antiaircraft Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 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). <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/popups/lostdesert/logo.png" alt="Lost Desert Logo" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Hello ACers, and welcome once again to our daily match report. Just to recap quickly: for the past thirty-two days, eighteen teams of the finest Yooyuball players from all over Neopia, along with their respective fans, have been battling to claim Neopia's greatest sporting title, the prestigious Altador Cup. With day thirty-two of the tournament just concluding, the contestants have less than forty-eight hours to grab those last few points and solidify their positions in the finals brackets. Competition for placement in tiers one and three is far closer than it has ever been before, with fractions of a match point making and breaking teams' championship hopes. For Team Lost Desert, things are still hovering on the brink. The chances of them hanging onto a third tier spot were looking slim at best, but yesterday's results saw the team receiving a major boost, as they managed to stay in the running for tier three with a spectacular victory over Terror Mountain. Not only were the Mummies able to edge ahead in a lively back-and-forth Yooyuball match, they also outperformed the Chillers by a remarkable margin at the slushie stands. The decisive victory carried the Lost Desert within striking distance of both eleventh and twelfth place, giving the team one last chance which it could potentially seize with a decisive sweep. Meanwhile, the Terror Mountain Chillers remained strong in Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, claiming wins in both and maintaining their tier two spot by a comfortable margin. Moving on to our next match, we'll go over to Lydia for some on-field coverage. “Thanks AA! Well, I’m here at the Colosseum where Meridell and Krawk Island have just wrapped up their match. Though Meridell held the top spot briefly earlier in the tournament, the Knights have been struggling lately, having lost easy points to smaller teams. However they seem to be making a come back, with yesterday’s successful match against Kiko Lake helping boost morale for today’s tougher match against Krawk Island. Make Some Noise and Slushie Slinger easily went to the Knights, but the Krawks fought to prevent a sweep. A close match in both Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown ended in a draw. Meridell fans are flooding back to the stadium in force, glad to see their team making a comeback. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/meridell_3.gif" alt="Windelle" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> “We could see the top three yet,” Meridell Team Captain “Wizard” Windelle said. “It’s very close and it’s down to the last four points. We are all very anxious to see what happens, with our games against Virtupets and Brightvale for the last two days.” Currently placed fifth, they are less than a point below third-placed Krawk Island. Virtupets is currently placed second and nearly three full points ahead. “We’re just really glad to have our fans back with us,” forward Fiorina said, smiling. “They may think they aren’t noticed until they’re gone, but we love hearing the roar of the crowd while we’re playing. It really helps us play.” Hmmm I wonder if I can get a slushie from a Meridell fan, unless they’re still peeved about the other day... Anyway, don’t write Meridell off just yet folks! There are still two days left and with seven strong contenders for the top four spots, it’s going to be close! This is Lydia, for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Back to you, AA.” Thank you Lydia - we'll be sure to keep an eye on things as the last few matches play out. In a match highly anticipated by proponents of the defence-focused one plus three formation, Team Maraqua, another of this year's cup favourites, crossed guards with tier two contender and general tournament heavyweight Team Haunted Woods. While the teams' defensive play was brilliant as always, the main focus of the match was on the two teams' vastly differing offensive techniques. The Haunted Woods Zombies once again demonstrated their mastery of the classic 'slow push' strategy, gradually cranking up the pressure on their opponents' by advancing their defensive line slowly across the field. As it turned out however, Maraqua's incredible timing allowed them to pull off their much newer 'hybrid offence' to great effect, with Lamelle Turow and Elon Hughlis picking the perfect moments to slip through the line, relaying the Yooyu back and forth rapidly and managing to evade even the watchful guard of Krell Vitor and his fellow defenders. Nevertheless, both teams kept a firm grip on their game, and were able to shut down the vast majority of scoring opportunities that cropped up. By the end of the match however, it was clear that the one or two extra goals Maraqua scored in each quarter had accumulated into a commanding advantage on the scoreboard, and Team Maraqua finished the day with a win in Yooyuball, as well as victories in Shootout Showdown and Make Some Noise. Despite the overall loss, Haunted Woods supporters still fought back hard, countering with a win in Slushie Slinger, and staying in contention for a tier two position. