Day Eleven (11 Jun 2013)

The final day of Round Two went out with a bang, as every single bracket contained some sort of upset. The biggest one came early in the day, where the recently slumping DC squad came back with a vengeance, very nearly sweeping a KI team that up until then had only been beaten twice. Both teams threw themselves wholeheartedly into the match, battling each game down to the last seconds, and as evidence of the ferocity of the struggle each of the four games came down to a final score of 6-5. "They just wanted it more today," KI forward Ealyn Hawkshanks said afterwards with a shake of his head. "We had a strong round overall, though, and we're already looking forward to being in a new bracket in Round Three." After a short pause, he added; "Prefferably one without TY this time."

The second upset of the day came in the Minitheus bracket, where TM delivered the very first loss of ACVIII to RI. Against nearly any other team RI would have needed to slack off in order to lose YYB, but thanks to TM's newfound YYB skills the Roos lost in spite of delivering their normally solid performance. The real upset, however, came not in YYB but in SS, which TM had only won twice during the entire length of the tournament. Both teams came out strong, but RI was plaugued with an uncharacteristic string of errors in the middle of the game, and once TM sensed the momentum was shifting in their direction it was all over. "It feels great to be the first to beat a team as good as RI," TM's Prytariel laughed after the match. "Hopefully this is a portent of things to come for us."

The final upset of the day, albiet a minor one, came in the HW vs KL match, where the Kikos rediscovered the sidegame ability they had lost with not only a win in SS but an unexpected victory in SOSD. As for the rest of the day's matchups, they went mostly according to plan, with TY, AD, MQ and MD all earning sweeps, and KD and BV having a single loss in SOSD to keep them from getting a perfect record. Once the final game was over an official from the ACPC entered the field and declared the second bye day of ACVIII to occur on the morrow, then invited the assembled fans to the various activities planned for the public while the teams rested. Among the attractions listed was a special performance by the Community Players of Altador which would cover the entire history of the land, from the union of the country by King Altador all the way to its discovery by the outside world nearly a decade ago. With the speech ended, the unlucky official chosen for the task quickly made tracks for cover, as the realization began to spread across the crowd that once again AD and RI had failed to play each other, and with two rounds gone it was unlikely that they would be in the same bracket a third time. As at the end of Round One, inquiries to the office of the Altador Cup Planning Committee were not returned.

Bye Day (12 Jun 2013)

Day twelve of ACVIII was a bye day, and while all the teams were resting up from the rigors of YYB they were by no means taking a break, as revealed by a research team embedded with Haunted Woods this season. The journalist and videographer, part of a group producing a documentary about the AC entitled "Beyond the Net", captured every part of HW's activities over the course of the day, starting with the players' visits with team physical therapists first thing in the morning. "It's important that we see the players every day," the head therapist said while working with Krell Vitor. "They have a tendancy to ignore minor pains if left to their own devices, so we have to go over everything to make sure those little problems don't develop into major issues that affect their game play." Later on in the day, the entire organization sat down in the team's locker rooms to go over game film and discuss areas that needed adjustment on the field. "We do pretty much the same thing every night after the day's matches have concluded," HW's GM told the journalist while the team watched film of their latest battle with KL. "In some ways this day off makes things a little easier, since we have more time to look for weaknesses, both in other teams and in our own, but in other ways it's harder since we don't really know which teams we need to prepare for and therefore have to look at pretty much all of them." Once the film study had concluded, the coaching staff and players made their way to the Colosseum's training fields, which were already filled with about half of the other teams in the AC. The players stretched and warmed up while waiting for one of the other teams to vacate a field, and during the lull "Brains" Mortigan spoke with the research team that had tagged along. "We mostly do low-impact training on these days off," he told them. "Throwing technique, cuts, proper blocking, stuff like that."

After finishing their practice for the day, the team returned to their locker rooms for the nightly communal meal. "Our new head coach feels like it's important for everyone in the organization to believe they're a part of our success, all the way down to the Yooyuball keeper," Zo Junior said while feasting on his favorite Spooky Foods brought in specially for the team, "Which is why we all get together for the nightly meal. I have to admit, it does seem to have boosted team morale. I've met some really cool people that I didn't even know worked here before this season." The mood, which was jovial during the course of the meal, remained so until the entire team was once again gathered in the locker rooms to learn what the new bracket arrangements were going to be. The hum of chatter in the room instantly died down once an official from the ACPC entered bearing a parchment containing the new brackets, and the deathly silence pervaded while the head coach absorbed the information. After a brief minute of checking and rechecking the brackets, the Koi looked up and said; "Well, folks, it looks like we've got our work cut out for us this round," then handed over the paper to a team assistant who went over to a whiteboard to arrange the various team logos accordingly. A wave of shock moved across the room as the realization that they would be in the same group with AD, RI, DC, KD and BV hit each person. "It looks like a tough place to be in," the coach said after a minute, "But we've been in these spots before, and we're going to come out of it all right as long as we keep our focus on the team we're playing and don't start looking ahead to future battles." With that he closed the meeting, though the room itself didn't clear out for nearly an hour as small groups formed to discuss the implications of the various groupings in Round Three.

