Altador Cup I
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- This article is about the plot details of the Altador Cup in 2006. For information about Yooyuball, see Altador Cup.
Altador Cup I was a gaming plot which occurred between June 1, 2006 and August 4, 2006, and the first installation of the Altador Cup.
Plot summary
On June 2 all teams from around Neopia gathered to practice for the games ahead of them, and countless Neopians gathered to watch their favourites take the field. Between practices, most of the players would go and meet their fans, signing autographs. Five days later and the day before the games began, Kiko Lake's Left Forward Holbie Pinnock was injured due to Relle Felson's sling breaking and flying off into Holbie's head, taking him out of the games. Helmo Timm, the one Holbie was replacing, immediately asked to be put back in the game to play, or Kiko Lake would likely not win their games.
On June 9 the first round matches of the Altador Cup tournament begun. Among the eight match ups, two showed to be very interesting. First was "The Moon vs. The Goons," or the Haunted Woods versus Kreludor. It was uncertain who would win, but it would be entertaining. Second was Brightvale and Kiko Lake. With Kiko Lake suffering from a recent string of injuries fans were devastated to learn they were facing Brightvale in Round One, who are notorious for their roughhouse tactics. They were certainly going to take a cheap shot at Timm and put her back on the sidelines for good.
The first round of games ended on June 13. The biggest surprise of the first round was Krawk Island's defeat of Altador. Early in the game, Altador showed no effects from not playing in 1000 years, staggering Krawk Island with their display of passes and shots. Krawk Islander eventually made a comeback, however, and the game's deciding score was a goal by Krawk Island's "Dasher" Soley, who sent a one-timer sailing past Altador's diving goalie after curling around a screen and receiving a perfect pass from defender Nitri Cassale. Altador attempted to mount a final rally as time ran out, but Garvin Hale easily preserved the win with a routine save.
Faerieland's trio of undersized forwards were no match for the brute strength of Mystery Island's Volgoth, blasting through Faerieland's defence and leading Mystery Island to a surprisingly lopsided win. Despite the effort of Helmo Timm, Kiko Lake's offense was unable to generate an attack against Brightvale's defence. Though disappointed by the loss, many of Kiko Lake's fans said they were thankful that Timm was able to play the whole game without suffering any further injuries, who promised they'd be back better than ever next year.
Darigan's defenders broke Terror Mountain's spirit early in the match, making them look unusually disorganised even by Terror Mountain's usual standards. It didn't take long for the match to turn into a rout, and by that point it was obvious Terror Mountain had given up and simply "mailing this one in." The closest match of the first round took place between Kreludor and the Haunted Woods. Despite coming into the contest as serious underdogs, Kreludor showed no fear as they chipped away at one of the tournament's most vaunted defences. Kreludor managed to stay in the game till the very end, when a breakaway goal by Zo Junior sealed the victory for the Haunted Woods.
The Space Station's fate was sealed when none of their offensive players were able to step up when Lost Desert double-teamed Keetra Deile. With their star forward neutralized, scores by Azar and Cayle proved to be more than enough fire-power for the Lost Desert to earn the win.
Meridell took an early lead, as Maraqua's defenders were outclassed by King Skarl's trio of speedy forwards. However, Elon Hughlis single-handedly got Maraqua back in the game, despite being double and triple teamed the entire match. In the end Hughlis's effort fell short, as he was simply unable to keep pace with the Meridell all by himself.
The second biggest surprise of the knock-out round came from Roo Island's ability to overcome Tyrannia's talented defence. Time after time, Forward Lilo Blumario would either draw a double team and then pass to an unguarded team mate (who more often than not made the most of their scoring opportunity) or, facing only single coverage, blow past his defender for a shot at the goal. With the first round drawn to a close, early speculation of who would win the tournament's Most Valuable Player award were centred on forwards Lilo Blumario , "Dasher" Soley , and Volgoth.
