Pandanet-AGA City League Kicks Off

[Hsiang]

The Pandanet-AGA City League officially starts next weekend, January 26-27. In its first year, the League features 28 teams from North American cities and regions, divided into four leagues. The teams in each league will play round-robin team matches on the Pandanet Internet Go Server. Each league’s top finisher moves up to the next higher league at the end of the season, while the bottom finisher moves down to the lower league, etc. Pandanet has provided a generous cash prize fund for the top leagues. In addition, the teams are encouraged to seek regional sponsors to pay for the players’ game fees and other team activities.

The inaugural top leagues feature many of the best and strongest North American players. The rosters and the players’ handles can be found at:
A League - http://www.airsltd.com/ATPServlet/test.atp?tourn=251
B League - http://www.airsltd.com/ATPServlet/test.atp?tourn=252
C League - http://www.airsltd.com/ATPServlet/test.atp?tourn=253
D League - http://www.airsltd.com/ATPServlet/test.atp?tourn=254

The League kick-off also closely coincides with the unveiling of the new Pandanet client GoPanda-2, web-based client that features stunning graphics and works on many platforms. Watch for announcement of the schedule of the first round games and future news on the AGA http://www.usgo.org/ and League http://www.usgo.org/aga-pandanet-city-league websites.

[Hsiang]

Who will win the first season??

For the A league, the sentimental favorite for me is NYC; a more practical bet is probably Los Angeles.
For the B league, my favorite is San Francisco.

What's your bet?

[Solomon]

A. Los Angeles, CA
B. SoCal
C. San Francisco, CA
D. SoCal

But if I was in the Seattle one then change C to Seattle, WA .

[oren]

But if I was in the Seattle one then change C to Seattle, WA .

You were invited... multiple times...

SLACKER!

[farmer]

In the C league, the 1st round between San Francisco and Memphis was played yesterday. Memphis won by 3-0.
Go Memphis!

A. Los Angeles, CA
B. SoCal
C. San Francisco, CA
D. SoCal

But if I was in the Seattle one then change C to Seattle, WA .

[skydyr]

Both Boston and DC look pretty competitive for the A league also, but I have to lean towards DC, on account of knowing the players.

[farmer]

I will put my bet on NY city.

A: New York City (or Vancouver Canada / OR actually it is hard to guess a winner in the A-League!)
B: Washington DC
C: Memphis, TN
D: Brentwood, TN

Boston is only a one-man show and Yang 1p can not say definitely win to others.
DC's Jie Lie may be a little rusty.
Los Angeles' players haven't excelled on the national stage.
But NY's Andy Liu and Zhaonian Chen are in the peaks although their 3rd player is behind.

As a player playing in the C-league, I see that Memphis in the C-league can beat a couple of teams in the B-League. AGA rating is overrated in some regions.
We have professional player in Tennessee too. The beautiful Anna Liu 1p is playing in the D-league for Brentwood TN. (There are only 4 pros playing in the City League, but she is playing in the D-League. The other threes are in the A-League.) The last two leagues will be dominated by Tennessee teams!

[farmer]

There is a big confusion on the matching time.
On the Pandanet-IGS website, different pages list different times. On the Rules page, it says 3PM last sunday. Then on the schedules pages, it has different times for different matches. Above all this, there was the communication from Jon Boley one month ago to team captains that says A and B leagues are at 2pm EST , C & D leagues at 1PM EST.
I hope someone will make it clear about which version is right and how long to wait for your opponent?