antiaircraft Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 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). Greetings once again ACers! Day eleven of this year's tournament has just concluded, meaning we've almost reached the end of round two of the Altador Cup season. As the clock ticks down, the Cup's eighteen teams are fighting an increasingly uphill battle to pull themselves into a higher rank before the bracket positions are locked in. It's a tough fight on all fronts, but perhaps that's for the best, as it's in these situations that teams really start to shine. Hanna has more from the field. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/neopies/2010/finalists/byd32vcnx73a/01.jpg" alt="Yooyus" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "Good evening, ladies and gents - what better way to start off this report than with Alabriss Bracket? Now, it’s past the end of day eleven and Kreludor has once again flaunted their Yooyuball skills with yet another flawless victory. Kreludor hasn’t lost a game yet, leaving a large margin between them and Darigan Citadel, who are falling in at second place. Kreludor’s slushie-slinging skills are pretty evenly matched with the Citadel, as we saw on day eight, but yesterday Kreludor put in that extra UMPH to take the victory. Make Some Noise was actually the highlight for both teams - I haven’t seen a crowd that revved up since the omelette crisis of ‘59. By the end of the day, the exhausted supporters for both teams ended the side game in a tie, but not before breaking all the records once again. But hey, for you Darigan Citadel fans, you’ll be happy to hear that the Citadel came out ahead in Shootout Showdown, which is no surprise because they’ve been pretty consistent there, tying in two games and having only one loss on day eight (to Kreludor, no less). <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/acs_altador_megaphone.gif" alt="Altador Megaphone" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Altador has had a rough season so far, but their efforts are starting to pay off. To some, tying at both Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise may not seem like a victory, but considering Altador's bumpy start, draws are a major plus. Friendly ribbing aside, there wasn't much bragging going on after the match - fans of both teams were more focused on their next match. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/slu_altcupbri_bluelime.gif" alt="Brightvale Slushie" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Remarking on the Brightvale versus Virtupets match, one fan noted, "Now, I’m not a huge Brightvale fan, mostly because of their know-it-all king who refuses to fix the hazardously broken bridge leading to Meridell, but yesterday's Yooyuball game made me a lot more appreciative." Team Captain Montecito decided to switch up their formation at the last moment from 2+2 to 1+3 and worked with it very well; the game ended with the score of 9-4, leaving Brightvale with a comfortable victory as well as a great win in Shootout Showdown. Virtupets took the lead in Make Some Noise, and was off to a nice lead with Slushie Slinger, but slacked near the end of the day, allowing Brightvale to come in and even the score, upholding the Wizards' solid victory. In the first Minitheus Bracket match, Moltara set the colosseum on fire with an outstanding sweep versus Faerieland - careful guys, don’t burn down the ice cream parlor. Continuing the Minitheus Bracket matches was a match between Maraqua and Kiko Lake, two old rivals who both had a lot to fight for after Kiko Lake swept Maraqua a few days ago. This time around, Maraqua came out on top, putting aside losses in Slushie Slinger and Shootout Showdown to draw Make Some Noise and take the deciding win in Yooyuball. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/news/holbieinjury.gif" alt="Holbie Pinnock" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> The Yooyuball match didn't go quite as smoothly as most people hoped though, as halfway through the match a careless step by heavyweight Maraquan defender Oten Runeu left Kiko Lake defender Holbie Pinnock seriously injured and unable to continue with the match. Runeu was immediately red-carded off the field by the attending referee, and while the teams continued on even footing, the injury put a dampener on the match's second half. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/altcp_referee_plushie.gif" alt="Referee Plushie" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "Now, I've gotta say that red card was completely unfair," declared Kiko Lake Team Captain "Poke" Cellers, speaking on the incident after the match. "Anyone who's read the rules can see that. You can't take one massive, hulking guy, tell him he has to go chasing after some tiny ball that goes zipping all over the place, that he has to watch this ball and keep moving towards it if it's some exact trigonometrized distance away from him, and that he can only move in eight directions spaced at exact forty-five degree angles, then put him on a big field with a bunch of small guys following the same rules that spend half their time trying to tackle him, and expect him to carefully hobble over the place not stepping on anybody. You just can't. Holbie's gonna be fine - the guy goes tube racing in the off-season, he's been beaten much worse than this. There's a reason we come with band-aids. And Oten's a good player and a great sport; if he's not allowed to play by the next time we meet this season, then I ain't playing either." Fortunately, it seems that Holbie Pinnock is already back on the field, making a full recovery after his teammates deployed some sophisticated field treatment involving an improvised bicycle pump. The Rules Committee has also cleared Oten Runeu of any serious wrongdoing. In the last match for this bracket- *psshhhh!* -islanders- *crrrrr!* -hello? Can- *fzzzzt!