In 2022, a total of five teams were eliminated at the Anaheim 1 Supercross (4 by Ferrandis, 1 by Brayton). In 2021, twelve teams were eliminated at the first round in Houston (5 by Tomac, 5 by Anderson, and 2 by Sexton). Interestingly enough, all of those riders who lined up (Brayton retired) on Saturday night were safe picks inside the top 10. Turns out, even the "safest" picks were not safe in 2023...
Supercross Survivor boasts the most teams and biggest payout in the game's early history this season with 75 teams creating a $2250 total purse and $1350 of it going straight to the winner! The stakes have never been higher and with a field full of question marks; picks were all over the map at the opener.
When the lights went down and fireworks lit up the sky for opening ceremonies at Anaheim, there were 12 different riders chosen to finish in the top 10 for Supercross Survivor. That meant at least two teams were going to be watching for the rest of 2023. People were clearly swayed by the strong outdoor motocross season from Chase Sexton last year and equally confident in the veteran KTM pilot Marvin Musquin's poise at the always nerve racking opening round. Both of those racers were hired by 13 teams a piece as the gate dropped. Rounding out the pick trend podium was 3 time Round 1 winner, Justin Barcia.dropping to the 11th spot.
Next up, many believed the season opening fire that burns inside Ken Roczen was going to be enough to kickstart a strong season receiving 8 votes of confidence. Tomac has never been a strong starter, that combined with a new bike and the start of his final Supercross season clearly had some teams playing a "wait and see" game. Only 7 teams hired Tomac who would go on to win the race even after overcoming a crash. His teammate Dylan Ferrandis chewed up and spit out many teams in SX Survivor during 2022, in-fact nearly a quarter of the teams were eliminated by picking the 2021 AMA Motocross Champion. That's made even more amazing by the fact he only lined up at 10 rounds of the series. Team managers were staying far away from the eventual 4th place finisher with Kness327 being the lone soul choosing the number 14.
Dylan Ferrandis chewed up and spit out many teams in SX Survivor during 2022, in-fact nearly a quarter of the teams were eliminated by picking the 2021 AMA Motocross Champion.
When the flag flew in Anaheim, the familiar number 1 of Eli Tomac secured the win and a transfer to round 2 of the series for his SX Survivor team managers.
The Anaheim 1 Assassin, and sometimes just plain assassin on his competitors, Justin 'Bam Bam' Barcia is known for his strong opening round results. Nine team managers were extremely happy to see Barcia jump out to an early lead, but turns out the only thing he'd be smashing in Anaheim is the dirt. A spectacular case to cross-rut left the #51 scrambling to pick up his GasGas and remount. The Wild Child Barcia did claw his way back up into the top 10 late in the race giving some hope and relief to Survivor Managers everywhere...and then on lap 20 of 21 Barcia was down again and hearts sank around the world as SX Survivor teams were no longer eligible for the championship.
Mookie Fever was running rampant at Anaheim! With an incredible few seasons under his belt where he's finished in the top 10 of nearly 90% of races in the last three seasons. In fact, he never missed a top 10 finish in all of 2022. With a charge through the pack, Malcolm was looking like a strong contender for the podium until Eli Tomac went flying through the air on the over-under. The sold-out Anaheim stadium roared as it looked like the #27 might capture his first 450 Supercross victory. It was going great, until it wasn't as a neutral (or bike malfunction) when landing atop a tabletop caused the front wheel to drop along with Malcolm's hopes for a win and the seasons of many Survivor managers.
When it was all said and done, with Musquin also having a poor performance, 3 of the top 4 most picked riders failed to finish in the top 10. Absolute destruction lay in the wake as SX Survivor managers hoped they were waking up from a bad dream.
The last couple of blows came in the form of the 'Not Rookie' who rode like a rookie, Christian Craig. The extremely hyped defending 250 West coast champion carried a ton of hype on his shoulders coming into the opener, but a lack of gnarly whoops that aided him last year, a fully-healthy 450 field, and tricky track conditions prevented the factory Husqvarna rider from ever being a factor in Anaheim. Two teams took the bait on his previous 450 SX and MX success and were eliminated.
A total of 32 teams (40%) were eliminated after a single main event. With a potential mud race waiting just days away in Oakland for round number 2, Survivor Managers everywhere have to be stressing; especially those 4 people who already used up the mud-specialist Aaron Plessinger.
New for Round 2, we are excited to debut our new SX Survivor Pick Submission form. Each week we'll post and email the link to submit that week's pick. No more emails, text messages, Facebook and Instagram DM's needed to submit or find your pick. PLEASE BE SURE TO FILL OUT THE FORM IN IT'S ENTIRETY EVERYTIME! SUPERCROSS SURVIVOR ROUND 2 - OAKLAND - Submission Form Link
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