The 2021 Alliance World Championships

[barney]

9 minutes ago, Mannetosen said:

BREAKING NEWS

 

Haitian Ginger To Undergo Emergency Back Surgery After Carrying Entire Team

I know the feels

[JudoJoker]

POV: your alliance is about to face KBW.

[Alfred]

 

 

 

ROUND FOUR - PREVIEW

 

Two more rounds of the group stage to go before we find out where exactly each alliance team will be spending the finals. Some teams will be having their last group stage match up during this round whilst everyone else will be finishing up in round five. Let's take a look at what we have to look forward to in round four!

 

In group A, reigning champions YABAI will be taking on newcomers The Guardians and for the champs, this will be their fourth and final group stage match up. Currently in first place but with a fight ahead of joint on points Keyboard Warriors, YABAI have a big chance here to cement their place in the champions phase finals. The Guardians, currently in fourth and with two more match ups to go, will be looking to spoil the party but it's been a tough road so far and the odds of pulling off the upset will be stacked heavily against them.

One of their better chances of points comes in the team captain match up between Kaspar Kallaste (TG) and Jay Reepo (YAB). Kallaste brings some wonderful boxing skills into the fray and has been showing good progress in his ground skills which is perhaps in preparation for this important showdown. Reepo is undefeated in the tournament so far at 3-0 and will be a strong favourite to get the win here too but make no mistake, if he cannot get this fight on the ground, he is in big trouble. At lightweight, YABAI's Bishop Bonesteel is also undefeated in the tournament and looking like a solid long term prospect for manager Esiah Xavier. He will be a massive favourite against middling Isak Hardrafa who will need to rely heavily on his superior Muay Thai skills. 185Lbs gives us YABAI's Omer Demirci versus The Guardians Matt Cosce and once again YABAI look set to take away the points in this one two. Cosce is still looking for his first win of the tournament whilst Demirci has done well to overcome a round one mishap and gain wins in his last two fights. Moving on to 265lbs, the scales finally turn towards The Guardians when their undefeated heavyweight star Drax Bautista takes on YABAI's Huber Schlesien. Bautista, now 3-0 with his last two coming by way of finish, will be a strong favourite over Schlesien who only just managed to overcome a two fight skid in his last match up, bringing his tournament record to 1-2 overall.

Prediction: YABAI to take the match up three fights to one. 135Lbs and heavyweight are the only potential points pick up for The Guardians with lightweight and middleweight leaning too far towards YABAI to reasonably expect an upset.

 

The other Group A fixture will be a showdown between Keyboard Warriors and Naughtly Crew 3. Keyboard Warriors, currently in second place but joint on points and with a fight in hand over leaders YABAI, would absolutely guarantee themselves a spot in the Champions phase finals with a win here whilst bottom place Naughtly Crew 3 would pretty much do well to avoid ending up in last place.

A fight to watch out for at 135lbs will be between team captains Akio Kurosaki (KW) and Stuart Burrows (NC3). Both fighters currently with a 1-1 record, the fight looks set to be a grappling war with Kurosaki's wonderful wrestling skills going up against Burrows BJJ Brown Belt. The bookies have the fight as even although the key might be within Burrows slow but steady progress in the stand up. At 155lbs, Keyboard Warriors Aung Siang will be the slight favourite against Naughtly Crew's underperforming Ultimate Warrior who is developing a bit of a reputation as a gym only star. Currently 0-2, Warrior is still looking for his first win despite making big improvements in training. Siang, 1-1, will be slightly outgunned but in slightly better form. At 185lbs, 2-0 Bofur Widenose (KW) will be taking on 1-1 Tran Quaach for Naughtly Crew 3. A striker versus grappler affair no question, Widenose will be the heavy favourite going into this one. Finally, at heavyweight, Keyboard Warriors undefeated Felix Suarez takes on Naughtly Crew's 0-2 Uncle Abner. Suarez is looking something of a surprise package for Keyboard Warriors and is heavily favoured to get the job done against Abner who is still searching for his first points of the tournament.

Prediction: Keyboard Warriors seal their place in the Champions Finals with an overall win three fights to one. In truth, a clean sweep wouldn't be at all surprising with Naughtly Crew captain Stuart Burrows the only one of his team likely to score some points.

 

On to Group B where champions phase qualification contenders Syndicate and Limitless will face off against each other. This one is sure to be an interesting collision with a lot on the line for both parties. Surprise package Limitless, currently holding steady in second place, make their forth and final appearance in the group phase of this tournament and will definitely need a win to have any chance of a place amongst the big boys. A win for Limitless would mean that second place remains unreachable for Syndicate meaning that they would need to hope they qualify through the two wildcard slots available but with that giving no guarantees at all, Syndicate realistically find themselves in the same position where a win here is absolutely necessary for their qualification chances.

A massive fight at 135lbs and one I am personally very much looking forward to. Two fighters that were earmarked as potential stars early on, we have Limitless' Paolo Del Geno taking on Syndicate's Dreynos Elvul. Del Geno coming into this fight after suffering his first loss of the tournament, a first round submission loss to The Stepdads Ricky Greene, will put his brawling style up against the submission wrestling of slight favourite Dreynos Elvul. At 155lbs we have Trey Limitless taking on Syndicate team captain Slash Shredder. Limitless also having just suffered his first loss after an impressive two fight win streak will be a solid favourite to win over Shredder who is still searching for his first victory after two fights. Yet another fight slightly favoured for Limitless at 185lbs with Heinrich Von Slackenfuchs taking on Syndicate's Al Hoffa who is also still looking to pick up his first points of the tournament. The final heavyweight bout pits Limitless ailing captain Slim Towney up against Syndicate's Sono Tiger. Both fighters have in common a brutally quick loss against The Stepdads Bruce Hood but otherwise, Tiger has shown himself to have some knockout power himself whereas Towney has not fared well at all during this tournament and enters the fight on the back of a three fight losing streak. Tiger will be a huge favourite in this one with many believing it to be an easy five points for his alliance.

