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Thanks for visiting The Daily Neopets, your #1 Altador Cup resource. We have everything you're looking for: a Yooyuball Guide, global & daily predictions, stat counters, Altador Cup news and even loads of team information! We'll be updating this page very often, so be sure to check back for the latest information on the Altador Cup. If you need any help or have any suggestions for us, do not hesitate to visit our Altador Cup Forum - everyone's welcome. What are you waiting for, go learn more about the Altador Cup!

Expect lots of updates since it's game time now! The Daily Neopets is bringing you the best Altador Cup coverage available.

Post-Cup Interview: "Spikes" Barmie of Team Tyrannia

on Thursday, September 15th 2011 @ 1:36 am EST by Noog

Obligatory disclaimer: This news report 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 representation of the parties involved, nor does it claim to provide critical analysis of past and potential outcomes from qualified Altador Cup experts. If professional analysis is what tickles your fancy, take a look at our predictions (global/daily).

It has been approximately two months since the ending of Altador Cup Six, but the action hasn’t completely stopped! What happens after the trophy is awarded and the celebration is over? What exactly occurs during the off season for our hard working players? We at The Daily Neopets sat down with Right Forward “Spikes” Barmie of Team Tyrannia on the two month anniversary of the closing ceremonies to answer these exact questions.

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The following interview has been translated from Ugga.

Hello Mr. Barmie! It’s very nice to meet you.

Barmie: Same goes to you. I’m sure this interview will be loads of fun for the both of us.

So, let’s start by getting to know you. You were a rookie this year. Were you nervous?

Barmie: A lot of people expected me to be nervous, but I really wasn’t. I’m very passionate about the game so I just go out and do my best. I have nothing to be nervous about as long as I’ve given my best. It took me a while to ignore that yelling techo from the audience, but even his opinion is drowned out now.

There’s no doubt about that! You seem to have a natural talent for the game. In fact, some people are saying that your addition to the team is the reason for Tyrannia’s success this year. Would you agree?

Barmie: Not at all! I may come off as the arrogant type while I’m playing but that’s just because I’m focused in the game. My team acts like a unit and without the great work of everyone, our success would not have been possible.

Interesting, but enough about the cup, we’re here to talk about the aftermath. What were things like after the closing ceremonies?

Barmie: Well, we were pretty exhausted after everything was over so we immediately went home to a warm welcome. Our fans support us enough to be satisfied with our 6th place finish. The day after we got back there was a parade in our honor that started all the way in Tyrammet Village and eventually led to Town Hall, where a ceremony was held. Kyruggi gave a grand speech about how well we had done, and afterwards we all went home.

Sounds like everyone has had fun. So you’ve just been able to sit down at home and relax until now?

Barmie: Not exactly. The team agreed as a whole to take a vacation to Mystery Island for a week, and afterwards we stayed home for a month. On the 19th day of Hiding we started weekly drill sessions to keep us in shape, along with some new coaching strategies from Sabre-X to refine our play.

I'm jealous of your vacation! Is this going to be your routine until the cup returns next summer?

Barmie: Ha, I wish. In the month of Celebrating our weekly training increases, and the intensity only increases after that. Luckily for us, we get to have some free time because part of Sabre-X’s coaching philosophy is to have a good balance of training and free time with others. I wish I could tell you more, but there’s only so much I can disclose. We wouldn’t want our training secrets stolen, now would we?

It’s ok, I understand. So what can we expect to see from Tyrannia in Altador Cup Seven?

Barmie: You can expect to see a lot of improvement, especially on my part. We’ll be better than ever so the other teams had better watch out. We’ll definitely be a strong 1st tier contender. But the specifics will have to wait until the time comes... [noticing the clock] Speaking of time, it looks like it’s almost time for our Sunday get together. The team sits down for a nice dinner with a little bit of strategic talk. It’s a good way to keep your mind on the prize and unwind at the same time. I’ll be off!

You heard it right here at The Daily Neopets folks! This is Noog, signing off.

