OlympicIRL

So at the halfway point on the final day in Group B, Somalia are on top of the group and Puerto Rico will drop behind Sri Lanka if their margin of defeat increases any further. need just one more vote from the final 4 judges to ensure they qualify directly to the Round of 16.

Judge C voted for....

Judge H voted for....

Judge E voted for....

despite taking the lead are now eliminated as they needed Somalia to lose 8-0. therefore are assured of a repechage berth at the very least.

Judge K voted for....

Group B Thursday, July 30th 2020, 15:00 (GMT +1) Kosovo 0 vs 0 Somalia Thursday, July 30th 2020, 15:00 (GMT +1) Puerto Rico 0 vs 0 Kiribati After the results in Group A, Puerto Rico and Sri Lanka can now breathe a sigh of relief as they are guaranteed to qualify for the Round of 16, even if they finish in 3rd place in the group. However, both will still want to qualify directly in order to get a more favourable draw in the next round. Kosovo cannot qualify, however they will be playing for pride as well as a possible higher seeding in the Challenge Trophy. Their opponents Somalia, however, are playing for a place in the Round of 16 and a draw against Kosovo will be enough to guide them safely into the next round. The other match, Puerto Rico v Kiribati is a crucial one for the Pacific islanders. A draw for Puerto Rico will see them into the next round as an automatic qualifier but as we already know, they will still advance to the Round of 16 even in defeat. A 5-3 loss will be enough for the Puerto Ricans will finish ahead of Sri Lanka and qualify in one of the 2 direct qualifying slots. For Kiribati however, the situation is much less optimistic. They must win their match 8-0 while also hoping Somalia lose 8-0 against Kosovo. They need an absolute miracle and then some! The permutations: Puerto Rico and Sri Lanka will both advance at the very least as a best 3rd-placed nation. Kiribati must win the match 8-0 AND need Somalia to lose 8-0 to advance to the repechage . Somalia will qualify automatically for the Round of 16 if they win or draw. Otherwise Somalia will advance to the repechage as long as they do not lose by a margin of 8-0 AND if Kiribati do not win 8-0. A total of 8 matches judges have been assigned the task of adjudicating this match. The judges are each allocated a specialised hut which are located at various vantage points surrounding the arena where the artists will perform. These judging huts can be seen in the diagram below with their locations denoted by letters (K, E, H, C, M, B, F and A). K E H Kosovo vs Somalia Puerto Rico vs Kiribati A C F B M Now it's time to see how the judges scored this contest

Guinea will play the second placed nation in Group C in the Round of 16 (Burundi / Albania).

So that's Group A decided. Congratulations Belarus who advance to the repechage round. Hard luck to Jamaica, you gave us an epic finish and a dramatic start to the day. A total of 8 matches judges have been assigned the task of adjudicating this match. The judges are each allocated a specialised hut which are located at various vantage points surrounding the arena where the artists will perform. These judging huts can be seen in the diagram below with their locations denoted by letters (K, E, H, C, M, B, F and A). K E H Jamaica vs Belarus Japan vs Gibraltar A C F B M Now it's time to see how the judges scored the contests Judge K voted for.... Judge E voted for.... Judge H voted for.... Judge C voted for.... Judge M voted for.... Judge B voted for.... Judge F voted for.... Judge A voted for.... Final Result and Scorecard Updated Group A Standings after match

Judge A voted for....

Judge A voted for....

So, it's time to find out the fate of Group A. Judge A voted as follows......

So it's going down to the final Judge (Judge A) to decide who prevails between and for a place in the repechage. A vote for Belarus and they are through to the repechage and Jamaica are out. A vote for Jamaica and it is they who advance to the repechage at the expense of Belarus. Elsewhere, congratulations to Puerto Rico and Sri Lanka as they are now guaranteed to qualify to the Round of 16!

Judge F voted for....

stay alive! They still need to win the votes of the final 2 judges. are now assured to qualify directly to the Round of 16 as (A2).

Judge B voted for....

are putting in their best performance so far against the group winners! must score votes from all the remaining judges in order to stay in the competition.

Judge M voted for....

So, at the halfway point, Guinea are holding the second qualification spot (A2). Another vote against Belarus will ensure Guinea take the (A2) spot. Also, Belarus are currently in a repechage spot and if their match ends in a draw then both Puerto Rico and Sri Lanka in Group B will be guaranteed qualification to the Round of 16 as a best 3rd placed team at the very least.

Judge C voted for....

Judge H voted for....

Judge E voted for....

Judge K voted for....

Group A Thursday, July 30th 2020, 14:00 (GMT +1) Jamaica 0 vs 0 Belarus Thursday, July 30th 2020, 14:00 (GMT +1) Japan 0 vs 0 Gibraltar Group A comes to a climax this afternoon with all eyes focused on one match: Jamaica v Belarus. Japan v Gibraltar is somewhat a dead rubber since Gibraltar have already secured top spot in the Group while Japan, even with a victory, cannot uproot themselves from the foot of the table. However, the Group is still packed with drama as so much lies on the result of the match between Jamaica and Belarus. The permutations: Jamaica must win the match to stay in the tournament. A victory for Jamaica will qualify them for the repechages. A victory for Belarus by a margin of 5-3 will ensure they qualify for the Round of 16 as best 3rd-placed nation, while Guinea will qualify directly to the Round of 16. A victory for Belarus by a margin of 6-2 will mean they are tied with Guinea on all tie-break criteria and a special panel of back-up judges will be drafted in to resolve the tie in order to determine which of the 2 nations qualify directly to the Round of 16 and which nation qualifies to the Round of 16 as a best 3rd-placed nation. A victory for Belarus by a margin of 7-1 or 8-0 and they qualify automatically to the Round of 16 and Guinea will qualify to the Round of 16 as a best 3rd-placed nation. A draw for Belarus will mean they advance to the Repechage Round and Guinea will take the direct qualification for the Round of 16. A draw for Belarus will also ensure that Puerto Rico and Sri Lanka are guaranteed to qualify to the Round of 16 as a best 3rd placed team at the very least. A total of 8 matches judges have been assigned the task of adjudicating this match. The judges are each allocated a specialised hut which are located at various vantage points surrounding the arena where the artists will perform. These judging huts can be seen in the diagram below with their locations denoted by letters (K, E, H, C, M, B, F and A). K E H Jamaica vs Belarus Japan vs Gibraltar A C F B M Now it's time to see how the judges scored the contests

So we are about to kick-off the final day of action in the group stage. One thing I should point out is that due to Guinea's vote difference, they are guaranteed to finish at the very least as a best 3rd placed nation so they have also booked their spot in the Round of 16. Furthermore, if Belarus win by any margin today, they will also qualify to the Round of 16, even if they finish 3rd.