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/shenkuu_1.gif" alt="Mirsha Grelinek" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Mystery Island and Team Shenkuu played an even closer match, with the Mystery Island Natives taking Shootout Showdown and the Shenkuu Ninjas emerging victorious in Make Some Noise. The two teams battled to a draw in Yooyuball, as Shenkuu's agility and flexibility on the field proved a tough match for Mystery Island's normally unstoppable offensive machine. In the end, it was Slushie Slinger that tipped the outcome in Shenkuu's favour, with the Ninjas taking the overall win by a single side game. Team Faerieland was able to make away with a slightly more decisive victory, using their own brand of nimble, fluid play to nip past Altador's defence for a clear win in Yooyuball. The Faeries sealed the win as they managed to come out on top in the penalty shootouts, although Altador hit back with wins in Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise. "You see?" declared Altadorian forward Winberto Seliz in mock exasperation. "This is what happens when I get stuck on slushie duty for too long! I end up too tired to score properly!" The Wocky's lighthearted humour didn't go entirely unchecked however, as teammate Timu quickly retorted, "Ah, but Winberto, you never show up for slushie duty." Teams Brightvale and Tyrannia were definitely on the ball when it came to Slushie Slinger, as they were able to keep a firm grip on the sport in the face of harsh opposition on all fronts from Kiko Lake and Moltara. Brightvale also outmatched the Kikos in Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown, but weren't able to complete the sweep, as the determined Kikos counterattacked with a win in Make Some Noise. Moltara wasn't able to make quite as much progress, succumbing to a sweep at the hands of the Tyrannian Fossils. The two spacebound teams in this year's tournament (who also happen to be the two highest-ranked teams at present) stayed solidly in the lead with strong showings over the course of the day. Even the mighty Darigan Citadel fell to Team Virtupets' precision and skill on the Yooyuball field, while the Citadel's supporters were out-cheered by the Robots' in the stands. The Citadel did manage to even things out somewhat with a Slushie Slinger draw and a Shootout Showdown victory, but the loss is still a significant blow to their chances of making tier one. Meanwhile, mid-tier champions Roo Island found themselves almost completely outmatched by Team Kreludor, barely managing to draw even in Shootout Showdown and avoid a sweep. The Roos remain comfortably seated in tier three nevertheless, and most analysts believe they're simply holding steady and conserving much of their energy for the finals. Looking ahead to the tournament's second-last day, it seems like we'll be seeing plenty more dynamic clashes all over the Colosseum. One match to watch will be the battle between fifth-ranked Team Meridell and second-ranked Virtupets, where we'll see if the Knights will be able to pull off one last charge to reclaim their spot in the first tier. But of course, unexpected results, upsets, and plenty of good old-fashioned Altador Cup action will be coming in from all directions. So, good luck to all teams, and have fun out on the field! This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikh Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Does that mean we need two sweeps to get to the top tier? Work out DC! Work out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ryan Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Virtupets, i'll be seeing you guys in the finals. Dont expect the same results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voteforpedro333 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Okay, I'm not even going to calculate points today. I've never seen a fight to finish as amazing as this one. We need these two days now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Well DC, I'll see you at the finals too Yesterday match was nothing compared what we got Maybe a sweep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakabato Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Drat, we so close! We got a draw in Yooyuball against Mystery Island, giving us our fourth draw. :( Anyways, what happened to the Dorina Hals side story? I enjoyed reading those. 8D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanjoseph99 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 SHEEEENKUUUU INVAAAAADEEEESSSSSS MAARAAAAAAQUAAAAAAA! Hahahaha. Pretty excited for the SK vs MQ match. I'm sure MQ's gonna get SWEPT. XD. jk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Anyways, what happened to the Dorina Hals side story? I enjoyed reading those. 8D Information is proving hard to come by, but rest assured we'll publish anything that turns up. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgJu Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Information is proving hard to come by, but rest assured we'll publish anything that turns up. ;) Prytariel told me that Dorina visited her in Terror Mountain before the tournament started, though she hasn't said why. I could ask. Anyway, since Terror Mountain can't measure up to Roo Island and Kreludor (our last two opponents) in YYB, I think I'll focus more on the sidegames to secure our position in Tier 2. We have enough of a margin between us and Haunted Woods so that a few sidegame wins should keep us afloat. Then when it gets down to the finals....rush on YYB! Let's get 5th place, TM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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