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Cheers, relief, some nearlys , some great performances and a few tears

We're please to announce that the finalists are: MTR's 'New Lines new Minds Enginetic' and 'New Lines and New Minds'; two Arup teams 'They think its all Ova' and 'The Ovaheads'; Atkins India's 'VIRTUS' and Mott MacDonald's 'MM Money Makers'.

This is a remarkable achievement for MTR as this is the first time MTR have entered MERIT. Arups have been Champions twice and are the reigning Champions and with two teams in the final they clearly intend to retain their crown.

Atkins India's 'VIRTUS' qualify for the final by coming fifth. As this is the first time in the top six, their entry is well timed.

Mott MacDonald have also been Champions twice and dropping from fourth to sixth held on to compete again.

With only 674 points separating the top team and the sixth placed team the final promises to be intense. The rules change in the final. It is more competitive, there are eight rounds in a day and a half, and teams have to work hard to succeed. Who'll win, pick any one from six.

AURECON's 'Global' squeezed out of the top six to 9th place not quite where they wanted to be and having seen AURECON teams in the last two finals we will miss their lively presence. The other AURECON high fliers are 'Unicon', 'AurecANZ' and 'Aurecon Green Extreme' at 11th, 12th and 15th.

'AMEY MDP' have had a good competition and nearly made it but not quite at 7th.

We're all proud of the performance of the student team from UTM, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Coming in at 8th they were also very close to the final six. Last year UTM entered a team for the first time and have clearly learned from the experience as this years performance was excellent. This is the highest position ever achieved by a student team.

Atkins HK's 'NOVA' flirted with top six placings but have ended at 10th, so we won't have Atkins HK in the final this year. Having seen them there in the last two, we'll miss them too.

Creditable performances also came from Atkins HK 'GAP', Severn Trent Water's 'STW Asset Creation', 'AECOMeritocracy' SKM's 'Southern Konstruction Management' and 'ProP', Arup (Australia)'s YAP and AECOM's 'AECOMManders'.

This has been an exciting MERIT competition, standards have been high and the rankings in the leader board have change every round. We enjoyed running it and we've greatly enjoyed the feedback we've had as the game as progressed.

Many thanks to all who participated.

The Sponsors Award this year will be presented to Arups at the Final.

We're enjoying the excitement.

Preliminary results, subject to change.

MTR back on top but the rest are in a dog fight

MTR's 'New Lines New Minds Enginetic' leap two places and past their colleagues to take pole position, while the other MTR team 'New Lines New Minds' remain in second. Arup's 'They think its all Ova' slip to 3rd from first, so it might not quite be all over yet. MottMac's 'MM MoneyMakers' hold 4th place. So the top four are still there. Arup's 'The Ovaheads' climb from 7th to 5th to join the top six placing two Arup teams in the top six. Arup and MottMac with two previous Championships each may well be playing for who's best. The 6th place is held by ‘Aurecon Global’ down from 5th.

Atkins India's 'VIRTUS' up to 7th from 9th are threatening. AURECON's 'Unicon' down to 8th from 6th are still there or thereabouts. AMEY MDP slip one place to 9th but are still not out of it. Atkins HK's 'NOVA' hold on 10th ready for the final push. The CIOB HQ teams are at 27 and 29 and need a good effort in the last round to make the final.

Lower down big movers include 'Murphy's Cannock' up to 41st from 64th with an 18% improvement as with TaylorWoodow/BAM's 'Victorious Station Upgrade' move to 64th from 75th.

Our student teams UTM are at 13th and Manchester University's 'Fenns Stars' at 57 and 'Emsleys stars' at 88. Margaret Emsley is Loughborough trained but that isn't shining through!

The competition for the top six is as hot as its ever been. The top four are looking good but its too soon to be confident. The other places are being fought for and we can't predict the out-turn. We'll just have to wait for the final round.

We're enjoying the excitement.

Preliminary results, subject to change.

Has the final whistle gone?

Arup's 'They think its all over' have ousted MTR's 'New Lines New Minds' to head up the leader board.

Arup are the current reigning MERIT 2012 Champions and clearly aren't going to give up their title easily. The two MTR teams hold second and third place with a trip from Hong Kong to Loughborough for the Final looking likely.

Mott MacDonald, always competitive have recovered from a slip in Period 9 and returned to the top six with 'MM Money Makers' in 4th, and the last two places in the top six are now held by AURECON's 'Global' and 'Unicon' so AURECON may again have two teams in the final.

