Ko-oren Domestic Sports Newswires

by **Ko-oren** » Mon May 21, 2018 4:39 am

Gridiron - Season 42

Overall, it seems that Eastern teams got just a little better than Western teams over the off-season. Some teams were hit hard, some made very clever improvements. There are two teams that look like good contenders now, but most other teams aren't far behind.

East
Noordrug and the 65ers look most improved. Noordrug did so through depth, adding a few prospects in positions that they're expecting retirements in within the next few years. They now have an O-line that every QB should feel comfortable behind, with some front 7 talent waiting on the reserve team. Also, they have secured their coaching staff long-term, after noticeable improvements year in, year out. The 65ers, meanwhile, focused on their on-field quality more: they now have a pass rush and upgraded on all of their gaps from last year. Aerellen lost their QB to the Wolves, which means they have suffered a huge setback: going from a top-3 QB to an arguably bottom 6 one. Aerellen regressed in more categories, but this one should be the toughest. Aminey and Sterrenwolde kept their squad together, but barely added anything. Sterrenwolde did lose some of their D, which was fairly impossible to keep anyway, but added an offensive coordinator that could take their talented offence to the next level. Lastly, the Admirals had a terrible offseason, but at least managed to keep all of their coaches on board, and then some.

West
In the West, teams haven't really done anything spectacular, other than the Wolves' new QB. The Destroyers finally hired a long-time option for head coach, while Mawrystwyth is going into the season with an interim HC. Eaglebury seems to have lost the trust of their fans, playing most of their practice games for under 5000 spectators, though otherwise Eagleburians should be optimistic about their future. That said, they did lose their biggest receiving threat to injury, while Mawrystwyth lost not only their coach, but also two of their three starting Linebackers.

Season, Stage 1
In the first stage, every team plays every other team once, regardless of their division. Here, the Saints and Astronauts show themselves as early candidates for the Ko-oren Bowl, winning more than any other team and losing two fewer games than any other team, going 7-3-1. Still, even the bottom teams aren't out yet, with four victories each to the Admirals, Wolves, Emperors and the Caspians.

KGL                              Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Willowbourne Saints               11    7   1   3    0.682    0.700
 2 Noordrug Astronauts               11    7   1   3    0.682    0.700
 3 Schemerdrecht 65ers               11    6   0   5    0.545    0.545
 4 Greencaster Godspeed              11    6   0   5    0.545    0.545
 5 Mayara Destroyers                 11    6   0   5    0.545    0.545
 6 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies          11    5   1   5    0.500    0.500
 7 Aerellen Explosions               11    5   1   5    0.500    0.500
 8 Mawryshire Centaurs               11    5   0   6    0.455    0.455
 9 Schemerdrecht Admirals            11    4   1   6    0.409    0.400
10 Aminey Caspians                   11    4   1   6    0.409    0.400
11 Eaglebury Emperors                11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364
12 Mayara Wolves                     11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364

Season, Stage 2
First, the tables for each of the divisions separately:

WEST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Mayara Wolves                      5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 2 Greencaster Godspeed               5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 3 Mayara Destroyers                  5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 4 Eaglebury Emperors                 5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 5 Mawryshire Centaurs                5    2   0   3    0.400    0.400
 6 Willowbourne Saints                5    1   0   4    0.200    0.200
 
    EAST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Noordrug Astronauts                5    4   1   0    0.900    1.000
 2 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies           5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 3 Aminey Caspians                    5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 4 Aerellen Explosions                5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 5 Schemerdrecht 65ers                5    1   1   3    0.300    0.250
 6 Schemerdrecht Admirals             5    0   0   5    0.000    0.000

And here we see that the Saints, after a brilliant start to the season, might still miss it all by finishing the season 1-4. Noordrug, however, present a clear case for best team of the year with a 4-0-1 finish to an already great set of 11 games. The Admirals bow out of the season with 7 straight losses, but before that they mysteriously shut out the current champions, the Dragonflies, with a 10-0 score.

After all is said and done, this is our table:

Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Noordrug Astronauts (East)        16   11   2   3    0.750    0.786 East, seed #1
 2 Greencaster Godspeed (West)       16    9   0   7    0.562    0.562 West, seed #1
   Mayara Destroyers (West)          16    9   0   7    0.562    0.562 West, seed #2
 4 Willowbourne Saints (West)        16    8   1   7    0.531    0.533
 5 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (East)   16    8   1   7    0.531    0.533 East, seed #2
 6 Aerellen Explosions (East)        16    8   1   7    0.531    0.533
 7 Schemerdrecht 65ers (East)        16    7   1   8    0.469    0.467
 8 Aminey Caspians (East)            16    7   1   8    0.469    0.467
 9 Mayara Wolves (West)              16    7   0   9    0.438    0.438
10 Mawryshire Centaurs (West)        16    7   0   9    0.438    0.438
11 Eaglebury Emperors (West)         16    7   0   9    0.438    0.438
12 Schemerdrecht Admirals (East)     16    4   1  11    0.281    0.267

Godspeed and the Destroyers take the divisional battle all the way to the final game. In the end, it is the 4-point victory in round 1 for Godspeed that sees them take the H2H-record; in the second leg of this clash, the Destroyers won by only 3 points - ladies and gentlemen, 2-point conversions matter.

As with every season, we have some meaningless stats: home teams won 50% of all games, away teams won 45,8% and the remaining 4,2 resulted in draws. This is only slightly better than the soccer league, where there is a clear home disadvantage. 3467 points have been scored in all, so we've seen 36 points per game on average. Another fun fact is that no score occurred more than twice in our 96 games. 16-13, 13-13, 17-27, 23-19, 9-19, 20-27, and 20-10 were the only scored to occur more than once - but none of them thrice.

