Fourth and Final Round Comes to Explosive Conclusion

[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).

 

"We should set up a slip'n’slide-"

 

Uh, guys?

 

"Hang on a sec, important conversation here-"

 

Guys...

 

"What?"

 

We're live!

 

"What, now?!"

 

Yes.

 

(clattering noises)

 

*ahem* Welcome one and all to our coverage of the last day of the main round for the seventh Altador Cup! Yesterday saw some of the fiercest field action in the tournament to date, as tournament contenders made a final push to claim their position in the history books.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/2011/teams/meridell_0.gif" alt="Yoris Obbles" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> For two of those teams, the final push marked the end of a long and rocky season, as Faerieland fell to a sweep at the hands of Alabriss Bracket leaders Team Meridell, and Altador suffered a similar fate after facing Team Kreludor, leaders of Vaeolus Bracket. The result left both underdogs tied for last place in the standings, but despite the rough landing "Trapper" Remis of Team Altador remained relatively upbeat when interviewed after the match.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/freebies/2008/msnicons/micon_altador.gif" alt="Trapper Remis" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> "I've said this for many years and I still stand by it: a low-ranked finish in the Altador Cup reflects little on your own team, but everything on the strength, courage, determination and skill of those teams you played alongside. What really matters is that eighteen teams - ninety players, numerous support staff and countless supporters from all corners of Neopia - came together, conducted themselves with honour, dignity and respect, and played some of the best Yooyuball matches Neopia will ever see. We all enjoyed the challenges and we all had more than a few chances to shine - we even took a couple of those chances if I remember rightly. So no, I'm not disappointed in the least. I'm proud of my team, and I'm proud of every player and every supporter that took part in the tournament. Well played!"

 

It was certainly a well played season for Kreludor and Meridell. After yesterday's sweeps both teams settled themselves atop their respective brackets, with Meridell gaining enough points to end the round tied for second on the leaderboard, and Kreludor sitting comfortably in first place overall. Kreludor's Team Captain, Derlyn Fonnet, kept things relatively brief in her post-match comments, saying:

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/nt/ntimages/296_cup_derlyn_kreludor.gif" alt="Derlyn Fonnet" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> "It looks like we'll finally be bringing home the gold this year, and that's a good feeling. Well played to our opponents, as always, and a job well done to my teammates and our supporters. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll be claiming my forty winks now..."

 

Despite finishing the tournament at the bottom of Minitheus Bracket and in sixteenth place overall, the Shenkuu Ninjas' performance belied their placement, as they managed to slip in one last decisive strike against Team Kiko Lake. Brilliant strategy, knife-edge finesse and a solid day's worth of determined play earned the Ninjas a near sweep, stopped only when Kiko Lake's supporters rallied together to make a last stand in Make Some Noise, where they succeeded in forcing a draw. Despite yesterday's loss, the Kikos nevertheless managed to finish second in the bracket, claiming sixth place overall.

 

Team Moltara didn't quite manage as spectacular a result against the Virtupets Robots, as Keetra Deile's squad kept a tight hold on Yooyuball throughout the entire match, while Virtupets' supporters did the same in Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise. The Moltarans did nevertheless manage to storm ahead in Shootout Showdown, hanging on to a fifth place finish in Alabriss Bracket, while Virtupets finished just above them in fourth. The final leaderboard puts Virtupets and Moltara in thirteenth and fifteenth place respectively.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/head_shots/rooisland_1.gif" alt="Lilo Blumario" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> Team Roo Island settled in between those two spots, holding fourteenth place (finishing fifth in Minitheus Bracket) after a strong showing against top powerhouse Mystery Island. While the Mystery Island Natives proved too formidable for the Roos to take down in the overall tally, the Rooligans still managed to hit back with a win in the slushie stands, but that didn't stop the Natives from topping the bracket, or tying for second place overall.

 

The last of the day's Minitheus Bracket matches saw Teams Brightvale and Lost Desert going head-to-head in a spectacular clash of wits and wizardry, with the Lost Desert ultimately emerging victorious in all but Make Some Noise, where the unquenchable enthusiasm of Brightvale's fans prevailed. The two teams have now secured spots in the middle of their bracket, with the Lost Desert leading slightly in third place. Their overall rankings were somewhat more spaced out, as Brightvale levelled out at eleventh place overall and Team Lost Desert ranked an impressive fifth.

