B/R Kicks Madness 2017: Round of 32
The first round of our inaugural B/R Kicks Madness tournament is in the books. Did your favorite sneaker this year take an early L? Upset a higher seeded shoe? Find out below as we cut our field down from 64 to 32 pairs.
THREE STRIPES REGION
Anyone who has paid attention to Adidas' strategic movements over the last two years understands Kanye West remains a pivotal part of the company's plans. It's no surprise that four of his signature kicks moved on to the Round of 32 in our Kicks Madness bracket.
Joining West’s quadfecta are the Adidas NMD "OG," the NMD x Bape collaboration, Pharrell’s Human Race NMD and the Ultra Boost "Triple Black." The only real upset here was the NMD x Bape project, which upended the No. 7 seed Yeezy Boost 350 V2 "Black/White."
SWOOSH REGION
Nike has plenty of upset-worthy choices who could play spoiler coming out of the Swoosh Region. As far as the opening round of kicks action, though, all of the favorites advanced minus the No. 3 seed Nike LeBron 14 "Out of Nowhere."
The "Out of Nowhere" 14 lost at the hands of another King James signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Generation "First Game," which hit retailers in a "you’re not getting these" quantity. It's not totally stunning to see a No. 14 seed take down a No. 3 seed. Especially when you consider this was the first true retro release of James’ Nike line.
JUMPMAN REGION
The Jumpman Region's opening round featured plenty of intriguing matchups. However, the one that really caught our eye took place between two Air Jordan XII models. In the end, the No. 9 seeded Jordan XII "Wings" conquered the "CNY" edition.
The one defining upset we encountered was the Air Jordan III "True Blue," which shocked tournament viewers by downing the Air Jordan II x Don C "Beach" model. A general release defying a limited, premium cut? Staggering.
Aside from that, the rest of this round fell sort of how you'd expect it to, with the No. 1 seeded Air Jordan I "Bred" and Air Jordan XII "OVO" both moving on.
MEGA MIX REGION
As you well know, this region is where the best of the rest come to play. With so much diversity and question marks—pun intended—in the atmosphere, the opening draw was a mix of upsets and favorites.
On the favorites side, the Reebok Question Mid "OG" toppled the Under Armour Curry "MVP Back 2 Back" pack. The Asics Gel Lyte III "Salmon Toe" also cruised past the No. 15 seed Reebok Ventilator Supreme x Cam'Ron "Fleebok 2."
The upset all of us are still jawing over is the Reebok Question Mid x Packer Shoes "Curtain Call" taking apart the Asics Gel Lyte 3.1 x Kith "Super Green." Not only is that a tremendous achievement for Reebok, but it puts two Questions into the Round of 32.
Stay tuned as we glide toward the Sweet 16!