Derby scores
Schemerdrecht Admirals (East) 13–12 Schemerdrecht 65ers (East)
Schemerdrecht 65ers (East) 27–23 Schemerdrecht Admirals (East) - Series split 1-1
Aerellen Explosions (East) 13–26 Noordrug Astronauts (East)
Noordrug Astronauts (East) 39–20 Aerellen Explosions (East) - Noordrug wins 2-0
Aminey Caspians (East) 6–27 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (East)
Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (East) 22–20 Aminey Caspians (East) - Sterrenwolde wins 2-0

Mayara Wolves (West) 10–23 Mayara Destroyers (West)
Mayara Destroyers (West) 17–27 Mayara Wolves (West) - Series split 1-1
Eaglebury Emperors (West) 15–16 Mawryshire Centaurs (West)
Mawryshire Centaurs (West) 16–13 Eaglebury Emperors (West) - Series split 1-1
Greencaster Godspeed (West) 20–6 Willowbourne Saints (West)
Willowbourne Saints (West) 16–20 Greencaster Godspeed (West) - Series split 1-1

Playoffs

Greencaster Godspeed (West)        3  0 14  0  17
Mayara Destroyers (West)           6  6  0  3  15

Noordrug Astronauts (East)         0  0  6  7  13
Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (East)    7 13  3  7  30

We were so close to a rematch of last Ko-oren Bowl. The Sterrenwolde Dragonflies make a repeat appearance, but the Mayara Destroyers were stopped by the Greencaster Godspeed. A great 3rd quarter for the Greencaster outfit saw them take a definitive lead in a low-scoring game that had only three points in the entire fourth quarter. Neither team could force a breakthrough in the final 15 minutes, whereas normally those are the times that the greats show up and will their team to a victory. The Astronauts versus the Dragonflies was a far more clear-cut game. Even though the Dragonflies lost some of their defensive stars, they kept the Astronauts to 0 points at half time while scoring 20 themselves, a great mental victory. Then, after halftime, the Astronauts put points on the board but it was too little, too late with just two field goals and a touchdown for 13 points. The Dragonflies slowed down in the last half, which is a bit of a weakness for them this year, but it didn't matter: 30-13 looks like a great performance going into the Ko-oren Bowl.

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (East)    3  0 10  3  16
Greencaster Godspeed (West)        7  3  0  7  17

The

Greencaster Godspeed have won this season's Ko-oren Bowl! A final touchdown in the fourth quarter was enough to win this extremely close game. The Dragonflies came so close to a repeat. The Godspeed kept up with the Dragonflies and outscored them in the first half, then gave up the third quarter entirely, before adding a touchdown in the final quarter to take the lead. A field goal with seven minutes still on the clock for the Dragonflies set the deficit to just one, but that one point was insurmountable. They had plenty of chances, but the Godspeed remained elusive to the league's greatest defence.

Developmental Leagues
D-League Final:
Lamau Bears 6-20 Mayara Mariners

KG2 Finals:
Serevne Polar Stars 22-28 Gehrenna Mountaineers
Eaglebury Dusk 21-14 Aevanna Phoenix

Eaglebury Dusk 12-17 Gehrenna Mountaineers

by **Ko-oren** » Sat May 26, 2018 2:25 pm

Rugby Union - Season 24

Preview
Tier 1 - Contenders

Willowbourne Foxes - the team that inherited the Vulpecula name is back with an excellent squad. They looked at their youth department for this one, and it looks like they've got some gems on the starting XV.

Penstead Bears - The Ursae are probably the most impressive team in the comp this year. The coach has a clear philosophy about this game, and it seems to work for them.

Greencaster Galaxy - The competition's youngest team is coming in hot. They are looking at the first batch of young'uns coming from the youth system, and together with an expensively hired coach, this is an interesting combination.

Tier 2 - Pretenders

Aubury Swans - One of many decent teams, while definitely lacking something. With the Swans, it's a group of solid players, just players that don't have to carry the team, but also aren't a risk.

Idyllwild Coronae - The Crowns have a similar thing as the Bulls (see further down), they need a new coach all of a sudden. Too bad their player group isn't bad, if they can ignore the upheaval, they can still be in for a nice year.

Tarrashall Travellers - The Travellers don't look bad, but you can never give them the benefit of the doubt given that they don't have a single home stadium, more fragmented fans, and a shaky home advantage.

Mawrystwyth Phoenix - Things are looking on the up for the Phoenix, could be among the Contenders if it wasn't for well, nothing noteworthy happening at all around this team.

Ansonville Comets - Similar to the Phoenix: nothing is really happening, the downside however is that the only things that did occur around this team, were negative ones.

Tier 3 - Forgettable

Llandy Bulls - Board and staff shakeups (a nice way of saying management fallout) means the Bulls will probably stay down this year.

Mayara Cassiopeia - They need their new players to stick, but so far it looks like they'll need a lot of time to gel.

Tier 4 - Try again later

Maynard Andromeda - It's not all terrible luck down here, the Andromeda simply don't have a lot to look forward to this year. Nothing to do with luck.

Eaglebury Aquila - Seriously, what are the champions up to? They let their stars walk, they let contracts expire, did they give up after winning a title?

Standings

KRUL                            Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Penstead Bears                   22   18   0   4   335  134 +201    72
 2 Greencaster Galaxy               22   16   1   5   345  221 +124    66
 3 Willowbourne Foxes               22   15   0   7   275  195  +80    60
 4 Ansonville Comets                22   12   1   9   333  259  +74    50
 5 Idyllwild Coronae                22   12   0  10   280  258  +22    48
 6 Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia      22   10   2  10   302  289  +13    44
 7 Llandy Bulls                     22    9   2  11   278  277   +1    40
 8 Mawrystwyth Phoenix              22    9   1  12   271  292  −21    38
 9 Tarrashall Travellers            22    9   0  13   239  269  −30    36
10 Aubury Swans                     22    8   1  13   303  390  −87    34
11 Maynard Andromeda                22    6   0  16   233  394 −161    24
12 Eaglebury Aquila                 22    3   2  17   150  366 −216    16

Would you look at that, the Bears have walked away with this competition. Their ideas about possession and yardage are unparallelled, and so far that means that they simply have an advantage over the rest of the teams. The Galaxy are in second, on the back of some excellent individual talent. The Foxes complete the top three, they might have expected a little more from their team, even though the results aren't terrible at all.

The Comets have turned their luck around to finish fourth in a large group of similar mid-table teams, followed by the Coronae, Cassiopeia, Bulls, Phoenix, Travellers and Swans, all with a win or less between them and the team above/below them. Not much separates these teams.

At the bottom, it's the Andromeda and Aquila, more or less as predicted, with the Andromeda two wins and a draw behind the Swans. The Aquila are another two full wins behind the Andromeda again... these two teams need a turnaround fast.