Round 2 matches (the Quarter-finals) began on June 15 and ended on June 20, with the following match ups: Krawk Island faced off against their neighbours, Mystery Island, who after easily beating Faerieland in the knock-out round was a favourite to win. Thanks to the goal tending of Garven Hale who played a spectacular game (even by his standards), who stopped many point-blank shots from Mystery Island's duo of Volgoth and Nix to preserve the win.
Meridell and the Darigan Citadel faced off this round as well, with high tensions considering they fought in Champions of Meridell and Battle for Meridell. Darigan Citadel pulled through however, lead the way by Layton Vickles who broke through the Meridell defence to score a trio of goals (referred to by some as a "hat trick"), putting to rest any talk of their previous tendency to fail in the face of a worthy opponent.
Brightvale and the Haunted Woods faced off, and being two of the toughest teams to score against many believe it would be a match with little scoring, but very physical. This was half right, as the Haunted Woods stopped the Brightvale offense while the Haunted Woods' passing and well prepared offence were not stopped by Brightvale's underhanded tactics. It was believed before the match begun the victor would stagger into the next round completely exhausted and probably defeated by their next opponent.
The Lost Desert faced off against Roo Island, and tried the same tactic they used against Keetra Deile and cripple their offence. However, even being double and triple-teamed for the entire game Blumario was still able to create enough offensive opportunities for his team mates, along with assistance of Fenny Vail who took up the slack of scoring while the Lost Desert covered Lilo Blumario. Roo Island won the match to the surprise of nearly everyone, placing them as one of the final four teams.
Talk of post-tournament awards had Lilo Blumario winning the MVP, with Garven Hale coming in second. If voting were held that day, All-Star player choices would include Blumario, Layton Vickles and "Dasher" Soley at forward, Krell Vitor at defender, and Garven Hale at goalkeeper. Honourable mentions would most likely be given to Volgoth and Zo Junior at forward, and "Dirty" Navers at defender.
Round Three semifinals began on June 23 and ended on June 27, with Krawk Island facing the Haunted Woods and Roo Island against Darigan Citadel. In the Roo Island vs. Darigan Citadel match, spectators focused on the match-up between Lilo Blumario and Tormo "The Terror" Frein, who was relied upon to go against Lilo one on one, unlike previous teams to double or triple-teamed him. The strategy worked, and Tormo "The Terror" Frein managed to hold his own against Lilo Blumario and allow only a single goal and an assist. Layton Vickles also played well, carrying the Darigan offense with a flurry of shots Clutch Billaban was unable to stop, reverting to his old soft-goal allowing ways, giving up too many points for the Roo Island offence to keep up.
In Krawk Island vs. the Haunted Woods, the Haunted Woods took the win, managing to score enough goals past Garven Hale despite his effort, and Krawk Island was unable to score enough goals against their defensive. The result would see the Haunted Woods and Darigan Citadel face off in the final rounds.
The final round began on June 30 and ended July 6. To everyone's surprise, the game began with a quick score by Tandrak Shaye when Fanetti threw a sloppy pass to Chelo Binay, which Shaye caught and in one sweeping motion threw it past Fanetti, who was unprepared for the sudden throw. Locking down into their usual defensive stranglehold, the Haunted Woods kept Layton Vickles from throwing single shot at the goal. The defensive stalemate continued on until Krell Vitor forced a fumble and passed to Zo Junior, who began running towards the goal the moment the ball was loose. Striding just beyond the reach of Tormo Frein, Zo made a stutter step which sent Mungo Lifler diving to his left, which allowed Zo easily score the goal and tie the game.
With the game still tied and less than thirty seconds left, Darigan Citadel sent a double team at Wan Dirx, forcing him to make a pass meant for Zo Junior, which was picked off by Kep Bonnefie, who ran through the clear path to the opposing goal. Unbeknownst to Kep, Wan Dirx was quickly gained ground from behind and blocked the ball with a dive when Bonnefie made a shot at the Haunted Woods' goal. With Bonnefie baffled at what just happened, Dirx regained possession of the Yooyuball and dashed in the other direction. By the time the Bonnefie figured out what took place, he was out of position and unable to get back on defence in time.
