Prominent Caldari scientist, Futimo Massagi, has today completed a masterpiece of work, predicting the winners of the Alliance Tournament. Massagi is an instructor at the State War Academy teaching statistical analysis, and his mathematical papers are regarded as a cornerstone in the training of Pod-Pilots.
After his critics questioned the misuse of his talents for what serious scientists see as frivolity, he hit back hard; “There are many ways to teach. I could make my students calculate the grains of sand on a beach, or the number of atoms in a star, but to what gain? Let the traditional scholars waste their time and bore their students. My students will be learning practical applications for statistical analysis.”
For weeks now, his current class of Pod-Pilots have been inputting raw data into their training laptops; ranging from obvious details such as the armour strengths of expected ships flown, weapons used and training levels of the pilots, to not so obvious such as historical ship kills and losses, gleaned from CONCORDS database. Some of the data is positively bizarre, such as the average quantity and quality of Fedos onboard the ships.
Massagi was adamant that his projected results would be proven correct; “This is undoubtedly the most thorough statistical study produced to date. We have left nothing to chance; all possible variables have been allowed for, and when the results come in, my critics will be silenced.”
He refused to release the list to the public, for fear of ruining the Caldari gambling industry. Instead, he has given the list of final places on a piece of paper, in a sealed envelope to his rival at the Federal Naval Academy, Folier Gaubante, on strict instructions that they are not opened until the Tournament is over.