Team Haunted Woods Breaks Streak In Style

[antiaircraft]

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).

 

Three days to go, six match points remaining, and less than a single point separating the teams contending for a spot in the first tier - you can't get much more intense than this. Even the Colosseum itself is finally starting to feel the pressure, as repair crews had to perform an emergency inspection of cracks in one of its main supports overnight. The age-old stadium remains in good order though, and with nothing to hold them back, yesterday's tournament matches went ahead at full steam.

 

As always, full steam for Team Haunted Woods was an incredible sight to behold, with the Zombies coordinating one of the finest slow push strategies in the tournament. Team Brightvale's focus on mid-field play cost them heavily, despite several initial goals in their favour, as the Haunted Woods' defensive line gradually advanced and was able to lock down any scoring opportunities the Wizards might otherwise have exploited. Completing the Zombies' game plan was renowned scorer Zo Junior, who prodded, poked, then abruptly rocketed past Brightvale's defenders, keeping up a steady stream of goals that lifted his team into the lead, securing a much-needed Yooyuball victory for the Haunted Woods, and flying in the face of most analysts' predictions. Meanwhile, Brightvale was also busy turning predictions upside down in the side games, dominating not only Slushie Slinger, but also Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, which most analysts expected to go to Team Haunted Woods.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/hauntedwoods_2.gif" alt="Wan Dirx" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> "Oh, I think we all had a terrific day overall," remarked Haunted Woods defender Wan Dirx afterwards. "It took us a while to go through our refinement phase and get everyone playing on the same page, with perfect coordination (a major pain with the new rules), but we've got everything down just right now. And Brightvale, well, they've definitely found their niche in terms of play style! We really had to be on our guard the entire time to stop them from slicing right through us, but I think we all did a great job - congratulations to them on those early goals though. I'm not sure I've got too much to say on the side games, but hey, what's the Altador Cup without confusing a few analysts eh?"

 

It wasn't just the Haunted Woods attaining to the highest of standards in their play yesterday - Roo Island and Krawk Island, two of this year's highest rated Yooyuball teams, went head to head in what was probably the most dynamic of the day's games. For a while, the match seemed to be following the usual routine (at least for matches involving Krawk Island): the Roos sprung ahead with an energetic flurry of early pushes, but soon found their scoring attempts stymied as the Pirates gauged the flow of the game and found their footing. Slowly but surely, Krawk Island forged ahead with their signature conservative play style, and Roo Island's lead margin steadily began to shrink. From that point onward however, any hints of the normal routine rapidly dissolved, as the Roos were not only able to keep on scoring, but also did so at a rate that matched (and even occasionally exceeded) Krawk Island's efforts. On top of that, the Roos continued to adapt to every defensive shift the Pirates threw at them, sending the advantage see-sawing back and forth between the two teams wildly as the match continued. It was only some fantastic running plays from Krawk Island forward Feldon Collibridge that finally nudged the Pirates into a tentatively clear lead, which they managed to hold until the final whistle. With Yooyuball tucked firmly under their belts, Krawk Island also managed to claim a win in Slushie Slinger, allowing them to end the day with a decisive victory, despite Roo Island fighting back with hard-won draws in the remaining side games.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/rooisland_2.gif" alt="Jair Tollet" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> When asked about the arsenal of new techniques her team showcased on the field during the match, Roo Island forward Jair Tollet replied, "Oh, I wouldn't exactly call those 'new' techniques... I can't give too much away really, but let's just say Lilo and I have been looking at some very, very old books."

 

Whatever it was that inspired Roo Island's spectacular play, they definitely weren't the only ones bringing some freshness onto the field yesterday, as Teams Faerieland, Kiko Lake, Altador, and Moltara incorporated yet another staggering array of new twists and turns into their game plans, and proceeded to unleash them on their largely unsuspecting opponents. Altador adopted an interesting mix of the slow push and hybrid offence strategies, applying an uncomfortable degree of pressure to the Terror Mountain Chillers' defence for much of their game. Team Moltara also chose to combine several well-established strategies, although their game plan was an even more eclectic blend that left the Shenkuu Ninjas utterly perplexed. Even Maraqua's tried and tested defensive line was breached by the agile Faeries' manoeuvres on multiple occasions, while Team Meridell was surprised to find itself facing offensive ferocity on par with its own coming from the Kiko Lakers. However, despite being able to employ their unique strategies to great effect, none of the underdogs were able to stay ahead in Yooyuball for long, as their opponents all managed to keep their cool, buckle down, and play to an overall victory. However, Faerieland and Altador were able to take wins in Slushie Slinger, while Kiko Lake's fans cheered their way to victory in Make Some Noise. Unfortunately for Team Moltara, Shenkuu's side game play was no less solid than its Yooyuball performance, and the Ninjas battled their way to their first sweep of the season.