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01110011 01101100 01101111 01110100 01101000

on Tuesday, July 12th 2011 @ 3:38 am EST by Lydia Trebond

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Welcome viewers, here we are about to get the final results from Altador Cup VI, the final matches are just wrapping up.

[A runner hands Lydia and Alberto a piece of paper]

Oh, apparently they've just finished up! And the winner is -

[Image cuts to Dr. Sloth]

Greetings, residents of Neopia. I’m interrupting this broadcast in order to bring you a very important message.

I am sure you are all now aware of my team’s recent domination in the tournament you call the “Altador Cup”. After six long years of perfecting my team, it was no problem to stomp Krawk Island in the final matches, particularly after we had removed Maraqua, leaving them in fourth place.

Maraqua was our biggest threat this year, and in order to ensure our place at the top, we had to uh... get rid of the player known as Dorina Hals. She is quite well, I assure you. At least, no permanent damage has been done.

[Off camera] Sir, I don't remember any orders to kidnap Dorina Hals.

Silence, you insubordinate orange-- [A faint zapping sound is heard] You're lucky that phaser was only set to stun...

Ahem.

In this tournament, everything went exactly according to plan. Kreludor was granted third to ensure their loyalty to me. Then we allowed Krawk Island to take second to give you Neopians a smattering of hope before crushing your dreams completely!

Know this Neopia - this is only the beginning of my return. As my team has crushed you in the Altador Cup, I will crush all of you. You may have defeated me twice but it will not happen again!

Muahahahahahahahahaha!

[Image cuts back to Lydia and Alberto] - and that wraps up tier one.

Er.... That was slightly strange. ...Did anyone else hear a beep right then?

[Crew member]: “I think we had a power fluctuation....”

[Lydia]: Anyways, we’ll now turn our coverage to Alberto, who will discuss the results of the second tier.

“Alberto? Are you paying attention?”

“Wait, what? Oh, yes, of course, of course. *hides something*”

“Are you drinking something in the newsroom?!”

“Of course not! Unless, of course, you’re talking about this Meridellian Celebratory Slushie I’ve got right here.”

“*Sigh*.... Please just tell our patient listeners the results of the second tier.”

“Alright, alright...” *slurps more of the Slushie*

This year, tier two was filled with teams of historic rivalries - Terror Mountain and Tyrannia, and Meridell and Darigan Citadel. However, Meridell duked it out with Tyrannia in a battle for fifth place, while Terror Mountain did its best to bring down Darigan Citadel to eighth place. All four teams were in positions of high power at some point during this Cup, and all are viable contenders for the championship next year - if they try hard enough, of course.

Over at Meridell’s headquarters, a bittersweet victory was to be found. Though Meridell managed to capture fifth place for a second time (and a second tier finish for the fifth time), they were disappointed that they missed the top tier by fractions of a point for the second year in a row. However, Meridell did secure the best Slushie Slinger record, managing over 31 wins in the game, and maintained their threat as a powerful Yooyuball team.

Tyrannia had a rather drab feeling about losing to Meridell, but were still joyous with the fact that they placed higher in this Cup than ever before, by attaining 6th place. They claim that eating more omelettes has significant impact on Yooyuball performance, since the team also managed to be a big Yooyuball threat this year. Who knows, Tyrannia may be the next Virtupets!

Darigan Citadel proved that they were not a team to be pushed around, as the former champs recovered from their loss to Tyrannia by squashing Terror Mountain down to 8th place. The Citadel was also pleased that they managed to have the second-loudest fans of the Cup, which they hope will help them next year, as Layton Vickles affirmed for us: “Do not count out the Darigan Citadel next year.... We WILL sssseize the Cup, and victory will be ourssssss once again... Many thankssss to our fanssss, who will hopefully be jussst as loud and sssupportive next year.”

At the Chillers’ headquarters, the bittersweet feelings were also felt as the team was discouraged from their string of losses to the other second-tier teams of Meridell and Darigan Citadel in the finals. Though the team started off this year as a powerhouse, they fell back into the second tier, remaining there with rival Tyrannia for a good portion of the Second Round Robin. However, now that Terror Mountain has had a taste of power, they are definitely a team to watch next year.