Prediction: A tough one for sure but having to take into account the form of Syndicate's 155 and 185lber's you'd have to say that the balance of power swings ever so slightly towards Limitless. Of course, it's difficult to count on that due to the high ranking of those fighters management teams and if they can manage to shift up a gear or two, it could be a completely different outcome. For now though, we expect Limitless to take this one on points with the match ups maybe going 2-2.

 

Elsewhere in Group B, current group leaders and 2020's runners up The Stepdads will be in action as they take on bottom place alliance Legion of Doom. With both teams mid way through their group stage campaigns, it's fair to say that The Stepdads are in a much stronger position than Legion of Doom and due to their unsurprisingly good start, have given themselves quite a comfortable cushion against a shock upset loss here. Legion of Doom on the other hand are in quite a tough spot. As of right now, mathematically, they could still end up topping the group but they would need to win both of their remaining two match ups which means upsetting all the odds and defeating the very in-form Stepdads.

A good place to start for Legion of Doom could be at 135lbs where their granite chinned Solomon Grundy will face off against The Stepdads Ricky Greene. Both fighters 1-1 currently with neither having been finished so far. Should be an excited fight though Greene is looking as though he is making the better progress in the gym. At lightweight, The Stepdads team captain Shinji Tomoguchi will be odds on favourite to defeat LOD's Bob Probert. 1-1 Probert has the superior stand up game but he might find it difficult to avoid the smothering clinch game and remarkable wrestling skills of Tomoguchi. A big opportunity for Legion of Doom perhaps as their team captain John Rackham goes against 2-0 Maximus DeMarcus Meridius. Rackham, coming in after suffering a late in round one TKO finish loss, was vocal on social media about not making the same mistakes again and you have to believe he will be motivated to get a better result this time around. Still, Meridius is currently undefeated and performing well enough to be thought of as favourite in this match up. At heavyweight, it's really a no brainer as heavy hitting powerhouse Bruce Hood (TSD) takes on London native Richard Anderson for Legion of Doom. Anderson hasn't done badly so far in the tournament with a record of 1-1 but Hood hasn't even needed two whole minutes to rack up two wins out of two and it would certainly be a big shock if that tradition didn't continue on here for his manager Step Daddy Squid.

Prediction: Unfortunately for Legion of Doom, an easy one to make. The Stepdads take a minimum of three out of these four match ups and the likelihood of a clean sweep not too far behind. That isn't to say that Legion of Doom are a bad team at all. More so that The Stepdads are currently a level above in consistency and performance and picking against them is more often than not a very foolish thing to do.

 

Finally, into Group C we go where big time alliance Convicted Inc will take on AWC first timers ACME 2. Things haven't been plain sailing for the Convicted boys so far and with a record of 1-2, they go into their final group phase match up needing nothing less than a decisive team victory. Whilst they currently occupy one of the two wildcard qualifying spots for the Champions final, there is still no guarantees that even a win would allow them to retain said spot and instead, no matter the result, they will need to wait until the end of round five to learn there fate. ACME 2 are still looking to pick up their first win as a team and as a result are currently languishing at the bottom of the Group C table. Whilst a spot in the champions final is currently a bit of a far fetched dream, avoiding a bottom place finish would be the next biggest priority and the scalp of a potentially past it's prime Convicted Inc alliance would be a great place to start.

Bantamweight might be the first opportunity ACME get to draw blood as submission wrestler Glenn Welch takes on Convicted's Nevez Amadaus. Welch has yet to pick up a win here this season whilst Amadaus will be coming in 1-2. Amadaus has shown himself to be weak to submission in previous fights so if Welch can get the fight to the floor, he has a fair chance of getting his hand raised. 155Lbs pits Convicted's Rico Axelrod against ACME's Brett Keane and this one could also swing either way. Axelrod with a more brawling style, he will be contending with Keane's more traditional Muay Thai based approach. At middleweight, Convicted look set to take all five points as their star performer and team captain Haitian Ginger takes on ACME captain Mun So who hasn't looked the same since competing in the AWC trials. Currently 0-2 So will be a massive underdog against the yet undefeated submission hunter Ginger. The final heavyweight bout sees inconsistent Convicted fighter Gehngis Khan taking on ACME's 0-2 Fidel DeLuna. An interesting showdown featuring an out and out striker taking on a clinch wrestler. Khan will be the very slight favourite going in.

Prediction: Although it wouldn't be a total shock to see ACME pull off an upset, it just feels a little too uncomfortable to pick them over Convicted Inc, no matter how poorly they are performing. With Convicted's reputation and honour on the line here, it's highly likely that they are going to come out motivated and at their absolute best (aka Karter logs in and sets their sliders for them) Still, there's enough about ACME here to make it interesting and this one will likely have a fair few extra eyes upon it.

 

Our final round four match up will be between fourth place Team Panda and current group leaders and 2020 bronze medallists FinnFighters. Team Panda have been slowly slipping down the table since their shock upset victory over Convicted Inc and now only qualify for the middle place finals. FinnFighters on the other hand are looking very strong indeed and have taken control of the group with two more rounds to go.