State of Origin matches
WSR 7-12 MAW
GEH 20-28 SUR

MAW 17-10 SUR
GEH 24-14 WSR

SUR 3-21 WSR
MAW 7-10 GEH

MAW 12-10 WSR
SUR 20-7 GEH

SUR 5-24 MAW
WSR 18-18 GEH

WSR 3-24 SUR
GEH 24-21 MAW

TEAM- W-D-L
MAW - 4-0-2
GEH - 3-1-2
SUR - 3-0-3
WSR - 1-1-4

Developmental Leagues
GWU: Senoren
WSU: Ansonville
MU: Cerryrhos

by **Ko-oren** » Sun May 27, 2018 7:12 am

Rugby League - Season 14

Tier 1 - Contenders

Katashi Wasps - Everything is going well for them, and with a great spine, they should go far. Nothing much changed for them, which should bode well after their 2nd place last season.

Selesi Dragons - They've got great starters, but it's a little unclear as to what happens if any get injured, however. We're still expecting a performance about as good as their championship last year.

Tier 2 - Pretenders

Katashi Hawks - The Katashi teams are on fire this year, the Hawks are solid all around, but might miss that bit of firepower to bring big teams to their knees. Massive improvement since the end of last year.

Santa Teresa Sabres - Santa Teresa worked on their backups, signing a few players from the youth department. It might be that competitive edge that pushes them to the to three this time, after missing out by the smallest of margins.

Aminey Buffaloes - The Buffaloes have excellent player material this year, landing a few signatures from key players. Their spine is improved, and they have the best forward pack on paper.

Tier 3 - Mid-table

Étouille Vultures - They're in between pretenders and mid-table. Either everything goes right and they snatch fourth, or the signings didn't go as planned and they could drop to 10th.

Linieux Harriers - Their stadium plans went through and the home field advantage should get even bigger from now on. Apart from that, Linieux have gotten better with the backs, some extra speed for more points.

Aminey Owls - The Owls don't have much going for them that should pin them better than last year. Where the Buffaloes got stronger on the field, the Owls lost probably as much talent.

Nitoya Foxes - The lack of halves will be hard on them, even if they have some of the better forwards in the game. Without a good plan of attack, they will go down no matter the talent. Still, they shouldn't be as defenceless as Season 13.

Alara Spiders - Alara are in a tough spot. Losing a fullback, a winger and two forwards isn't easy, and there will be a lot of pressure on the home-grown players that will replace them.

Ferrovente Scorpions - It's a little unfair to put them this low, while they could also turn out the best of the mid-table teams. Still, it should already be a goal for them to not finish 12th like last season.

Tier 4 - Fight for 11th

Etena Vipers - Off-season injuries leaves this team with a lot of question marks before we even begin. Even then, the team wasn't very strong to begin with. Unfortunate, given their third place last year.

Standings

KRL                      Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Selesi Dragons            22   15   0   7   487  393  +94    60
 2 Aminey Owls               22   14   0   8   451  434  +17    56
 3 Katashi Hawks             22   14   0   8   478  382  +96    56
 4 Ferrovente Scorpions      22   13   0   9   467  408  +59    52
 5 Santa Teresa Sabres       22   12   0  10   475  428  +47    48
 6 Katashi Wasps             22   11   1  10   465  454  +11    46
 7 Aminey Buffaloes          22   11   0  11   447  501  −54    44
 8 Étouille Vultures         22    9   0  13   417  492  −75    36
 9 Nitoya Foxes              22    9   0  13   451  494  −43    36
10 Linieux Harriers          22    9   0  13   439  490  −51    36
11 Alara Spiders             22    8   0  14   443  481  −38    32
12 Etena Vipers              22    6   1  15   417  480  −63    26

The Dragons did indeed turn up first, to win the championship! It's a close fight at the top, just ahead of the overperforming Owls and the excellent Hawks. The Hawks and Scorpions have put together a great story carrying over from last year, seeing their hard work rewarded with a rank, respectively 6 and 8 higher than last year. The Scorpions escaped last place with 26 points to spare. Alara's home grown squad have been exposed brutally, but not as bad as the Vipers, who indeed have not figured out how to cover up the losses all year. They did, however, record the season's only draw.

Key matches of last year:
Ferrovente Scorpions 34–10 Katashi Wasps (Round 2): The Scorpions showed everyone their intentions with this 24-point defeat of the Wasps in Round 2, starting the Scorpions off 2-0-0.

Aminey Owls 30–16 Selesi Dragons (Round 11): The Owls handed the Dragons their first loss of the season in Round 11! Also, it reduced the gap between the teams to 12 points - the Dragons were on championship course since the start of the year. For it to end this closely is a miracle.
Katashi Hawks 26–10 Katashi Wasps (Round 11): The Katashi derby ended in favour of the Hawks, even though the Wasps had been hyped up until that point.

Selesi Dragons 16–24 Aminey Owls (Round 22): The last-round matchup could see the Owls take away the championship from the Dragons - but only by beating the Dragons so the Hawks could take first place. The Owls did their part in an insanely close game to close out an exciting season.
Katashi Wasps 28–16 Katashi Hawks (Round 22): The Wasps now did the unthinkable: revenge for Round 11. In fact, by beating the Hawks, they also kept their cross-town rivals from taking the championship!

Best performers
Tries:
1. Dragons W Isamu Ogawa
2. Owls W Augustin Trottier
3. Wasps C Iwao Wakamatsu

Points:
1. Dragons HB Tsugumichi Kotake
2. Hawks HB Shinzo Fukuhara
3. Sabres HB Arximiro Arceo

Tackle breaks:
1. Scorpions FB Heitor Vales
2. Hawks C Yoritoki Yoshida
3. Dragons FB Jun Higuchi

Try assists:
1. Hawks HB Shunmyo Fujioka
2. Foxes 58 Sadao Minamoto
3. Dragons 58 Sumio Sunada

Tackles:
1. Sabres P Gasparo Sandino
2. Dragons H Toyozo Ueda
3. Scorpions H Ventura Mendez

Run metres:
1. Owls SR Nathanaël Levasseur
2. Vultures W Valéry Bousquet
3. Buffaloes L Martin Gaudin

State of Origin matches
CA 2-22 FIN
YOS 20-16 YOL

FIN 28-10 YOS
YOL 19-10 CA

YOL 14-19 FIN
CA 22-22 YOS

FIN 24-20 CA
YOL 14-18 YOS

YOS 26-12 FIN
CA 12-24 YOL

FIN 6-2 YOL
YOS 16-26 CA

TEAM- W-D-L
FIN - 5-0-1
YOS - 3-1-2
YOL - 2-0-4
CA  - 1-1-4

Developmental Leagues
YL: Lejana
CAFL: Tanques

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:33 am

Cricket - Season 7

Predictions

For the T20 part of the season, we're looking for teams with firepower. Bowling comes second, and while that sounds bad, we're not looking at fielding and strategy at all. With that, we can see that some teams are more prepared than others:

The

Greencaster Bears and the

Greencaster Heralds have enlisted superior batsmen ahead of the season. Their bowling attack hasn't deteriorated much, and in fact both can be said to have improved their bowling. Both teams have no big weak points, although the Bears' openers and the Heralds' wicketkeeping could use some polishing.