 

Shenkuu's win was to be the only sweep of the day in fact, as Mystery Island managed to outdo Team Kreludor in the penalty shootouts, despite succumbing to Kreludor's fluid scoring manoeuvres on the Yooyuball field. Kreludor did manage to take the remaining side games though, stretching what's slowly becoming a comfortable first place lead in the standings.

 

<img src="http://www.thedailyneopets.com/uploads/articles/neopetsevents/altadorcup/topteams/top4-vp.gif" alt="Virtupets Banner" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Hot on Kreludor's tail is fledgeling powerhouse Team Virtupets, who blasted their way ahead of the Lost Desert in Yooyuball and Make Some Noise, despite being vastly outperformed by the Mummies in Shootout Showdown. Neither team was able to pull clearly ahead in Slushie Slinger, although that's not to say the slushies weren't flying fast and furious.

 

There were some even faster and more furious slushie stands out there today though, in the form of Team Tyrannia's renowned slushie service, dishing out the life-saving drinks at a rate that's set and reset new records numerous times over the past years. Yesterday was not to be their finest hour however, as Team Darigan Citadel muscled its way to a win with a few small price cuts and rotating crews of fresh Slushie Slinger teams. The Tyrannian Fossils weren't about to let that defeat go unavenged, roaring ahead in Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, but the Darigan Citadel still managed to take the match with a decisive win in Yooyuball.

 

Moving forward with today's games, there's still no rest in sight for Cup observers, as the tournament's third last day has no shortage of intense match-ups to offer. In fact, there are far too many matches to watch to list here, but I'll leave you with Virtupets versus Darigan Citadel and Meridell versus Krawk Island for starters.

 

This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Good luck!

[jonathanjoseph99]

Oh Yeah!

 

Shenkuu got its first sweep. :D

 

3 more sweeps to come. XD

 

Although It would be hard sweeping Maraqua and Virtupets in the final 2 days of the DRR.

 

Hahaha. :D

[antiaircraft]

Although It would be hard sweeping Maraqua and Virtupets in the final 2 days of the DRR.

I wouldn't put it past you guys though. We'll just have to be on our guard. ;)

[jonathanjoseph99]

I wouldn't put it past you guys though. We'll just have to be on our guard. ;)

 

Hahaha. Your on Maraqua right.?

 

I'll be working hard to help Shenkuu sweep Maraqua AND Virtupets in order to get the headline!

 

Hahahaha. Just Kidding. XD

[antiaircraft]

Hahaha. Your on Maraqua right.?

 

I'll be working hard to help Shenkuu sweep Maraqua AND Virtupets in order to get the headline!

 

Hahahaha. Just Kidding. XD

Just kidding? Aww. :P

 

Well I'm kinda busy handling coverage and all that myself, so yeah. xD

[nikh]

When DC reached 4th place, I was happy. But after two days, we are now in 6th place! We now have match-ups against Kiko lake, Moltara and Lost Desert (excluding Virtupets ;)). So we might need 3 sweeps against Mol, KL and LD! ;) DC FOR THE CUP!

[-Ryan]

Just MT and KL actually. We played LD on the first day of the second round.

[nikh]

Just MT and KL actually. We played LD on the first day of the second round.

Well, I checked the standings page and found we haven't still played against LD in the second robin...

[-Ryan]

-goes to check-

Hm, youre right. Maybe they're using the same standings thing as last year and since we had a break day at that point last year it didnt do anything.

[Piximon]

whoa... why is it that DC didn't play MT KL and LD yet...? we only have 2 days after this one...?

 

oh nevermind, it's not showing MQ's first day either even though we played KI

 

anywho... These final days are so intense :S

 

 

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[voteforpedro333]

Yeah, DC players, the score versus Lost Desert was WDWW in favor for DC. Good thing I always write the LD scores separately.

 

Good job to Haunted Woods! Who knows if that might have been the point that left LD out of tier three. It's getting personal now!

 

(later)

Just did some score calculating. Shenkuu in 11th has 25.111 points, 12th place Brightvale has 23.444, 13th place Lost Desert has 23.222, and the Kikos in 14th have 22.666. This is quite certainly far from over.

[-Ryan]

Shenkuu looks fairly secure in tier 3 for now.

 

Seriously though LD, get BV out of there. /doesnt like BV :grrr:

[nikh]

Shenkuu looks fairly secure in tier 3 for now.

 

Seriously though LD, get BV out of there. /doesnt like BV :grrr:

 

I seriously hate Brightvale! The results page always reflected this! Guess they cheated in the standings page! ;)

[voteforpedro333]

Seriously though LD, get BV out of there. /doesnt like BV :grrr:

 

You certainly don't have to tell us twice. It's been our mission for the past week, and when we lost to them a few days ago it was quite the sinking feeling. Does anyone know who their last few teams are? I'll be rooting for them all the way.

 

 

 

[AgJu]

Terror Mountain is facing Lost Desert today and then just has Kreludor and Roo Island. It's a tough last couple of days but if we keep up our sidegaming prowess, we may be able to stay in Tier 2 (depending on how HW and RI do).