Thanks, Alberto. Well, in tier three, the Roos were able to take the top of the tier, coming in at ninth place. They edged out Shenkuu in a close match today, the typical ninja ways of Shenkuu failing at the hands of the Roos, who managed to bounce around the expertly tossed shurikens of Shenkuu.

The Zombies were able to shamble past Brightvale in a very close match. While the former champs had been a strong team earlier in the Cup, several key losses led to their fall to the depths of the third tier. Though defeated by Shenkuu in the first part of the finals, they were able to take on Brightvale with renewed vigor, managing to spook the Wizards into dropping the Yooyu during the last 8 seconds of the game - therefore allowing Zo Junior to snatch up the Yooyu and score the winning goal as the whistle sounded.

I still can’t believe you won’t share your slushie with me. *pouts*

[loud slurping noises are heard]

Anyways, onto tier four. Lost Desert was able to top the tier, still a long fall from the top of tier one (even though they ended up doing much better than predicted). They conquered Mystery Island through the same fierce determination with which Faerieland took down Kiko Lake. Now - wait, why does this report say “Faerieland was kept down to keep the Space Faerie from gaining power to keep me at bay?” Who delivered this script? [mumbling is heard] An orange Grundo? Huh. I didn’t know we had any Grundos on staff. Anyways. Faerieland managed to stay out of the consolation bracket - and it says here “Hubrid Nox failed at keeping the faeries out of my way, so now I have to do it all myself.” Let’s proofread these reports before they come out, I think Murphy got into this one.

In the consolation bracket, Altador took its first and last two YYB wins of the Cup against Moltara, just managing to pull off a win for 17th place - after going into overtime to prevent a draw. It was an exciting match all around, and after much friendly handshaking, the two teams could be seen sharing slushies together in the private cafeteria for the players.

That’s a wrap for this year folks, we’ll be back next year to keep you up to date with the news from the Altador Cup VII. Many thanks to AA, Livvy, Noog, Co, Motz, Smokey, Alberto, and Xepha, who all helped bring you the best Altador Cup Coverage available!

This is Lydia and Alberto, for The Daily Neopets, signing - What's this?

[A runner comes up and hands Lydia and Alberto papers]

What do you mean he interrupted our broadcast? SLOTHH!!!!!

[Screen goes black and then:]

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Calling all Altador Cup fans!

on Sunday, July 10th 2011 @ 10:48 pm EST by Alberto of Meridell

Are you a big fan of the Altador Cup?

Do you know all sorts of trivia about your team?

Well, you're in luck!
Here at TDN, we've decided to expand our Altador Cup Coverage even further by adding some additional info to our team's profile pages. We're looking for the following info:

Players' "Ages" (How old would they be in human years?)
Fun facts (Relationships, jokes, or just random trivia!)
Explanations of your team logo
Official/Unofficial rivalries your team has
Anything else that I can't think of right now that you find interesting!

Please post all info here on this board! We'll work to update the team profiles as soon as we can!

Thank you!

-The TDN Altador Cup Staff

Have a comment? Post it now! Comments: 68

Finals, Finals, Finals!

on Friday, July 8th 2011 @ 9:11 am EST by Lydia Trebond

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And we’re back, after a short two day hiatus, to bring you the newest results fresh from the Altador Cup!

Today’s match between Krawk Island and Kreludor was no less exciting than yesterday’s match, however the Krawks pulled out ahead in Yooyuball, putting them in the running for winning a second Altador Cup. Both days they were able to take Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown from the Moon, but Kreludor hung onto Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise. Kreludor will now fight it out with Maraqua to attempt to gain a spot in the top three.

Captain Garven Hale of Krawk Island said, “I am confident we can do it, there is no other team out there that could pull it off - that’s why we’ve gotten into the top four five of the six years here. No other team has done that.”

Maraqua’s hopes for the gold were dashed in today’s near sweep by the Virtupets Robots. Maraqua was only able to hang onto Shootout Showdown in the two days against the Robots, but they remain hopeful for third. Virtupets, which has done steadily better since the first Altador Cup, remains a strong contender for the gold.

