Multiple Sweeps Mark Second Round Midpoint

[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).

 

Hello everyone, and welcome back to TDN’s coverage of the seventh annual Altador Cup. We have some exciting results to report today, including a number of sweeps across the brackets, and one win that took many analysts by surprise.

 

Let's go over to Emily, who'll be bringing us the latest results from the field.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/acs_altador_bottle.gif" alt="Altador Drink Bottle" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "In what is being called the standout match from yesterday, Darigan Citadel took on Altador in what was expected to be a sweep for Darigan. Though they dominated most of the games, Altador pulled out a win in Slushie Slinger, a feat that, while unexpected, was tremendously exciting. Can they carry the momentum from this victory in to the upcoming days of the tournament? Keep watching to find out!

 

The pairing between Haunted Woods and Brightvale was perhaps the most equally-matched set to grace the Alabriss Bracket yesterday. With Haunted Woods taking Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise, Brightvale was the winner with a Yooyuball victory and a win in Shootout Showdown. This pairing was a nail-biter, and we can hope these teams face off again before the reorganizing of the brackets in a few days.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/altcp_crazytechofan.gif" alt="Techo Fan" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Rounding out the matches in the Alabriss bracket was powerhouse Kreludor against former champions Virtupets. Kreludor has truly been an unrelenting force thus far in the competition, and yesterday was no different. The Moons swept the Robots across all the games, the only sweep of the day in their bracket. Redemption is in sight for Virtupets, however, as they will be facing teams in the upcoming matches that they have traditionally done well against.

 

Ohhhh I think there’s face painting going on over in the snack tent. AA! Cover for me!"

 

What the- uhh. Well, we seem to have lost our connection to... it appears we're facing technical... erm. *ahem*

 

Moving on, yesterday was quite the day for one-sided matches, stopping only one draw short of a full sweep complement in Minitheus Bracket. Teams Tyrannia and Kiko Lake continued their winning streaks from the day before, defeating the Faeries and Moltarans respectively in across-the-board victories. The Kikos' sweep is particularly notable in this case - despite their spectacular victory against Team Maraqua the day before, many analysts doubted the small team would have the stamina to establish a sweep streak. Never a team to accept analyst expectations, the Kikos immediately proceeded to prove them wrong.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/head_shots/kikolake_4.gif" alt="Ditan Colb" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "Not to say I don't respect the effort those guys put into predicting and all, but sometimes the looks on analysts' faces after a match can get... really funny," remarked an amused Ditan Colb.

 

In the last match of the bracket, Team Maraqua weren't able to improve a whole lot on their results from day eight, as the Mystery Island Natives crushed the Mermaids on almost every front. While the Maraquans struggled to remain level with Mystery Island in Shootout Showdown, they were unable to make themselves heard against the majestic din of the Natives' supporters in the stands, hold off the Islanders' terrifying offensive capability in Yooyuball, or even come close to the furious pace of Mystery Island's slushie stands. All in all, the match ended in a decisive victory for the island team.

 

Over in Vaeolus Bracket, Team Lost Desert didn't have quite as easy a time against the Terror Mountain Chillers, who were able to draw even in Make Some Noise as well as Shootout Showdown, despite playing at a considerable disadvantage. The Mummies' appetite for speedy cooling beverages remained insatiable however, driving demand at the slushie stands through the roof, and giving them the win in Slushie Slinger. Despite their best efforts and extensive planning in advance, the Chillers found themselves unable to crack the Lost Desert's solid midfield control, wrapping up the day with Yooyuball (and the overall tally) in the Mummies' favour. Nevertheless, Team Captains Prytariel and Leera Heggle were more than happy to acknowledge a well played match (and perhaps some sort of inside joke) by substituting a fistbump for the traditional end-of-match handshake.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2012/team_members/shenkuu_1.gif" alt="Mirsha Grelinek" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Piling two more sweeps onto the day's growing tally, Vaeolus Bracket powerhouses Krawk Island and Meridell absolutely hammered their opponents on the leaderboard yesterday - neither Shenkuu nor Roo Island were able to hang on to a single win. However, Team Shenkuu Captain Mirsha Grelinek garnered plenty of adoration from both sides of the stands, single-handedly equalising the score in the face of daunting odds for almost the entire match, before finally being outscored by Krawk Island's forwards in the final quarter. There was no lack of effort on Roo Island's part either, as the Roos unleashed a highly innovative, never-before-seen field strategy that took the Knights completely off guard.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/mall_ac_rooisland_foamfinger.gif" alt="Roo Island Hand" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Taking full advantage of their latest recruit, former Brightvale Captain "Squeaky" Tressif, and the fact that both their offensive and defensive pairs were now equipped with at least one playmaker and one star striker apiece, the Roos began actually switching the roles of their forwards and defenders. Just as Team Meridell were getting to grips with the unpredictable, lightning-fast play of Lilo Blumario and Jair Tollet, they would suddenly find themselves facing methodical, carefully calculated attacks executed by Tressif and fellow defender Fenny Vail. As the Knights scrambled to adjust their defence to the radically different threat, their opponents would abruptly revert to their standard formation, repeating the cycle and leaving Meridell unable to coordinate an effective defence. Unfortunately for the Roos, while defenders Vail and Tressif seemed perfectly comfortable in an offensive position, Blumario and Tollet's lack of defensive experience left the team critically vulnerable when they assumed their inverted formation. Once Meridell's wily Captain "Wizard" Windelle picked up on the weakness, the Knights were able to swiftly take back the match, maintaining their position at the top of the bracket.