On the other side of the field, Dirx made the most of the four-on-three advantage, throwing the Yooyuball to a briefly unguarded Chelo Binay, who in turn flicked the ball to Krell Vitor when his defender rushed over to keep him from getting a wide-open shot. In one swift movement, Vitor took Binay's lob and sent a one-timer past the reach of Mungo Lifler, giving the Haunted Woods a 2-1 lead as the final seconds ticked off the clock, earning them the right to take home the Altador Cup. The crowd went silent for a brief moment before erupting in cheer so loud the referee's whistle could barely be heard.
Plot participation
| Teams | Score | Score | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | ||||
| Altador | 426,481 | VS | 765,904 | Krawk Island |
| Kiko Lake | 429,062 | VS | 714,322 | Brightvale |
| Darigan Citadel | 692,140 | VS | 424,042 | Terror Mountain |
| Mystery Island | 769,323 | VS | 273,003 | Faerieland |
| Haunted Woods | 663,129 | VS | 600,965 | Kreludor |
| Virtupets | 441,825 | VS | 739,504 | Lost Desert |
| Maraqua | 455,697 | VS | 607,754 | Meridell |
| Roo Island | 606,929 | VS | 451,536 | Tyrannia |
| Round 2 | ||||
| Mystery Island | 531,177 | VS | 760,013 | Krawk Island |
| Darigan Citadel | 709,349 | VS | 453,958 | Meridell |
| Brightvale | 423,187 | VS | 717,184 | Haunted Woods |
| Lost Desert | 607,768 | VS | 740,095 | Roo Island |
| Round 3 | ||||
| Haunted Woods | 1,267,173 | VS | 1,108,087 | Krawk Island |
| Darigan Citadel | 972,461 | VS | 861,014 | Roo Island |
| Round 4 | ||||
| Darigan Citadel | 2,155,935 | VS | 2,189,644 | Haunted Woods |
Unlike regular plots where the plot was directed by The Neopets Team, the plot was directed by the collective users on Neopets, and how well they collectively played Yooyuball for each of their teams. After each round finished, a plot summary was written to act out who won in each Round.
Teams could be selected by the user, but there was also the option to be placed on a team via a quiz which tested their personality. Users could continue to switch teams until each round began, but couldn't change their team until sign-ups for the next round began. Users could send in their scores on June 8 - 11, June 15 - 18, June 22 - 25 and June 29 - July 3. The score they contributed was calculated by their win/loss/tie record, the number of goals scored each game, and a average based on team membership (so a team with more users participating wouldn't have an advantage over a team with fewer users).
It was a common misconception having a loss counted against a user's score, when in truth every completed game raised the users score higher. Some users who wanted a certain team to win tried to take advantage of the system by signing up for an opposing team and purposefully lose in order to try and lower the chance of them winning, when all it did was raise the score by having a game played. It's unknown if not playing at all lowered the score of teams.
Tournament play was single-elimination, which meant the team which won a match moved on to the next round while the team that lost was eliminated from play. Sixteen teams were randomly seeded and matched up, and after the eight losing teams were eliminated the eight winning teams were again randomly matched up and moved on to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, four more teams were eliminated while the remaining four headed to the semifinals. Semifinals determined which two teams fought in the final match.
