*note*
I'm going to expand on these explanations in the near future.
1.Meridell This team has gone up in the standings steadily for two years now. This could very well be their year to shine!
They are a relatively small team with many dedicated and hard-working players; this is always a great combination.
This is going to be a heated battle between Maraqua and Meridell, but I feel Meridell will edge them out by a hair.
2. Maraqua Maraqua has been a powerful team for the past four cups. I feel this will be their year to make it into the first tier!
They are a relatively small team with many dedicated and hard-working players; this is always a great combination.
3. Krawk Island Krawk Island surprised many people with their second place finish last year. With finishing so high in the standings, Krawk Island is going to pick up many freeloaders.
KI has loads of dedicated and hard-working players, so they /should/ be able to shake off the freeloaders for the most part.
4. Tyrannia Tyrannia shocked the AC last year. With their newly found yyb skills, along with their side games expertise, this team will surely be a team to keep an eye on.
They have to pump up the yyb if they want to rank this high; I expect them to do so.

5. Kreludor With the loss of SOTAC, anything is possible. I expect them to lose some of their oomph, but they will no doubt be one of the top teams, especially in yooyuball. They will barely miss the top tier. :(
6. Darigan This team is all over the place! I have no idea were this team will end up. My gut feeling is this team will be contenders for the first tier, but they will miss it by a hair.
7. Shenkuu The Great Fall of Shenkuu in ACV. The slow comeback in ACVI. I expect Shenkuu to regain a lot of their oomph this year. I do not, however, expect them to be close to the top tier. The top tear will be tight between 1-6.
8. Lost Desert 1st to 13th? Ouch, I expect LD to comeback this year, but it will take at least one more year to shake off that devastating drop.
9. Virtupets Winners Curse. Need I say more? Due to being a smaller team, the affect will be worsened.
I do, however, feel that they are going to be massive contenders for the 2nd tier. Unfortunately, they will miss the second tier by a hair.
10. Mystery Island This team was once a top contender. What happened? I still have faith that they will improve despite their static history of being 14th.
11. Terror Mountain TM has seen stable growth for quite a while now. However, I feel this growth has stopped. I expect a very similar performance as last year.
12. Roo Island Once upon a time, RI was good. I expect the downwards spiral they started last year to continue.
I could be completely wrong though; it's a very unpredictable year for Roo Island.

13. Haunted Woods I'm seeing a fair amount of support for these guys ... I may move them up in the near future.
For now, I'm keeping them here, but I feel this team may very well do better than my prediction.
14. Brightvale Brightvale, you had my hopes up at the beginning of the AC VI! I don't expect that to repeat this year, unfortunately. Back to the bottom for BV :(
15. Kiko Lake I'm thinking about moving these guys up. They seem to be getting a lot of support.
For now, I'm keeping them here, but I feel this team may very well do better than my prediction. This team is extremely unpredictable (due to their small size).
16. Faerieland Meh ... It's Faerieland. They'll win a few games here and there, but they won't be anything special.
We have seen Faerieland improve over the last year, so you never know; I would not be overly shocked to see them make it to the third tier (though I'm very doubtful).
17. Moltara I don't expect Moltara to be a good team for quite, to be completely honest. Too many people have already chosen a team to be dedicated to. Perhaps in a few more years this will change, but certainly not now.
Also, they are full of surprises (KI anyone? -cough-).
18. Altador Yes, I'm predicting the home team to get last. I think Moltara will outplay them in the finals by a hair.