Race for Finals Begins Home Stretch (9 Jul 2008)
As the Altador Cup reaches the point where there's just about a week's worth of play left in the Double Round Robin stage, things are really starting to heat up in the race for those four spots in the tournament finals. While Roo Island and Krawk Island have all but sewn up their place in the championship round, and the Lost Desert has taken an inside track on the third spot, the battle for the next position is where the tournament standings get really interesting. As of this writing, the teams from Shenkuu, Kreludor, Mystery Island, the Darigan Citadel, Meridell, and the Haunted Woods are all still vying for a trip to the finals. If any of these teams can make a run by sweeping all three contests (Yooyuball, Slushie Slinger, and Make Some Noise) for a few days, it's well within reason to think at least one spot in the finals could be up for grabs (if not two, should the Lost Desert collapse down the stretch). The current odds-on favourite to join the group of four finalists is Shenkuu, which rebounded from a poor first week and hasn't looked back since. The team with the next-best shot is Kreludor, a dark horse squad that didn't even compete in last year's Cup. Mystery Island's potent offense gives them a puncher's chance, while Darigan fans are quick to proclaim that you can never count out a champion. As for Meridell and the Haunted Woods, though they may be on the outside looking in, they've proven that they can play with any team on any given day, and therefore have as good a shot as anyone at making a late run. With more than half of the Cup's teams still in contention, the only sure thing is that this year's tournament remains far from over.