Terror Mountain was favored after the first day when they took Yooyuball from Meridell even though they were sideswiped. However today Meridell was able to dominate in everything but Make Some Noise, giving them the advantage needed to try and get fifth place.

Barmie

On day one of the finals, Tyrannia nearly swept the Minions, only allowing them a win in Make Some Noise, however the Minions came back strong, taking Yooyuball as well as Make Some Noise on day two. Despite their impressive comeback, it wasn’t enough to take a win against Tyrannia, and so they were left to settle with Terror Mountain for seventh.

On to the third bracket, the Haunted Woods have been up against Shenkuu the past two days and didn’t fare too well either. Only being able to take a win in Make Some Noise both days, the former champs from Altador Cup I are left to try and get eleventh place. The Ninjas are going up against Roo Island for the last two days and they have promised not to hide the Yooyu from the Roos when they disappear from sight.

The Rooligans were able to pull off two near sweeps against Brightvale, only letting them take Slushie Slinger, the Roos' weak point. Brightvale will have to prevail against the Haunted Woods, against whom they have had unpredictable results. In the first Round Robin, the Zombies swept them, but in the second, they side-swept the Zombies.

The Mummies were able to prevail against the Faeries, sweeping the weaker team both days. While both teams are happy to be out of the consolation bracket, the Lost Desert has fallen far from its former top spot, hoping for thirteenth. One Lost Desert fan was not happy to be facing Mystery Island the last two days, worried that the wild card team would overtake them easily.

Mystery Island was able to pull of a sweep of the Lakers on the second day, taking back Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise. The Lakers had won those two games on the first day but couldn’t keep up the momentum for both days. Even if they had, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the standings for the tier.

Teylor Nix, forward for Mystery Island, said about the upcoming game against the Lost Desert, “We’re not too happy to be facing them either. They’ve proven to pull some weight and could win if we don’t work our hardest. No slacking off today.”

So far Altador has still yet to win or draw a single Yooyuball match. Though still in the consolation bracket, it looks like Moltara might be able to finish in 17th place this year. However, Altador was able to gain ground from day one to day two so they may see a win in Shootout Showdown and Yooyuball yet!

The next two days are going to keep us all on the edge of our seats - and not only to see who is going to take the gold home. Every tier has two strong contenders for the top rank in the bracket, and another two for the bracket's third spot. Stay tuned for next time. This is Lydia, for The Daily Neopets, signing off.

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Round Robin Closes for Altador Cup VI

on Wednesday, July 6th 2011 @ 5:28 am EST by "Anonymous"

"Phweeeeeet!"

And we're out! That's right, the round robin phase of Neopia's sixth Altador Cup has now officially closed, leaving teams set in their final brackets for the tournament's upcoming conclusion. This year has been, without a doubt, the most dynamic and intense Altador Cup season to date, but while the leaderboard has developed into a very different landscape from the one we're used to, the mixed feelings of elation, accomplishment, disappointment and exhaustion remain the same as we move from the endless matches of the round robin into the tournament's only break day.

While neither the Darigan Citadel nor Kiko Lake were able to make the tier jump they were hoping for, most fans were left in good spirits all the same, after witnessing yet another of the Cup's iconic David versus Goliath matches. Championship veterans and Yooyuball giants that they were, the Citadel Minions immediately pressed every advantage they could squeeze out of the game, pushing hard to constantly take ball control and get the goals rolling. The Minions' aggressive stance was no doubt adopted as a counter to Kiko Lake's own highly aggressive play style, a strategy which has proven to be notoriously successful for the Kikos over the course of the tournament. However, Citadel forwards Layton Vickles and Tandrak Shaye quickly found themselves running up against a surprisingly strong wall, as it turns out they weren't the only ones who had thought carefully ahead as they were hashing out their team's strategy for the match. Taking a page out of more defensive teams' books, Kiko Lake opted to play conservatively, falling back immediately to a one plus three formation at the slightest hint of pressure from the Minions, then proceeding with the classic 'slow push' strategy to gradually turn the tide of each run. Unpredictable as always, the Kikos even threw their own twist into the mix, pushing as far up the field as possible before abruptly reverting to their usual two plus two formation and wreaking havoc on the Citadel's defence. After a long day of spectacular play from both teams, it probably wasn't a surprise to most in the stands when the match ended in a twelve-all draw. Team Darigan Citadel still managed to take the overall victory with wins in all three side games, but they were unable to garner enough match points to graduate to tier one, and remain in the second tier at sixth place. Meanwhile, Kiko Lake has slipped to fifteenth place in the standings, settling in tier four. Neither team's supporters seem especially disappointed however.

