  What a wild ride 2020 has been. It started with (and will end with) a global pandemic, saw the biggest bet in OIL history made at the cabin, and transitioned into the most contentious presidential election of our lifetimes. But none of that prepared any of us for this crazytown of a championship week.
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    And then there were 12, each with a 25% chance to win their respective conference. Among the 12 are six former champions, with 15 titles between them. But there are Cinderella stories as well.
The AFC's top seed, the Negligent Discharges, have never approached the success of this season. It is already their best OIL season yet, but can they make it to the Thunder Bowl? The three-seed, the Mutinous Apes, are in the playoffs for the first time in their seven OIL seasons, while the Doughboys are coached by the OIL's Andy Reid. In six previous seasons, Green's team has finished 3rd, 7th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, and 4th. Their average finish of 3.33 is tops in the OIL, but they've never won a championship despite ranking second all-time in OPR and third in winning percentage. The NFC's top three seeds account for 10 championships. If there is to be a new NFC champion, it will have to be DominationStation. Jessen's squad began the season 1-2 before going 8-2 the final 10 weeks of the regular season. They hung on last week against Dead Again and pose a significant threat to the three former champions still in the NFC tournament. The PFC's last two champions are in the hunt again in 2020, as the 2018 champion Dirty Dogs will face the 2019 champion Vandals. The top seed, though, was secured by the Blue Falcons, who flipped the script on a 3-10, last-place 2019 season, going 10-3 in 2020. Rounding out the PFC playoff field are the Nightmares, who finished in second place in 2019. The Nightmares, however, are the only playoff team with a sub-1.000 OPR. As for the the other playoff teams, pour one out for those teams that are no longer with us: Lynn; Neely; Henderson; Schmidt; Gray; and Bellar.       Here are the first-round results:
 Round One of the OIL Playoffs is here. While there are plenty of familiar faces in the field, several strong contenders are seeking their first championship. In all but one first-round matchup, the stronger team is actually the team with the worse record. This may be the most wide-open the field has ever been.            Six teams. Four managers seeking their first championship. Three trophies. Two previous champions. Welcome to Championship Week 2019. Analysis after the jump.                  Six teams. Three trophies. Three previous champions. Three managers seeking their first title. Welcome to Championship Week 2018. Click on the team logos above to view each team's roster. Analysis after the jump.
 It's finally here: the PLAYOFFS. 18 teams are competing for three conference trophies and one OIL trophy. This year is a mix of old and new as perennial contenders and newly-competitive managers will battle over the next four weeks. To the matchups! Click on team logos to view manager pages on okiraqi.org. Click matchup titles to view the matchup on Yahoo!        Congratulations to Zerger, Cliburn, Pyle, Lutonsky, Buehre, and Neely on finishing in the top two in their respective conferences. Enjoy your wins this week. 
For the second-consecutive season, defending champion Lance Zerger and his Redlegs have clinched a first-round bye. Joining him is Sir Neely and his Hooligans, making their first appearance in the top two.
  Joining Zerger and Neely in the AFC playoffs are Green, Nye, Schuster (making the playoffs for the first time), and Peacock.
    
   
Both these managers are returning to the playoffs after being strong contenders in 2016, but neither could pull off the championship last season. Look for the Doughboys to make a strong statement that they are not over their 2016 Thunder Bowl defeat.  Only 12 teams remain in contention in the OIL playoffs after Nye, Roe, Cliburn, Jessen, Baldwin, and Cordes were knocked out in round one. Half of the semifinals field had a bye last week, so this is their first test since Rivalry Week. Good luck, guys. As always, game-by-game analysis after the jump.   By OIL Commissioner Justin C. Cliburn  42 teams have been whittled down to 18 in a quest for trophies, jerseys, a helmet, and everlasting pride. The OIL Playoffs are here. Congratulations to those teams that earned a first-round bye, in particular Zerger and Pyle. Zerger set a new OIL record for most points in a season while Pyle tied the OIL record for best regular season record (12-1, previously held solely by Cliburn's 2010 team). Peacock received a bye after setting a record for least points in a season last year. Cobb earned the bye for the first time in his OIL career, as did Tadlock and Buehre in the PFC. Full analysis of each first-round matchup after the jump. Teams Enjoying a First-Round Bye:      Zerger and Peacock (AFC); Pyle and Cobb (NFC); Tadlock and Buehre (PFC)
By Arrogant Americans Manager Justin C. Cliburn  It took 12 weeks, but we finally have 2/3 of the playoff picture sorted out. Pyle, Cobb, Finch, and Cliburn have clinched playoff spots. Jessen, Trovillo, Bruesch, and Duffy are fighting for the final two berths. That makes this Rivalry Week incredibly important. Each of the four managers still hoping to clinch a playoff spot are in absolute must-win situations in this, the most important week of the season. Good luck to everyone but Duffy. Fuck Duffy, for this is Hate Week.  Head-to-head records in paranthesis #4 Arrogant Americans vs. #8 Hangovers |
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