antiaircraft Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 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). Hello again ACers, and welcome back to our daily match review. We're now entering the last quarter of this season's round robin, and the pressure is on for teams to push ahead and carve out their final tier placements. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/popups/maraqua/logo.png" alt="Maraqua Logo" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Nowhere on the field was the pressure felt more intensely than in the match between the Darigan Citadel and Team Maraqua. These two teams occupy the spots just below the first tier, and have been battling for match points to cross the critical top four boundary for some time. The Citadel went into the game leading in terms of general performance, as the Minions' zealous supporters made short work of the side games, leaving only a Shootout Showdown draw for the Maraquans. The Darigan Citadel also attained an early lead in Yooyuball, with both Layton Vickles and Tandrak Shaye going in hard and fast to deliver multiple goals, each one scored before the Maraquan squad had time to get its defence in order. Unfortunately for the Minions, It wasn't long before the Maraquans were able to pick up the pace, and they soon found themselves facing that near-impregnable defensive line the oceanic team is so well known for. With the Citadel's scoring rate cut dramatically, Maraquan scorer Elon Hughlis kicked into high gear, steadily closing the initial gap and putting his team in a comfortable lead by the end of the match. Despite the overall victory going to Maraqua, the Citadel's side game dominance was enough to keep them ahead of the Maraquans in the standings. For now, both teams remain within striking distance of the first tier, with good spirits among fans all around. Team Faerieland's supporters were also in a jubilant mood after yesterday's results were announced, as their team managed to claim an unexpected Yooyuball victory over the Lost Desert, an outcome most analysts pegged as 'unlikely at best'. While the Faeries didn't quite perform to their usual standard in Slushie Slinger, and ended up conceding the two remaining side games to the Mummies, celebration over the team's fourth Yooyuball victory this year is continuing in the stadium even now - celebration in the form of slushie-slinging parties and enthusiastic cheering, that is. "Celebrating, and contributing to our next match at the same time? Now that's the way to go!" remarked one Faerieland supporter keenly. The mood was a little chillier over where Team Haunted Woods faced off against Terror Mountain - but only a little. With the Haunted Woods rejoicing over better-than-expected side game results (taking Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise by storm), and Terror Mountain exulting in a Yooyuball draw and a Shootout Showdown win, it seems the scale of the victories scored at this fatigue-heavy point in the Cup isn't so much of an issue as the victories themselves. As one Terror Mountain fan explained, "Well, we're winning and we're going steady, and that's what counts. No need to get greedy or be really demanding - we've just gotta play and play well, no strings attached." <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/mysteryisland_1.gif" alt="Volgoth" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/meridell_1.gif" alt="Ilsa Ellits" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> While some teams were choosing to go with a carefully paced, easygoing approach to overcome the effects of fatigue, others opted for a more direct angle. There wasn't a hint of relaxation to be found in the match between Mystery Island and Meridell, as both teams fielded their strategies based on the three core tenets of their triple-forward formations: aggression, aggression, and aggression. Both the Natives and the Knights were up and at 'em right from the starting whistle, charging ahead and steamrolling the opposing team's defence time and time again. The scoring rate in the match was so high that the automated scoreboard system was in danger of losing track of things by the time the game reached its second half, but thankfully an experienced scorekeeping expert from one of the Cup's supporter groups was able to step in and straighten out the count before things got out of hand. More than a dozen goals later, the final whistle was blown and the players shook hands and walked off the field, leaving the score dead even. Both teams remained equally sharp when it came to the penalty shootouts, so in the end it was Meridell's supporters who broke the tie with victories in Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise. In spite of the furious pace of the match, it seems that neither team was quite as exhausted as you might expect them to be - far from it, both squads were actually seen running full steam right into preparations for their next match, even forgoing the usual press conference. In the rush, one reporter was able to get a quick statement from Meridell forward Gregorio Maille, who remarked, "Yep, holding first place with all of Neopia's finest Yooyuball teams trying to chase us down - we're in for quite a ride!" Two more teams that were in for a bumpy ride were Roo Island and Brightvale. Matched up against the teams currently occupying the lowest positions on the leaderboard, you might think that these fairly strong mid-tier teams wouldn't have too much trouble winning the day, but as the old Yooyuball maxim goes, "Defeat breeds thought, thought breeds innovation, and innovation breeds, if not victory for you, then at the least a lot of pain for your opponent." Team Moltara and Team Altador were able to wreak havoc on the Yooyuball field for much of the game, although both Brightvale and Roo Island recovered sufficiently to take the overall win by the end of the day. Nevertheless, neither of the underdogs were willing to succumb to a sweep, with Moltara taking Make Some Noise from Brightvale and Altador out-slinging the Roos at the slushie stands. Moltara Team Captain Aldric Beign, who cited the Yooyuball maxim mentioned above in a press conference, also noted, "It's an interesting fact that the saying actually originates from an ancient Altadorian army general, and was only later adapted for use in Yooyuball. In fact, what you do as a Yooyuball team on the field isn't all that different from a real battle, as you scout out your opponent's weak points, try to make sure all your support lines are in position, skirmish here and there and pull back when you have to, try to learn more about your opponent and what they've going on at the moment, all building up until you have everything in place for