Tyrannia vs. Haunted Woods (28 Jun 2007)

It was a rumble to be remembered when Tyrannia's "Forsaken Five" met up with the foreboding Haunted Woods team. The reigning defending champs have been solid so far, but the tight-knit Tyrannian team has only shown improvement since last year. Though the players from Haunted Woods were heavily favoured to win this match, no one doubted the cave dwellers could always pull off an upset.

Forward Wila Benne got things off to a hopeful start for Tyrannia, slipping a couple of quick goals past goalkeeper Fanetti. From there, however, the woodland team gathered up their concentration and pulled together their legendary defense. As the rest of his team guarded their goal viciously, forward Zo Junior zipped through the Tyrannian lines with amazing speed and managed to give the Haunted Woods a slight lead at the halfway point in the game.

During the second half, the sporty spooks only continued to build on their momentum, scoring one goal after another to the delight of their screaming fans. The five Tyrannians made the most of their legendary teamwork, working together to keep the score close. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough. As the seconds ticked away towards the end, newcomer Autrey Fulse executed a sneaky steal of the Yooyuball and swiftly passed it to Zo Junior, who slammed it in for a final resounding goal as the whistle drew the match to a close.

The Haunted Woods crowd went wild, with their noise-making efforts ultimately earning them a victory in the Make Some Noise competition, as well. Though the Tyrannian supporters made more of an effort serving slushies, they again fell short in the end, leaving the Haunted Woods to carry off an impressive triple victory and remain in contention for the finals.

Faerieland Victory (2 Jul 2007)

Heretofore, Faerieland's fans had proven themselves to be surprisingly good at slinging slushies, managing to keep from losing more than half of their matches. To a far lesser extent, they'd even shown an occasional willingness to give a few cheers for their team, racking up points from the tournament's other secondary activity. It was on the field of play, however, where Faerieland's Yooyuball team had completely failed them.

After nearly four weeks of play, though, fate finally smiled upon the Faerieland squad and they broke through to earn their first victory. It came against Kiko Lake, who'd soundly defeated them nearly two weeks ago. After a few strong rallies in the early going led by Kiko Lake's Helmo Timm, the match's turning point came when young defender Elbin Towse ran down forward Moni Vyshan on a breakaway scoring opportunity and blocked Vyshan's shot at the last moment.

From that point on, Faerieland's players seemed as though they'd been infused with a renewed sense of energy, eventually overtaking Kiko Lake with a go-ahead goal by Babolino. A frantic rush at the end by Kiko Lake nearly resulted in a tie but, fortunately for Faerieland, time ran out on their opponents and the victory was theirs. To make the win even sweeter, Faerieland even managed to serve up enough slushies to tack on a few points in that category, too. Huzzah!

The Round Robin Has Ended (5 Jul 2007)

Now that the Round Robin has ended, we move onto the final championship round, where the winner of Altador Cup will be decided. However, if your team was eliminated, that doesn't mean the Altador Cup is over for you. You can still affect the outcome.

While remaining members of their original teams, members of eliminated teams will be permitted to sign up as supporters for one of the 4 finalists in the Altador Cup. After becoming a supporter for one of the 4 finalists, your game scores will contribute toward the finalist's final score. Make sure to pick the team you want to see win!

Until the finalists have been officially announced by the Altador Cup Committee, the Colosseum will be closed and all sixteen Yooyuball teams will enjoy a well-earned rest. In the meantime, Yooyuball will still be available in practice mode, but Slushie Slinger and Make Some Noise will be temporarily unavailable.

Once the finalists are announced, the final four days of the competition, and ultimately the championship, will rest in your hands! Good luck to everyone!

The Finals Have Begun! (6 Jul 2007)

At long last, after a month of Round Robin play, the tournament's four finalists have been determined. In the battle for third place, Shenkuu's surprising squad will be squaring off against the swashbucklers from Krawk Island, while the championship match will feature Roo Island's team going up against the mighty Darigan Citadel.

The finals will stretch over a 4-day span to ensure that all sides have sufficient time to prove they have the endurance and support to prevail. This means that playing well on only one day will not be enough this time around. Once the dust settles, the Altador Cup Committee will review all the scores and announce the new Altador Cup champions on Monday!

This year's big story has been the stunning late charge by Shenkuu, which not only overcame low expectations for their first cup appearance, but have also won nine of their last ten Yooyuball matches (including quality victories over Mystery Island and Krawk Island, plus a hard-fought tie against the Darigan Citadel). Grelinek and Foltaggio have been a brilliant scoring tandem in this year's tourney, but after their loss to Shenkuu on the 27th of last month, you can bet that Garven Hale and the squad from Krawk Island are not going down without a fight.

In the battle to take home the championship, last year's runners up from the Darigan Citadel will be facing off against those fierce upstarts from tiny Roo Island. The two teams split their previous Yooyuball matches in the tournament, so this one could really go either way. Also worth mentioning is the fact that, while Rooligans are quick to point out the Citadel's less than stellar slushie slinging skills, Darigan's defenders are equally fast about touting their superior noisemaking talent. Therefore, by all accounts, this is one match that should go down to the wire. May the best team win!

The Winners Are Announced! (9 Jul 2007)

The dust has finally settled, and another epic edition of the Altador Cup tournament has come to a close. The Darigan Citadel, having lost in last year's final, simply would not be denied this time around as they turned back a gallant effort by Roo Island for the win.

The championship game started out as a defensive struggle, with Roo Island unveiling a 1-3-1 zone trap that thoroughly confused the Citadel's offense. The zone forced Darigan into far too many long, loping passes that Roo Island was able to pick off and quickly take downfield. These turnovers allowed the islanders to build a slight lead in the early going, but it would not last.

The downside of Roo Island's trapping zone was that, when Darigan was able to beat it and find an open player along the perimeter, the shooter would often have a clear (albeit distant) shot at the goal. As Darigan familiarised themselves with the trap, these shot opportunities came more frequently and at closer distances, eventually forcing Roo Island back into a standard man-to-man formation. By the time their trap had been beaten, the Roo Islanders were far too fatigued to keep up with the Darigan scoring attack, allowing the Citadel to cruise to a decisive win.

Unfortunately for Lilo Blumario & Co., their fans were unable to fare any better. The Rooligans took a decisive loss in the noisemaking contest and a narrow defeat in the slushie slinging category, giving the Darigan Citadel a clean sweep in the finals.

As for the match-up between the Round Robin's third- and fourth-place finishers, the surprising squad from Shenkuu continued to steamroll past their opponents, giving the crew from Krawk Island a sound thrashing to finish third overall in this year's competition. Having exceeded everyone's expectations in their first appearance at the Altador Cup tournament, one would have to imagine that Shenkuu will be among the odds-on favourites to contend for next year's title.