Competitive Edge: 7/27-8/2

High Scores

World Class: Blue Devils (95.500) August 2, Buffalo, NY

Open Class: Vanguard Cadets (77.625) August 1, Forest City, IA

High Caption Scores

World Class:

Brass: Carolina Crown (19.1) August 2, Buffalo, NY

Percussion: Blue Devils (19.3) August 2, Buffalo, NY

Color Guard: Blue Devils (19.1) August 2, Buffalo, NY

Open Class:

Brass: Vanguard Cadets (15.8) August 1, Forest City, IA

Percussion: Blue Devils B (15.7) August 1, Troy, MI

Color Guard: Vanguard Cadets and Spartans (14.9) August 1, Forest City, IA and Troy, MI

Storylines to Watch

Colts will try break out of 13th place this week, one spot shy of advancing to the World Championship Finals.

It begins in Buffalo: The final seven days of one of the most exciting competitive seasons in DCI history began on Sunday in Buffalo, a key event that could foretell which corps have what it takes to make a run for the DCI Founders Trophy in Indianapolis. Throughout most of the week, the top four corps were separated by less than a point. On Sunday, we finally got some clarity. The Blue Devils cruised to an “easy” win—relatively speaking, given recent results—topping Carolina Crown by half a point. The Cadets and Bluecoats fell farther behind those two, but fear not if you’re a fan of either corps—Both are within a point of first place in our weekly average scores.

Scouts surging: Although they performed on different days, the Madison Scouts scored higher than the Cavaliers when combining both nights of the DCI Eastern Classic. It was the first time the Scouts defeated the Cavaliers since late July of 2013, and if they can hold on to top them at the World Championship Finals on Saturday, it would be the first time since 1988 that the Men of Madison topped the Green Machine in the final event of the summer.

Jockeying for position: If you think the race at the head of the top-12 corps is close, just look at what’s happening at the back of the top-12. The Blue Stars. Boston Crusaders and Crossmen have gone back and forth all season long, and in our weekly average scores, just over half a point separates the three corps. The tightest race may not involve the corps at the top, but instead these three corps aiming for strong finishes. Other close World Class races include the Colts, Academy and Troopers, in 13^th-15^th place, the Oregon Crusaders, Mandarins and Pacific Crest in 17^th-19^th place, and the Cascades and Jersey Surf, who tied for 20^th when comparing scores from both nights of the DCI Eastern Classic. The latter race may carry the most serious implications, as these two look to fend off the Open Class corps to earn a spot in the World Championship Semifinals.

Unlucky 13^th: After surpassing the Troopers late last week and holding the lead this week, the Colts are on pace to finish 13^th—one place out of the World Championship Finals. The corps from Dubuque, Iowa will be doing everything it can to advance to Saturday; as another finish in 13^th would be its sixth in 11 years.

A different kind of record: One year removed from the Blue Devils’ record-setting performance at the 2014 World Championship Finals (scoring an all-time high of 99.650), scores this year are noticeably lower. The high score at the DCI Eastern Classic was three points lower than the record high score at the same event a year ago. If the trend holds, 2015 could be the first time since 2006 that no corps reaches 98 points, something that has happened just three times in the past 20 years.

California clash: Monday night will be the first meeting of the Vanguard Cadets and Blue Devils B since July 12. Both corps have easily outpaced the rest of the Open Class field and very well may take the gold and silver medals at Tuesday’s Open Class World Championship Finals. The only question: Who wins? The Vanguard Cadets have had a slight edge on the leaderboard in recent weeks, but we won’t have a good idea of where they stand until they share the field Monday night in Michigan City,

Semifinals: Open for business: Based on our weekly average scores, four Open Class corps would potentially make the World Championship Semifinals on Friday in Indianapolis: the aforementioned Vanguard Cadets and Blue Devils B, as well as Legends and Genesis. The Spartans and 7th Regiment are both within mere tenths of 25th place, the cutoff for Semifinals.

Couples in Open relationships: Pairs of corps up and down the Open Class standings have swung back and forth throughout the past week. Notable competitions besides the race for first include Legends and Genesis in a race for the bronze medal; Spartans and 7th Regiment in a race for a spot in the Semifinals in Indianapolis; and the Colt Cadets and Raiders, who tied in their most recent competition on Saturday. Who will gain the edge in the final competitions of the season? Find out Monday and Tuesday at the DCI Open Class World Championship, held at Ames Field in Michigan City.

Projected World Class Top 12: 1. Blue Devils. 2. Carolina Crown (+1) 3. The Cadets (-1) 4. Bluecoats 5. Santa Clara Vanguard 6. Blue Knights 7. Phantom Regiment 8. The Cavaliers 9. Madison Scouts 10. Blue Stars 11. Boston Crusaders (+1) 12. Crossmen (-1)

The next three highest-scoring this week were the Colts (+1), Academy (+1) and Troopers (-2).

Projected Open Class Top 12: 1. Vanguard Cadets 2. Blue Devils B 3. Legends (+2) 4. Genesis (-1) 5. Spartans (+1) 6. 7^th Regiment (-2) 7. Music City 8. Gold (NR) 9. Colt Cadets (-1) 10. Raiders (-1) 11. River City Rhythm (NR) 12. Les Stentors (-2).

The Racine Scouts and Blue Saints would round out the Open Class corps.