 

"Well, that worked out far better than I expected," announced Lilo Blumario after the match's conclusion, "our practice sessions with the strategy you saw had rather mixed results when we tried them on the practice field. I was a bit worried we hadn't managed to track down all the kinks yet - and I guess I was kinda right, considering how many goals Jair and I let past us. We'll be getting a lecture or two from Tressif and Vail, that's for sure!"

 

Moving forward to the second half of this tournament round, it's the Brightvale Wizards' turn to be pitted against the nigh unstoppable might of Team Kreludor, while the Darigan Citadel go head to head with the Haunted Woods Zombies, and remaining Alabriss Bracket teams Virtupets and Altador take each other on for the second time this round.

 

Meanwhile, Minitheus Bracket leaders Mystery Island will be spending their day fending off a determined challenge from Team Moltara. Lower in the bracket, Team Faerieland made an animated start to the day's match, working hard to punch a hole through Kiko Lake's recent winning streak. The bracket's final match has strong-running Team Tyrannia fighting to widen their advantage over the embattled Maraquans.

 

Today's three Vaeolus Bracket matches look rather polarised once again, with Meridell, Krawk Island and the Lost Desert from the top half of the bracket pitted against Shenkuu, Terror Mountain and Roo Island (from the bottom half) respectively. Things are looking slightly closer to even in these match-ups however, and we may be seeing less predictable outcomes from these teams in the hours to come. If you need more information on the results and standings data for these matches, click here for TNT's page.

 

Well, that's all from us today. This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Good luck everyone!

 

[voteforpedro333]

Nice troll link at the the end there. ;)

 

I've been pretty surprised at how polarised the scores have become as the tournament progresses, well except for LD who keeps attracting lots of draws.

[Sakabato]

Swept by KI? Yeah, what to expect, if only we're match for them just like ... holy cow, it's been three years!

[pipdoubledip]

There is an awful lot of sweeping going on ;) Not enough upsets for my liking :P

 

Once again referring to your daily predictions, I find it interesting that you mention that Mystery Island has "no serious challengers remaining in their current bracket"... Do us Kikos not pose at least a minor challenge? :sad02:

[voteforpedro333]

Once again referring to your daily predictions, I find it interesting that you mention that Mystery Island has "no serious challengers remaining in their current bracket"... Do us Kikos not pose at least a minor challenge? :sad02:

 

Mystery Island should be worried, I'm pretty sure the Kikos are playing them on the last day of the round! Ripe for an upset right there.

[antiaircraft]

Once again referring to your daily predictions, I find it interesting that you mention that Mystery Island has "no serious challengers remaining in their current bracket"... Do us Kikos not pose at least a minor challenge? :sad02:

Indeed, perhaps I was a little too hasty (read: asleep :P ) when I wrote that. While statistically nobody in Minitheus Bracket even comes close to MI, a review of MI's match history vs KL's match history (taking into account the respective teams you've played) actually indicates that you Kikos have had far more experience taking on this season's top teams, and did pretty well to boot (dealing Kreludor their first side game loss if memory serves). Mystery Island, meanwhile, have yet to face a top powerhouse. With that in consideration, Kiko Lake definitely have the potential to mount a serious challenge (not that you Kikos have ever needed any analytical evidence in your favour to mount a serious challenge ;) ). I've amended the predictions to "few serious challengers" to reflect this.