"Tier two? Okay," remarked one Citadel supporter. "I'm not about to complain. We've still got finals to play!"

Despite ending in a rather more decisive result than the Citadel versus Kiko Lake match, Team Kreludor's game against the Terror Mountain Chillers was no less exciting. Opening their game with a colourful mix of rapid relays and running plays, the Chillers were actually able to eke out an early lead, but that quickly fell away once Kreludor's scoring machine got into gear. Team Kreludor finished the match strongly, leading in Yooyuball, Slushie Slinger, and Make Some Noise, but Terror Mountain was still able to hit back with a win in Shootout Showdown, hanging onto their second tier spot by a comfortable margin. Meanwhile, Kreludor's tier one lead remains fairly impressive, as it's been for quite a while now.

Trailing behind Terror Mountain are Team Haunted Woods, who weren't quite able to cross the divide between themselves and tier two, but nevertheless consolidated an extremely strong tier three position with a near sweep of Team Moltara. However, despite being overwhelmed in Yooyuball, Make Some Noise, and Shootout Showdown, and locked firmly in tier four, the Moltarans held firm in Slushie Slinger, adding yet another convincing win to their record.

Continuing what seems to be something of an epidemic of near sweeps, Teams Virtupets and Krawk Island both managed to finalise their placement in the top four, dealing heavy blows to their respective opponents across the board. The Shenkuu Ninjas and Team Lost Desert played admirably on the Yooyuball front, but in the end the lower-ranked teams simply weren't able to match their opponents' scoring rates, at least on the field. Team Shenkuu did manage to streak past Virtupets when it came to Shootout Showdown, while lots of steady slinging kept the Lost Desert's slushie stands front and centre in the reviews.

[Lydia grabs the report paper from AA] Give me, that I want to read some!

As AA commented there were many near sweeps today, and Mystery Island versus Faerieland was no exception. The Faeries were able to bring Make Some Noise to a draw, but Mystery Island dominated in the other three games. Faerieland Team Captain Kakoni Worrill said that he’s happy to have kept the team out of the consolation bracket, and is hoping to place well in tier four.

Meridell did well in their match against Brightvale today, however the near sweep... another one? Good grief, how many did we have today? Every match was a near sweep or sweep? Good grief. Anyway, the Knights were not able to pull ahead of Krawk Island, leaving them in tier two to fight it out with Darigan Citadel, Tyrannia, and Terror Mountain.

Altador didn’t do quite as well as their opponents in the consolation bracket, only drawing in Slushie Slinger against Tyrannia, however they put up quite the fight against much stronger team Tyrannia. The Dinos are in the second tier, and promise to make the fight for fifth as interesting as the fight for first!

"WE SWEPT THEMMMMMMMM!!!!!!" announced one elated member of the We Are Maraqua! support group, while the Rooligans hid in shame. One Roo Island supporter just shrugged, saying that they couldn’t move out of the third tier, so she was “Just glad that Maraqua is in the top. It’ll be an interesting couple of days!”

And that's it for today, as well as this year's round robin. Stay tuned though: the tournament's not over yet! Starting on July sixth, we'll move into the Altador Cup's four-day finals, the one event that can outmatch even the round robin in terms of energy and ferocity. For now however, be sure to get out and about a bit, stretch those limbs, and enjoy your break day. This is AA and Lydia, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off.

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As Round Robin Winds Down, Top Tier Competition Heats Up

on Monday, July 4th 2011 @ 11:24 am EST by "Anonymous"

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).