The news hit the rest of the league in much the same way, with the majority of complaints coming from those upset at seeing AD and RI and TY and KI once again stuck in the same bracket for the third round in a row. "Both KI and RI got the short end of the stick," a fan grumbled to the few reporters still left outside of the Colosseum. "I mean, both teams are really good this year, but as long as they're stuck with the two front-runners they won't even have a chance at making the podium." As in the past two times controversy hit the AC this season, no official word from the ACPC regarding the new brackets was forthcoming, though one unofficial source stated that the schedule was an effort to remedy some of the unfairness of the previous season, but it had been planned many months in advance and did not take into account the actual results from the previous two rounds.

Round Three (13 Jun 2013)

It was back to business for the teams of Yooyuball yesterday, as the start of Round Three officially kicked off. Most of the matches had predictable outcomes, though there were still a few surprises to be found, two of which occurred in the Minitheus bracket. The first came in the RI vs HW battle, where the Roos not only lost their second SS game in as many days, but also suffered a shocking 6-5 loss in SOSD to the Haunties. The second surprise came in a BV upset of KD, in which the Kreludans held a tenuous 4-3 lead until late in the YYB game but failed to maintain that lead thanks to BV forward Reb Weemelott's skill with the normally capricious Mutant Yooyu. The SS results were an even bigger upset for BV, as the normally solid KD was plaugued with errors, and the Scholars won despite scoring a fairly low 5 points. The final surprise of the day came in the Alabriss bracket, where the embattled Kikos threw everything into the sidegames in an attempt to avoid getting swept by a surging TM squad, yet ultimately lost all four games to the Mountaineers. After their expected 9-4 loss to TM, KL proceeded to SS where they displayed their slinging skills with flair, dashing from spout to table in record time, performing pirouettes in midair as they slung the slushies, and even delivering a smile to the grumpiest of customers. However, their impressive 8 points was crushed beneath TM's 11 points, much to the shock of the assembled spectators. Undeterred, KL continued on to MSN, where even a season-best performance wasn't enough to topple TM, and they fell 8-6. Even this loss didn't discourage the Kikos, as they proceeded to SOSD, where they sucessfully made every single kick. It very briefly looked like KL might pull out a consolation win when TM player Rinok Fitel's kick hit one of the goalposts, but unfortunately for the Kikos the Yooyu ricocheted into the net, and TM went on to win the tiebreaker kick-off.

In what ties a season low, only three of the day's other matches ended in sweeps, with AD, KI and TY all dominating their opponants. MD, MQ and LD had much more exciting battles, with VP ekeing out a last-second victory in YYB and MQ stealing wins in SS and SOSD; MD holding off several charges from SK to hold on to wins in both YYB and MSN; and FL very nearly winning in each of the four games but ultimately failing to take anything but SS away from the Pharoahs.

Upsets (14 Jun 2013)

As the yearly Tournament grinds on, many of the top teams begin to wear down under the pressure to consistantly turn in championship-level performances. The results of that momumental strain were in full evidence yesterday, as each bracket contained some form of upset. VP vs MD was the very first match of the day, and the Spacemen set the tone for all the teams to come with a nice, but not altogether unexpected, win in YYB, where VP held the Knights to a mere 4 points for the totality of the game. SS is where the real upset happened, however, as VP had yet to win that game against even the weakest of foes, and MD had always scored at least 5 points. So it was with the greatest astonishment that the crowd watched VP take an early 3-2 lead, which only increased as the game went on. "We spent pretty much all of our free time last night working on SS," Sela Pretore said after the match with a huge grin on her face. "We figured that no one on MD would be expecting us to try to win that game, and if everything went right we just might be able to catch them off guard." "It looks as though our plan worked to perfection," goalie Goltron Mk I interjected, his face lighting up with the robot version of a smile.