*" Hello? Hanna? Testing, primary comm check, secondary comm check... nope. What happened to- Okay seriously?! You attacked the transmission box because of a milk sticker? I don't even know why we keep this kad in the newsroom... *ahem* Rounding off Minitheus Bracket was perhaps the star match of yesterday's showings. Fighting a long, pitched battle with more back-and-forths than a game of ping pong, tournament middleweights Team Tyrannia went head-to-head with top trio juggernauts Mystery Island - and what a match it was! Considering the difference in positions between the two teams, most analysts had expected the Tyrannians to be heavily outmatched on the Yooyuball field. Fans were pleasantly surprised however, as the offence-heavy Tyrannians proved more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Mystery Island's midfielders. While the Mystery Islanders opted for a more balanced approach this year, they're no strangers to aggressive play themselves, and many seasons of experience have made forwards Volgoth and Teylor Nix a far more terrifying force than the offensive line-ups on most 3+1 teams. <img src="https://images.neopets.com/games/betterthanyou/contestant471.gif" alt="Scrap Taggert" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> The result of all this offensive firepower was one incredibly dynamic match, with both teams performing beautifully but neither one able to gain a comfortable lead. "Never a dull moment" has never been a more applicable statement, and in fact the number of serious eye strain-related injuries among supporters spiked alarmingly high towards the end of the day. The two teams spent most of the match in a furious melee of passes, tackles, interceptions, tackles, running plays, tackles, close-range scoring, and more tackles. The play was so intense that even the highly-trained Yooyus had some trouble keeping up, with the match being paused at one point to deal with a Yooyu injury, an incredibly rare event usually seen only in Yooyu practice matches. Perhaps the only other slight lull on the field yesterday was a somewhat embarrassing episode for both teams: Mystery Island defender Vela Binal was unfortunate enough to lob a particularly mischievous Darigan Yooyu directly into his team's own goal. Tyrannia's supporters in the stands barely had the time to snicker before their own defender, "Scrap" Taggert, repeated the mistake with another Darigan Yooyu. After the third Darigan Yooyu in a row popped onto the field, both teams took a rather more cautious approach to the game, but once Tyrannian forward Wila Benne finally managed to clear the offending ball with a brilliant double-folding lower field shot, the match resumed its usual pace. By the end of the day the Mystery Island Natives were the clear winners when it came to Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, while the slushie stands closed with both teams sitting on even sales figures. It took the full day of Yooyuballing, however, together with an additional fifteen minutes of overtime, for the Tyrannian Fossils to finally blast through Mystery Island's defence and claim the match. "I've gotta say, our first loss of the season actually felt a lot better than most of our wins," pointed out Mystery Island forward Teylor Nix. "It felt like two fantastic Yooyuball teams getting out on the playing field and having a fantastic time. And honestly, that's what the Altador Cup should be like all the time. Well, that and writing strongly worded letters to a few Darigan Yooyus." <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/mall_interact_bounceyooyu.gif" alt="Clockwork Yooyu" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Yesterday's match between Vaeolus Bracket underdogs Terror Mountain and Shenkuu marked the first technical draw of the season, with Yooyuball and Make Some Noise ending tied, Slushie Slinger taken by the Ninjas, and the Chillers dominating Shootout Showdown, leaving the tally steady at one side game per team. The Roo-Island–Krawk-Island pairing had a rather more decisive result, with the Pirates sailing ahead in every game but Make Some Noise, where the Roos' high spirits and great sportsmanship earned them a win for their tally - their raucous cheering accompanied every brilliant play on the field, regardless of which team it came from. In the final match of the day, the Meridell Knights placed the crowning jewel on their fearsome reputation, taking down the formidable Team Lost Desert in an across-the-board sweep. While the overall outcome was generally in line with what most analysts expected, the level of dominance that Meridell were able to obtain was not. It was a rather disappointing result for many fans as well, but the desert team's supporters are not easily discouraged, and more than ready to go for another twelve rounds on the field. When asked to comment on the day's events, one Lost Desert supporter had this to say: <img src="https://images.neopets.com/items/mauket.gif" alt="Mauket" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> "Meow? Sporks rule! Hmm? OH! You meant the match? Well, to be perfectly honest we could have done a lot better. A lot of us fans were absent or a bit slower than usual, and even the players weren't quite where they should have been. My guess is that we were all tired out, but I really don't know. It was kind of hard to tell with Vonde's hypnotic tail waltzing around all the time..." Well, Team Lost Desert will soon have to shake off any fatigue they may be feeling, as they've been pitted against the Terror Mountain Chillers today. The Chillers may be an underdog team, but they're capable side game contenders, and as this is the third time these teams have met, they're certain to have a plan of attack. The same can be said of Teams Shenkuu and Roo Island, who'll be playing their second match in two rounds. The highlight of today's Vaeolus Bracket matches will be the first clash between Meridell and Krawk Island. This is only the second time top contenders of their calibre have met on the field this season, and observers everywhere are eager to see how it plays out. Minitheus Bracket will play host to a highlight match of its own today, as two teams with everything to lose and everything to gain face each other for the first time. Team Mystery Island have maintained their status as members of the elite top trio so far, but that status was finally called into question today after Team Tyrannia's impressive victory. For Team Kiko Lake, this will be their first match against a serious top contender since they began their steady climb towards claiming top contender status themselves. Neither