2018 Championships New Orleans Game 7: Crime City v. Jacksonville

Crime City Rollers of Malmö, Sweden (A Coruña #2, WFTDA #10)
v. Jacksonville Roller Derby of Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. (Atlanta #2, WFTDA #6)

Crime City Rollers173

Jacksonville Roller Derby 160

Crime City Rollers from Malmo, Sweden and Jacksonville Roller Derby from Jacksonville, Florida, USA, both had something to prove in the opening game of Day 2 of the 2018 International WFTDA Championships in Louisiana, USA. Crime City had not yet won a game at championships and Jacksonville missed championships last year, failing to advance from WFTDA 2017 Playoffs Seattle.

2018 International WFTDA Championships Game 7: Crime City vs Jacksonville
Gif by Hayley Moir

Both teams hit the track hard with huge blocks and fast packs. They flirted with the edge of legality, though, and both teams found themselves often short blockers on the track with skaters sitting in the penalty box for illegal hits. Jacksonville’s Smith (formerly Lily the Kid) was notably effective at offense and communication while staying penalty free. Crime City relied heavily on Bricken and Below Me for offense, but it came at a penalty-heavy cost with Bricken almost fouling out.

The game was close for most of the first half with five lead changes in the first 30 minutes. At the end of the half, Crime City had just regained lead 103-96. Their lead grew through the beginning of the second half and it looked like the Swedes were going to roll away with the win until they found themselves in jammer penalty trouble.

Jacksonville came back from being 37 points down to bring the game to one point with 3 minutes left. However, back-to-back forearm penalties for the Jacksonville jammers meant that with the crowd cheering, chanting and singing them along, Crime City would finally win a game at championships, 173-160.

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