Kicking off the showdown will be Team Panda captain Napoleon Panda and he will be taking on FinnFighters 2-0 CG Mannheim. Panda will be coming in off of a loss so it will be interesting to see how he rebounds against an in-form Mannheim. Both fighters being submission hunters makes the match up all the more intriguing. A big match up at 155lbs as FinnFighters team captain Rokken Roll takes on Team Panda's Jacques Turcotte. Both fighters currently undefeated at 2-0 and both with similar approaches to the game. Definitely a fight to watch and likely to be a very competitive one. At middleweight FinnFighters Oke Swahn will meet Team Panda's Otto Graff who has yet to pick up his first win of the tournament. Graff looks to be slightly outgunned in a couple of areas here and the bookies have him down as a rather large underdog. Finally, at heavyweight, Team Panda's Jacko Dawson will go toe to toe with FinnFighters undefeated Einar Kyrvansyyla who has managed to rack himself up a couple of first round finishes in a row. The bookies have Dawson as a huge underdog in this one though he does have a first round victory over Convicted Inc's Ghengis Khan.

Prediction: FinnFighters take this one in a big way. Team Panda really need the win if they are to get back into a qualifying position but this FinnFighters team are in great shape and look incredibly motivated right now. Not many would be willing to bet on any upsets happening here.

 

[Alfred]

 

 

 

Individual Performance Tables 

(After Round 3)

 

 

 

[Skizz81]

Good stuff Alfred. Thanks for doing it!

[Squiiid28]

Great work alfred! Much appreciated 

[Alfred]

Quick Update - Round 4

All the usual updates have been made (fight results, group standings) so every team can see where they are going into the final group round. 

After this next group stage (5th and final) the teams will move into their finals brackets to decide overall placing in the tournament. Teams in the champions bracket will have a further 3 fights and everyone else will have 2. 

Cheers all and best of luck! (Except for FinnFighters. No luck for you)

[Bleakardor]

Huge win for Team Syndicate this round.  We knew we needed a win and each of our guys stepped up big time.  Very proud of our guys and looking forward to seeing how the rankings settle after this round.

[Xyel]

[Bleakardor]

That's epic!  lol

[Bleakardor]

On 4/9/2021 at 7:23 PM, Alfred said:

Quick Update - Round 4

All the usual updates have been made (fight results, group standings) so every team can see where they are going into the final group round. 

After this next group stage (5th and final) the teams will move into their finals brackets to decide overall placing in the tournament. Teams in the champions bracket will have a further 3 fights and everyone else will have 2. 

Cheers all and best of luck! (Except for FinnFighters. No luck for you)

Could you direct me to the round 4 results post update?  I'm not sure where they are as the above chart is only from post round 3.

[Xyel]

Just now, Bleakardor said:

Could you direct me to the round 4 results post update?  I'm not sure where they are as the above chart is only from post round 3.

First page, 3rd post.

[poraan]

Naughty Crew 2 basically needs to win all fights in round 1  against us to get top spot at group C. Wich looks like impossible mission.

 

1 (1) FinnFighters (3-0, Wins 3, (For 44, Against 5, Dif +35) = Points 9) Theres mistake

 

[Alfred]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:56 PM, poraan said:

Naughty Crew 2 basically needs to win all fights in round 1  against us to get top spot at group C. Wich looks like impossible mission.

 

1 (1) FinnFighters (3-0, Wins 3, (For 44, Against 5, Dif +35) = Points 9) Theres mistake

 

Good spot and precisely why everyone should scrutinise my adding and subtracting skills after each round lol. 

 

[Alfred]

Round 4 Recap

GROUP A

Reigning champs YABAI were coming in for their final group stage bout and taking on the slightly underperforming team of The Guardians. The Guardians, down in fourth place, really needed to get some points on the board if they were to have any chance of moving into the final eight but it was always going to be a big ask going against a team such as YABAI. 

The bantamweight captains bout kicked off the match up and it was YABAI's Jay Reepo who got the win to keep his undefeated streak alive. Kaspar Kallaste was no pushover however and took the fight all the way to a unanimous judges decision. No real surprises at 155lbs & 185lbs as YABAI's Bishop Bonesteel and Omer Demirci got the wins over The Guardians struggling Isak Hardrada and Matt Cosce. Bonesteel is looking like a major threat at lightweight and remains undefeated at 4-0 while Omer Demirci goes to 3-1 as he rides a three fight win streak. Both of The Guardian boys drop to a middling 1-2 record. With both fights ending in the first round, YABAI had put the match up out of reach for The Guardians going into the final fight where their undefeated heavyweight star Drax Bautista had so far been a reliable source of points for them. Taking on YABAI's 1-2 Huber Schlesien, Bautista was the solid favourite going in so it was quite a surprise to see him go down in the second round via a KO finish. A clean sweep for YABAI over a very disappointing Guardians team. YABAI win by 16 points to 0. 

With the win YABAI keep their first place spot going into their fifth round bye and can rest easy knowing that, one way or another, they will be moving into the final eight of the tournament. Whether they go there as group champions or not, they will have to wait until the results of the fifth round to see but currently they are tied on points with second placed Keyboard Warrior who are still to have their last group fight. With two of their team still undefeated at this point, YABAI are unsurprisingly looking like the championship material that they are. 

For The Guardians, the loss pretty much marks the end of any championship aspirations unless they can somehow pull off a massive win in their final bout. Even then, it would only be a shot at one of the two third place wild card slots but at least there is still hope. With heavyweight Drax Bautista suffering his first loss, the team lose what seemed like a consistent source of points. In truth though, inconsistency has plagued the team from the start and it just may end up being the reason they miss out on a top 8 spot. 

The other Group A match up pitted second place Keyboard Warriors against bottom of the group Naughtly Crew 3. The Keyboard Warriors had so far managed to win both of their two match ups and take a strong qualifying position in the group. Naughtly Crew had managed one draw and a loss so were really looking to add a win to that record. 