Next, the

Burnet Rubies and the

Norille Chevron Vert have no big problems either, both without a single star batsman, but with plenty of depth. The

Aubury Maroons and the

Mayara Marauders are also in this category, the Maroons a slightly more defensive team with variety in spin/fast/swing bowling, and the Marauders with a young squad that has gained some more experience.

After this, we get

Penstead,

Mawrystwyth,

Idyllwild,

Linieux, and the

Eastern Miners with no terrible teams, but nothing to get overly excited over, either. Every team has a clear advantage but also a clear disadvantage, such as where Idyllwild are going to find any kind of defence. The Miners have no player that's in form right now, though that should correct itself during the season, bit by bit.

In the last group, we have only

Willowbourne, who have a decent side but not well equipped for T20 at all. Seeing as most of the team are on the

Willowbourne First Class and List-A team as well, not all hope is lost for Willowburnian cricket fans.

For First Class cricket, aka, the multiple day version,

Greencaster have the superior talent, lifted from both of their T20 squads.

Willowbourne comes in second in this case, closely followed by

Leeshire,

Mawryshire, and

Eastern Surbourneshire, all decent squads.

Western Surbourneshire has a lot to mask this year, missing batsmen that are able to hold themselves steady in the longer forms of the game. We do not see how their current 3rd-to-6th players are going to survive a new ball, for instance, or deal with the kind of bowling we see across several hours or even days.

In the List-A variant, there's not much different from First Class.

Greencaster have barely got the best team, the rest follows, with only

West Surbourneshire lagging noticeably.

May

June

July

August

September

Only one thing in September - T20 cricket.
Round 7: Norille lose to an uninspiring Aubury team - maybe Aubury will join that elite few at the top? It allows Mawrystwyth and the Bears to catch up to them. Mayara and Willowbourne score an awful 101 today, Burnet deals with Willowbourne's 101 by going 103 for 7 in 10.2 overs. Every ball was pretty much a boundary or a wicket - exaggerating, but this match was something. Mawrystwyth crack the 200-mark again. Seven teams now have more wins than losses.
Round 8: The only high ranked match today was Penstead versus the Bears. The Bears use 120 balls to post 112, an easy target for the Penstead Pirates who take the easy win 115/4 in 10.4 overs. We did get a nailbiters: the Heralds post 165, the Mayara Marauders go 163/9 in 20 overs... unfortunate.
Round 9: The Greencaster teams slowly sink to the middle, both two full games behind Norille. The Heralds lose to the Pirates, while the Bears post 106/5 in 20, an easy target even for a not-particularly-talented team in Burnet. Norille is still in first, with Linieux, Mawrystwyth and Penstead close behind. One of these teams should win the league this year, with just 2 matches left to go.
Round 10: Norille lose, and immediately we have three teams at the top! Mawrystwyth beat the Eastern Miners easily, Penstead fend off the Linieux Lieutenants with another great bowlers' showing (keeping Linieux to 116/5 in 20), so both of our Mawryshire teams join Norille in first place. Burnet is on a very late resurgence, now beating the Heralds. The Greencaster Heralds are going to stay near the middle, currently 5-5. The Bears still have a chance to make something of this season, after they've brought us some very interesting fixtures at the start of the year - they're 6-4. We still have 6 teams that could technically win the league. At the bottom, it's a battle between the Mayara Marauders and the Willowbourne Zenith for last place.
Round 11:
Greencaster Heralds 152/2 (20 overs)
Norille Chevron Vert 162/7 (20 overs) - Norille do their part, win, and are back on top.

Mawrystwyth Mustangs 152/4 (20 overs)
Aubury Maroons 139/9 (20 overs) - Mawrystwyth make no mistake, and beat mid-table Maroons.

Mayara Marauders 113/4 (13.2 overs)
Penstead Pirates 109/5 (20 overs) - Penstead could have had it all, and then lost it all. 109 is an awful target, and the Marauders, despite being second last, easily take care of it. Which prevents a second consecutive Pirates championship... this one will stay with them for a while.

Final standings:

Team                W D L Pts (match+batting+bowling)
Mawryshire          2 3 0 42+28+ 0 = 70
Greencaster         2 3 0 42+20+ 6 = 68
Willowbourne        1 4 0 36+18+ 1 = 55
Leeshire            0 3 2 18+20+ 1 = 39
West Surbourneshire 1 2 2 24+ 9+ 0 = 33
East Surbourneshire 1 1 3 18+11+ 0 = 29

*12 points for a win, 6 for a draw, 8 for a tie. Bowling points: getting a team all out under 110 adds 3 points, under 140 points adds 2 points, under 180 adds 1. Batting points: scoring 275+ points scores 1 point, 325+ scores 2, 350+ scores 3, 375+ scores 4, 400+ scores 5, and 450+ scores 6.

KC1DL                   Pld    W   D   L 
1 Leeshire                 10    8   0   2
2 East Surbourneshire      10    7   0   3
3 Willowbourne             10    5   0   5
4 Greencaster              10    5   0   5
5 Mawryshire               10    3   0   7
6 West Surbourneshire      10    2   0   8

KT20L                    Pld    W   L 
 1 Norille Chevron Vert      11    8   3
 2 Mawrystwyth Mustangs      11    8   3
 3 Penstead Pirates          11    7   4
 4 Linieux Lieutenants       11    7   4
 5 Burnet Rubies             11    6   5
 6 Greencaster Bears         11    6   5
 7 Aubury Maroons            11    5   6
 8 Idyllwild Antlers         11    5   6
 9 Greencaster Heralds       11    5   6
10 Eastern Miners            11    4   7
11 Mayara Marauders          11    3   8
12 Willowbourne Zenith       11    2   9

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Jun 09, 2018 3:17 am

Baseball - Season 19

Season 18
Last season, there were almost no differences between teams' strengths. The entire top 5 could have realistically become champions, but it was

Suvira Quarry that was just a little luckier than other teams in the end. Once differences are so small, yes, it does come down to luck a little bit. The

Dragons,

Stars and

Generals all went over 70 wins from 132 games, followed by the

Silvers. The

Admirals will be looking to record a championship-worthy season, and it's hard to say what the other teams will do. The

Challengers will be gunning for revenge for their 55-win season.

