antiaircraft Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Obligatory disclaimer: This news report was written to inform you all of the latest Altador Cup results in as entertaining a manner as possible. The rest of its content is largely fictional, composed from various fan comments and the whims of our imagination in an attempt to inspire a sense of realism through our reporting. While we do our best to keep things reasonably neutral, this report is in no way intended to be a completely bias-free listing of the day's results, nor does it claim to provide critical analysis of past and potential outcomes from qualified Altador Cup experts. Please note that the opinions formulated in this report are from a full team of different reporters, and in no way represent the views of only a single faction. If you're looking for 100% unbiased performance data, take a look at our standings page. If professional analysis tickles your fancy, you want our predictions pages (global/daily). Yet another day of intense and wildly unpredictable matches has passed in the Colosseum, and it seems some early, unexpected trends may just be establishing themselves as the new norms for the season, while some other surprising streaks resolve themselves into what might be simple scheduling anomalies. Either way, AC VI certainly isn't giving analysts any leeway, leaving most scratching their heads trying to make sense of the topsy turvy leaderboard - this year's standings are more disorienting than ever, even compared to the usual season-opening rush. Teams Terror Mountain and Meridell, for example, met in a clash that may have a resounding impact on their fortunes in the coming season. Our on-scene reporter, Lydia, has more on the match. “Is this thing on? Yes? We’re live here at the stadium, with Meridell going head to head with Terror Mountain. Terror Mountain had so far not lost a game of Yooyuball, with only a draw against Maraqua on the second day. The Knights found no sport in their joust against the Chillers, though they had nearly swept the reigning champs just the day before. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/slu_jumbleberry.gif" alt="Jumbleberry Slushie" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Slushie Slinger went to Meridell as well, the game just wrapping up, with many extra slushies being passed around - oh why thank you! An eager Meridell fan just handed me a jumbleberry slushie. My favorite! Anyway, Make Some Noise went to Terror Mountain in a landslide - I keep saying things I really shouldn’t - but Shootout Showdown is currently being discussed in an argument concerning whether the Jelly Chia acting as goalkeeper is getting more tired and therefore more likely to make mistakes. Hey what are you doing?! That’s MY slushie, not your slushie! Give that back! [struggling is heard] My. Slushie. And I missed the announcement on the ruling for Shootout Showdown. Excuse me, could you please tell me the judge’s call on the Shootout Showdown match? ‘A draw. They use a different Chia for each game, they just look the same.’ Thank you, well that was anticlimactic. No, you still can’t have my slushie. Go away, this is my slushie. I bet if you asked nicely you could get a slushie from the - HEY! [maniacal laughter followed by running] He stole my slushie! A quick wrap up - Knights take Yooyuball and Slushie Slinger, while Chillers take Make Some Noise and a draw in Shootout Showdown. Back to you, AA. [a thud and more footsteps] Give me back my slushie!” Thanks Lydia - we'll definitely see about getting a security detail for you and your equipment in the future. Across the field meanwhile, the Brightvale Wizards, another up and coming team hoping to grab an early spot in first tier this year, struggled on the Yooyuball field against the Shenkuu Ninjas. A strong but slow-starting powerhouse, Team Shenkuu managed its first decisive victory of the season, emerging victorious in Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown. The Wizards aren't out of the picture yet however - holding fast to Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise, they secured just enough match points to hang in at 8th on the leaderboard, with Team Shenkuu still trailing behind by half a point. Hot on Brightvale's heels (and currently tied for 9th place) are Teams Maraqua and Mystery Island, who both managed overall wins against their respective opponents yesterday. The Maraquan Mermaids' tight defence kept both Feldon "Dinksy" Collibridge and Ealyn Hawkshanks of Krawk Island at bay, although the Pirates' flexible formation prevented Elon Hughlis from applying much pressure either, leaving the old war rivals at a draw in Yooyuball. A long day of strong fan support and a remarkable penalty shootout put Team Maraqua ahead overall, with the Mermaids claiming wins in all three side games. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/mysteryisland_2.gif" alt="Teylor Nix" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> The Lost Desert didn't fare as well as fans might have hoped on the Yooyuball front, as Team Mystery Island's trio of forwards blew past the Mummies' balanced formation, and even managed to overwhelm hardy goalkeeper Leera Heggle. Lost Desert fans hit back hard on the side game front, securing a win in Slushie Slinger and a draw in Make Some Noise, but the Natives sealed the match when they took Shootout Showdown, leaving the Desert Marauders looking at an ever more daunting road back up the leaderboard. