Krawk Island Brooms Sweep Natives Out to Sea

[Midtime]

Greetings, dear viewers, and welcome to today's report! This is Midtime reporting from The Daily Neopets with another day impressively full of sweeps, and carrying a small dustpan to fulfil my pun quota. Having only one hand free to shuffle these papers is already starting to annoy me, so let's start off.

In the Alabriss Bracket, following a few heartening victories against easier opponents, the Lost Desert have suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of mid-tier contender Darigan Citadel. The Minions, whose scores have lagged somewhat in recent matches, impressed fans with an enthusiastic 6-4 victory, followed up by landslide victories in all other events. Currently tied with Tyrannia for fourth place behind the tournament favourites, Darigan Citadel seem to be on top of the game once more, and captain Layton Vickles confidently announced his expectation to "finissssh ahead of the - " What? It's a sibilant, of course he - well, how do you expect me to tell the difference between east and central Darigan accents? Fine. Citadel captain Layton Vickles confidently announced that he expected to end the season in fourth place, ahead of Tyrannia. Leera Heggle of the Mummies, meanwhile, attracts fewer people who adhere to species-specific pronunciation…

Moltara, one of this year's powerhouses, came off better in their second match against the Haunted Woods - despite losing Yooyuball in a very close game, they maintained a solid hold on Shootout Showdown, and dedicated fans ensured that this time the Magmas won out in Make Some Noise, as well - splitting the events evenly both ways. Despite this setback, the Zombies remain in the lead, and fans still expect them to be the first team to take the Cup home twice.

The Kikos' renowned talent for upsets did little to help them against the Knights, who have consistently outperformed other teams in their tier. Kiko Lake's tense, high-risk plays gave the Knights an opportunity to prove the integrity of the conventional, and a series of equally close battles across the other events left Kiko Lake just one draw short of a sweep. As this follows close on the heels of a surprising loss against the Mermaids, Kiko team captain "Poke" Cellers acknowledged that the team was perhaps in need of "a bit of a regrouping".

[Midtime absent-mindedly reaches up to rub his eyes, and succeeds in hitting himself in the forehead with the dustpan, producing a faint 'thock'.]

Er. On to the Minitheus Bracket. Speaking of Maraqua, things seem to be back to normal for them. The sweep by Virtupets is disappointing but expected, even given their record-breaking results last round - results which they could not reproduce today. Although some remain hopeful for their next match, which is against the less psychologically imposing Mystery Island, the Mermaids are quickly running out of opportunities to show their mettle; though the Natives' scores have dropped recently as well, they aren't likely to let down their guard. Both teams seem absorbed in practice, as requests to interview them were flatly denied.

Yes, the Natives' performance somewhat disappointed their supporters, who after a poor showing against the Faeries were hoping for at least a sound victory against Krawk Island to help the team gain their footing again. The Pirates redeemed themselves from a poor showing against Meridell with an unexpected sweep, just edging out the Natives on all fronts - the cause of much celebration among their fans. While the Pirates have seen little change in their performance over the course of the Cup, they've certainly got the spirit to make Pirate supporters proud.

Meanwhile, Tyrannia, having weathered the tournament's most fearsome opponents, return to their usual routine, sweeping Shenkuu off the field by a considerable margin. The Fossils are clearly as spirited as ever; while the enthusiasm of Ninja supporters is undampened, and as the Cup proceeds into its final round it seems the cheering is only getting louder.

That's all for the first two brackets. I'll send you over to Brooke for the Vaeolus Bracket - I'm not sure where she is this time. Any way, where does this dustpan go?

"Thank you, Midtime! Be careful with those dustpans, they can be a bit hard to handle! Get it? It's funny because they... have... handles? Okay, that was awful, sorry. This is Brooke, reporting to you from the janitor's closet immediately adjacent to the newsroom. I may or may not have been caught sneaking into the newsroom after hours to film a report early, even though I was expressly forbidden to do so by my boss. Maybe. Anyway, she said if I behave myself I might just see the inside of the newsroom again before the Cup is over! And I may possibly have accidentally dropped a fake mustache in her morning coffee, so I'm hoping that by staying out of sight (and therefore, ideally, out of mind), I might avoid further invoking her wrath.

"In any case, here's the results of the Vaeolus Bracket.

"In the first match of the bracket, Kreludor faced off against Faerieland, and the results came as a shock to approximately no one. While the Moons just came off the bad end of a hat-trick of sweeps, their scores have been consistent and proved much more effective against the Faeries than the powerhouses that are currently holding the top three overall positions. The matches were close, however; the Faeries may just have a chance to snag a few more wins as the Cup draws to a close.

"Meanwhile, Brightvale and Roo Island were going head-to-head. The Wizards zapped the Rooligans on the Yooyuball field, and then carried that power to Shootout Showdown as well. The Rooligans, however, retaliated by bouncing solidly all over the Wizards in both Make Some Noise and Slushie Slinger. Roo Island is currently in a three-way tie for thirteenth place in the overall standings, but the margin between thirteenth and twelfth is close enough that they may be able to pass Maraqua.

"In another less than surprising turn of events, Terror Mountain pulled off a sweep against Altador. The Chillers have achieved their first sweep of the season, which may spur them to a few last-minute wins. The scores, however, were close, and the Suns' bright disposition may yet carry them through to pass Faerieland and take them out of last place.

"Today, Virtupets will face off against last year's victors, Tyrannia, for the second time. Last time they won all events but Yooyuball. Perhaps Tyrannia will be a little luckier this time. Faerieland has a chance for a few more wins as they'll be facing Terror Mountain, and our eyes will also be on Maraqua for a surge against Mystery Island.

"On behalf of the entire team here at The Daily Neopets, I'd like to thank you for sticking with us. We're on the home stretch now, and we'll be sure to continue bringing you up-to-date coverage. This is Brooke, signing off for now!"

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).