Predictions
--- Looking for the championship
The

Echizen Dragons are expecting a performance a little better than last season, which would mean a championship. One more win would have gotten them there last year, but they haven't lost their touch or talent. The

Katashi Generals should be the big-market Katashi team to watch this year, finally adding that closing pitcher they so desperately missed last season.

Aviansola are also looking for a good year.

--- Looking for top half of the table
The

Katashi Giants (better defence),

Suvira Quarry (still talented),

Nitoya Silvers (added hitting),

Arakura (small improvements everywhere),

Teragaseki (solid quiet preparing for this season) and to some extent the

Western (big coaching signings) all have a case to finish in the top 6 this year.

--- Trying not to end last

Aonishi is still down there, but with their cap space they've landed some great extras that could take them towards the top 9 at least.

Santa Teresa had a good season but imploded in both players and coaches, this team is on fire. Not lit. More like a dumpster fire.

Ferrovente are in an even worse shape, losing their players and coaches to the teams in the second category.

Halfway standings

Pld     W    L    Win % 
 1 Echizen Dragons           66    40   26    0.606
 2 Nitoya Silvers            66    36   30    0.545
 3 Aviansola Admirals        66    36   30    0.545
 4 Arakura Knights           66    35   31    0.530
 5 Suvira Quarry             66    35   31    0.530
 6 Aonishi Challengers       66    34   32    0.515
 7 Katashi Giants            66    32   34    0.485
 8 Ferrovente Whales         66    32   34    0.485
 9 Teragaseki Dynamo         66    31   35    0.470
10 Katashi Generals          66    29   37    0.439
11 Western Wanderers         66    29   37    0.439
12 Santa Teresa Stars        66    27   39    0.409

Teams are still close together, maybe even more so than last year. The difference is really between winning 60% or 40% of your games - too close for an actual evaluation of talent and tactics. Though, over such a long season, maybe there is something to it. We see that the Dragons are far ahead of the rest, indeed looking for that championship. The Silvers and Admirals are close behind, followed by the Knights and Quarry. Behind that, it's hard to find a team that could go further up. The Challengers are well off last place, with an excellent revenge season. The Stars are still in dumpster fire mode and still in last place.

Final Standings

Pld     W    L    Win % 
 1 Echizen Dragons          132    80   52    0.606 Finals
 2 Katashi Giants           132    69   63    0.523 Semi-finals
 3 Katashi Generals         132    68   64    0.515 Semi-finals
 4 Western Wanderers        132    68   64    0.515
 5 Nitoya Silvers           132    68   64    0.515
 6 Aviansola Admirals       132    68   64    0.515
 7 Suvira Quarry            132    67   65    0.508
 8 Arakura Knights          132    66   66    0.500
 9 Aonishi Challengers      132    65   67    0.492
10 Teragaseki Dynamo        132    60   72    0.455
11 Ferrovente Whales        132    58   74    0.439
12 Santa Teresa Stars       132    55   77    0.417

The Dragons have qualified directly for the Dragonfly Series! Their opponents will be one of the Katashi teams, as the Giants and Generals square off in the semis first. The Western Wanderers have a huge comeback to finish 4th, and with the Nitoya Silvers and Aviansola Admirals are less than a win short of the playoffs!! Current champions Quarry are behind by a game, then the Knights and Challengers who have dropped back a little. The Dynamo are 10th, then the Finisterre teams in 11th and 12th, with an awful 55-win season for the Stars - exactly where the Challengers were last year.

Finals

Giants win the semi-final series 4-1 and completely overpowered the

Generals! Where both teams needed (and got) a huge push into the top three, the

Giants continue their momentum and it carries them into the final.

Finals, Game 1:

Dragons: 10

Giants: 2

Finals, Game 2:

Dragons: 10

Giants: 7

Finals, Game 3:

Giants: 5

Dragons: 11

Finals, Game 4:

Giants: 5 (in 10 innings)

Dragons: 3

Finals, Game 5:

Giants: 5

Dragons: 10

Dragons win in 5!

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:51 pm

Semi-professional and amateur sports - Season 2

Ice Hockey
Differences are smaller than last year, but the Launott Polar Bears come away with the championship with only a .580 win percentage. The three teams from the city centre of Aevanna follow, and at the bottom we only find teams from Egevea. The geographical clustering has been great for local derbies, and the stories about folding or relocating teams that were going around last year, have been put on hold for now.

KIHL                          Pld    W   D   L    Win % 
 1 Launott Polar Bears            44   23   5  16    0.580
 2 Aevanna Scouts                 44   23   4  17    0.568
 3 Aevanna Bay Mariners           44   21   7  16    0.557
 4 Aevanna Explorers              44   19   8  17    0.523
 5 West Coast Blizzards           44   20   6  18    0.523
 6 Aevanna Plains Wanderers       44   18   9  17    0.511
 7 Southwest Aevanna Rangers      44   18   7  19    0.489
 8 Noordrug Bi-state              44   19   4  21    0.477
 9 Straudum Ice                   44   17   7  20    0.466
10 South Aevanna Storm            44   16   7  21    0.443
11 Egevea Islanders               44   15   8  21    0.432
12 Egevea Northerners             44   17   4  23    0.432

Field Hockey

Hazel-Amber secure the championship with a matchday to spare and their 0-3 home loss to Rozenvoorde doesn't matter anymore. Venstertoren and Rozenvoorde also have great seasons, and only Angelwoud and the bottom three teams should really look for improvements for next year.

