Brackets are up!

The draw for the Spring Koushien has happened and the brackets are here. It's the first sheet.

I'll have more after I finish eating dinner. Once again, there appears to be at least one tough quadrant.

11:03 AM - After a second look. The brackets stink. It's got to be one of the worse draws I've seen... Bah.

11:34 AM - Here's why I think the brackets stink. Short term, it's great. Long term it's bad. Let's break each of the quadrants down (in order of schedule of games to be played)

Quadrant 1
Konkou Osaka (Osaka) vs. Kurashiki Kougyou (Okayama)
Chuukyoudai Chuukyou (Aichi) vs. Kamimura Gakuen (Kagoshima)
Kousei Gakuin (Aomori) vs. Imabari Nishi (Ehime)
Takasaki Shougyou (Gunma) vs. Meitoku Gijuku (Hyogo)

There are several brand-name teams here (Chuukyoudai Chuukyou, Imabari Nishi) mixed in with some new up and comers (Meitoku Gijuku, Konkou Osaka). This by far appears to be the most balanced quadrant of the 4.

Quadrant 2
Seihou (Nagasaki) vs. Nihon Bunri (Niigata)
Fukuchiyama Seibi (Kyoto) vs. Kokushikan (Tokyo)
Kaisei (Shimane) vs. Keio (Kanagawa)
Minoshima (Wakayama) vs. Oita Uenogaoka (Oita)

More brand-name teams litter this quadrant. Seihou, Keio as well as Fukuchiyama and Kokushikan who face each other. Nihon Bunri faces a tough task in Seihou while either Minoshima and Oita Uenogaoka will have to bow out in the first round. This will definitely be a tough bracket to get out of.

Quadrant 3
Saijyou (Ehime) vs. PL Gakuen (Osaka)
Nanyou Kougyou (Yamaguchi) vs. Maebashi Shougyou (Gunma)
Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) vs. Mukawa (Hokkaido)
Meihou (Oita) vs. Shimotsuma Dai-ni (Ibaraki)

One of my sleeper teams Saijyou gets a rude awakening as they draw PL Gakuen. PL looks to be the favorite to come out of this quadrant, although Meihou may give them fits if they get that far.

Quadrant 4
Toyama Shougyou (Toyama) vs. Kounan (Okinawa)
Tenri (Nara) vs. Waseda Jitsugyou (Tokyo)
Hikone Higashi (Shiga) vs. Narashino (Chiba)
Rifu (Miyazaki) vs. Kakegawa Nishi (Shizuoka)

This is a killer for me. Tenri draws Waseda Jitsugyou... you've GOT to be kidding me. Meanwhile, they're joined here by Narashino and Kounan. This should yet be another tough bracket to get out of.

The reason I say the brackets stink is that I think there are a lot of cases where in the opening round games, strong teams are facing strong teams and weak teams are facing weak teams. It's nice sometimes to have a bracket of death, but in this case it's just a 1st round where good teams will be exiting.

So the draw is set, and the games will begin next week. I can't wait, but I can't believe the draw.