Once again, two team captains met in the 135lbs bout and on this occasion it was Naughtly Crew's Stuart Burrows who draw first blood and gave his team a real boost with a second round submission win over Keyboard Warriors Akio Kurosaki. At 155lbs, an uneventful three round snoozefest between Aung Siang (KW) and Ultimate Warrior (NC3) went to a judge's decision and was ruled in favour of Siang putting the score at 4-2 to Naughtly Crew 3. Undefeated middleweight Bofur Widenose changed that however with a first round victory over Naughtly Crew's Tran Quaach leaving Naughtly Crew needing a win in the final heavyweight bout. No such luck as Uncle Abner was taken down and tapped out within thirty-five seconds by Keyboard Warriors other undefeated star Felix Suarez. A nice attempt by the minnows of Naughtly Crew but once again not close enough as they lose the match up 12 points to 4. 

The Keyboard Warriors, now 3-0, have cemented their place in the final eight and the only question that remains is whether they go there are group champions or as group runners up? They hold all the cards in answering that as they need only a draw to clinch the Group A title being as they are joint points with YABAI but with a fight in hand. It might be easy to overlook them as potential championship contenders but lets not forget, they have already beaten the champs in the group stage and also have two currently undefeated fighters in Bofur Widenose and Felix Suarez. Going to be very interesting to see what happens from here as the pressure starts to mount. 

GROUP B

An important showdown in Group B with second placed Limitless making their final group stage appearance against third placed Syndicate. Both teams were on the right track for a spot in the final eight and so the result of this meeting would be especially crucial for Limitless. 

At 135lbs, Syndicates Dreynos Elvul picked up his third victory in a row over Limitless' Paolo Del Geno and managed to keep his undefeated streak intact. The win came early in round one by submission giving Syndicate a big early lead at 5-0. Another disappointing performance by Del Geno who had looked so assured early in the tournament. Another big win for Syndicate at 155lbs, this time as team captain Slash Shredder picked up his first professional win with a first round TKO finish over Trey Limitless. Trey being another one of Limitless' formerly reliable fighters that had seen their fortunes turn around during this second half of the group stage. 10 Points to 0 for Syndicate going into the middleweight bout and yet again, Syndicate surprising with their man Al Hoffa also turning around a two fight losing streak to edge out Limitless' Heinrich Von Slackenfuchs over three rounds for a unanimous decision win. With Limitless down 12 points to 0 and the match out of reach, all that was left for them was a potential heavyweight consolation prize but it wasn't to be as team captain Slim Towney fell to his fourth straight loss in a row against Syndicate's Sono Tiger. Another first round victory for Syndicate to end the meeting 17 Points to 0. 

A thoroughly disappointing finish to the group stage for Limitless who now drop down into third place but with no more match ups to go. Somehow they still hold on to a place in the final eight via occupying a wild card slot as one the higher scoring third place teams but at this point there is no guarantee that will be the case come the end of round 5. Individually it will be disappointing for them to see some of their earlier performers drop a gear or two but ultimately, the biggest criticism will be levied directly towards 0-4 team captain Slim Towney who has become an outright liability at this point.

For Syndicate, it was just the performance they needed after their loss to The Stepdads and their round three bye was obviously put to good use by some of their lesser performing team members. Syndicate now climb above Limitless into second place and are in a very strong position in which to reach the final eight teams. They could still mathematically concede their position however but the sequence needed to make that happen seems quite unlikely at this point. With Slash Shredder and Al Hoffa picking up their first wins of the season and the high level performances of Dreynos Elvul, Syndicate seem to be a team on the rise once again. 

Elsewhere in the group, table toppers The Stepdads were taking on bottom placed Legion of Doom. The Stepdads, already in a strong position to qualify would only benefit further from a victory whilst the Legion of Doom desperately needed the points to have any chance of making it into the final eight. 

An intriguing bout at 135lbs to kick things off with The Stepdads Ricky Greene taking on gritty boxer Solomon Grundy. Unfortunately for Grundy he just wasn't up to speed with the submission side of the game and Greene was able to secure himself a first round Kimura to get the scoring going at 5-0 for The Stepdads. Something of an upset at 155lbs as Legion of Doom's Bob Probert performed out of his skin to just pip Stepdads team captain Shinji Tomoguchi in a majority decision victory. No one would have really expected this result especially with Probert beating Tomoguchi at his own game in the clinch. 5-2 for The Stepdads going into the middleweight bout and Legion of Doom team captain John Rackham up to bat. He was taking on undefeated Maximus DeMarcus Meridius in something of a grappling showdown and unfortunately for team LOD, Meridius was able to catch Rackham in the dying seconds of round one for a maximum point victory giving The Stepdads their third win in a row. With the result decided, there was still a great deal of buzz going into the heavyweight match up. Big Bruce Hood of The Stepdads coming in undefeated with two first round KO's to his name and 1-1 underdog Richard Anderson for Legion of Doom. The hands started flying immediately with both fighters suffering cuts and then on into the clinch where both fighters continued to give it everything they had. In the end, it was the horrifically thudding body shots from Anderson that were able to destroy the engine of heavy hitting Hood and earning himself a huge victory over a big favourite. A nice finish for Legion of Doom but once again, just a little bit short overall. The Stepdads win the match up by a narrow margin of 10 Points to 7. 

The Stepdads move to 3-0 as a team and secure their place in the final eight and still with a fight to go. Not particularly surprising given they are the current 2020 runners up but still, this was a much closer result than some might have expected. The Stepdads currently occupy the number one spot in the table and they would need only a draw in round five to hang on to it. There is a possibility they could drop into second should they lose their remaining group fight and Syndicate win but regardless of results, they will be among the final eight alliance teams. 

