2013 Altador Cup Tournament

As seen in the news, some new locker room backgrounds were released to the mall earlier today. We've found a few more that should be out in the coming days.

Today we're going to look at one of the Cup's main powerhouse teams - Krawk Island


For many years now, KI have held the highest win percentages in the Cup. However, since they won in the AC4, they have had, at best, a rocky old time. Of course, the winner's curse fall in the AC5 was expected. No one's been immune and it was silly to suggest KI would prove otherwise. However, the big surprise was the massive comeback to 2nd in the AC6.

Last year, however, saw KI fall again, all the way down to 7th. KI still hold on to the highest Yooyuball win percentage by a single point, but they have long since fallen in all the side games. Another bad year could well see them lose the title of highest average ranked team. Are KI's glory days over?

Well, let's look into why they fell last year. Since AC4 onwards, all 2nd place finishers have fallen in the standings the following year. Many now attribute this to a form of the winner's curse, with low ranking players joining 2nd in the hopes of gaining 1st. No doubt KI got some of these last year. Whilst the draw of teams cannot be entirely blamed for KI's fall as with other teams (KI faced a pretty even mix of opponents), another element of last year's system can perhaps explain a little of it.

KI had, by all accounts, a more difficult final bracket than some, facing both Darigan Citadel and the eventual winners, Kreludor. So what? Well, last year, each bracket awarded more points than the last. The final bracket ended up awarding 10 points for last place. When you compare it with the first bracket, where the winners were only awarded 13 points. Obviously, teams drawing a more difficult set of opponents in the last round were at a disadvantage. As an example, if KI's first and fourth brackets were swapped, KI would have actually ended with 58 points rather than 55. This might not sound like much, but it would have been enough to push KI from 7th to 6th.

Last year, KI were victims of circumstance. Perhaps this year they can punch through to the top again - but if they fail, the crown of the best all round team will doubtless fall.

Last year saw one of the most dramatic rises in fortunes in Altador Cup history. The team behind it? None other than Kiko Lake.


Kiko Lake have long been a mid to low ranking team, hovering around the top of the bottom bracket for most of their career. Last year however, they saw a meteoric rise, climbing all the way to 6th position, above the notorious powerhouse team, Krawk Island.

It's certainly not a new story - Virtupets having lifted themselves from last position all the way to 1st in the past, but this is in one single season. It mirrors the progress of Mystery Island, but to a lesser degree. So how did Kiko Lake manage the rise?

Well, although Kiko Lake didn't get the official support of an All-Star group, a troll 'leaking' information about who the Stealth AC Group would be joining mistakenly pointed to Kiko Lake instead of Mystery Island. Although Stealth ultimately went elsewhere, perhaps other players were duped into joining KL. The team historically has a low number of loyal players, so a number of new skilled players would make a dramatic impact. Then again, perhaps KL's own longstanding players finally kicked it up a notch.

Certainly, the easy draw excuse doesn't stack up for KL - they faced many strong teams like Kreludor, Meridell, and Mystery Island. Even the likes of Maraqua and Tyrannia would have been able to beat KL in previous years.

So what will happen this year? Well, we'll find out just where KL's performance came from. Non-loyal members joining would presumably go elsewhere in the new season, and we'd expect a fall from the team. Otherwise, it is possible KL may be able to cement their new reputation as a mid-range team.

Following on from yesterday when we discussed Faerieland, today let's talk about the team they tied with - Altador.


A steady downwards trend has dogged Team Altador for the last few years. They long ago became one of the usual suspects in the bottom bracket of the old system, and last year, even with the changes announced specifically in reference to giving teams like Altador a chance, they failed to capitalise.

Certainly, it seems like Faerieland, Altador were victims of the draw system, facing difficult teams including Kreludor in 3 out of 4 brackets. Facing such teams, there was no hope for Altador to gain high numbers of points. The sudden boost of Team Moltara pushed Altador down, and the rest is history.

This year, the stories of Altador and Faerieland are just as similar as their final standing. It all hinges on the draw. If they are placed in brackets with other low ranked teams like Faerieland or Moltara, Altador can be back on form. Winning the Cup is a distant dream, but getting out of the bottom two is an achievable goal.

Another change coming this year involves Team Meridell! Looks like Gregorio Maille will be switched out for a new player, and the team's second Ixi!

Be sure to check out all of the Team Freebies for this year's tournament!