that one critical strike. The difference being, of course, that if you don't come out on top, everyone still comes away with everything they've learned from the match, ready for use in the next game. And you can actually feel that difference mind you - as individual players, and as a team, we've gotten better and better with each match we've played. Even if the Cup isn't quite within our reach this year, with everything we've gained from this season I can guarantee you we'll be in top contender form by the time the tournament comes to a close. And even then, without a doubt, we'll keep improving!" <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/brightvale_3.gif" alt="Montecito" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "A double thumbs up to Aldric and his team," agreed Montecito of the Brightvale Wizards, "the last few times we played each other they were tough, but today we really had to struggle a lot to get ahead, and that's not to say we were slacking off - well played!" Krawk Island and Virtupets were able to keep things a little more decisive, at least in Yooyuball, taking victories over Tyrannia and Kiko Lake respectively. While the Tyrannian Fossils kept up their formidable offensive barrage throughout the entire match, the shrewd Pirates played a fairly conservative game, refraining from overextending themselves and gradually applying the pressure until they finished with a comfortable lead - a classic strategy, but difficult to pull off for all but the most well-disciplined veteran teams. While Tyrannian fans hit back with a win in Slushie Slinger and a Make Some Noise draw, Krawk Island was still able to finish with a convincing victory after taking Shootout Showdown. The results were a little different in the Virtupets versus Kiko Lake match, as Virtupets supporters dominated Make Some Noise, but weren't able to pull ahead in Slushie Slinger, which ended in a tie. Team Virtupets wasn't able to outdo Kiko Lake's concerted efforts in Shootout Showdown either, but Keetra Deile's well calculated gameplan kept them well ahead in Yooyuball, leaving Virtupets reasonably secure in the top four rearguard position. <img src="http://www.thedailyneopets.com/uploads/articles/neopetsevents/altadorcup/topteams/top4-kd.gif" alt="Kreludor Banner" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Jumping out of that rearguard position and into second place were Team Kreludor, who rallied spectacularly for an across-the-board sweep of the Shenkuu Ninjas. The sweep was by no means an easy feat, with Shenkuu netminder Xana DiLanche keeping her cool and demonstrating precisely why she was Shenkuu's top goalkeeper pick for all these years. Through the entire match, only a single goal was able to clear Shenkuu's defence, but unfortunately for the Ninjas Kreludor's aggressive ball control narrowed their scoring opportunities, leaving them unable to even the count before the final whistle. As if yesterday didn't have its fair share of hard-fought matches, it looks like the contention for the top tier is going into full swing today. Fifth-ranked Darigan Citadel is up against third-ranked Krawk Island, while seventh-ranked Tyrannia will have to push hard to get some points out of their game against fourth-ranked Team Virtupets, and sixth-ranked Team Maraqua faces an even steeper challenge as they go up against top-ranked Meridell. With only sixteen match points up for grabs in the coming days, all these teams need every last win they can get. The ones that make tier one will be the ones that can not only perform, but perform consistently, both across the board and across matches. This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Good luck out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedhaun Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Elon Hughlis simply wanted his revenge against us this time, but I will not back down when we clash against Krawk Island today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanjoseph99 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 And another sweep. I only played 3 YYB games yesterday because of so much homework. I usually play 20 games per day on average but can play up to 50 if I want. I'm a student and I go to school from 7AM-5PM so I really don't have enough time to play. Let the hard teams come before Altador and Moltara. So that we could end the 2nd round and enter the finals with 2 sweeps in a row! Hahahaha. Silly me. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Person335 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Well, the results for Moltara is alright. Kinda expected more, but hopefully that will happen today with our match against Kiko Lake. If we can support ourselves with a few wins, then tomorrow's results can be a bit surprising. Maybe... Yeah! Expect Moltara's first ever sweep today. I know it can happen! P.S. Didn't manage to get my YYB and SS games in yesterday, but gonna make 'em up today, as well as other games I missed out on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raj321 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 They didn't drench us...they only won in YYB, and we drew SOSD and won SS and MSN.. If they swept us, that's a different story. -_- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 We almost side swept MQ so i'm happy. It wasnt that big of a win so they didnt move up, and I have nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voteforpedro333 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Once again congrats to Faerieland. I was certainly not expecting that. I should have played that last hour, but I went to sleep. Well, now I'll be rested for Kreludor! Watch yourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 They didn't drench us...they only won in YYB, and we drew SOSD and won SS and MSN.. If they swept us, that's a different story. -_- drench v 1: drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged; "The tsunami swamped every boat in the harbor" [syn: {swamp}] 2: force to drink 3: permeate or impregnate; "The war drenched the country in blood" [syn: {imbrue}] 4: cover with liquid; pour liquid onto; "souse water on his hot face" [syn: {douse}, {dowse}, {soak}, {sop}, {souse}] You're perfectly right! Maraqua didn't drench you at all! :ohno: Oh, wait... metaphor n : a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity If you really would prefer that we just drop our headlines altogether, please do say so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:)Doc Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 And THAT'S how ya home fishies do it back in MQ! :D -puts on game face- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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