Altador Cup III (1 Jun 2008)
Welcome to the Altador Cup III (2008) updates page. During the event we will place updates here. First news we can mention is that the Kreludor Team is back and therefore the Kiko Lake Team can't play this years Cup. Good luck choosing a team and check soon for updates here!!
Starting... (6 Jun 2008)
Only six days left before the Altador Cup III (2008) will start. Neopets has released the date at which the games will start. And it's 06/12/2008 !!
Where is Kiko Lake?!? (12 Jun 2008)
Now that every other team has arrived at the Altador Colosseum and the pre-tournament practice sessions are well underway, the big question on everyone's mind is: where is Kiko Lake?!? No one has seen or heard anything from them, and after initially extending the 9th Day of Relaxing mandatory arrival date an additional 48 hours, the Altador Cup Committee has declared that they will not be able to let Kiko Lake participate in the tournament. The committee has, however, set up an investigation into the team's whereabouts and sent out a search party to try and track them down. When asked to comment on Kiko Lake's exclusion from the tournament, a committee member said, "There's far too much happening for us to simply hold an open place for them. For example, a schedule of pre-tournament training matches has been put together for the Colosseum. Including Kiko Lake on that schedule could create a situation whereby, if they fail to show up, their opponents will unfairly wind up with less practice matches than the other teams." "Additionally, waiting for Kiko Lake has required us to hold up ticket sales, since you can imagine what a nightmare it would be to have to give refunds to all those Kiko Lake fans who bought tickets to see a team that failed to arrive. It's quite a shame, since we were really looking forward to having the largest field in the tournament's history. Alas, I'm afraid it was not meant to be..."
New Finals Structure! (18 Jun 2008)
To the delight of Yooyuball fans across Neopia, the Altador Cup Committee has announced a change to this year's format. Unlike previous years, where the top two teams squared off to determine the tournament champion (and the next two squads fought it out for third place), a seeding process has been put in place so that all four finalists now have a shot at winning the title. Under this new structure, the first and fourth place teams will play for two days to determine one finalist, while the winner between the second and third place squads settles the other. Then, the finalists will face off for another two days to determine the tournament championship. Rather than just sticking to the finals, though, this new format will also be in play for the rest of the tournament's participants. Teams five through eight, nine through twelve, and thirteen through sixteen will now be seeded within their own brackets. "Under the old system," one committee member stated, "once the double round-robin ended, supporters were faced with a choice: they could either jump ship and choose one of the finalists to root for, or stay loyal to their team and go home. Doing things this way will now enable loyal fans to stick by their squad to the very end."
Kiko Lake Team Found! (20 Jun 2008)
Following up on last week's big story, a messenger from Kiko Lake has arrived in Altador bearing news of the team's fate. According to the courier, Kiko Lake's team was trapped by a rockslide that occurred while they were on their way to the tournament. It seems that, when the boulders started raining down on them, the players rushed to safety in a nearby cave. At some point during the disaster, however, the cave's entrance became blocked by boulders, which weren't cleared away until days later by a team of rescue workers. Thankfully, the players avoided suffering anything more serious than a couple of scrapes and bruises. However, their time in the less-than-ideal conditions not only left them starving and weakened, but also cost Kiko Lake their chance at participating in this year's tournament. "We'll just have to regroup and give it another shot next year," team captain "Poke" Cellars said. "In the meantime, though, we might want to look into finding another route to Altador, preferably something a little less dangerous."
Roo Island and Darigan Citadel Square Off (25 Jun 2008)
Darigan versus Roo Island - it's a match that Yooyuball fans have had circled on their schedules ever since it was announced. The two teams share a storied rivalry, having met in the finals of Year 9's tournament and the semi-finals of Year 8. Although the Citadel prevailed in both those matches, the winds of change appear to be blowing in Altador. While Darigan has looked less than impressive during the early going of Year 10's tournament, Roo Island has been marching through their opponents with withering ferocity. To the shock of Darigan's fans (and the absolute delight of ardent Rooligans), this match was practically over before it even began. Roo Island, employing a relentless defensive attack that completely unnerved Darigan's players, created numerous turnovers that led to lots of easy scores and threw the Citadel's Yooyuballers completely off their game. "They've looked tentative early on in this tournament," Roo Island forward Jair Tollet observed, "plus they've been coasting a little against weaker teams like Faerieland and Terror Mountain. That's why we decided to jump on them straight away and never let up, hoping we could break their will before running out of energy ourselves. It was a risky tactic, but one that worked fantastically well in the end." Despite the defeat, all was not lost for the Citadel squad, as the team's vocal fans managed to make plenty of noise and shout down their Roo Island foes. That being said, the Rooligans made it known that they're the ones in this rivalry who possess the upper hand when it comes to slushie slinging skills.
Tournament's Top Yooyuball Squads Go Head To Head (27 Jun 2008)
As the Altador Cup tournament enters its second weekend, most of Neopia's Yooyuball enthusiasts have turned their interest toward this Saturday's matchup between Krawk Island and Roo Island. This contest, which will pit the Year 10 tournament's two winningest Yooyuball squads against each other, has all the makings of an epic clash. The odds-on favourite going into the match is Krawk Island, which has absolutely steamrolled its opponents, tallying impressive victories against the Darigan Citadel, Shenkuu, Kreludor, and Mystery Island. Although some analysts said before the tournament that they believed Krawk goalkeeper Garven Hale was starting to slip from his position as the game's finest netminder, Hale has looked better than ever during the first week and a half of this tournament. On the other hand, Roo Island won their first six Yooyuball matches before getting upset by a surprising Lost Desert squad this past Monday. The Roo Islanders quickly returned to their winning ways, however, taking down a very tough Haunted Woods team the next day. Although the sting of that Lost Desert loss remains in the thoughts of Roo Island's players, a victory over Krawk Island would go a long way toward restoring the confidence that they're so well known for. Regardless of who wins on Saturday, there's one thing you can be sure of: it certainly won't be boring!