Hello again ACers! With the results gong for day thirty-three of the Cup sounding, we're now well and truly in the final hours of the round robin. Teams now only have two points remaining on the block, and contention for tier three seems to have finally cooled off a bit. The last couple of tier one spots are still hot property however, with teams from high orbit to the depths of the ocean all wrestling for placement.

After slipping back down into tier two for several days, Team Meridell is once again poised to strike out for a championship run, hovering in fifth place after a strong showing against second-placed Team Virtupets. The Knights' aggressive Yooyuball play put them in a commanding position throughout most of the match, but some masterful play from the Virtupets Robots in the last quarter finally broke Meridell's offensive charge. Virtupets quickly followed up their defensive success with a series of long-distance goals, managing to even the score before the end of the match. Over in Make Some Noise, the decibel tally ended the day overwhelmingly in Virtupets' favour, as the Robots' supporters once again shattered records (and a few windows) with their thunderous cheering. Both Shootout Showdown and Slushie Slinger went to the Knights however, edging them ahead to claim the overall win.

Team Krawk Island also performed strongly in Yooyuball, maintaining their usual steady, consistent play throughout the course of the match. The Haunted Woods' wary defence was able to cut down the Pirates' scoring opportunities considerably, but the Pirates still managed to batter their way through with enough goals to hold their lead and win the game. Krawk Island also won the second Yooyu sport of the match, but the Haunted Woods were able to take some of the edge off the victory, staying ahead by a convincing margin in Slushie Slinger and Shootout Showdown, and somewhat disrupting Krawk Island's grip on tier one in the process.

Elon Hughlis Winning a hard-fought sweep over the particularly determined Team Moltara, the Darigan Citadel Minions were able to keep themselves within striking distance of tier one, trailing just behind Meridell and Krawk Island. Even closer was the match between Teams Maraqua and Shenkuu, with the Maraquan squad taking a Yooyuball win by the very slightest determinate margin. Team Shenkuu continued to fight hard in the side games, but the Maraquans were able to follow up their victory and claim a complete sweep, gliding up into third place in the standings. Looking over at tier three, Shenkuu still remains in twelfth place with a comfortable lead, despite the loss.

Bertie Shurtz Team Mystery Island kept up an impressive performance across the board in their match against Team Lost Desert, claiming wins in Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, in addition to a decisive Yooyuball victory. The loss was a severe blow to the defending champions, but they were still able to claim Slushie Slinger, and remain within striking distance of the third tier, albeit with a tough final day ahead.

The Kiko Lakers are another team who managed to hang on to their third tier hopes, closing to within striking distance of twelfth place after soundly defeating Altador in Yooyuball, Make Some Noise, and Shootout Showdown. Team Altador nevertheless continued to uphold their spectacular Slushie Slinger record, taking that win with relative ease.

"There's always that temptation to just lay back a bit with a break day coming up so soon," Altadorian goalkeeper Salayne Ritad noted after the match, "but you have to remember, we're not just here for tiers, points, and rankings. We're here to play a great sport, to the best of our abilities, and the nations we represent expect nothing but the highest standard of play from us on the field."

Brightvale and Tyrannia certainly weren't letting thoughts of the upcoming break day distract them. Their breathtaking play on the Yooyuball field had fans alternately gasping and cheering enthusiastically throughout their match, as well as hissing in disappointment when the final whistle was blown with the two teams dead even on the scoreboard. Tyrannia's side gaming experience served them well however, and the Fossils managed to pull ahead with an overall win after taking all three side games from the Brightvale Wizards.

The Terror Mountain Chillers also lived up to their name as side gaming powerhouses, claiming wins in Slushie Slinger, Make Some Noise, and Shootout Showdown against Team Roo Island. However, despite plenty of solid scoring from forwards Prytariel and Osielle Lidel, the Chillers were still heavily outmatched by the Roos' unpredictable Yooyuball play. Roo Island Team Captain Lilo Blumario and his fellow forward, Jair Tollet, ran circles around the Chillers' defence for much of the match, pulling rapidly ahead during the second half and handing their team the overall win.

