News Archive

Welcome to Day 1 (June 1st) of the Altador Cup, where no match results are posted because there are no results to talk about! As the matches go on today, we spoke to some of the teams and notable Neopians from their represented lands to get into the tournament spirit!

First up, we have Team Altador. Despite being the hosts of the tournament, Team Altador has never really lived up to the game they created. So, in a bid to shake things up, the Altador Cup Committee changed the rules on the pitch to make Yooyuball more challenging for the participants. The Committee released this statement; "It's fun to stir up the game. Hopefully our homeland will stand a better chance for the trophy by upping the ante this year. No team will have the advantage this way. The ones who do not adapt to change will fall."

Next come Team Brightvale (AKA Brightvalue thanks to a typo) who are determined to show that knowledge is power! "We've got player profiles for everyone. The only downside is that we cannot predict how well the opposition will do in terms of roster changes, because we do not know the player profiles of the rookies," Team Captain "Squeaky" Tressif announced to the world. "No worries, we will be watching closely with a scribe nearby to record the matches in shorthand."

Team Darigan Citadel felt alive again after taking Third Place in Altador Cup V. Tandrak Shaye (fan favourite) stated that he loved playing Yooyuball but did not enjoy being mobbed by fangirls or fanboys every two seconds. "I love my fans, really," he said calmly to the Neovian Press lady who had turned up on his doorstep with a photograph to sign. " But I do not like it when they follow me to the grocery store. I mean, it's hardly interesting to see me buying groceries, so please just restrict your fandom to the Colosseum!" After this statement he was seen running for the hills as an obsessive mob of fangirls chased him for autographs. Just another day in the life of Shaye!

Team Faerieland is back, despite their homeland crashing literally next to the Haunted Woods! They got nice new kits, and a friendly new addition to the team in the form of Elbin Kroe (formerly on Terror Mountain and Tyrannia). "Babolino wanted a break, so we signed-up Elbin Kroe who has fast become the most wanted player. He has talent for such a young player! Fyora herself asked him to join. Hopefully we will rise in the standings this year with the extra experience." The Faeries did like the shorter timespan of travelling from Faerieland to Altador, as living next to the Haunted Woods has that advantage. "We travelled to the stadium with Team Haunted Woods. It was a pleasant experience, if you discounted the fact that Brains wanted to eat our heads," Delma Harrence later reported.

Team Haunted Woods all asked the question with a huge exclamation mark: "Brains" Mortigan and Derlyn Fonnet are PENFRIENDS?! Krell Vitor from Team Haunted Woods released another statement: "I have no idea what Brains and Derlyn have been discussing. I didn't even know the zombie could WRITE! Just goes to show that you think you know someone and WHAM... they aren't as dumb as you think they are." He then added as an afterthought. "Oh, I think Derlyn was just messing with the fans. I've heard she likes the publicity." In other news, Zo Junior has been practicing a new victory breakdance routine for winning a match.

The Kikos from Team Kiko Lake aren't backing down either. Their Captain "Poke" Cellers expressed excitement immediately after ACV had ended. "No we won't get caught in another rock slide! We've completely changed our route to the tournament. We can't wait to meet our colleagues again. After the shake-up we caused last year, we hope to perform even better THIS year." Meela Kitah added this comment; "We might not be the most popular species in Neopia but we sure know how to put up a fight!"

"Dasher" Soley's retirement from Team Krawk Island shocked fans because he actually did it! "I know, weird right?" Captain Garven Hale said in bemusement to our reporters. "No one ever thought he'd go. But he likes to try somethin' new every now an' again. We may see him return one day." He then said in regards to their newest player, Feldon "Dinksy" Collibridge; "Dinksy is cool. If we all give her a chance she may fast become our next star player... And no, no one will ever replace ol' Dash in our hearts, but thin air won't suffice either, so a real replacement is kinda required."

Despite the odd news that Derlyn Fonnet (Team Captain) of Team Kreludor was writing to Team Haunted Woods' "Brains" Mortigan, Team Kreludor were having a lot of fun in their new top security training grounds. "It's great!" Coco Metrone exclaimed, talking to us over a videophone link. "No one will sabotage us like in Altador Cup II! And as for Derlyn and "Brains" corresponding? No clue. How does one send a letter by Weewoo into space?" Derlyn later replied, "Will everyone just stay out of my private life? I can chat to a zombie if I wanna."

Team Lost Desert proudly got to take home the Altador Cup last season, and are not discouraged by the transfer of Lamelle Turow for Rhee Solters at all! "Rhee is pretty fun. She's awesome at playing Scarab 21 and knows how to party! Lamelle will be missed a lot but he found fresher waters so to speak." Ha, funny, Leera! "Vonde says that Rhee is annoying. But don't expect any conflict to arise, I know what you media types are like!" He said this immediately after exiting his home and was chased through the streets of Sakhmet for apparently stealing someone's Ummagine Juice. Captain Leera Heggle countermanded that information by swearing he had nothing to do with it!

