Altador Cup VIII Begins (31 May 2013)
After a long eleven months, the top players in the ancient sport of Yooyuball have once again gathered in Altador to do battle against one another in the Colosseum. The stadium's massive double doors were officially thrown open to the public early this morning, and thousands of fans eagerly flooded through the halls, snatching up souvenirs as fast as the stalls could be restocked while making their way into the main Yooyuball arena. The best seats were quickly claimed by fans who had been sleeping outside of the Colosseum for the better part of two days, and within an hour it was standing room only as the crowd awaited the long-anticipated opening ceremony of Altador Cup VIII. After a short delay, King Altador emerged from the tunnels beneath the stands, and a hush fell over the stadium as he made his way to a dais set up in the middle of the field. "Citizens and visitors from around the world," he began, "Allow me to officially welcome you to the great city of Altador for the start of Altador Cup VIII." His opening statement was followed by a lengthy session of cheering and applause, and once the noise finally died down he continued; "The best teams from around Neopia have been invited to participate in this test of valor and skill, and I would like to thank each and every one for choosing to put aside their lives for a time in order to travel to Altador so we may crown a champion from among them." After another session of applause, he gestured back to the tunnels and began to introduce each team one by one. New to the ceremony this year was the inclusion of a cultural representative from each land, and every team came out onto the field along with one of their staffers dressed in the traditional garb of their people. Some of the highlights included Roo Island with a jester costume, Lost Desert with a recreation of King Jazan's royal garb, Tyrannia with full war regalia, and Haunted Woods with..... nothing, at least at first glance. Some people mentioned later that they thought they made out the faint outline of a ghost neopet, but it was difficult to say for sure, given the late-morning sunlight that was streaming into the Colosseum. Once every team was gathered on the field, King Altador charged each of them to play with nothing less than the utmost in sportsmanship, and reminded them to conduct themselves as though each player was an ambassador from their land to the rest of the world. Each player nodded in solemn agreement, then turned and waved to the cheering crowd as they made their way off of the field.
Following the closing statement from King Altador, an official from the ACPC rolled a massive blackboard onto the field, and the entire crowd waited with bated breath to see what the first matchups of ACVIII were going to be. As the sheet was pulled from the blackboard, the wave of excitement from the assembled fans was followed by a short bout of confusion, then by a low murmur of fevered discussion. Apparently, the ACPC had heard the myriad complaints regarding last season's bracket matchups and chose to arrange the first brackets this season according to how each team finished in ACVII. The top six got placed in the Alabriss bracket, and middle six in the Minitheus bracket and the bottom six in the Vaeolus bracket. As of yet, no one knows how this arrangement will ultimately affect the final standings, but for many of last year's lower-ranked teams it is no doubt a small amount of relief to know they will have at least one round to get their bearings before they have to go up against some of the league's heavy hitters.