KFHL                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hazel-Amber                 22   14   3   5    39   27  +12    45
 2 Venstertoren                22   13   4   5    43   30  +13    43
 3 Rozenvoorde                 22   11   6   5    39   24  +15    39
 4 April                       22   10   5   7    33   28   +5    35
 5 Vleugelberg                 22   10   4   8    33   37   −4    34
 6 Oostgemeenten-S'drecht      22    8   5   9    25   26   −1    29
 7 Herengein-S'drecht          22    7   7   8    26   28   −2    28
 8 Angelwoud                   22    7   4  11    21   25   −4    25
 9 Donderen-S'drecht           22    5   8   9    30   32   −2    23
10 Wintertoorn-S'drecht        22    6   5  11    25   33   −8    23
11 Laringen                    22    7   2  13    29   42  −13    23
12 Sterrenwolde                22    6   3  13    22   33  −11    21

Basketball

KBL                                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Mayara Blues                         44   31  13  3536 3276 +260
 2 Ouleux-Aminey Sapphires              44   27  17  3510 3295 +215
 3 Senoren White Diamonds               44   27  17  3480 3307 +173
 4 Ferrovente Tazers                    44   26  18  3431 3244 +187
 5 Miradela-Santa Teresa Silvers        44   25  19  3448 3329 +119
 6 Lunay-Aminey Argonauts               44   22  22  3270 3324  −54
 7 Gehrenna Lions                       44   21  23  3374 3344  +30
 8 Serramonte-Santa Teresa Castles      44   19  25  3142 3505 −363
 9 Maethoru Banshees                    44   18  26  3313 3444 −131
10 Montelo-Santa Teresa Snipers         44   18  26  3468 3491  −23
11 Couziers-Linieux Centurions          44   16  28  3223 3432 −209
12 Étouille Energie                     44   14  30  3174 3378 −204

Kabaddi

KYKL                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Teragaseki             22   14   8  1015  910 +105
 2 Lejana                 22   13   9  1089  982 +107
 3 Aonishi                22   13   9   994  928  +66
 4 Aviansola              22   12  10   981  859 +122
 5 Echizen                22   12  10  1005  940  +65
 6 Alara                  22   12  10   953  939  +14
 7 Arakura                22   10  12   871  875   −4
 8 Suvira                 22   10  12   946  951   −5
 9 Katashi East           22   10  12   865  899  −34
10 Nitoya                 22    9  13   888  927  −39
11 Katashi West           22    9  13   766  982 −216
12 Furune                 22    8  14   755  936 −181

Aussie Rules

KMARL                 Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Llandy                 20   13   0   7  2241 1799 +442    52
2 Penstead               20   12   0   8  1928 2146 −218    48
3 yMhinem                20   11   0   9  2070 1811 +259    44
4 yNelseg                20    9   0  11  1841 2216 −375    36
5 yDremdwn               20    8   0  12  1982 1905  +77    32
6 Mawrystwyth            20    7   0  13  2061 2246 −185    28

  KWSRARL               Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Tarrashall             20   13   0   7  2054 1824 +230    52
2 Aralla                 20   12   0   8  2057 1809 +248    48
3 Myaranowra             20   10   0  10  1941 2105 −164    40
4 Jillong                20    9   0  11  1943 2047 −104    36
5 Eaglebury              20    8   0  12  1874 1959  −85    32
6 Nyashawill             20    8   0  12  1844 1969 −125    32

Llandy 23.16.154 def. Tarrashall 13.10.88

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Jun 16, 2018 10:29 am

Ko-orenite Football - Season 2
Northern League

Ko-orenite Football NORTH  Pld    W   L 
 1 Schemerdrecht               11    9   2
 2 Laringen                    11    9   2
 3 Mayara                      11    8   3
 4 Aminey                      11    6   5
 5 Alara-Etena                 11    6   5
 6 Sudaefjöll                  11    6   5
 7 Katashi                     11    6   5
 8 Willowbourne                11    6   5
 9 Leeshire                    11    3   8
10 Greencaster                 11    3   8
11 Finisterre                  11    2   9
12 Selesi                      11    2   9

Northern Cup - Final 8

Schemerdrecht 4 1 6 -2 -1 4 ===	12
Willowbourne  2 3 4 -1 1  0 ===	9

Laringen 4 2 3  2 3 1 === 15
Leeshire 3 0 -2 1 2 X === 4

Mayara 5 4 2 0 2 1  === 14
Aminey 5 5 2 5 4 -1 === 20

Sudaefjöll  5  1  4  1 4 X === 15
Alara-Etena -2 -1 -2 5 X X === 0


Schemerdrecht 2 1 0 1 4 4 === 12
Laringen      0 5 4 3 2 6 === 20

Aminey     -1 3 4 5 2 1 === 14
Sudaefjöll 0  6 4 0 3 5 === 18


Laringen   2 0 4 4 3 0 === 13
Sudaefjöll 1 6 5 5 2 4 === 23

Eastern League

Ko-orenite Football EAST  Pld    W   L 
 1 Katashi                    11    8   3
 2 Selesi                     11    8   3
 3 Alara-Etena                11    7   4
 4 Finisterre                 11    6   5
   Leeshire                   11    6   5
   Willowbourne               11    6   5
 7 Aminey                     11    6   5
 8 Sudaefjöll                 11    5   6
 9 Greencaster                11    4   7
10 Laringen                   11    4   7
11 Mayara                     11    3   8
12 Schemerdrecht              11    3   8

Eastern Cup - Final 8
Alara-Etena 31–28 Leeshire
Willowbourne 31–38 Selesi
Greencaster 45–27 Katashi
Finisterre 19–30 Aminey

Alara-Etena 32–24 Selesi
Greencaster 22–30 Aminey

Alara-Etena 24–40 Aminey

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Nov 18, 2018 5:45 am

Gridiron - Season 43

International Results

Playoff Round
Mayara Destroyers (KOR)           10  7   7 10  34
Maniwa Gyarados (HIN)              0  3  10  7  20

Brenleigh  (NWK)                  3   7  0  3  13
Noordrug Astronauts (KOR)         10  0  0  7  17

Round 1
Sterrenwolde Dragonflies (KOR)    9  7  0  7  23
Murwelldobah (NWK)                7 10  0  9  26

Greencaster Godspeed (KOR)        0  3  0  7  9  19
Miltonsburg Rams (UAR)            7  0  3  0 17  27

Noordrug Astronauts (KOR)         7  6  0  3  16
Sheriff Tiraspol (PDN)            3  0  0 14  17

St. Marcus (SNT)                  7  0  0  0   7
Mayara Destroyers (KOR)          14  3  3  0  20

Round 2
Murwelldobah (NWK)                0  6  7  3  16
Mayara Destroyers (KOR)           7  0  7  0  14

In the playoff round, it all seemed like our teams would have little trouble with the opposition. In the actual first round, it showed that Ko-oren really isn't the powerhouse it once was anymore. Champions Godspeed lost in overtime to the Miltonsburg Rams, from UAR whose teams were all out by Round 2 as well. Runners up Dragonflies lost to a Kalactin team, the same team that would eliminate the Destroyers in Round 2. The Astronauts, our fourth representatives, lost by a single point to Sheriff Tiraspol, with a final score of 17-16 and giving up 14 of 17 points in the final quarter. Really, it hasn't been a good one. The one consolation is that the final was held in Aminey, featuring Sheriff Tiraspol again.