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/lostdesert_0.gif" alt="Leera Heggle" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "There's a lot of people pointing at our schedule," remarked Lost Desert Team Captain Leera Heggle when asked about his team's difficulties, "and I won't deny it's been a tough one, but that's no excuse. Blaming the schedule is the second step to failure for an Altador Cup team. Overconfidence was the first. I, for one, am not going to let this team take a single step further down the wrong path. Restrictive rules? We'll take 'em on. Tough schedule? We're tougher. If we're to make it to the top for the second year in a row, we're going to have to play harder and smarter than we've ever done before, and that's what we're going to do." Team Roo Island are no strangers to the troubles of the winner's curse, although the Roos rebounded quickly after only one season in the lower tiers. They've struggled somewhat when it comes to decisive victories this season however, almost hit with a clean sweep by the rising stars from Team Virtupets. Team morale remains characteristically high however. "'Skittish' is what I'd call it," mused one Roo Island fan, referring to his team's opening performance over the past few days, "but we did manage to draw in Shootout Showdown, and I'm hardly going to get all upset about it, since that's where I played the hardest. Virtupets played well, they deserve this win. We played well too, but hey, there's always a crazier fan if you know what I mean - early days yet and all, we'll have a chance to hit back soon enough (speaking as friendly competitors, of course)." Teams Darigan Citadel, Kreludor, and Haunted Woods were riding strong after the day's results, having crossed guards with Altador, Kiko Lake, and Faerieland respectively. The three underdog teams, despite occupying the lowest spots on the leaderboard so far, nevertheless all managed to hit back with victories in Slushie Slinger, denying their much stronger opponents valuable sweeps. The determined Faeries took things one step further, nabbing an additional draw in Shootout Showdown as they set their sights on climbing to tier three. In fact, the Tyrannian Fossils were the only team to manage a complete sweep on day four, putting the squeeze on Team Moltara in Yooyuball and all three side games. After a long night of (sadly pizza-less) celebrations, many of Moltara's fans are still a little off, but they're definitely no less determined for the experience, and are rolling into tomorrow's match against Team Maraqua with high spirits. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/popups/tyrannia/logo.png" alt="Team Tyrannia Logo" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/popups/kreludor/logo.png" alt="Team Kreludor Logo" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Among tomorrow's matches to watch: Team Tyrannia versus Team Kreludor. The Fossils have been performing exceptionally well this year, in Yooyuball as well as in the side games, and it seems the time has come for them to test their mettle (or flint, as it were) against an established powerhouse. The match between Terror Mountain and Virtupets is another one to watch, as the two rapidly rising teams battle it out to see who will come away with the crown of this year's new championship contender. After all, there's only room for one fledgeling powerhouse on the leaderboard - or is there? This is AA, reporting from Altador, signing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Good report, AA. ^^ The only thing i'm really suprised about today is RI vs VP. That was just sad. Not many interesting matchups today. Meh. I'm curious about how FL vs AL will play out, though. I'm calling a sweep of AL except for a draw in SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liad4 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 told u shenkuu would suprise and bring it on RI ther morale is low well ours is high and well an intrestying matchup will be VP Vs TM that match will sperate th boys from the men in yyb and well done meriell for showing those snowballs whos boss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angeló Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 congrats Shenkuu we did it ... let's keep it up and destroy the other teams :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myth Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 The only thing i'm really suprised about today is RI vs VP. That was just sad. Care to elaborate? (Implying that loss to VP is sad?) VP did end RI's 21 day not-losing-in-yyb streak in 2nd round of DRR last year. but w/e TDN crowd has always underestimated Virtupets, nothing new. Time to recognize. Also I doubt Ty vs KD will be intense at all, in fact I think Tyrannia is getting hugely overrated - just check their schedule.. I'd say it's a clear win for Kreludor. I agree with rest of the predictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Person335 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Okay... kind of urked that we lost to Tyrannia. I was so sure we'd get something on our side... But hey, that's all behind us. All we needed was a bit of steam. ...And it seems to me that Maraqua is the