Will Gold win their first championship in corps history? Will Spartans defend their 2019 title? Will Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets or Blue Devils B add to their respective trophy cases in their return to Indiana for the first time since 2018? So many unknowns and we’re here to predict it all!
GEM writers and contributors were asked to rank all Open Class corps attending this year’s World Championships week based on where they predicted the corps would end up in Open Class Finals on Tuesday night, August 9, 2022. Results shown are for the top 10 corps as ranked by our voters.
To aggregate votes and rank the corps, our rankings system is built similar to how the NCAA publishes top 25 rankings for various collegiate sports. With this system, each corps receives points from voters inverse of placement. For example, each corps receives 15 points for each first-place vote, 14 points for each second-place vote, 13 points for each third-place vote, and so on. Rankings are then determined by the total number of points each corps received. 7 voters participated in our rankings this week, so the maximum number of points a corps could receive is 105 (15 points x 7 voters). With this system, votes are appropriately weighted to better aggregate rankings and show variation in how voters voted more easily. For example, if two or more corps score closely in a total number of points, it shows variation by our voters and where they believe that group of corps will end up.
1. Gold (96 total points) Previous Ranking: 4 ↑
Ever since returning to competition last week in Atlanta, Gold have been on a hot streak, jumping by nearly 10 points since then. Last night in Eastern Illinois, they tied Vanguard Cadets for first and beat Blue Devils B by more than two points. Gold have certainly made their case to be in contention for first and look for them to push to win their first Open Class title later this week.
2. Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets (93 total points) Previous Ranking: 1 ↓
After traveling east for the final stretch of the season, Vanguard Cadets returned to the competitive field two nights ago in Iowa. At that show, they faced Gold for the first time since July 10th and came out on top over their California rival for the first time this season by only a tenth. More drama was had last night when the two corps tied for first place in Eastern Illinois, setting up a huge showdown for the coming week.
3. Spartans (82 total points) Previous Ranking: 3 ↔
Spartans have had the fortune of avoiding head-to-head competition amongst any of the California corps, allowing them to remain undefeated to date. Their latest score of 79.45 in Avon Lake, OH has them sitting third going into finals week.
4. Blue Devils “B” (78 total points) Previous Ranking: 2 ↓
Like SCVC, Blue Devils B returned to the competition only last night after a nearly two week break. Although they placed third for the first time this season, the corps is still very much in the mix atop the Open Class leaderboard.
5. Guardians (70 total points) Previous Ranking: 5 ↔
Guardians are on a historic run and currently sit fifth heading into finals week. Additionally, they were only 1.2 behind Blue Devils B meaning they even have an outside shot at sneaking into the top 4. Regardless, a fifth place finish would be a new high in their young history, as they also look to make World Class Semifinals for the first time ever.
6. Southwind (62 total points) Previous Ranking: 6 ↔
Southwind are currently in a comfortable sixth place, having been consistently ahead of Legends below them by about a point and a half. On Friday night, they made corps history when they scored a 73.8, a new high score for the corps since they returned to the field in 2015.
7. Legends (55 total points) Previous Ranking: Not ranked ↑
Legends started their competitive season only a little over a week ago so many of our rankers didn’t know what to expect of them when we last published our Open Class rankings. Ever since they debuted, they have surprised us all and are well deserving of their new, seventh place ranking. They’ve had a handful of third place finishes at their last few shows, including at their home show in Portage, MI on Friday night.
8. The Battalion (46 total points) Previous Ranking: 7 ↓
The Battalion joined the Open Class tour a little over a week ago and have performed in five shows since. They first broke 70 on Wednesday before climbing to a 73.3 last night at DCI Eastern Illinois, topping River City Rhythm by nine tenths.
9. River City Rhythm (42 total points) Previous Ranking: 8 ↓
Like The Battalion, River City Rhythm have also performed in five shows over the past week. They enjoyed performing in their home state of Minnesota on Wednesday when they finished third and broke 70 for the first time in the 2022 season. After scoring a 72.4 last night, they are hoping to surpass their corps’ record score of 73.3 later this week.
10. Louisiana Stars (39 total points) Previous Ranking: 9 ↓
Louisiana Stars joined the rest of the Open Class corps last Saturday and have been climbing steadily since. After their first show in the midwest resulted in a 66.25, the corps has put their foot on the gas, climbing nearly six points in a week.
That does it for our final set of Open Class predictions! The General Effect Media team wishes well to all the corps performing in Marion this week!