Staff Tournament
| Player | Score | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | ||||
| El Picklesaur | 10/0/0 | VS | 3/6/1 | Viola |
| Mr. Insane | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | Lawyerbot |
| Snowbunny | 6/4/0 | VS | 7/2/1 | Dragona |
| Subordinate Prime | 8/2/0 | VS | 8/2/0 | Soupfaerie |
| DJ Skellington | 9/0/1 | VS | 7/2/1 | Mr. Roboto |
| snarkie | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | Dirigibles |
| Jimmy James | 9/0/1 | VS | 8/1/1 | Tiger Catcher |
| TPOSG | 9/0/1 | VS | 8/2/0 | Dom Dread |
| Round 2 | ||||
| El Picklesaur | 10/0/0 | VS | 9/0/1 | Dragona |
| Mr. Insane | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | snarkie |
| Subordinate Prime | 8/1/1 | VS | 10/0/0 | TPOSG |
| DJ Skellington | 10/0/0 | VS | 9/0/1 | Jimmy James |
| Round 3 | ||||
| El Picklesaur | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | TPOSG |
| snarkie | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | DJ Skellington |
| Round 4 | ||||
| snarkie | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | TPOSG |
| 9 - 0, 7 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 8 - 1, 8 - 0, 8 - 0, 9 - 0 |
9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0 | |||
| Consolation Match | ||||
| DJ Skellington | 10/0/0 | VS | 10/0/0 | El Picklesaur |
| 9 - 0, 7 - 1, 9 - 0, 9 - 1, 7 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 8 - 0, 7 - 0, 9 - 0 |
5 - 0, 6 - 0, 8 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 9 - 0, 8 - 2, 9 - 0, 8 - 1, 9 - 0 | |||
On June 10, 2006, it was revealed The Neopets Team would be participating in their own Altador Cup, with staff members playing Yooyuball against each other for the best score. Sixteen members of the staff were assigned a team, and users were asked to vote who would take first, second and third place, winning Neopoints based on the number of correct votes along with an avatar for correctly voting 1 of the Top 3. Voting ended on June 13, 2006.
Staff tournament rounds coincided with regular tournament rounds, starting with the same 8 match-ups of the real tournament. Scores submitted by the staff members wouldn't contribute towards the real tournament, due to the fact it would be viewed as cheating. Rather, staff scores were tallied individually, determining who stayed and continued to the round. The final tournament results were released on August 4, 2006. The participates were...
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Awards Ballot
After the Altador Cup games came to an end, the best and worst of the tournament were awarded. The Altador Cup Committee chose nominees for each of the categoriesm and users were asked to choose who they thought was most deserving of the award. Winners of the awards were announced at the awards ceremony on August 4, 2006, and each correct prediction a user made earned them 1,000 Neopoints.
| Award | Nominees | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | Layton Vickles, Darigan Citadel Zo Junior, Haunted Woods Krell Vitor, Haunted Woods Garven Hale, Krawk Island Lilo Blumario, Roo Island |
Krell Vitor, Haunted Woods |
| All-Stars - Forwards | Layton Vickles, Darigan Citadel Zo Junior, Haunted Woods "Dasher" Soley, Krawk Island Volgoth, Mystery Island Lilo Blumario, Roo Island |
Layton Vickles, Darigan Citadel Lilo Blumario, Roo Island |
| All Stars - Defenders | Tormo "The Terror" Frein, Darigan Citadel Krell Vitor, Haunted Woods Wan Dirx, Haunted Woods "Dirty" Navers, Lost Desert Gordo Gunnels, Roo Island |
Krell Vitor, Haunted Woods Tormo "The Terror" Frein, Darigan Citadel |
| All Stars - Goalkeeper | Fanetti, Haunted Woods Garven Hale, Krawk Island Leera Heggle, Lost Desert Sir Pollonaire Friedl, Meridell Clutch Billaban, Roo Island |
Garven Hale, Krawk Island |
| Most Improved Player | Relle Felson, Kiko Lake Fenny Vail, Roo Island "Scrap" Taggert, Tyrannia |
Fenny Vail, Roo Island |
| Best Rookie | Wan Dirx, Haunted Woods Xila Kitae, Kreludor Dayla, Roo Island |
Wan Dirx, Haunted Woods |
| Best Sportsmanship | "Squeaky" Tressif, Brightvale Helmo Timm, Kiko Lake Ealyn Hawkshanks, Krawk Island |
"Squeaky" Tressif, Brightvale |