The Alabriss bracket had a second surprise in store, as MQ dropped both YYB and the overall match to a KL team that had been laboring to return to their early strong start. The Vaeolus bracket, while containing the only two sweeps of the day also had an upset of its own, where MT beat LD in a surprisingly lethargic YYB match where it looked as though both teams had been completely worn out by the rigors of the Cup. The Moltarans were rejected in their attempt to win the overall match in both SS and SOSD, but they finally achieved victory with a final game-winning kick from newly traded player Harlis Neyhbol in SOSD. The biggest upset of the day, however, and the one fans were talking about long into the night came in the Minitheus bracket, where AD was finally removed from the ranks of the undefeated not by TY or RI, but by current twelfth-place holders BV. Things were pretty normal in YYB, with AD racking up an impressive 9 points, though it should have been an indication of some sort of plan by BV that the team gave merely a perfunctory performance, only scoring the 3 points they did due to AD's softening their defences in the final minute of the game. That plan, which was no doubt an effort to save energy so that it could be expended in the sidegames, quickly came to fruition, as the Scholars became the first team to mar AD's perfect record with a near-flawless performance in SS. "We knew it would be a tall order," BV player Gordo Gunnels chortled with glee after the match, "But no one doubted for a minute that we could win today if we put everything we had into one game." As for AD, they were gracious in their loss. "We had hoped to go the entire season undefeated," goalie Salayne Ritad told reporters with a wry smile, "But if we had to lose, I'm glad that it was because the other team was simply better, and not because we were taking the win for granted."

The rest of the day's matches, while by no means snoozers were much more sedate, with TM continuing their unlikely mid-season run at the Cup with a triple victory over SK, HW taking a close win over KD thanks to victories in both YYB and SOSD, and both TY and KI sweeping their opponants.

Day Fifteen (15 Jun 2013)

Fatigue continues to play on the teams of the Altador Cup, as the overall point count yesterday was at its lowest so far this season, and nearly half of the battles fought featured either a major or minor upset. One of the biggest surprises of the day came early on, with KL improving on their close victory over MQ the day before by nearly sweeping MD. YYB was a bitter defensive battle between the two teams, with the outcome only being decided in the final ten seconds by a precision shot from KL's Holbie Pinnock into the top corner of the net. It was only the margin of victory in SS that was unexpected, as KL scored an impressive 9 points, but the outcome of MSN came as a complete surprise. The Kikos up to that time had only scored above 5 points once during the entire competition, so it was with utter amazement that the crowd watched them not only win MSN, but do so well that they nearly drowned out the vocal efforts of MD. "Round two was a tough one for us," Ditan Colb said after the win. "We kind of lost focus for a while, but I think the team's finally starting to rebound from all of those losses."

The other two Alabriss battles also contained upsets, though they were decidedly less stunning than the KL win over MD. VP put up an epic fight in SS, scoring a team-high 7 points in that game but still falling a single point shy of victory, yet went on to win MSN thanks to the Mountaineers' paltry efforts there which resulted in a mere 4 points. SK, meanwhile, could do nothing but watch helplessly as MQ mounted a come-from-behind victory in YYB, then tenaciously held on to their leads in MSN and SOSD, leaving the Ninjas with only a win in SS to salve their wounds. The Minitheus bracket also had a few upsets, with DC falling 5-4 in YYB to the Scholars and barely managing 3 points in MSN, and KD exacting revenge on the Haunties by winning all four games in a rematch of the previous day. As for the Vaeolus bracket, even though all three matchups were sweeps two of those battles were narrow victories for the winner, with KI barely avoiding losing to MT for the second time in three years and LD winning every single game against MI by a single point.

The most anticipated game of the day came in the long-awaited RI vs AD battle, and while it ended up nearly being a sweep for AD the match itself did not disappoint. It started out in YYB, where both teams apparently threw out their defenses as the scores came rapidly and in bunches. Indeed, the final tally might have been even higher than 9-6 had not a Darigan Yooyu appeared in the middle of the game to disrupt momentum. SS was even closer, though it was only due to AD's faltering slightly as the Roos once again scored 6 points. Unfortunately, RI couldn't match AD's intensity in MSN, and the Flaming Suns scored over double what RI was able to accomplish. However, a quick pep talk from "Squeaky" Tressif prior to the start of SOSD rejuvinated the team, and it took an unprecedented five overtime rounds before RI could finally be declared the winner. "That was awesome," one fan said breathlessly after the final whistle blew. "It's a shame we haven't seen more of these kinds of battles between two titan teams this year, though."