Zenor Kevix For once, Team Faerieland found themselves up against an opponent well suited to counter their nimble manoeuvres, with Team Kreludor compensating beautifully for the Faeries' ability to rapidly exploit the slightest opening in their defence. Forgoing her usual role in Kreludor's unique three-pronged offensive runs, Kreludor Team Captain Derlyn Fonnet opted to hang back for most of the match, supporting Coco Metrone in holding off incessant probes from Faerieland forwards Kakoni Worrill and Elbin Kroe. Meanwhile, Kreludor's own double-forward act was still able to keep the pressure up and score enough goals to put the team firmly in the lead. Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise also went to Team Kreludor, although the Faeries' keen efforts allowed them to strike back with a win in Shootout Showdown.

Well, today is the final day of the round robin, with the tournament's last two match points up for grabs. Maraqua, Krawk Island, Meridell and the Darigan Citadel are the teams most observers will be watching closely today, as their performance against Roo Island, the Lost Desert, Brightvale, and Kiko Lake respectively will be what decides the final shape of this year's top four. So, without further ado, I'll let you get straight back to the tournament. This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off.

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Round Robin Rolls Into Final Stages

on Sunday, July 3rd 2011 @ 1:39 pm EST by "Anonymous"

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).

Hello ACers, and welcome once again to our daily match report. Just to recap quickly: for the past thirty-two days, eighteen teams of the finest Yooyuball players from all over Neopia, along with their respective fans, have been battling to claim Neopia's greatest sporting title, the prestigious Altador Cup. With day thirty-two of the tournament just concluding, the contestants have less than forty-eight hours to grab those last few points and solidify their positions in the finals brackets. Competition for placement in tiers one and three is far closer than it has ever been before, with fractions of a match point making and breaking teams' championship hopes.

For Team Lost Desert, things are still hovering on the brink. The chances of them hanging onto a third tier spot were looking slim at best, but yesterday's results saw the team receiving a major boost, as they managed to stay in the running for tier three with a spectacular victory over Terror Mountain. Not only were the Mummies able to edge ahead in a lively back-and-forth Yooyuball match, they also outperformed the Chillers by a remarkable margin at the slushie stands. The decisive victory carried the Lost Desert within striking distance of both eleventh and twelfth place, giving the team one last chance which it could potentially seize with a decisive sweep. Meanwhile, the Terror Mountain Chillers remained strong in Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, claiming wins in both and maintaining their tier two spot by a comfortable margin.

Moving on to our next match, we'll go over to Lydia for some on-field coverage.

“Thanks AA! Well, I’m here at the Colosseum where Meridell and Krawk Island have just wrapped up their match.

Though Meridell held the top spot briefly earlier in the tournament, the Knights have been struggling lately, having lost easy points to smaller teams. However they seem to be making a come back, with yesterday’s successful match against Kiko Lake helping boost morale for today’s tougher match against Krawk Island.

Make Some Noise and Slushie Slinger easily went to the Knights, but the Krawks fought to prevent a sweep. A close match in both Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown ended in a draw. Meridell fans are flooding back to the stadium in force, glad to see their team making a comeback.

“We could see the top three yet,” Meridell Team Captain “Wizard” Windelle said. “It’s very close and it’s down to the last four points. We are all very anxious to see what happens, with our games against Virtupets and Brightvale for the last two days.”

Currently placed fifth, they are less than a point below third-placed Krawk Island. Virtupets is currently placed second and nearly three full points ahead.

“We’re just really glad to have our fans back with us,” forward Fiorina said, smiling. “They may think they aren’t noticed until they’re gone, but we love hearing the roar of the crowd while we’re playing. It really helps us play.”

Hmmm I wonder if I can get a slushie from a Meridell fan, unless they’re still peeved about the other day...

Anyway, don’t write Meridell off just yet folks! There are still two days left and with seven strong contenders for the top four spots, it’s going to be close!

This is Lydia, for The Daily Neopets, signing off. Back to you, AA.”

Thank you Lydia - we'll be sure to keep an eye on things as the last few matches play out.