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/altador/altadorcup/freebies/2009/msnicons/micon_terrormountain.gif" alt="Prytariel" style="float:right;margin:5px;" /> Tied with Brightvale for eleventh place are the Terror Mountain Chillers, who concluded a long, back-and-forth match against Team Haunted Woods with the Yooyuball and Slushie Slinger tallies dead even. It was left to Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown (where the Haunted Woods dominated the Chillers) to decide the overall outcome. Despite taking a loss for the day, Terror Mountain still ended the round second in Alabriss Bracket, just above the Haunted Woods Zombies. However, the Zombies topped the Chillers in the overall standings, finishing in ninth place.

 

Team Maraqua ended their season on a relatively positive note, managing a surprise sweep over the formidable Team Tyrannia, and topping their opponents both in the Vaeolus Bracket standings (where Maraqua ended fourth and Tyrannia fifth) and the overall standings (eighth and tenth respectively). The Tyrannians didn't seem particularly upset by the outcome however. As one Tyrannia fan put it:

 

"Hey, whichever way you want to frame it, it was a well played match by Maraqua. Besides, it's been a good season. You see those three teams who'll be standing on the podium this year? Well, we've beaten two of them, so I think we did pretty good."

 

<img src="https://images.neopets.com/template_images/krawk_pirate_sword.gif" alt="Pirate Krawk" style="float:left;margin:5px;" /> As amazing a spectacle as the other Vaeolus Bracket matches were, it was the Krawk Island Pirates who really stole the show. Itching for payback after three previous losses to Team Darigan Citadel this season, the Pirates finally pulled ahead in Yooyuball and Slushie Slinger yesterday, smashing expectations to end the match with an overall win. In spite of this, the Citadel Minions still managed to hang on to Shootout Showdown and Make Some Noise, ranking second in the bracket (over the Pirates' third) and fourth overall (with the Pirates in seventh).

 

And that's it! The tournament's final standings leave Teams Kreludor, Meridell, and Mystery Island in the top three spots. With Meridell and Mystery Island tied for second, we can expect to see a tie-breaker match announced shortly, although the specifics of the match have only been loosely defined. For now, this is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off.

 

[Tedhaun]

I hope that TNT will announce a tie-breaker match after they release the news, that could be the possible last hurrah if you want to rack up points for the AC Prize Shop. If they don't, it may end up being the release of the AC Prize Shop.

 

I'm surprised that Meridell and Mystery Island tied with each other (they were tied already at the end of Round 3), Meridell had 5 out of 6 sweeps for Round 2 and Round 4. Talk about power and all of those sweeps.

 

(waits patiently for the official Neopets news to be released for TNT's final say on the extra day or not)

[Shiny Vulpix]

oh yes,a tie-breaker,so awesome!i hope so that TNT will announce that!but due to the image,im not really THAT sure,

oh yeah...it seems that we tied with moltara...

[Azeruth]

Disgusting Cup this year, very disappointed, especially because I played the most I've ever played in this Cup and it was all for nothing. I don't care that we didn't win, I didn't think we would, I thought we'd at least stand a viable chance and actually finish in the place we deserved.

[tamashiiresonance]

Disgusting Cup this year, very disappointed, especially because I played the most I've ever played in this Cup and it was all for nothing. I don't care that we didn't win, I didn't think we would, I thought we'd at least stand a viable chance and actually finish in the place we deserved.

Agreed. Is such a thing too much to ask for? I'm disappointed... :(

[Shiny Vulpix]

i feel the same,i was just saying,i tried hard,but not hard enough.i shouldn't feel sorry for myself,i can't just give-up.i formed out a plan.i was thinking,maybe i should try sosd in the earlier time,while i try slsl later.I am good on slsl,but kinda bad on sosd.you saw my scores right?

[Rebecca~]

"Well played to our opponents, as always, and a job well done to my teammates and our supporters. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll be claiming my forty winks now..."

Lolol, I think that's what all Neopians are saying about now. :P

[Shiny Vulpix]

lol,i agree.everyone was cheering on for their team,except for some people like my brother.he didn't even play once!

[-Ryan]

lol, I had a great time. We didn't get the trophy we deserved, but i'm proud of everyon one of my team mates. :)

[voteforpedro333]

I'm very happy for the new faces in the top tiers, especially Mystery Island and Kiko Lake. Of course, that doesn't mean the likes of Darigan and Lost Desert have given up on a second cup! And what do you know, Virtupets hit 13th place with the curse just like we did. Don't worry guys, I'm sure you'll be back in shape in no time.

 

Three cheers for Kreludor!