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And then there were 12. The AFC and PFC are guaranteed first-time champions, while the NFC has a 75% at a repeat champ. Round One lived up to the playoff hype with all but one matchup coming down to Monday Night Football. Congratulations to the semifinalists. Pour one out, however, for those championship contenders no longer with us:
War Pony, the Cocks, Dead Again, DominationStation, the Havoc, and the Xtreme 
​will all have to wait until 2020 to compete for a championship.
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The AFC is down to Fitzgerald, Roe, Reed, and Green, and the field is wide open. Green and his Doughboys are In the semifinals for the fifth time in six seasons. After losing the last three Thunder Bowls, could this finally be their year?
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This is a rare matchup where the higher seed is a full two-wins better but ranked lower in OPR. That is a testament to Green's management this season, and I think they're going to upset top-seeded Steel Reign.
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The Sawtooths fought valiantly to survive Round One, but they're now facing a far superior Rebel Alliance squad who are the clear favorites to win It all . . . and they're doing it without star WR Mike Evans. Look for the Rebs to win this one in a rout and advance to their second Thunder Bowl.
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Four teams. Seven championships between them. This is a loaded NFC field that includes three former champions, two three-time champions, and the defending champion.
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SoonerJack is a three-time champion and the number one seed. But his 9-4 record masks a decidedly weak WR corps. Meanwhile, the Whackers coasted to a 6-1 start as perhaps the NFC favorite before injuries derailed their dominance. They upset Dead Again in Round One, though, and I think they'll do it again here to SoonerJack.
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These are the best two teams in the NFC, but only one of them will make it to the OIL Bowl. Lucky Enuf is the defending c​hampion, and he looks to be the favorite here. Both teams are reeling from Round One injuries, but Pyle's team appears better poised to overcome them.
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Team Tadlock and the FDC Chiefs are perennial contenders, but they're joined by the upstart Nightmares and Vandals. No matter who reaches the Patriot Bowl, it will be their first time. 
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The Vandals are a good story, but they're no match for a historically good Nightmares team. Mitchell had not had a winning season since 2015, but his 2019 squad ranks seventh all-time in OPR. With 11 wins already, they just need one more to reach the Patriot Bowl for the first time.
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Team Tadlock Is the third-best team in the entire OIL, but the Chiefs are always tough. Pennington is in the semifinals for the second consecutive season. While Team Tadlock has averaged over 15 more points per game than the FDC Chiefs, the Chiefs have averaged 160 points per game the last four weeks behind stellar waiver-wire pickup Ryan Tannehill. I'm picking the Chiefs to continue their hot streak straight into the Patriot Bowl.