In a match highly anticipated by proponents of the defence-focused one plus three formation, Team Maraqua, another of this year's cup favourites, crossed guards with tier two contender and general tournament heavyweight Team Haunted Woods. While the teams' defensive play was brilliant as always, the main focus of the match was on the two teams' vastly differing offensive techniques. The Haunted Woods Zombies once again demonstrated their mastery of the classic 'slow push' strategy, gradually cranking up the pressure on their opponents' by advancing their defensive line slowly across the field. As it turned out however, Maraqua's incredible timing allowed them to pull off their much newer 'hybrid offence' to great effect, with Lamelle Turow and Elon Hughlis picking the perfect moments to slip through the line, relaying the Yooyu back and forth rapidly and managing to evade even the watchful guard of Krell Vitor and his fellow defenders. Nevertheless, both teams kept a firm grip on their game, and were able to shut down the vast majority of scoring opportunities that cropped up. By the end of the match however, it was clear that the one or two extra goals Maraqua scored in each quarter had accumulated into a commanding advantage on the scoreboard, and Team Maraqua finished the day with a win in Yooyuball, as well as victories in Shootout Showdown and Make Some Noise. Despite the overall loss, Haunted Woods supporters still fought back hard, countering with a win in Slushie Slinger, and staying in contention for a tier two position.

Mirsha Grelinek Mystery Island and Team Shenkuu played an even closer match, with the Mystery Island Natives taking Shootout Showdown and the Shenkuu Ninjas emerging victorious in Make Some Noise. The two teams battled to a draw in Yooyuball, as Shenkuu's agility and flexibility on the field proved a tough match for Mystery Island's normally unstoppable offensive machine. In the end, it was Slushie Slinger that tipped the outcome in Shenkuu's favour, with the Ninjas taking the overall win by a single side game.

Team Faerieland was able to make away with a slightly more decisive victory, using their own brand of nimble, fluid play to nip past Altador's defence for a clear win in Yooyuball. The Faeries sealed the win as they managed to come out on top in the penalty shootouts, although Altador hit back with wins in Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise.

"You see?" declared Altadorian forward Winberto Seliz in mock exasperation. "This is what happens when I get stuck on slushie duty for too long! I end up too tired to score properly!"

The Wocky's lighthearted humour didn't go entirely unchecked however, as teammate Timu quickly retorted, "Ah, but Winberto, you never show up for slushie duty."

Teams Brightvale and Tyrannia were definitely on the ball when it came to Slushie Slinger, as they were able to keep a firm grip on the sport in the face of harsh opposition on all fronts from Kiko Lake and Moltara. Brightvale also outmatched the Kikos in Yooyuball and Shootout Showdown, but weren't able to complete the sweep, as the determined Kikos counterattacked with a win in Make Some Noise. Moltara wasn't able to make quite as much progress, succumbing to a sweep at the hands of the Tyrannian Fossils.

The two spacebound teams in this year's tournament (who also happen to be the two highest-ranked teams at present) stayed solidly in the lead with strong showings over the course of the day. Even the mighty Darigan Citadel fell to Team Virtupets' precision and skill on the Yooyuball field, while the Citadel's supporters were out-cheered by the Robots' in the stands. The Citadel did manage to even things out somewhat with a Slushie Slinger draw and a Shootout Showdown victory, but the loss is still a significant blow to their chances of making tier one. Meanwhile, mid-tier champions Roo Island found themselves almost completely outmatched by Team Kreludor, barely managing to draw even in Shootout Showdown and avoid a sweep. The Roos remain comfortably seated in tier three nevertheless, and most analysts believe they're simply holding steady and conserving much of their energy for the finals.

Looking ahead to the tournament's second-last day, it seems like we'll be seeing plenty more dynamic clashes all over the Colosseum. One match to watch will be the battle between fifth-ranked Team Meridell and second-ranked Virtupets, where we'll see if the Knights will be able to pull off one last charge to reclaim their spot in the first tier. But of course, unexpected results, upsets, and plenty of good old-fashioned Altador Cup action will be coming in from all directions. So, good luck to all teams, and have fun out on the field! This is AA, reporting for The Daily Neopets, signing off.

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