Meepits Implicated in Foul Play Investigation, Broom Thefts

[Midtime]

[The screen starts off as snow, which slowly fades to a color image of the newsroom. Lydia is talking on a headset, presumably to an off-site cameraman.]

I think the image is sorted out now, though for some reason it's feeding to the newsroom rather than you guys. We'll get the feed sorted out so they can see you. Kads in the box - again.

[Lydia walks off-screen and the image fades through psychedelic colors for a moment, before fading back into snow and then to Hanna at the Colosseum.]

That worked? That worked! This is Hanna, reporting live from the Colosseum. We'll get straight into the results of the day, starting with the Alabriss Bracket.

The Haunted Woods flaunted their might once again this afternoon, destroying Tyrannia in all events. After the acceptance speech for an 8-4 win in Yooyuball, we went behind the scenes to get an exclusive interview with Zo Junior, the Centre Forward, and investigate the secrets behind the Haunted Woods' successful season so far.

Hello, Zo! Thanks for sitting down to chat with me this afternoon. I know you still have a lot of preparations to make before tomorrow's game.
The honor is all mine - I've always enjoyed being interviewed; hopefully I can answer all of the questions you might have.

Well, you're tied in first place in the overall standings with only one loss so far, and landed the number one spot in your bracket today. What do you feel is the secret to your success?
If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a secret, would it? Just kidding! My team has worked night and day - well, mostly night - to prepare ourselves for this year's Cup. After finishing in 9th place last year, we looked back at the coverage and determined our biggest weakness was predictability. We've come up with our own unique plays to give us the edge over our opponent.

Obviously it's working! We have time for one more question. Do you have any words of encouragement for the young Altador Cup fans who wish to compete in the future?
Keep on your toes! Speed and agility are some of the most important traits captains look for when drafting new players.

Thanks, Zo!

In the third match of the bracket, Darigan Citadel mopped the floor with Shenkuu. After a rocky start with Round 1, they are still in the process of picking up the pieces that began near the end of the round, and the question remains: can they can recover from last week's instability? Shenkuu had a bad start on the third day of Round 2, knocking them down to 12th place in the overall standings.

For the third match of the bracket, the Lost Desert seem excited to finally win their first Yooyu match this round, despite leaving the stadium this evening under the burden of losses in all three side games. Meanwhile, Krawk Island's seemingly unpredictable results have been leaving fans seasick.

Now, over to Midtime with the Minitheus Bracket!

[View of the stadium, some distance from the pitch. Cheering is clearly audible. A snack bar can be seen to one side. The reporter's voice is slightly hoarse.]

Greetings, viewers, once again! This is Midtime of The Daily Neopets' news crew, reporting on the Minitheus Bracket results from the place where it happened. [Indicating the general concentration of people further down.] As it is impractical for the microphone to wear earplugs, I will regrettably have to ask you to appreciate the Magmas' excitement from a little further away than usual. I swear, they haven't gotten any quieter since the match ended...

Moltara have continued their spectacular winning streak, firmly securing their superiority on the playing field and trampling the Wizards into the ground in the side games. While most people consider this to be business as usual, their fans don't seem to be any less excited than they were the first time. Brightvale's support seem to have been ready for this outcome, and count themselves defeated, but not demoralised; they will indeed keep reaching for the stars.

Faerieland have always been the best at keeping their spirits high, and while their supporters' current mood seems no different from their usual good-natured resignation, you should have heard them shout hurrah as their heroes' unorthodox tactics brought the team closer to victory than the Wizards found comfortable. While team play that was ultimately more co-ordinated and robust saw Meridell through to another fine victory, this was by no means a forgettable match.

The Kikos' Yooyuball performance has gone from good to phenomenal this week, and the mood among the following seems to reflect this fairly well - though unfortunately most of the fans have gone off once again to celebrate, and can't be found in the stadium. But the Moons' own small victories were no less a sight to behold, and much more a surprise: the services on that side of the stadium were smooth and efficient, and helped by a successful advertising campaign, filled their seats somewhat beyond capacity; while Team Kreludor's clutch performance - though not sufficient to win them the game - put them far ahead in the shootout, yielding scores in the side games unprecedented in their history this year. Centre forward Ealyn Hawkshanks was heard to call their performance "personally satisfactory", adding as a caveat that they were "still working out the details".