Meanwhile Team Maraqua was adjusting to the sudden departure of Dorina Hals and the addition of Team Lost Desert's Lamelle Turow. Captain Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis expressed his fond wishes to ex-player Dorina: "She doesn't know what she's missing!" Elon scoffed, patting Lamelle on the back. "We're gonna win this year and she just left the Cup entirely." Dorina came back with a retort not long after we spoke to Elon. She said, "Jair Tollet was the smart one for leaving the team after ACI to join Team Roo Island. I guess Elon just wants an all-guy team. Fine by me, I can focus on my own life for a while. I'll consider returning but don't hold your breath."

King Skarl drummed his fingers on his throne as he provided us with a statement on behalf of Team Meridell: "My team is far more superior than Hagan's lot! Mark my words, Brightvale, the knights are better than you lowly scribes!" He did not comment on our query about Yoris Obbles' lack of arms considering he is a goalkeeper and shot another retort at his brother. "Hagan, did you put them up for this? My goalie is better than yours because he's unique! Beat that, yer lousy Slorg." Fiorina barged in with ruffled feathers announcing that Yoris was mistaken for a Yooyu again and got lost over the castle wall. Skarl immediately facepalmed.

Team Moltara might have placed last in their debut year in ACV, but the steampunk squad feel more at ease with the Altador Cup Committee's new Yooyuball format. "It's a fresh page for everyone," Aldric Beign (Captain) stated casually as he ordered some food at Moltaran Morsels. "It might just knock some of those old powerhouses down a peg or two. Can't be sure, it's anyone's game this year!" Teammate Tulah Kisner had spent her entire nights dreaming about Yooyuball formations and strategies, hoping to outshine her Captain on the field.

Bertie Shurtz from Team Mystery Island sipped a Green Iced Tea on the Mystery Island beach as she said, "Our mascot? Got to be mr. Coconut! He's done wonders for the economy. The only annoying thing is that we all have to put up with tourists shouting 'GOOD NIGHT!' every time they see a random coconut. It gets old." She then had this to say, "Oh, by the way, Volgoth has a secret plan up his sleeve for this year's tournament. The other teams should be careful." The team enjoyed their last moment of bliss before catching the boat to Altador.

Lilo Blumario, Captain of Team Roo Island, was thrilled with his team's performance. "Once you're in the Top Four, you never look back! Our team always plays for fun and if we feel tired, we'll just give ourselves some energy with sugar. It's foolpROOf!" The Rooligans love their sweets, there's nothing secret about that. It was the first thing Jair Tollet learned about the team when she joined in ACII. "They're my best friends. Elon from Maraqua was a very selfish Captain, and still is. At least Lilo treats us fairly and we have the BEST parties in the world." Invite me, please!

Team Shenkuu became quite annoyed when the Lunar Temple's Wise Old Gnorbu stole their off-season spotlight prior to sign-up week. "I know we hold the elderly dear in Shenkuu," Captain Mirsha Grelinek stated rather tensely, "but he had no reason to intercept our pre-tournament message to our fans. His talk about his betting techniques on our squad in light of Kreludor waxing or waning was unacceptable! We really wanted to speak to the fans after placing Eleventh to remind everyone to enjoy themselves, but he just HAD to steal the limelight. Our manager is filing a lawsuit against him for blocking our communications." Shenkuu prays that their fans will continue to support them, especially through the difficult Yooyuball alterations.

Team Terror Mountain feels ready to take the competition by storm! "Ha, a freeze opponents power-up. Who knew?" Rinok laughed, reading through the new set of gaming rules. "Now that's one advantage we have over our opponents, we live amongst ice." And being a Bori, Rinok probably knows all about being encased in ice (ooh, burn!) In all seriousness, that in itself is probably an advantage. "It's nothing new to us Bori," he said whilst sipping a slushie. "What's a couple of seconds encased in ice when we spent centuries in the stuff? I mean, my teammates might struggle with that if it's used against us, but I know I'll be fine."

Team Tyrannia has spent most of the off-season trying to train up their newest player "Spikes" Barmie along with teaching him to speak standard Neopian. Loryche informed us; "Poor Spikes only speaks native Tyrannian, and is a bit skittish around the other players. I'm not sure how he'll fair in front of a huge audience but I'm hoping he'll be fine. Just be warned, he's brilliant at tackling and loves to steal the Yooyu." She then referred to their Slushie Slinging skills. "Hmm, I think this year will be tough on our fans when it comes to Slushie Slinger. Something tells me that the competition will be much harder for the support games as everyone adapts to this new style of Yooyuball."

And last but not least, Team Virtupets is really feeling revved up about their chances in the tournament. "XL Striker 3.8 is up-to-date and fully functioning. After last year I feel that we can give our best performance yet!" Team Captain Keetra Deile stated happily from her quarters in Virtupets Space Station. "No one expected us to do very well, but this year we're trying to ground ourselves as powerhouses. Got to make Dr. Sloth proud after all!" Then came the inevitable fizzing sound of a robot malfunctioning and XL Striker started spinning around in circles uncontrollably. "Guess there are still a few bugs to work out."

So there you have it! Tomorrow we will bring you the first day of results and a lot of entertainment to boot.

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