2018 NightBEAT

Is NightBEAT A Finals Preview?

Is NightBEAT A Finals Preview?

This line-up is so ridiculously good, it looks like a finals preview at NightBEAT this year!

Jul 25, 2018 by Michael Gilley
Bluecoats Show Highlights From San Antonio

Saturday is a massive day for the DCI 2018 season. But Sunday, may be one of the most stacked lineups for a non-regional level event of the year and it could be the closest thing we have to a 2018 finals preview.

NightBEAT gets started on Sunday, July 29th at 7 pm ET and will host 8 of the top 10 corps in DCI.

PREVIEW OF FINALS?

This lineup is so ridiculously good it basically looks like a finals preview. Every corps is scoring above 80 and half of the lineup is already broken 90!

PLACECORPSAVG. LAST 3MOST RECENT
1Santa Clara Vanguard91.81792.425
2Blue Devils90.66791.375
3Bluecoats90.58391.350
4Carolina Crown90.30490.700
5The Cavaliers87.85488.400
6Boston Crusaders87.83389.300
7The Cadets85.29686.450
8Blue Knights *83.52584.200
9Blue Stars *83.23884.050
10Phantom Regiment82.84283.725

*denotes corps not performing at NightBEAT

Phantom will be coming off a week in which they will have only performed two times before they take the field in North Carolina. That undoubtedly means they’ll have added a ton changes. In San Antonio, Regiment was 9th in GE, 10th in Visual, 9th in Guard, 8th in Brass, and 9th in Percussion. 

NightBEAT will be an excellent opportunity to see if they can make a move into the next echelon of corps. 

The Cadets had an incredibly turbulent spring. But these resilient young men and women are coming together nicely and carrying the traditions of The Cadets wonderfully. Just take a look for yourself.

The Cadets 2018: The Unity Project

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The Cavaliers are enjoying one crazy season. The corps is knocking on the door and looking to make the next leap forward in their quest to get back to the top. It will not be for lack of performing.

From July 25 until August 11, the Cavies will have 12 shows in 18 days (assuming they advance to finals). Rehearsal time will be at a premium for the men from Rosemont.

The Boston Crusaders unveiled a new ending when they went through Texas. They also unveiled an 88.250 and finished 6th overall at the Southwestern regional. That’s  1.625 higher than their 85.625 in San Antonio last year. 

You better keep an eye on their color guard as well. They finished 1st in the recaps in San Antonio. Crusaders will absolutely be contending for that George Zingali award in Indianapolis.

Boston's guard at DCI Midwestern Championship in St. Louis

ONLY SO MANY MEDALS

The next four corps have positioned themselves as the corps to beat for some shiny new hardware come August. 

Santa Clara is coming off their first ever win in San Antonio, Bluecoats have added an entirely new ending, Blue Devils will absolutely have a chip on their shoulder, and Crown isn’t going to let their home show go without a fight.

This group of corps has been so tightly packed throughout the season that SCV has beaten everyone, but the Blue Devils have beaten Vanguard. Bluecoats and Blue Devils have traded spots fairly routinely. And Crown has won several different captions like percussion and brass making them just as capable.

Read more about the top four's struggle

All of these corps will treat these back-to-back performances like finals week in which they’ll have to have amazing performances 3 nights in a row to capture a world championship. So be sure to tune in Sunday night as you may get to watch what finals might look like in Indy.