[To some one offscreen.] What? No, I said 'as a caveat'. There is no such thing as a zacavy hat. What do you mean, I've said it before?

I am talking to - Aren't you the cameraperson? Well, who, then? No, that's a rock. It is grey and sits on the ground. It's a rock. Rocks cannot operate cameras. Yes, if you are helping to operate the camera while looking through the lens to see whether the angle is correct, you are in fact the cameraperson.

For goodness' sake, will those people quiet down? None of us can hear each other properly.

[The reporter seems to remember that the camera is still running.]

Oh. Er. Goodbye - I mean, that's all for the Minitheus Bracket. Thank you very much for listening - I'll send you back to, to Matt in the studio for the results of the last bracket of the day. Pax vobiscum!

[The studio. There is no trace of the chaos of yesterday's events except for a large, glossy fake moustache lying on the desk, apparently unattended to. Matt is frowning a little at his video feed, but as he comes on screen gives a professional smile.]

Thanks, Midtime! I enjoy it when you're out on the field - Lydia keeps you trapped in your office far too long! This is Matt reporting live from the newsroom, where I'll be covering the results from the Vaeolus Bracket. Let's jump right into it.

Virtupets continued their winning ways today with a sweep against Altador. The Suns weren't quick enough to keep up with the Robots' fast-paced maneuvers and their incredible solid defense, and as a result they were defeated on the Yooyuball field once again. The enthusiastic supporters of Virtupets were riled up, or geared up, I should say… anybody? Anybody at all? No? *Sigh* Ahem. Anyway, the Robots' fans were excited at the prospect of another sweep and cheered at their hardest, netting them the win in Make Some Noise. The accuracy and precision of the Robots also allowed them to kick a high number of goals past the dreaded jelly Chia. Slushies were flying everywhere today at Virtupets' station as the Robots mass-produced slushies like mad! At the end of the day, an insane amount of extras were made that ended up being given to shopkeepers to appease them for our large amount of broom puns. Almost any opponent that Virtupets faces will most likely end up swept, while the opposite holds true for Altador. However, there's still plenty of time for Altador to get back in the game and contend for a good position on the leaderboard this season.

Underdogs Mystery Island and Terror Mountain fought a long and grueling battle today. It looked like Yooyuball was going to end in a draw, but Teylor Nix, the Natives' left forward, expertly stole the ball from the Chillers' center, evaded center defender Rinok Fitel, and shot the winning goal past goalkeeper Minae Mitora. With the final score tallying 5-4, the Natives cheered for their victory, taking Make Some Noise and segueing straight into an impromptu celebratory party for the second day in a row! They've certainly been happy with their performance these last few days. The Natives managed to round out the day by taking Slushie Slinger and Shootout Showdown as well, albeit with very close margins, resulting in a full sweep against the Chillers. Only time will tell if Mystery Island can keep up this good positive vibe and continue to win their matches.

Last but not least, we had the Mermaids and the Rooligans go head-to-head! It was a difficult battle for the Mermaids today as they struggled to keep up with the Rooligans. However playful they may seem, you'd best be careful around this particular squad of Yooyu slingers. They're cheery for the cameras, but deadly on the field. This was demonstrated in today's match as Roo Island swiped three games from the Mermaids. Shootout Showdown, the one game they weren't able to take, ended in a draw as the jelly Chia left and headed over to Virtupets' tents for some slushies. We managed to catch up with Lilo Blumario and asked his thoughts regarding today's performance. "We did really amazing today. We were able to pull off some victories against a tough team. Elon and his squad put up a fantastic fight today - it was definitely a pleasure. We want to keep this good momentum up today against the Chillers - it'll be an interesting one for sure, but then again, when is it ever a dull moment here in the Altador Cup?"

Well said, Lilo. Plenty of interesting matches to keep your eyes on today! Powerhouses Krawk Island and Tyrannia are facing off today. Both teams have done fairly well this season; which one will prevail and come out the victor? Mid-tier teams Lost Desert and Shenkuu will be battling it out as well! Be sure to keep a lookout for these matches. There are plenty of surprises waiting to be had this season. For now, this is Matt on behalf of the Altador Cup staff here on The Daily Neopets, signing off!

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).