Altador Cup Predictions

Disclaimer: The opinions written here are exclusively the staff members' opinions and do not reflect the views of The Daily Neopets or its affiliates.

We have tried to keep these opinions as impartial as possible.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Altador Cup! This exciting event is now in its third year! This article will make a general balance of all teams, taking in account their performance in the previous ACs, and their predictions to win this year's Cup.

Quick Tip: Click below on a team's name and you'll be directed immediately to its prediction!

Altador (AL) - The organizers of this annual event haven't been very lucky on their own ground. Eliminated by Krawk Island in 2006 right off the bat and scoring an unappealing 13th place last year after 30 games, Altador promises to come back revitalized and ready to show who's boss. They are a tough squad to overpower in SS (Slushie Slinger) and MSN (Make Some Noise), although they fall a bit behind in Yooyuball. As this is the main staple, we can't really see Altador ranking very high this year.

Brightvale (BV) - They cheat, they trick, but they don't get far. It's been proven that playing dirty simply doesn't work, as they risked expulsion from the Cup last year, but were spared and ranked 12th for their deeds. They are devilishly evil in SS and MSN, tying against the top teams, but it's an easy clean sweep for most better ones in YYB. This year, if they play cleaner, they even may beat their rival counterpart, Meridell, which have been thrashing Brightvale for centuries - not only at Yooyuball - and rack up some wins.

Darigan Citadel (DC) - Being last year's Champions, Darigan Citadel are set out to be bi-champions this year. They have a surprisingly huge fan base, and they have never ranked lower than 2nd. After losing to Haunted Woods in 2006's final, one of the four mighty powerhouses, some predict that they will suffer the same destiny as Haunted Woods last year and rank lower, due to freeloaders. I don't see them winning the Cup again, although they are an incredible force and deserve to be recognized as such. If many of the awesome players are loyal to Darigan this year, then I don't see them dropping lower than 4th.

Faerieland (FL) - They have wings and live in the sky, but their scores are a drastic crash into the ground, head down. As they were considered the worst team in 2006, and the second worse in 2007, I don't see 2008 smiling down on them. Many people consider FL a "girly" team, but this is a plain stereotype. They aren't the weakest in the Cup, but they have to try and get a better result this year, or we'll see them packing their bags very early. The SS and MSN side is reasonable, but the YYB (Yooyuball) front definitely needs sprucing up. Urgently.

Haunted Woods (HW) - They really put up a show in 2006, winning the Cup with a lot of effort, but slipped in 2007, overcrowded by freeloaders and past fame. HW need to get their feet firmly on the ground and realize that if they want to rank in the top 4 this year, they will have to necessarily play better and harder. They certainly don't want to repeat last years disaster, and so must regain their title of powerhouse. A worthy contender, though.

Kiko Lake (KL) - WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR.

Krawk Island (KI) - Yes, Krawk Island is deemed as the main contender for the Cup this year. Seeking revenge after a ninja thrash last year, the pirates are trying for first this year with mighty faith. They seem to have supporters by the thousands, and many people consider this to be their year. Let's see if all that converts into an excellent performance this year. Powerhouse indeed, they assure a tremendous force in all three games, and can easily clean sweep any weaker team.

Kreludor (KR) - If we judged Kreludor by their boards, we could easily say that they deserve the Cup. They have an awesome fan base (the best and most friendliest ever), and their results will get a boost this year, for sure. They didn't even play last year, due to some gravity issues, but were narrowly eliminated by Haunted Woods in their title road, back in 2006.

Lost Desert (LD) - Like Roo Island, this is one team that can scorch their opponents with their heat, or simply parch their players. Puns aside, LD saw the 3rd place game slip by them last year, after KI racked up more wins in YYB, and so deserved to pass. Darigan saw a tie in SS and MSN against them, which proves their danger in the Cup. Not a main contender, although very likely to make 3rd or 4th this year. But, who knows? LD have already proved that they are a very capable team.

Maraqua (MQ) - Maraqua are one of those teams that either do quite well, provided their loyal supporter base, or are eliminated in the first round (2007 and 2006, respectively). The 8th position last year has motivated Maraqua to try and rank in between some of the good teams such as Mystery Island and Lost Desert this year. Let's see if they don't get too carried away and sink with their quite unpredictable scores. Still, they were rated the team with the best sportsmanship last year, as Maraqua is humble and knows how to accept a defeat.

Meridell (MD) - Considered the team with worse sportsmanship in 2006, after some unethical events, Meridell reshaped their reputation to something similar to Maraqua last year. Quite unpredictable as well, Meridell can (sometimes) surprise a powerhouse in SS and MSN, although they aren't the brightest in YYB, despite getting (near) clean sweeps against all the teams that ranked lower than 9th last year. Hoping for more glory this year, they need to polish their equipment, and set off to play with their hearts set on victory.

Mystery Island (MI) - I simply don't understand where Mystery Island gets the money to support their island, since the Tiki man never sells anything, but they can certainly rock your world if you play against them. A solid 6th position was secured last year, with ambition for more. It'll sure come, but only if Mystery Island is motivated enough to look at the top of the table and see the opponents they will be facing, because, make no mistake, it's dominance against teams ranked lower than them.

Roo Island (RI) - Roo was considered the 2006 underdog of the year, because they managed to rank 4th. They (very surprisingly) got into the finals last year, but lost to a superior team. Joining KI as main contenders, they want the Cup this year. Their fan base will increase, no doubt, as this may be their year. 4th > 2nd > 1st? We don't know, but it's perfectly possible, as Roo are one of the teams that can turn your and our predictions into a nightmare, since they can clean sweep anyone so easily, yet tie against other powerhouses.

Shenkuu (SK) - They came, were criticized, and proved everyone wrong by ranking 3rd. It was late into last years AC (Altador Cup) that Shenkuu picked up the pace after 15 days of not up to standard results. Make no mistake, they could be in the final last year if the initial days had gone better. Literally clean swept any team that stepped in their path, Shenkuu is another main contender for the Cup this year.

Terror Mountain (TM) - Not a team to fool with, although TM haven't been freezing their opponents that easily. Ranked 10th in last year's Cup, they managed a satisfactory position, although better is possible, and they have to be motivated in order to do so. So grab those winter jackets, and set off towards Altador because this year a chilly storm will invade the Cup. Or...probably just a little snow.

Tyrannia (TY) - With a huge (literally!) team, Tyrannia isn't a bad team. They ranked 11th last year, which is kind of an under achievement for them. Is it possible to turn the rocks on this Cup and surprise everyone? Only time will tell, but it's possible.

Virtupets (VP) - Okay, so they were even worse than FL last year. No one can blame them, with probably around 100 and a few more supporters. They beat FL at YYB (I just don't know how!), and lost at SS and MSN. With RoS (Return of Dr. Sloth plot, which featured Virtupets, earlier this year), however, their fan base will certainly get larger this year, so they can expect a better performance, for sure. Or...will they want to repeat last year's shame?

Well, that concludes my global predictions for the Altador Cup. I'll be also covering each game in detail once the Cup starts, so stay tuned. For now, start thinking seriously where your loyalties lie, and go for the team your heart tells you, because, make no mistake, you will be playing for the team you select all summer, and you won't be able to change (provided TNT's rules don't change). So think hard, choose wisely, and give it all you can this year.

Despite the Cup being every year, you have the chance to make it your team's. Never give up, and play to win, no matter the opponent. Impossible is nothing, never forget that.

Good luck out there to all teams. I'll be seeing you very soon.