perfect pool of resources right now, if ya know what I mean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Good report, AA. ^^ Thanks, but most of the credit goes to Lydia for her brave on-field reporting and information gathering. ;) Care to elaborate? (Implying that loss to VP is sad?) VP did end RI's 21 day not-losing-in-yyb streak in 2nd round of DRR last year. but w/e TDN crowd has always underestimated Virtupets, nothing new. Time to recognize. I think what Ryan was saying was that seeing Roo Island fall to Virtupets on almost all counts was somewhat surprising - Roo Island is a fairly strong team, and I have to agree that I would have expected them to come out ahead in at least a side game or two. :) That said, Virtupets is well recognised as a major contender this year by most analysts - there are teams that rise from underdogs to fledgeling powerhouses every year, and it looks like it's VP's turn this year (although as mentioned in the report, Terror Mountain is a candidate as well). Also I doubt Ty vs KD will be intense at all, in fact I think Tyrannia is getting hugely overrated - just check their schedule.. I'd say it's a clear win for Kreludor. While it's true that Tyrannia's schedule hasn't been especially difficult so far, it hasn't been especially easy either. It's worth noting that they outperformed Meridell in Yooyuball on day one, and while Meridell is an inconsistent team which may very well have underestimated TY, for an underdog to beat an established Yooyuball powerhouse (and Meridell is indeed very strong in Yooyuball overall) is pretty remarkable. Tyrannia also held up pretty well against Virtupets, although they lost Yooyuball, which is of course the critical sport. And that's why the TY vs. KD match is so interesting, even if it does turn out to be an easy win for Kreludor - the outcome of the match will tell us whether or not Tyrannia's performance can hold up in the higher tiers later in the tournament. ...And it seems to me that Maraqua is the perfect pool of resources right now, if ya know what I mean... Bring it on Moltara. ;) I have full confidence in your ability to keep us Maraquans on our fins, and I suspect you may even edge ahead if we let our guard down. Losing our early tournament momentum would be crippling to our chances of reaching tier one however, so hopefully enough of us will be playing to full capacity to give you a run for your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liad4 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 yes theres more than just one shenkuu supporter im not alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Person335 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Bring it on Moltara. ;) I have full confidence in your ability to keep us Maraquans on our fins, and I suspect you may even edge ahead if we let our guard down. Losing our early tournament momentum would be crippling to our chances of reaching tier one however, so hopefully enough of us will be playing to full capacity to give you a run for your money. So I see you accept my little challenge, eh? All right then, bring it on! We'll get back on our feet in no time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 So I see you accept my little challenge, eh? All right then, bring it on! We'll get back on our feet in no time! Better don some flippers too. And maybe some breathing gear. ;) GLHF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikh Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Today's match against MI! Hmmm... Guess MI will win in Slushie slinger as they might need to serve the Mi tourists! This is the time we pick up victories in YYB, MSN and SS! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Care to elaborate? (Implying that loss to VP is sad?) VP did end RI's 21 day not-losing-in-yyb streak in 2nd round of DRR last year. but w/e TDN crowd has always underestimated Virtupets, nothing new. Time to recognize. Theres nothing wrong with losing to VP. There is always something wrong with RI being nearly swept, though. Today's match against MI! Hmmm... Guess MI will win in Slushie slinger as they might need to serve the Mi tourists! This is the time we pick up victories in YYB, MSN and SS! ;) MI isn't exactly the best SS team either. I think we can atleast draw. When i'm done maxing SHSH i'm gonna play some SS to help us get that win. Oh btw I can't beleive we lost SS yesterday. The DC Minions board had over 1.3 million Slushie Slinger points. :O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voteforpedro333 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Ah, Leera Heggle. My heart goes out to you. We will pull through, hopefully sooner rather than later. Just because we're losing doesn't mean we're Lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikh Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Oh btw I can't beleive we lost SS yesterday. The DC Minions board had over 1.3 million Slushie Slinger points. :O That is a lot. Now where is King Altador? I can't see him... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice cream man Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Terror mountain lost only to meridell and tied with virtupets; also Darigan Citadel lost to meridell so it isn't that bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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