vs 
The Altador Cup is just around the corner(hopefully with a better format), and players from all 18 teams are gearing up. What does that mean?
It means its time for someone who doesnt know what hes talking about, to make bad predictions.I've never been completely right with these before. In fact i'm usually dead wrong. (I predicted Kreludor to go below 9th, last AC) But nonetheless, i'm writing, and you're reading, so lets continue on to the predictions!
Ugh, we have to play THEM?
Last year this team tore up the competition. Literally, you couldn't beat them. If my memory serves, they only had one loss last year in an upset against Virtupets.
Aside from that setback, Kreludor was light years ahead of the competition. Light years.
More importantly, multiple all-star groups have made a home there(a major reason for their dominance. Although credit should also go to the loyal KDers) and until I see anything to tell me otherwise, Kreludor is easily the best team in the Cup.
Powerhouses
You know what I love about Krawk Island? Even when TNT falsely freezes many of their top players, and the rest give up because of that and a biased format, they still take 7th place.
They've had a year to regroup, and this year they should come back as the same old powerhouse weve always known.
I don't know if last year was enough to say they're a sleeper, but expectations aren't as high as usual for one of the Cup's elite teams. They'll be fun to watch this season.
For the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out how they became so dominant. An all-star group should'ntve have that big an effect. So why mess with forces I dont understand?
Freeloaders could cause them to crash and burn, due to the small size of MI, but I also said that about Kreludor last year; look what happened.
Originally, I had them penciled in with Kreludor as a premier team. Now i'm debating placing them lower.
Meridell was scary to play against, last season. Thing is, though, that was LAST season. Meridell is an analysts nightmare, because they dont stay consisent from year to year. They have a good year, then they plummet, then when everyone is counting them out, they place high. They're due for a down year.
Also, it should be noted that their MVP won't be playing with them in the upcoming season. On a bigger team, that wouldn't matter, but Meridell is fairly small. That could really hurt their averages, especially in YYB.
Expect a dominant sidegame team, with some Yooyuball issues.
As a Minion, it pains me to put my beloved team this low, but I siply don't feel it this year.
Darigan has been and always will be a consistent powerhouse, but freeloaders and loss of All-stars due to the dreaded real-life disease should take its toll.
That won't stop us from competing in every single match, though. ;)
Good-but-not-Great
Thank you bracket system, for making Haunted Woods' strong season lost in the record books. /sarcasm
If you payed attention to wins and losses, and not bracket ranks, you'd have noticed that Haunted Woods was actually having an awesome year. They did well against really good teams, and for the most part handled lesser groups like a powerhouse would. Its the couple of times they were on the wrong side of an upset that keeps them out of powerhouse range, though.
Haunted Woods could be a sleeper team to get in the top 3, this year, if they're able to improve on what they did in AC VII.
Remember when they were a favourite to win the Cup? Funny how an awful new system can change things.
Maraqua is still good. They can beat powerhouses. But they play a LOT better in the second half of the season. Thing is, TNT's new system shortened the Cup, and MQ has had less time to take care of the other team's weariness.
If TNT implements a better way to run the Cup, like oh I don't know, the original Double Round Robin, Maraqua will be back in the top 4.
Middle-of-the-Road
Kiko Lake quietely took 6th in ACVII. While thats largely due to a borderline rigged bracket system, Kiko Lake has improved greatly over the past two years.
I'm just waiting for them to take that step up from "Plenty of Upsets on Good Teams" to "Consistently Good Team".
Something tells me I wont have to wait long.
They tend to bounce around the rankings. (Get it?) It's hard to have a good idea of where they'll go. My best guess, however, is that they'll improve from last year, and have a solid but not good year, being the definition of an average team.
Lets not forget that Roo Island is a Yooyuball powerhouse, but they usually don't have a chance at minigames against teams that know how to play them.
I sincerely miss the days of the rainbow powerhouse.
Lost Desert isn't... good.
Once, long ago, they were the team to beat in the AC, and they took the Cup. Since then they've felt the effects of the Winner's curse, the SOTAC Curse, Freeloaders, and All-stars leaving. Now they're below-average. (literally)
Granted, in ACVII they took 5th place, but anyone who watched the match results knows that was purely because of TNT's inability to run the Cup smoothly. They were repeatedly bested, but the bracket system kept them at the top.
Hopefully in the future they can return to former glory. Until then, good luck making the top half of final standings.
Also-played...
Two seasons ago, they won the Altador Cup. Then the All-star groups were replaced with freeloaders, and they fell. Now that they've had time to recouperate, and shake the bandwagon-ers, they should be able to dominate... the lesser-teams.
I'd be suprised to see them ever get above 8th place again.
Everyone year, people say this is the team thats gonna break out of the depths of the standings chart, and while theres been improvement and flashes of great play, this team isn't steady enough to consistently win, yet.