| Best Passer | Kakoni Worrill, Faerieland Ealyn Hawkshanks, Krawk Island "Wizard" Windelle, Meridell |
"Wizard" Windelle, Meridell |
| Best Scorer | Layton Vickles, Darigan Citadel Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis, Maraqua Volgoth, Mystery Island |
Layton Vickles, Darigan Citadel |
| Best Offensive Team | Darigan Citadel Mystery Island Roo Island |
Mystery Island |
| Best Defensive Team | Darigan Citadel Haunted Woods Lost Desert |
Haunted Woods |
| Most Sportsmanlike Team | Kiko Lake Roo Island Tyrannia |
Roo Island |
| Most Exciting Team to Watch | Darigan Citadel Krawk Island Mystery Island |
Krawk Island |
| Most... "Unattractive" Uniform | Haunted Woods Roo Island Tyrannia |
Haunted Woods |
| Dirtiest Player | Montecito aka "The Baby Faced Mauler", Brightvale Reb Weemelott, Brightvale "Dirty" Navers, Lost Desert |
Montecito aka "The Baby Faced Mauler", Brightvale |
| Biggest Whiner | Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis, Maraqua Vitri Sitol, Meridell Tico Tems, Terror Mountain |
Vitri Sitol, Meridell |
| Biggest Underachiever | Derlyn Fonnet, Kreludor Prytariel, Terror Mountain Keetra Deile, Virtupets |
Keetra Deile, Virtupets |
| Most Selfish Player | Winberto Seliz, Altador Derbi Azar, Lost Desert Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis, Maraqua |
Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis, Maraqua |
Prizes
Prizes were made available on August 4, 2006, and points rewarded to users could be spent at the Altador Cup Prize Shop. Users who participated received the Altador Cup sidebar as well as an avatar. Trophies were also awarded and placed on all User Lookups, and based on if a user played for Haunted Woods or Darigan Citadel all the time or didn't support either team in the finals, the appropriate trophy was rewarded. Also, if a user played with either Haunted Woods or Darigan Citadel all the way through the Altador Cup they received either Spooking the Competition or Making the Finals: Darigan Citadel.
- Altador Cup - 5 points
- Altador Cup Altador Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Brightvale Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Darigan Citadel Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Faerieland Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Haunted Woods Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Kiko Lake Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Krawk Island Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Kreludor Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Lost Desert Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Maraqua Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Meridell Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Mystery Island Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Roo Island Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Terror Mountain Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Tyrannia Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Virtupets Keyring - 10 points
- Altador Cup Play Set - 50 points
- Altador Cup Fanatic Bobblehead - 100 points
- Altador Cup Practice Team Play Set - 200 points
- Yooyuball Field - 300 points
- Altador Cup Referee Plushie - 400 points
- Grarrl Commentator Action Figure - 500 points
- Ixi Commentator Action Figure - 500 points
- The Underdog Story - 600 points
- 1,001 Yooyuball Tips - 700 points
- Fire Yooyu Plushie - 800 points
- Altador Colosseum Stamp - 900 points
- Yooyu - 1,000 points
- Halloween Paint Brush - 2,000 points
- Yooyuball Keepers Chest Guard - 5,000 points
- Yooyuball Player Sling - 10,000 points
Trivia
- In a strange coincedence, the teams which won the first round of play were all on the right side of the Altador Cup logo (each colour represented one of the teams). This raised suspiscion that the Altador Cup was rigged, causing outcry among users. It was also speculated the Haunted Woods were rigged to win, as a ways to promote the next plot The Tale of Woe. Both issues were later brought up in the Neopian Times editorial, and explained as nothing more than a coincedence, and it was the users who dictated which teams won.
- An animated commercial aired on television to promote the Altador Cup.