It's been a difficult run for Legion of Doom with some mixed individual performances. Unfortunately for them, they have been unable to get on the same page at the same time and it has resulted in a bottom place standing at the end of round four. With one more fight remaining, there is still a very small chance that they could squeeze into one of the two wild card slots for a place in the final eight but it would likely need a very strong points score for them to do it. The alternative scenario is a loss and place in the bottom place finals with all the other losers (like Naughtly Crew 3)

GROUP C

On to Group C now where the ghosts of Convicted past were taking on the Tycoon new boys ACME 2. The reputation of this once great alliance was hanging in the balance and they surely needed a win in their final group stage match up to give them any chance of a shot at AWC gold. For ACME 2, at 0-2, it was fair to say they had been struggling a little in the group and a win here would be just what they needed to rebuild some confidence for the last stretch of the tournament.

At 135lbs, Nevez Amadaus picked up a quick first round TKO win over ACME's Glenn Welch to give Convicted the lead at 5-0. At 155lbs, Convicted's Rico Axelrod followed suit with his own first round TKO over Brett Keane. With the match up spiralling out of reach for ACME, they would now need a miracle just to scrape up a draw. A curious observation was made after the results of each of these two victories for Convicted as both Amadaus and Axelrod both gave the wink and the gun to a mysteriously hooded figure in the crowd. When asked about the stranger later on, neither would give much away saying only that he was a man “touched by the sun” Possibly some cult stuff going on here that we shouldn't really be delving into. Back to the match up and next was undefeated Convicted team captain Haitian Ginger taking on ACME head man Mun So. So was still looking for his first win of the tournament and so it was little surprise when he succumb to a sneaky triangle choke midway through the first round. ACME now needed something more than a miracle to prevent the dreaded twenty point drubbing but any hope of that vanished as the mysterious hooded man accompanied Convicted's Ghengis Khan to the cage in his bout against ACME heavyweight Fidel DeLuna. As if by magic, DeLuna fell shortly before the two minute mark and Convicted had achieved the first 20-nothing score of the tournament. 

There's no way of sugar coating this one, it was a terrible performance from ACME and one that is going to leave a scar for the remainder of the tournament. A place in the final eight is now mathematically impossible and even a spot in the Middle place finals is unlikely without results elsewhere in round five going their way (on top of them picking up their own victory in round five of course) Little was expected of such a new alliance at the start of this tournament but still, this one has to sting a little. 

For Convicted, this was the result that they so desperately needed and it looks as though it will be enough for a spot in the championship finals. Nothing will be confirmed however until the end of the fifth and final group stage bout. Some good performances here from their more inconsistent team members but without question their star performer is team captain Haitian Ginger who now moves to four wins out of four and with all coming by way of submission. With this kind of finishing power at the helm and coupled with the influence of the mysterious sun cult leader, Convicted will continue to have at least a decent shot at winning any match up. 

The final group stage match up of the round was between current Group C leaders FinnFighters and fourth place Team Panda. FinnFighters, last years bronze medallists, were coming in off the back of two very solid team performances whilst Team Panda were still reeling from their defeat against Naughtly Crew 2 and looking for another performance like they put out against Convicted in the opening round. 

Team Panda captain Napoleon Panda was up first at 135lbs but his game plan was seemingly shut down by FinnFighters CG Mannheim's ground and pound tactics. A slow start to proceedings and a 2-0 lead for the Finns. Next up, one of Team Panda's better performers in 2-0 Jacques Turcotte taking on FinnFighters captain Rokken Roll. Again the bout went the distance this time with Roll taking all three rounds on the judges scorecards. Turcotte's first loss of the tournament and a real bad omen for Team Panda. At middleweight, FinnFighters Oke Swahn needed only twenty-four seconds to take out Panda's struggling Otto Graf with a viscous KO finish and put the match up out of reach for the Panda boys. No consolation points at heavyweight either as 2-0 wrecking machine Einar Kyrvansyyla dispatched of Team Panda's Jacko Dawson one minute and twenty-four seconds into round one. Another shut out in Group C and a final score of 14 points to 0 for FinnFighters. 

Another big win for the dastardly FinnFighters who now seem to have a firm grip on one of the eight qualifying spots for the championship finals. Maintaining their first place position in the group, they are three points clear of their closest rivals and need only a draw in their final group stage meeting to guarantee they stay there. No real concerns at any weight for them currently and with their team looking particularly strong at both flyweight and heavyweight, the FinnFighters will certainly be on the radar of some of the stronger teams as we get close to the final phases of the tournament. 

A poor showing by Team Panda who now drop to a 1-2 record overall and go into their fourth and final group stage match up needing nothing less than a win to guarantee them nothing but a small glimmer of hope at a spot in the final eight. It's still possible but with losses creeping into the records of their more reliable performers, Team Panda just made have to resign themselves to a spot in the Middle finals this time around 

[Bleakardor]

Great stuff Alfred!

[Mannetosen]

 

Praise the Sun!

[Alfred]

 

ROUND FIVE - PREVIEW

The fifth and final round of the group stage is now upon as and with it, a much clearer picture of what each and every alliance needs to get out of it in order to reach there best position. 