Sweeps (16 Jun 2013)

After a few days of chaos, a sense of normalcy has returned to the AC with a full two-thirds of yesterday's matchups producing sweeps. In the Alabriss bracket, TM remedied their loss against VP yesterday in MSN by this time sweeping the Spacemen, and KL proved that their attempt at a comeback from a mid-season slump is gaining traction with close wins in all four games against SK. MQ and MD, meanwhile, split the games down the middle, with the Fishes taking YYB and MSN and the Knights winning SS and SOSD. The Minitheus bracket also saw a double sweep, as AD and RI once again put a stomping on their opponants. HW vs DC was as close as many people expected, and the match began with a heated exchange between HW's Fanetti and DC captain Layton Vickles. According to witnesses after YYB had concluded, the goalkeeper believed that Vickles' first goal had been thrown from inside the goal line, resulting in an illegitimate point. His appeal to the judges was rejected, however, and the enraged Meerca turned his wrath upon the Hissi. Vickles, never one to back down from a fight, in turn accused the goalie of being mistaken thanks to illegally standing outside of the goal zone, at which point the conflict escalated. Both teams rushed over to separate the fueding players, and an official thirty second time-out was called to allow the situation to cool down. The game resumed after the head referee reprimanded both players, and despite the tension in the air the game concluded peacefully, with DC winding up at the top. HW attempted to exact revenge with wins in both SS and MSN, but their momentum faltered at a critical time and they lost SOSD, thus ending up with the match split 2-2. "I'm somewhat embarassed about losing my temper today," DC's captain said afterwards. "I know I should have just walked away, but it's tough to do when you feel like your integrity is being called into question." Reports from inside the team locker rooms indicate that the players approached each other following the team meals, and credible sources state that both are eager to repair the rift caused by the fight.

The Vaeolus bracket was mostly drama-free, with both TY and KI earning sweeps, and the only match not to be a sweep was a fairly amicable battle between MI and FL. Unfortunately for the Islanders, their attempt at winning their first YYB game of the season was denied, but they did manage to finally earn their first overall victory thanks to a hard-won sidegame sweep. "We're a little disappointed not to win after we put so much effort into it," FL's Delma Harrence told reporters later, "But we really can't begrudge MI their victory. We know how hard it is to play time after time without anything to show for it."

End of Round Three (17 Jun 2013)

The final day of Round Three went out as so many days before it have, with every single match winding up as either a sweep or a triple victory. In the Alabriss bracket, KL earned another overall win with a sidegame sweep of VP, but it may be too little, too late for the unfortunate Kikos who face the prospect of going into the fourth round ranked fifth from the bottom. Meanwhile, TM continued their impressive run at the podium with a sweep of MD, which included a double overtime battle in SOSD. Both TM and MD made their intial shots, but MD was forced to do a re-throw thanks to the judges ruling that newest teammate Ethel Boortz was slightly over the shot line when she made her first attempt. The Ixi's second shot was denied by the jelly goalie, which caused MD to suffer their first sweep of ACVIII. Finally, SK and MQ fought a close battle that saw the Ninjas lose three out of four games, with only a win in SS to salvage their pride.

In the Minitheus bracket DC managed to turn the tables on BV, getting revenge for their loss two days ago by completely sweeping the Scholars. AD once again put the beat-down on their opponant, though HW pulled out all the stops in their attempt to deny them the sweep by forcing AD into quadruple overtime in SOSD. The only Minitheus battle not to be a sweep was RI vs KD, and while the Kreludans did their best to become the only team other than AD to defeat the Roos, their efforts ultimately failed to upset RI in any game other than MSN. The Vaeolus bracket was amazingly similar to the Minitheus, with both TY and KI earning unsurprising sweeps against FL and LD, respectively. The third battle was also a triple win, but unlike what many people would have expected it was MT and not MI who emerged the victor. The Islanders, unable to repeat the same performance the brought them their first win over the Faeries, slipped down to scoring a mere three points in both SS and MSN, which likely would have resulted in a sweep had not MT apparently decided to abandon MSN before the match even began. A ray of hope appeared for MI when MT forward Tulah Kisner missed the final throw in SOSD, but MI failed to capitalize on the opening and team captain Volgoth also wound up missing his shot. Aldric Beign easily made MT's tiebreaker throw, and it was all over for the Islanders when Vela Binal's shot went sailing over the top of the net. "I won't say we're a little upset over the loss, because 'a little' doesn't even begin to describe it," a frustrated Teylor Nix told one reporter after the match. "We're all aware of our position on the leaderboard, and after our win over FL we really thought we had a chance to pick up a few extra points today."

As at the end of the previous two rounds, the day concluded with an official announcing a bye for all teams the following day, and inviting all of the AC fans to the various activites planned during the rest day. Unlike past times, however, the Colosseum was not going to be open to the public for this particular bye day, and the planned festivities were all scheduled to occur in the greater Altador area as the Colosseum was slated to undergo a thorough cleaning in preparation for the fourth round of play. The crowd was summarily dismissed following the short announcement, and as they filed out many fans wondered to each other what the next bracket matchups were going to be. Some felt that the top six teams might wind up in the same bracket, while others simply hoped that the current system of keeping two teams paired up together as they traveled through the various brackets would finally be abolished.