In the future they could be a powerhouse, but for now, theres many teams that are better.
Another team people always pick as a sleeper, but i've never seen it. They can play really well at times(i'm a DCer. Trust me, I would know.) but they've never been truly dominant, nor consistent. Scary to play against, like Kiko Lake, but no where near powerhouse level.
Ah, Tyrannia. They started off as a dominant Slushie Slinger team, then became dominant at side-games in general, and when they started improving in Yooyuball, they were on the brink of being the new powerhouse. Then the bracket-system happened, and now they just had a war that'll attract TONS of free-loaders.
Prove me wrong, Tyrannia, because currently I see you as one of the worst in the Cup.
Like Maraqua, they used to be a favourite to win, but fell from grace. Shenkuu has taken one heck of a fall, though.
For the past two years, Shenkuu has been my sleeper pick. I've been waiting for them to get it together and make us all go "wow, they're back!"
Sadly, I doubt that'll be a reality anytime soon.
Freeloaders! Freeloaders everywhere!
Hahahaha, remember when they beat KI in YYB? Good times.
Hahahaha, remember when they beat... Oh wait...
No, I keed. I love Faerieland. If the Cup was based off being friendly, they'd have 7 championships so far. But as it is, freeloaders flock to this team, and they'll probably never escape the bottom 4 spots, or so.
lol
THESE ARE FROM LAST YEAR
Because I can't really make predictions until I know what system they'll use, I decided to just leave these up to laugh at how wrong I was, last year. :p The ones on the side of my page are my predictions for if they use a Single Round Robin.Darigan Citadel
BIASED ALERT
But seriously, even though they took 7th, did you see the numbers this team put up? They lost freeloaders, and as an insider I know they gained more All-stars. This is the team i'd bet on for this Altador Cup. That is if they can top Maraqua in a FIERCE battle for the Cup when the finals come around.
And if nothing else, follow this team to see how well they fare against other big-name teams.
Maraqua
This team has some of the most solid play, best leadership, and strongest fanbase you will ever see in a team that hasn't already tooken home a title.
Freeloaders? What freeloaders? This is the new Krawk Island and Darigan Citadel. They have reached that level where freeloaders no longer hurt you. So what they're the most hyped team in the Cup and made their first playoff appearance last season? This is the up and coming team. If they can't edge the Cup away from Darigan, then they'll still be able to boast a great season and definatley a playoff spot. I can't say enough good thinks about the sharks.
Shenkuu
Right now I bet you look like 
Unless you're a Shenkuu fan. Then you look like 
But seriously, this team has recovered from its curses by now, it had a real spark at the end of last season that ight carry over, and it's regaining lost players now that the freeloaders have realized they'd have more chance of getting a gold trophy from Virtu- Oh wait...
Tyrannia
This will be the most superbly average team you will ever see.
Tyrannia was a horrible Yooyuball team before but DOMINATED sidegames. Last year they lost a little firepower on sidegames, but picked up their Yooyuball. Not enough to be a great team, but they still made second tier. This season though I think they'll figure it out and get a perfect balance of the games. They wont be perfect at everything, they wont be average at anything, they'll just be really really good at everything. Thats what will get them to top tier, but will also keep them from taking it all. They'll either grab the top or second spot when the DRR is done.
This is a small team gaining support. Another all-star here or there and we have a great team to watch. Not this upcoming year, but in Altador Cup nine I could see a First Place trophy in Tyrannia.
Krawk Island
That's right, I said it. Krawks Island won't make it to the playoffs. Although to be totally honest its a total toss-up between which spots MQ, DC, and KI will be in. Luck is the real thing that will decide which if them go to the playoffs and which has to fight for 5th.
But anyway, Krawk Island is a strong, powerhouse team. Taking second last timea round wont give them enough freeloaders to push them back any farther than here. And heck they might even edge past Shenkuu and Haunted Woods to claim 4th going into the playoffs. Krawk Island is hard to predict.
Haunted Woods
Haunted Woods make a comeback? No of course it couldn't happen. They're not that good. Unless of course you've watched their stats the last two years.
Haunted Woods is a powerhouse fallen from grace. KI and DC stayed string but Haunted Woods simply wasn't lucky. They dropped, and dropped, and dropped. But I think its about time they haunt the Cup again. And if you've watched their Yooyuball play you'll know they can. This team has held their own against the best in the big game and could advance to the next level once again.
Lost Desert
Yeah I don't know about this one either.
I don't know, something just refuses to let me beleive this team can stay out of second tier for more than a year. They just belong there. I could be wrong. We could be looking at Roo Island part II, but at the same time I think they could shake the SOTAC curse as well as the freeloaders and bounce back to the top. If they can get over their internal drama and stick together, that is.
