14 More Teams Earn Tickets To Madison: Week Two Semifinals Team Recap
Week two gave us three incredible Semifinals and fourteen more teams punching their ticket to Madison this summer.
North America West: After an epic battle on the bubble in last week’s North America East Semifinal, which also had ten qualifying spots up for grabs, all eyes were trained on those final five positions in the top ten. Ultimately, the weekend would end in a three-way point tie for the podium positions and a one point difference between 10th and 11th place.
Six Big Highlights You Need To Know
A 3-Way Point Tie Ended the Weekend at North America West: After the final workout, CrossFit Franco’s Misfits, CrossFit Omnia, and CrossFit Invictus all had 555 points, meaning the ultimate podium placements would come down to workout finishes.
- With three event wins over the course of the weekend, CrossFit Franco’s Misfits would take first, followed by CrossFit Invictus who took home two event wins over the course of the weekend.
- CrossFit Omnia would finish third with no event wins (though they only finished one workout outside the top five)
- This has never been seen before at any major qualifying event for the Games and is a testament to the incredible strength of the team division in North America West.
The Top Three Teams Stood Above The Rest: While week one of Semifinals, brought a fairly even spread of points, North America West’s top three teams clearly separated themselves from the pack.
- While fourth place team, CrossFit Kilo II trailed 27 points behind the three podium teams, 69 points would ultimately separate the fifth-place team from the podium teams.
- For context, North America East had a 24-point gap between third and fourth place and a 27-point gap between third and fifth place.
The Competition Stays Strong at the Edge of the Bubble: Last week, North America East saw fierce competition in the bottom of the top ten spots, with the final few spots continuing to change right down to the final workout.
- This weekend at North America West was no different. Just one point would separate the tenth and final team to punch their ticket to the Games this summer from the 11th place team.
- Headed into the final workout, two teams, Einhorn CrossFit and CrossFit Verdant both sat in 11th and 12th place respectively and well within striking distance of a 10th place finish.
- The final workout would, unfortunately, end with both teams still remaining outside the bubble, but Verdant CrossFit wasn’t going down without a fight.
- Ultimately, they placed 18th in the final workout, while CrossFit Believe was capped and placed 30th, bringing CrossFit Verdant just one point shy of a tenth-place points tie finish and 2 points shy of a ticket to Madison.
Koda CrossFit Lives Up To Their Name: In 2021, Koda CrossFit qualified their first team ever to the CrossFit Games after years of barely missing those qualifying spots.
- In 2022, they once again missed out on qualifying for the Games.
- This year, their team name, Koda CrossFit Redemption, paid homage to their fight for a spot back in Madison.
- By day two, it was clear that they were there to live up to their name. After four tests, they sat solidly inside the qualifying line in seventh overall.
- They would finish the workout just off the podium in fourth, earning their ticket back to Madison for the first time since they first qualified in 2021.
CrossFit Invictus qualified three teams from one Semifinal for the CrossFit Games:
- Headed into the final workout, CrossFit Invictus sat squarely on the possibility of qualifying all three of their teams for the 2023 CrossFit Games.
- The final workout would solidify that, setting a new record for the affiliate who has sent multiple teams to the Games in the past, but never three from the same Semifinal.
- CrossFit Invictus, CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable, and CrossFit Invictus Sea of Green all earned their tickets this weekend, finishing second, sixth, and eighth respectively.
CrossFit East Nashville PRVN’s Clean Record Remains Untouched:
- Though the West set new records in several of the tests, CrossFit East Nashville PRVN’s still holds the record for Test 5.
- While Rhino CrossFit Dogs came close with 69 cleans, 73 will still remain the number to beat.
Top Ten Teams Heading to Madison Out of North America West:
Oceania: With two powerhouse teams coming into Oceania and only three qualifying spots up for grabs, the question would be who will secure that third and final spot? Ultimately, the weekend would end with CrossFit Torian Mayhem dominating exactly as fans expected, followed by Plus64 CrossFit 64Army Endgame and PFC CrossFit 3076 in second and third respectively.
Three Big Highlights You Need To Know
Brandon Swan is back and better than ever: While we haven’t seen Brandon Swan on the Games floor since 2019, 2023 is going to change that.
- This year, Swan paired up with individual Games veteran Royce Dunne and team veterans Christee Hollard, and Marnie Sykes.
- Throughout the weekend, CrossFit Torian Mayhem absolutely dominated the competition, finishing every test in first place, except for test one (which they took fourth in).
- They would end the weekend sitting comfortably in first overall, fifteen points ahead of the second-place team and 80 points ahead of the third-place team.
CrossFit Torian Nearly Qualified Two Teams From One Semifinal: With just three spots up for grabs this weekend at the Oceania Semifinal, qualifying one team let alone two was sure to be a tough task.
- Heading into the weekend CrossFit Torian’s two teams were both seeded in the top three after Quarterfinals.
- While CrossFit Torian Mayhem absolutely dominated the weekend, taking home first overall, CrossFit Torian Black was left fighting hard for third place.
- While they only finished one workout outside the top five, ultimately PFC CrossFit 3076 (seeded fifth after Quarterfinals) would best Torian Black by just five points.
Mayhem Qualifies Fourth Team to the Games: With CrossFit Torian Mayhem qualifying from Oceania this weekend, that will make for four teams heading to the Games this year representing Mayhem after just two weeks of Semifinals.
- Last year, Mayhem put three teams on the leaderboard at the 2022 CrossFit Games.
- While they won’t have any representation in the team division at Europe or Asia Semifinals next week, four teams at the Games will top their record of three teams in 2021.
Top Three Teams Headed to Madison Out of Oceania:
South America: With only one qualifying spot up for grabs, fans knew the competition would be fierce this weekend. While Sense Fitness CrossFit Mayhem Soul was the fan favorite and the number one seed headed into the weekend, they soon found themselves in a knock-down, drag out battle with Q21 CrossFit and Templo Sa CrossFit Treta throughout the weekend.
Two Big Highlights You Need to Know
Templo Sa CrossFit Blacksheep Treta’s Comeback: After an eleventh place finish in the first test, Templo Sa CrossFit Blacksheep Treta would go on to take first or second in every other test.
- This includes besting every other team by nearly two minutes in Test 3 and taking home another event win in the final workout.
- While they still remained in second behind Q21 CrossFit until the final day, a first and second place finish in the final two workouts would secure their ultimate win and their ticket to Madison this summer.
- The mid-competition comeback was not the only comeback Templo Sa CrossFit Blacksheet Treta made in the past year.
- In 2022, they were next in line for the qualifying position CrossFit Games after the two teams ahead of them were disqualified for performance enhancing drugs.
- However, the team took to Instagram shortly afterwards and announced that they would not be going to the Games, as they had not trained nor prepared. They also did not have the appropriate visas necessary to travel and compete.
- This year, they earned their qualification outright with their first place finish and will finally be able to make a well deserved trip to Madison.
Q21 CrossFit’s Near Miss: While Q21 CrossFit held onto the first place position for the majority of the weekend, the final event ultimately push them out of first.
- Over the course of the weekend, they finished four of the first five tests in the top three.
- Heading into the final day, they sat 25 points ahead of Templo Sa CrossFit Blacksheep Treta.
- While they came in third in Test 5, an eighth place finish would move them into second overall after the final workout.
Top Team Headed to Madison out of South America:
The big picture: With two weeks of Semifinals down and one week remaining, we’ll have another few of exciting competitions with nine spots up for grabs in Europe and one in Asia.
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