The penultimate round of the Preliminary Rounds encouragingly saw 82% of the teams post positive growth figures in period 11, and as the final comes into sight 9 teams retained their positions in the top 12, with 3 new entries, but there is still a sizeable chasing pack still in contention, and the tension is palpable, and there are sure to be lots more surprises before the identity of the 12 finalists is revealed next week. And with 7 different sponsors in the top 12, and representing all regions of the world, another global final is on the cards.

And so to the action in period 11. After being in the top 12 since the beginning of the Competition, and second for the last two rounds, the multinational team "Babble Royale" (Jacobs, UK/Ireland/USA/Saudi Arabia) finally climbed to the top of the table at the end of period 11 with 2,153 pts. The new leaders have also opened up a substantial 50 point lead over the "Ministry of Wopus" (WSP New Zealand), who dropped back to second, with "Whatever it takes" (Stantec, Italy) moving up one place to 3rd. The 3 new entries into the top 12 were "Stantogether" (Stantec, Australia), after an impressive 30-place rise up to 4th, "JBD3" (WSP USA) and "Euston we have a problem" (Network Rail, UK), whose first time in the qualifying places for the Final could be perfectly timed, and it reenforces the faith shown previously by the Enginuity Crystal Ball in them as dark horses. The "2030 Net Heroes" (Cundall, UK) held onto 12th place for the second consecutive round, and if it is third time lucky they will be in the final next week!

The teams that qualify for a place in the Final will carry on with their businesses as they are at the end of the Preliminary Rounds, or early years. However, the final, or later years will present a number of new challenges. In particular, each of the 'human' teams will be in direct competition for work against each other, with just one additional simulated rival. This adds more uncertainty to the bidding process, and added to this contract awards are not just based upon price, but upon client relationships, so relationships built up over the early years take on added significance in the later years, and marketing strategies assume added significance as niche markets become very attractive. Only the team able to cope the best under the increased pressure, and with the most effective and robust strategy for competing in this challenging global environment, would eventually emerge as the 2022 Champions.