Kreludor
You: Girl oh no you didn't! -zsnap-
Okay, has no one payed attention to teams that SOTAC has left behind? They show up and take credit fr a great season, then leave behind a shell of a powerhouse. I have nothing against SOTAC, actually they're pretty cool, but this happens every time. Its just anotherpart of AC life.
Anyway, curse aside, KD is a small-medium sized team. They're a dedicated group with a lot of hard workers, but nothing can keep them at the top with the amount of freeloaders their recent success has gotten them. If they stick together and hold on until Altador Cup 9, they can get their hands on another trophy.
Meridell
You: Oh, no no no. First Shenkuu, then Lost Desert, then KRELUDOR. But meridell is just too much.
Yeah yeah, get over it. People put too much hype into this team. And that's part of why they'll fall.
Now before you go all
and ragequit before reading the rest of my predictions, please hear me out.
1. Meridell has done really well and gotten to 5th before, and then plummeted to 3rd tier. AC 2, 8th place. AC 3, 5th place. AC 4 everyone was all hyped, then 11th place. AC 5, 8th place. AC 6, 5th place. Anyone see a pattern here?
2. Over hyped-teams are doomed to fall. And Meridell is being predicted everywhere to win the Cup or atleast get into the top tier. Can you say freeloader?
3. When teams get better, there has to be teams to take their spot in the lower tiers. Well if Shenkuu, Lost Desert, and Haunted Woods all claw their way back up, whos gonna drop to third tier or lower? Heres a hint, it's not Maraqua.
Roo Island
They wont get worse, they wont get better.
Solid YYB team. May be a serious contender for bottom of 2nd tier, but in the end will wind up down at 3rd tier once again. They'd win that divison too if anyone but Meridell was gonna be waiting for them in the final game. And they will if Lost Desert or Kreludor ends up fighting for 9th.
Terror Mountain
Just when you think they're a playoff contender... They freeze. Ba dum tssssshhhhh
Eh, they may start off well again, but it wont hold. They're not that good yet. A few more all-stars and this small team could soar, but for now they're stuck on the ground watching the big boys fight it out and angrily wishing luck had chosen them over Tyrannia to break out of the lower half of the Cup. And the mini-hype of 8th place isnt gonna help.
Mystery Island
Remember the glory days when Mystery Island ws a matchup to be scared of?
Don't get me wrong, I like MI, and they have one of the funniest chatgroups in the AC, but MI isn't gonna be breaking out and going undefeated in Yooyuball any time soon. Who do you think they are? Altador?
Virtupets
That's right, no back to back wins for our favourite dark horse.
If you're still suprised go reread my predictions on Shenkuu, Lost Desert, Kreludor, and Meridell. Teams must fall, and Virtupets is primed to plumet into their previous anti-glory.
Virtupets was beast last season. And I respect those players for how hard they worked to get to the top after the years of 4th tier. But sadly all good things must come to an end. And for Virtupets its gonna be one rude awakening. They're so small, that the freeloaders picked up from the winners curse might even make them go competely defeated in one of the games. Not Make Some Noise or Yooyuball of course, but maybe Slushie Slinger(No one likes that game). Not even a small group of dedicated All-stars can save them from the tidal wave of freeloaders that's gonna crash down on them.
Brightvale
No matter how much hype they have, they'll always be toast. Ba dum tsssssshhhhh
This is a team that's hyped over every year, and they did well last season, but they're doomed to stay in the lower ranks of the Altador Cup quarreling with Faerieland and beating down on Altador whenever they need a morale boost. Still though, they could prive me wrong. Maybe the hype is gonna come true this time and they'll cling to the bottom of second-tier. They could be the next Terror Mountain.
Faerieland
You just gotta love these guys. Ugly colors, but still you gotta love these guys.
Faerieland has consistently been getting better every year, last year being amazing at the game no one likes. I hope that someday they'll have an amazing year that catapults them into top tier, but for now the nicest team in the Altador Cup will have to settle with another great sidegame year.
Moltora
Moltora out of last place? Never!
Eh, after beating Krawk Island in yooyuball, anything is possible for them. I like these guys and wanna see them succeed. Slowly, and with no big stats to stare at, this team will inch its way up to 4th tier. Its not much, but its a start.
Kiko Lake
That one team that you're always excited to see, except when you're playing them.
Ah, Kiko Lake. What an odd little group you are. You're not a good team by any means, but you're outstanding at sidegames and someday could be the official sidegame team. Now that Tyrannia is a Yooyuball team too that spots open, y'know.
Anyway, Kiko Lake is gonna post some good sidegame stats, but not enough to escape bottom tier. Along the way they'll give us some great upsets to laugh at. Until they pull off a Yooyuball win against your team.
Altador
My 18th place senses are tingling.
Altador is like the little brother of the Altador Cup. Everyone like to beat them up. This is gonna be another winless season in everything except Slushie Slinger, just like last time, except with an upset Yooyuball win like before.
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