Previews
Eastern Division

Aerellen Explosions -

Aminey Caspians -

Noordrug Astronauts -

Schemerdrecht 65ers -

Schemerdrecht Admirals -

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies

In the East, the balance of power has shifted quite a bit. Draft picks for the Explosions and Admirals have panned out very well, and the Astronauts and Dragonflies lost a considerable amount of talent. The most dramatic shift is the Dragonflies, who have been among the top teams of the last two seasons. Most of their defence left the team, and now the offence has to carry this team all of a sudden. While there is no question that they have the quality to do that, it'll be very different without a top 3 defence supporting them. Robin Reeman has the Herculean task of making the offence the focal point of the team, but between him, and one of the league's best receivers in Schoolhendrik, and a solid tight end in Goudveld, they may just pull it off. The rest of the team won't be able to help much, is all. The Astronauts weren't exactly strong last year and they continue to be dubious. There is no clear star on this team ready to take them to the playoffs, though they have some tackling power in linebacker Emerson and safety Eisenman. The offensive line is capable in helping a mediocre QB in Aalander as well, so it's not like this team is completely off the rails. The 65ers are a bit mid-table, with some excellent players and some poor units. Half of the offensive line is great (center Geerts, tackle Witvos) but they have little to protect: QB Fullmore has had a drastic decline in his play last season and they failed to add a decent running back, having to rely on Galway who is young but simply barely on par with the standards of the league. There is barely a defence on this team, though Braakjans will be a one man wrecking crew on the D-line. The

Aminey Caspians are looking up, and might be a surprise pick to win the division. They have one of the best QBs in the league in Sylvestre, the most reliable kicker in Delannoy, a receiving corps with Cazal, Crozier and Lokaguthen that is beyond comparison in the entire league, and have Dutertre and Demaret to show some good things on defence as well. The

Aerellen Explosions are the team to beat this year, with a crazy defence - and defence is held in high regard in Ko-orenite gridiron. From Aemino in the secondary to Verian on the line, the defence has got quality starters. The Admirals have given their run-first offence some weapons to make them everything from clock-killers to a lethal offence. Dual-threat QB De Croon is supported by the best right tackle in Schooten, national team running back Mannussen, just their defence can be called into question from time to time. When they do get the lead, they can protect it like no other team.

Western Division

Eaglebury Emperors -

Greencaster Godspeed -

Mawryshire Centaurs -

Mayara Destroyers -

Mayara Wolves -

Willowbourne Saints

In the West, most teams managed to fix their problems from last season, but failed to create a really good team. At the moment, the Western Division has six decent teams, but no bad or great ones. That said, it looks like the

Mayara Wolves and the

Willowbourne Saints will be the ones going for the playoffs this year, with

Greencaster Godspeed and the

Mayara Destroyers looking to go far as well.

Eaglebury Emperors and

Mawryshire Centaurs both have a down year from last year. Mawryshire has to rely on their backup QB yThollhas, who so far has been an interception machine in the preseason. He isn't protected by a particularly good line, and ySarrwdd, wide receiver, can't fix everything for his teammates. On the defensive and special teams side, there's something to look forward to for the Centaurs, though. Eaglebury, then, has a great defensive line but poor players on the rest of the field. If either Aldridge or Farrier go down, there's not much left on this Emperors team. They, too, are left without a decent option at QB.

Greencaster Godspeed has a balanced offence, between a west coast offence run by Delaney, behind the best left tackle of the league in Zorowen, and one of the best running backs in Thorebourne. On the defence, with Knight and Wheelwright they have an alright secondary as well. The

Mayara Destroyers also have QB issues, forced to start Kizaunthaunden, but have great options to pass the ball to in Patrasthen and Whitlock, and tight end Tharadhen as well. Their stars play on defence: safety Mesjathaunthen and linebacker Piralasthen. The Destroyers could go very far if QB issues won't be too much of a hindrance to them. Willowbourne has as perfect a team as you're going to find in Ko-oren: a great QB in his prime, Hedgecock, together with a sack machine in Dijk, the best man defence cornerback in Dwyer, an O-line that can pass block as well as run block, and a solid back in Willis to exploit the latter. Some issues in special teams, but if that's all there is to worry about, this team is legit. The

Mayara Wolves are going to run first this year: a good line, Zanonthen, a running back, to use that for him, and a decent dual-threat QB in Loder. As long as the defence can get a stop (and beyond CB Van de Streek and DE Karentathen there's not too much there), the Wolves can be a threat to win the Ko-oren Bowl.

Regular Season, Stage 1
In the first 11 rounds, every team plays every other team once. This includes 5 divisional matchups and 6 games against teams in the other division.

KGL                              Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Aerellen Explosions               11   10   0   1    0.909    0.909
 2 Schemerdrecht Admirals            11    8   0   3    0.727    0.727
 3 Mayara Wolves                     11    7   0   4    0.636    0.636
 4 Noordrug Astronauts               11    7   0   4    0.636    0.636
 5 Willowbourne Saints               11    6   1   4    0.591    0.600
 6 Mawryshire Centaurs               11    6   0   5    0.545    0.545
 7 Greencaster Godspeed              11    4   1   6    0.409    0.400
 8 Mayara Destroyers                 11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364
 9 Aminey Caspians                   11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364
10 Schemerdrecht 65ers               11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364
11 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies          11    3   0   8    0.273    0.273
12 Eaglebury Emperors                11    2   0   9    0.182    0.182

The Explosions are the undisputed champions of the first two-thirds of the season. At 10-0-1, things would have to go pretty wrong for them to miss out on the playoffs, going into the second stage (which consists of 5 divisional games) two games ahead of the next team in the Eastern division. Overall, the Eastern division has had some success, with the 1st, 2nd and 4th teams all from the East (but also the 9th, 10th and 11th placed teams). It'll be hard even for the 7-0-4 Astronauts to make the playoffs, they'll have to win the H2H versus the Admirals or hope for an implosion on their part. In the West, the Wolves and the Saints deliver as promised, the Centaurs overperform with a poor roster, and we find the Emperors where we thought they'd be.