of these teams will have any room to back down if they want to hang on to their dreams of the podium, and as the old maxim goes, "A team will show greater strength against a greater challenge." Elsewhere in Minitheus Bracket, Teams Faerieland and Moltara are up against Tyrannia and Maraqua respectively. Both coming off victories against teams significantly stronger than themselves, the Maraquans and Tyrannians are high on morale, but perhaps a little lower on stamina - only time will tell whether the odds will turn to any team's favour. It looks like it's Alabriss Bracket's turn to settle on a set of polarised matches, with the bracket's top three teams (Kreludor, Darigan Citadel, and Haunted Woods) playing the bracket's bottom three teams (Altador, Virtupets and Brightvale) respectively. The match between Teams Brightvale and Haunted Woods is particularly noteworthy, as the Brightvale Wizards actually managed to turn the tables on their higher-ranked opponents the last time they met. It will be interesting to see whether they can repeat the feat. That's all we have for today! This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing- oh Coltzan, what is that kad up to now?! Emily and Mouseykins 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorious918 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Dear Team Kiko Lake Revenge is MINE!!! Good Luck against Mystery Island. Stealth vs Stealth!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca~ Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Wow, good match yesterday, DC! All those hours I played SOSD, and you guys still pulled a win on that one! Bah! :B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voteforpedro333 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I get so motivated reading these. I end up cheering for practically all of the teams by the end of the tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mireia Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 *TY fan mode on* Gooooo! Tyrannia for the cup! *TY fan mode off* I can belive how bad was our start, and how much we've improved in just a few days :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipdoubledip Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Dear Team Kiko Lake Revenge is MINE!!! Good Luck against Mystery Island. Stealth vs Stealth!!! Well it was to be expected ;) After our first win against Meridell, we lost our second encounter. Same with Tyrannia. Same with Maraqua. It just seems the our rematches do not go our way. Interesting that you mention Stealth... After some of the defeats of higher level teams, rather than congratulations or "enjoyed the match against your team today," we Kikos are seeing a lack of sportsmanship this year, including players coming onto our board to tell us that we only won because of stealth. That's unfortunate because we are here to play and enjoy the cup. Regardless of whether Stealth are on our team or not, there are players who get upset that other teams feel the need to diminish the efforts of our members by making their contributions to the day seem worthless! But it was a good match and we got an outcome that we desired, even if YYB was a lost cause. Thanks for the luck against MI, we will need it! :laughingsmiley: Especially as they are coming off that loss to Tyrannia, they will be looking for redemption :sad02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca~ Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Well it was to be expected ;) After our first win against Meridell, we lost our second encounter. Same with Tyrannia. Same with Maraqua. It just seems the our rematches do not go our way. Interesting that you mention Stealth... After some of the defeats of higher level teams, rather than congratulations or "enjoyed the match against your team today," we Kikos are seeing a lack of sportsmanship this year, including players coming onto our board to tell us that we only won because of stealth. That's unfortunate because we are here to play and enjoy the cup. Regardless of whether Stealth are on our team or not, there are players who get upset that other teams feel the need to diminish the efforts of our members by making their contributions to the day seem worthless! But it was a good match and we got an outcome that we desired, even if YYB was a lost cause. Thanks for the luck against MI, we will need it! :laughingsmiley: Especially as they are coming off that loss to Tyrannia, they will be looking for redemption :sad02: Awww, it's a shame that people are only saying that KL is doing well because of Stealth. :/ I'm sure they're helping a great deal, but a small handful of good players does not make a full team. There are tonnes of good players on KL, and every single person contributes. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamashiiresonance Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I was wondering who might be the first team to put a dent in MI's record, and was a little surprised by the results! Good job Tyrannia. Everyone played well today :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Interesting that you mention Stealth... After some of the defeats of higher level teams, rather than congratulations or "enjoyed the match against your team today," we Kikos are seeing a lack of sportsmanship this year, including players coming onto our board to tell us that we only won because of stealth. That's unfortunate because we are here to play and enjoy the cup. Regardless of whether Stealth are on our team or not, there are players who get upset that other teams feel the need to diminish the efforts of our members by making their contributions to the day seem worthless! Anyone who writes off the performance of Kiko Lake's regular members is forgetting that Kiko Lake were just as capable (if slightly less consistent) without the support of travelling All-Stars. Regardless of whatever extra support your team may have, you're a sporting, hard-working, fun-loving bunch that have definitely earned every one of your wins to date. ;) As a Maraqua supporter I say well played and good luck! I'm sure you'll have another chance to sweep us with this new tournament format. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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