Starting with Group A where bottom placed Naughtly Crew 3 will square off against fellow underdogs ACME 1, it's likely that ACME are going to be handicapped from the very start after one of their managers sacked after the last round and doesn't seem to be very interested in rectifying his “mistake”. A real shame considering ACME 1 currently reside in the middle of the table and with a good result could have very easily found themselves snatching one of the two wildcard slots for a space in the finals. I suppose technically there is a chance for Naughtly Crew 3 to do the same, though it would require practically a perfect result here as well as other results throughout the tournament going their way too. Otherwise Naughtly Crew 3 will be scrapping it out to try and avoid ending up in the bottom place finals (aka the losers bracket)

The aforementioned forfeit bout should have been happening at 135lbs with both team captains set to face each other. Currently it looks as though Naughtly Crew's Stuart Burrows will standing in the cage unopposed and set to collect the maximum 5 points for a forfeit win unless ACME captain Devin Russell signs the bout agreement in time. At 155lbs, ACME's Torn Brot faces Naughtly Crew 3's Ultimate Warrior and will be a very slight favourite going in. Very closely matched in skills except for the wrestling where Warrior will excel, it is likely individual form that has shaped the bookies opinion on this one as Warrior has still yet to pick up any points at all. At 185lbs Tran Quaach from Naughtly Crew will face Gretchen Alexander for ACME and really, this could go either way. Very much a grappler versus striker styles clash, neither fighter have been particularly impressive lately and will both be looking to overturn a two fight losing streak. On to the final heavyweight bout and ACME just may have the edge in this one as their 1-2 Peter Kowalski takes on 0-3 Uncle Abner for NC3. On paper another grappler versus striker match and one that, again, could go either way. With Abner's form taken into consideration however, it's easy to see why Kowalski is considered a slight favourite. 

Prediction: With ACME 1 likely coming into this a man down, a tough little rivals match up will now be all the tougher for them to get a result from. Most of the match up's here are very close and could go either way. It wouldn't even be a total shock to see ACME pull off the win even with a fighter missing. Still, it would be a shame to see in a way as nothing except a perfect win from either side will likely yield them maximum returns on a group finishing spot. With that said, the bookmakers predict ACME holding on to take this bout 3 legit ones to 1 forfeit. 

The other remaining Group A match up is also currently looking as though it will be a man down as group title chasers Keyboard Warriors look to maintain their undefeated streak against forth place The Guardians. Keyboard Warriors would snatch first place from YABAI with a win here though they are already guaranteed a place in the champions phase finals no matter what the result. For The Guardians, they too could theoretically end up in the finals but it would require an herculean effort against a terribly in form alliance team and on top of that, they just might be without one of their most consistent performers in Drax Bautista. 

Another 135lbs team captain showdown with The Guardians Kaspar Kallaste taking on Keyboard Warriors Akio Kurosaki. A very interesting bout considering the similarities that both fighters share. Both currently 1-2 and with almost identical results against the same opponents. Kallaste has obviously been working on his ground game to compliment his already wonderful boxing skills and that just might give him the edge against pure grappler Kurosaki. At 155lbs, Keyboard Warriors Aung Siang rides a two fight winning streak as he prepares to face The Guardians Isak Hardrada and is likely going to be a decent favourite going in. Hardrada has been a little inconsistent during the group stage so far and will have little in the way of defence against Siang's wonderful wrestling and purple belt jiu-jitsu. At 185lbs, the pendulum swings thoroughly towards Keyboard Warriors as their undefeated submission machine Bofur Widenose takes on struggling 0-3 Matt Cosce. Not one of Widenose's opponents have managed to survive three rounds against him so far and with three first round finish losses himself, it's unlikely that Cosce will end up being the first to do so. At heavyweight, The Guardians look set to miss out on any potential and desperately needed points as top team performer Drax Bautista has yet to sign the bout agreement against undefeated Keyboard Warrior star Felix Suarez. A real shame should this bout not take place as it would have been a real interesting one stylistically and also a big test for Suarez. 

Prediction: There's no other way to see this currently than another big Keyboard Warriors win. They are in great form, highly motivated and on a mission to take the top spot in the group. Perhaps if The Guardians do get their heavyweight back in time, things would be a little closer as wins there and at 135lbs could be a possibility. It would only take one good result at either 155lbs or 185lbs and The Guardians pull off a shock victory. Realistically however, Keyboard Warriors move to 4-0 and The Guardians do well to avoid heading into the Bottom Place finals after this round. 

Over to Group B where last years runners up and current group leaders The Stepdads take on the filthy collective of Naughtly Crew “1”. The Stepdads will be making their way into the final eight no matter the result of this meeting (and rumour has it that Doc Zoidberg has been seen loitering outside Alex K's apartment with a wheelbarrow full of reals in the hope of brokering a “deal”) and the only questions is whether they will be doing so as Group B champions or not. For fourth place Naughtly Crew, a spot in the bottom place finals is a real consideration here following a loss and an unfavourable result elsewhere in the group whilst a win of any kind might just be enough to give them safe passage into the champions finals themselves. 

First up, the 135lbers and what looks like a pretty certain win for The Stepdads straight off the bat. Their man Ricky Greene, currently riding a two fight win streak both via first round submissions, takes on Naughtly Crew's Clint River who is still without a win after three attempts. On paper, Greene has evolved far more than River and should the fight hit the ground it's not likely to last very long at all. On to the lightweights where things look a little more competitive though still swinging in The Stepdads favour. Naughtly Crew team captain Jake Keane will take on The Stepdads team captain Shinji Tomoguchi. Keane currently on a two fight losing streak isn't going to give him the most confidence coming into this although Tomoguchi will also be coming in after suffering something of an upset in his last bout. He lost a tightly contested fight to LOD's Bob Probert by Majority Decision and will be looking to get back on the winning path as quickly as possible. Getting closer to a Naughtly Crew win here but not quite there yet. Undefeated Maximus DeMarcus Meridius will be looking to keep that 0 on the end of his record as he takes on Naughtly Crew's 2-1 Reggie Booker. On paper, Booker looks as though he has the tools to deal with Meridius' ground skills but the momentum will definitely be in The Stepdads' fighters corner. An exciting match up at Heavyweight as Naughtly Crew's Kevin Mamar faces The Stepdads Bruce Hood. Both fighters currently 2-1 in the tournament with Hood only recently suffering his first loss in the last round. An out and out grappler versus striker match up, this one really could go either way all depending on who is first to the punch so to speak. 