Arup's 'The Ovaheads' are stealthily creeping up now at 7th from 9th, but squeezed out of the top six this time are Amey MDP now in 8th with Atkins India's 'VIRTUS' in 9th who are joined by their colleagues 'NOVA' in 10th.

With a 19% improvement, ‘AECOMeritocracy’ are big movers from 22nd to 11th, Sinclair Knight Merz’s ‘Prop’ are lurking at 13th having improved from 19th, and NPS's 'Norse Warriors' with a 15% improvement have leaped from 60th to 45th.

AURECON's 'AurecANZ' have surged from 42nd to 15th with a huge improvement of 24%, could AURECON be plotting to have three teams in the final?

With two rounds to go the top three have consolidated their lead but the rest of the places are up for grabs with only 60 points covering 4th to 10th place.

The biggest improvement this round was 24%. Repeating this level of improvement over each of the two remaining rounds rules no team out. Serious times concentrate minds and focus we expect some imaginative tactical moves that will change the rankings.

Its not all over... yet!

Preliminary results, subject to change.

Three to play and three make hay

MTR's 'New Lines New Minds', Arup's 'They think its all Ova' and MTR's 'New Lines New Minds Enginetic' all hold station at the top as we enter the final three 'Early Years' periods of MERIT 2013.

Behind them, Amey's MDP has leapfrogged to 4th consolidating their place in the top six, while Atkins India's 'VIRTUS' take over the Atkins charge in 5th from 'NOVA' who have dropped a position to 8th.

Aurecon appear to be hedging their bets with their teams 'Aurecon Global' and 'Unicon' hovering in 6th and 7th, while there's a hint of a two-pronged attack from Mott MacDonalds's 'Mott MacDonald Maverick' and 'MM Money Makers' who are poised in 10th and 11th. Mean while Arup's 'The Ovaheads' have quitely move up from 13th to 9th.

'UTM' have dropped from a promising 10th to 15th, while 'AECOMANDERS' and 'STW asset creation's' surge in round 8 appears to have paused. Maybe they are gathering themselves for a final push.

The biggest jumpers this period are 'Amey Services Limited' with a 27% improvment that moves them from 70th to 46th, and 'Kierly the Best' whose improvment of 23% moves them up to 68th from 81st.

While the top three may be planning a trip to Loughborough for the Final, with still three rounds to go, no one is safe.
As the game now squeezes in two rounds each week, pressure on the decision making has increased. This is a time for clear analytical thinking not a time for wild decisions that if successful are described as courageous and if unsuccessful described as foolhardy. Success isn’t built on wild gambles but on carefully consider analysis.

Preliminary results, subject to change.

MTR's strangle-hold weakens

MTR’s New Lines New Minds still hold firm in first place but Arup’s ‘They think its all Ova’ have speeded past MTR’s ‘New Lines New Minds Engenetic’ into second place. With Atkins HK’s ‘NOVA’ having slipped to seventh, AURECON’s ‘Unicon’ move up to fourth, with the biggest improvers at the top, MottMac’s ‘MM Money makers’ now claiming fifth place climbing over Amey’s ‘Amey MDP’. We’ve had an Atkins HK team in the last two finals at Loughborough so ‘NOVA’ need to tread careful, especially as AURECON’s ‘Aurecon Global’ are snapping at their heals.

Big improvers from 34th to 11th are AECOM’s ‘AEOCOManders’ overtaking their colleagues ‘AECOMeritocracy’ who have slipped to 16th. Other big gainers are SKM’s ‘Southern Konstruction Management’ and Severn Trent Water’s ‘STW asset creation’, whilst ’Uncharted territory’ from CIOB have slipped a little.

One other Atkins HK team ‘JC Bear’ has climbed from 78th to 60th, two more gains of this size would put them in the final.

So what we are seeing is that there is plenty of churn and significant movements in both directions. This time it took an improvement of about 20% to make a real gain. The six finalists are by no means settled.

The market is tightening, companies need to be the right size for their share of the market, managing the capital base to ensure the company has the right capacity is one of the key factors. But there again the correct marketing effort, winning contracts, attracting the best project managers, staffing projects and satisfying clients as well as paying a good dividend are all important too!

Preliminary results, subject to change.

The Sponsor's award goes to the Company who has sponsored a minimum of 3 of the most successful teams.
(Average Total Rating of the respective Teams)