Prediction: Unfortunately, this is likely to go down as another horrible experience for the Naughtly Crew experiment and another scalp for The Stepdads. Of course, there is always luck to hope for but with only two match ups being only *possible* wins, it's unlikely that The Stepdads slip up in all four fights. 

Next up will be second placed Syndicate taking on last placed Legion of Doom in what will be LOD's final opportunity to avoid finishing in last place in the group. With their closest rival Naughtly Crew 1 facing a very tough match up of their own this round, there has never been a better time to pull off the big win. That will not be easy however as Syndicate have been solid throughout and with some of their lesser performing fighters now picking up wins, there are looking more dangerous than ever. Syndicate are currently in a very strong position to qualify and, I think, actually guaranteed a spot in the final eight no matter the result. Still, best not to rely on my calculations at this point!

On to the fights and we kick things off with undefeated 3-0 Dreynos Elvul from Syndicate taking on 1-2 Solomon Grundy for Legion of Doom. Grundy was predicted to be a fighter to look out for at the start of this tournament but hasn't quite panned out as thought. He is tough no doubt but with a weakness to submission fighters he is likely in for a tough time against Elvul who has two of his three wins coming via first round submission. A very exciting match up at 155lbs as Syndicate team captain Slash Shredder faces LOD's Bob Probert. Shredder had been disappointing early on in the tournament after two loses in a row but might have just turned the corner following his recent victory over Trey Limitless. This change in form couldn't have come at a better time in the tournament as he faces a very tough 2-1 Bob Probert who will be coming in after a massive upset victory over The Stepdads captain Shinji Tomoguchi. On paper, an interesting match up. Shredder with the wrestling advantage whilst Probert has the edge in the stand up. Might just be leaning in Probert's favour? At middleweight, LOD captain John Rackham takes on Syndicates Al Hoffa and this one could go either way. Rackham has looked poor of late having suffered two first round losses in a row whereas Hoffa has just managed to overturn his own poor run of form with a win in his last bout. Something of a grappler versus striker match up, Rackham will really need to put the pressure on early if he is to get a result out of this one. The final heavyweight match up is another big fight for these two alliances and again, one to look out for. Two big heavy hitters, both 2-1. Syndicates Sono Tiger takes on Legion of Doom's Richard Anderson. Boxing versus Muay Thai. Wrestling against BJJ. Very hard to pick a favourite here with the odds likely to be even. 

Prediction: Actually a very tough one to predict. The only real heavy favourite here will be at 135lbs with Syndicate's undefeated Dreynos Elvul. Everywhere else the result would not be a surprise either way. Motivation might could be a factor as Legion of Doom are not going to want to end up in the bottom place finals in their first AWC appearance. Syndicate on the other hand aren't going to roll over for anyone and will want to make sure they go through in a more beneficial second place qualifying spot. 

Finally over to Group C where things have really started heating up over these last couple of rounds. First up we have a match up that is already marred with controversy. Last placed ACME 2 are scheduled to face fourth placed Team Panda but extreme cowardice has set in with two of their four managers refusing to see through their commitments. A terrible shame for the remaining two fighters who now could only manage a draw at best but a massive boost for Team Panda who could potentially snap up a last minute spot in the grand finals. 

Our 135lbs match up is set with Team Panda captain Napoleon Panda taking on Glenn Welch for ACME. Both fighters have been in poor form but it is Welch who is still searching for his first win of the tournament. This fight looks as though it will be decided on the ground where both fighters are most comfortable and if that is the case, Panda looks to be the more advanced of the two and likely to be a strong favourite. We also have our 155lbs bout with Jacques Turcotte of Team Panda taking on Brett Keane for ACME. Turcotte was having a decent run up until his last fight where he lost a close decision to FinnFighters Rokken Roll. Keane on the other hand has lost his last two including a split decision loss also to Roll. Could be a very entertaining scrap and one which has fight of the night written all over it. From here on we are currently absent the remaining two fights. 0-3 Otto Graff for Team Panda was slated to face ACME team captain Mun So but so far, So has refused all communications and has yet to sign the fight agreement. Technically the fight could still end up going ahead but with only a few days until fight time, it's looking less and less likely which would mean a forfeit win and a guaranteed five points for Team Panda. A shame for the ACME team as So would have been a strong favourite going into this one. Another shame is not having a heavyweight bout to decide the match up. Team Panda's Jacko Dawson will almost certainly be getting a forfeit win as ACME's Fidel DeLuna was dumped by manager Darren Russell almost immediately after his third loss in a row in the last round and has made no attempt to make good. 

Prediction: With two out of four match ups already looking as being maximum point wins for the Panda boys, this one is almost a forgone conclusion as going down as a win for Team Panda. If this is the case that ACME team captain doesn't sign on for the fight in time, the best they could manage would be a draw and that would not be enough to shift them out of bottom place. For Team Panda, depending on results elsewhere in the group, there is a good chance that a dominating win here would be enough to bring them back from the brink of elimination and into the final eight alliance teams. With that in mind, it makes the two matches that we do have confirmed all the more interesting and worth keeping an eye on. 

The final group stage match up in Group C will be the honourable crew of Naughtly 2 taking on the decidedly dishonourable FinnFighters. The Finns have looked incredible so far having racked up three team wins in a row whilst also having amassed the most match points out of any other team in the tournament. With this form, it is no wonder they currently occupy the top spot in the group and have already guaranteed themselves a place in the finals. Naughtly Crew 2 are currently in third place and occupying one of the two wild card spaces for the final eight. At best, a maximum point win here would be enough to topple the Finns for first place and potentially upset the waiting Convicted Inc team. At worst, a loss here could send them crashing out of the top eight entirely. 

Now, on to the match ups. At 135lbs, FinnFighers undefeated BJJ Brown Belt CG Mannheim will take on Naughtly Crew's Norman Pike and this one might not be as clear cut as many would think. Mannheim has yet to lose so you can't really bet against him but Pike has done far better than anticipated and cannot be counted out. On paper, he has a great chance as the superior striker and wrestler but as already pointed out, Mannhiem has yet to be beaten. At 155lbs, the FinnFighters team captain Rokken Roll will be taking on Naughtly Crew's Christian Caliman. Roll, also undefeated at this time, has been a reliable source of points for his team so far and everything a captain should be. He will be a huge favourite against Caliman who is still searching for his first win in the tournament as well as adjusting to life under new management. At middleweight, we have Naughtly Crew team captain Anders Thorsen taking on Oke Swahn for the FinnFighters and this one looks to be quite a toss up. Both fighters with 2-1 records and both coming in having alternated wins with losses, Thorsen will have the edge in the wrestling and on the ground whilst Swahn is by far the more superior on the feet. The final heavyweight bout pits bitter rival management teams against each other when FinnFighters Einar Kyrvansyyla takes on Naughtly Crew's Dick Glover. Kyrvansyyla has looked absolutely monstrous up to this point having dispatched all of his three opponents via first round KO. Ground and pound specialist Glover is going to have his work cut out for him in trying to get this fight to the floor and failure to do so will likely result in his name being added to Kyrvansyyla's list. Not particularly tough to predict with Glover being the heavy underdog. 

Prediction: Misery for Naughtly Crew 2. FinnFighters are in phenomenal form with three of the four fighters currently undefeated and their fourth with a winning record. No other team in the tournament currently has this level of dominance and it's difficult to see where Naughtly Crew 2 could upset them by that much. However, a loss could spell the end for NC2 and so motivation is going to be high. How far you go on motivation alone against such odds? Only time will tell.  

[Alfred]

 

Individual Performance Tables 

(After Round 4)

135lbs

155lbs

185lbs

265lbs

[Skizz81]

Great job as always Alfredito!

[barney]

Fuck this tournament.

 

THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT NAUGHTLY CREW INTER ALLIANCE!

[TheBuster]

We do a little trolling

 

[poraan]

Interesting round. I thought that there were 4 clear favourite teams, but after this round its not as clear anymore.

[Alfred]

QUICK UPDATE

I'll tidy this up in a bit but for now I just wanted to post the play-off rounds and just recap who is going where and what happens now. 

As of right now, the round five match results and the final group standings have been updated. We now know were everyone lands and who will be facing who in the next phase of the tournament. 

THE CHAMPIONS PHASE

As already posted on the front page, the top 8 teams advance to this bracket where the best alliance in the game will be crowned (and positions 1st through 8th overall) This will be decided over three more matchups with the schedule posted below

Round 1

(15th May 2021)

(A) FINNFIGHTERS (Most Points Winner) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 1 (Least Points Wild Card)

(B) KEYBOARD WARRIORS (2nd Most Points Winner) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 2 (Most Points Wild Card)

(C) THE STEPDADS (3rd Most Points Winner) vs. CONVICTED INC (3rd Most Points Runner Up)

(D) YABAI (Most Points Runner Up) vs. SYNDICATE (2nd Most Points Runner Up)

Round 2

(2nd June 2021)

(1) Winner A vs. Winner C

(2) Winner B vs. Winner D

(3) Loser A vs. Loser C

(4) Loser B vs. Loser D

Round 3 - FINALS

(20th June 2021)

(A1) Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 = Decides 1st & 2nd Place

(B2) Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 = Decides 3rd & 4th Place

(C3) Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 = Decides 5th & 6th Place

(D4) Loser 3 vs. Loser 4 = Decides 7th & 8 Place

 

THE MIDDLE PHASE FINALS

The next best 4 teams compete over 2 more matchups to decide 9th place through to 12th place

Round 1

(15th May 2021)

(A) ACME 1 (9th Placed Team Overall) vs. NAUGHTLY CREW 3 (12th Placed Team Overall

(B) TEAM PANDA (10th Placed Team Overall) vs. Limitless (11th Placed Team Overall)

Round 2 - FINALS

(2nd June 2021)

(1) Winner A vs. Winner B = Decides 9th to 10th Place

(2) Loser A vs. Loser B = Decides 11th to 12th Place

 

THE BOTTOM PHASE FINALS (AKA THE LOSERS BRACKET)

The three bottom placed teams will compete to determine who isn't the worst alliance team in the tournament. Slightly different format here with the three teams facing each other once (2 more matchups overall) and 13th place through to 15th place decided via final group standings

Round 1 

(15th May 2021)

ACME 1 (15th Placed Team Overall) vs. The Guardians (14th Placed Team Overall)

Round 2

(2nd June 2021)

Legion of Doom (13th Placed Team Overall) vs. ACME 2

Round 3

(20th June 2021)

Legion of Doom vs. The Guardians

 

 

[JudoJoker]

I have to say, Alfred's write-ups are second to none! I particularly appreciate his analysis on my fighter, Felix Suarez, as it has always been both fair and insightful.