Regular Season, Stage 2

WEST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Willowbourne Saints                5    4   0   1    0.800    0.800
 2 Greencaster Godspeed               5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 3 Mawryshire Centaurs                5    2   1   2    0.500    0.500
 4 Mayara Wolves                      5    2   1   2    0.500    0.500
 5 Mayara Destroyers                  5    2   0   3    0.400    0.400
 6 Eaglebury Emperors                 5    0   2   3    0.200    0.000

   EAST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Schemerdrecht Admirals             5    4   0   1    0.800    0.800
 2 Aminey Caspians                    5    4   0   1    0.800    0.800
 3 Aerellen Explosions                5    3   0   2    0.600    0.600
 4 Schemerdrecht 65ers                5    2   0   3    0.400    0.400
 5 Noordrug Astronauts                5    1   1   3    0.300    0.250
 6 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies           5    0   1   4    0.100    0.000

In the West, the Saints follow up their 6-1-4 start with a 4-0-1 for a combined 10-1-5 while the Wolves go for a 9-1-6, still more than enough for the second place in the division. The Emperors really don't have their season and are the league's worst at 2-2-12 closely followed by the Dragonflies at 3-1-12. Both teams finished at the bottom of the first stage and won zero games in the second stage. Atop the East we find the Explosions despite going 3-0-2, worse than their first stage record. The Caspians redeem their season for the most part by destroying their divisional opponents on their second chance, and the Admirals take second place by placing best among second stage teams. The Astronauts, bravely challenging for the playoffs spots in the first stage, fall to a dramatic 1-1-3 in the second stage, even giving the Dragonflies their lone non-lost result.

Regular Season, Overall

Pld    W   D   L
1 Willowbourne Saints               16   10   1   6
 2 Mayara Wolves                     16    9   1   6
 3 Mawryshire Centaurs               16    8   1   7 
 4 Greencaster Godspeed              16    7   1   8
 5 Mayara Destroyers                 16    6   0  10
 6 Eaglebury Emperors                16    2   2  12
 
                                    Pld    W   D   L								
1 Aerellen Explosions               16   13   0   3
 2 Schemerdrecht Admirals            16   12   0   4
 3 Noordrug Astronauts               16    8   1   7
 4 Aminey Caspians                   16    8   0   8
 5 Schemerdrecht 65ers               16    6   0  10
 6 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies          16    3   1  12

Total number of games: 96
Number of away wins: 36, so 37.5% of games ended in a away win
Number of home wins: 56, so 58.333% of games ended in an home win
Number of draws: 4, so 4.167% of games ended in a draw
Total number of points: 4092
Home points: 1841
Away points: 2251
Average number of points scored by the away team: 19.177
Average number of points scored by the home team: 23.448
Average number of total points scored per game: 42.625

Scoring was very high with over 40 points scored per game. The average game ended in a score of 19-23, just more than a field goal but far less than a TD's difference.

Derby scores:

Mawryshire Centaurs 24–24

Eaglebury Emperors

Mawryshire Centaurs 17–31

Eaglebury Emperors

Willowbourne Saints 13–20

Greencaster Godspeed

Willowbourne Saints 23–23

Greencaster Godspeed

Mayara Destroyers 3–26

Mayara Wolves

Mayara Destroyers 17–27

Mayara Wolves

Noordrug Astronauts 7–16

Aerellen Explosions

Noordrug Astronauts 9–44

Aerellen Explosions

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies 6–23

Aminey Caspians

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies 26–48

Aminey Caspians

Schemerdrecht 65ers 6–24

Schemerdrecht Admirals

Schemerdrecht 65ers 9–23

Schemerdrecht Admirals

Convincing results in the derbies of the year: despite the terrible year for the Emperors, they did get the best of their regional rivals. Godspeed and Saints both had very good teams this year but Godspeed took the H2H. The Wolves were a far better team than the Destroyers, and this is reflected by the scores. The Explosions had an all-around great season from start to end but the Astronauts were only good at the start, and you can see them going from an 8-point loss to a 35-point one. The Dragonflies were nowhere this year and the Caspians took two easy wins off of them. The Admirals also were in a completely different league from the 65ers, and you can see that as well.

Teams to look at in a bit more detail:

Noordrug Astronauts: they started out so well, but fell so short by the end. This is their season in one single line:
WLLWLWLWWWW|LLWLD
They had a poor start to the season and it took them 6 games to be 3-0-3, and then lost again. They completed the first stage with four straight wins, between the bye weeks, and they were the team to beat going into stage 2. There they strung together two losses (Explosions, Caspians), a win (65ers), a loss (Admirals) and a draw (Dragonflies). In the end, it's clear that the Explosions and the Admirals were too good for them, but it didn't show in the first half. Their four-game win streak in the middle was against the Dragonflies, Emperors, Godspeed and Centaurs - maybe we were just deceived by the bad teams they played in that stretch.

Willowbourne Saints: they did a bit of a reverse, from going barely .500 in the first stage to a .800 finish to take first place in the Western Division:
LWWDWLLWWLW|WLWWW
We know they had a bad start, but they really did start out with the loss. To... the Explosions, so that's pretty fair - but also an indication of just how good Aerellen have been. Then they didn't lose for four games (Emperors, Caspians, Godspeed draw, Astronauts) and it looks like we have a great team here, but a lot of these were very close. 7 points over the Emperors, a draw against Godspeed, 3 points over the Astronauts in a shootout, just one convincing 30-3 win over the Caspians. Then a 3-0-3 finish of the first stage (losses to Centaurs, 65ers, Wolves, wins over Destroyers, Admirals, Dragonflies). Three of these games were decided by 3 points, and only the Dragonflies was a clear result (29-point win). Not much needs to be said about the final five games: a loss to rivals Godspeed, but four huge victories (27-6 over Emperors, 41-14 over Centaurs, 41-20 over Destroyers, 23-17 over Wolves) to make this team massive favourites going into the playoffs.

At this point, you're probably wondering who the Explosions lost to, and when:
Week 10, to the Destroyers... Yes, the Explosions were 9-0-0 up to that point!
Week 12, to the Caspians (!?)
Week 15, to the Admirals... in a 16-3 loss. When the Explosions did lose, they lost terribly.

Postseason, Playoffs

Mayara Wolves (West)               3  0  7  3  13
Willowbourne Saints (West)         7 10  0  0  17

Schemerdrecht Admirals (East)     14  3  0  3  20
Aerellen Explosions (East)         0  7 17  3  27

None of the four teams to stand on this stage last year, made it this year. That's a testament to how much these teams have developed since last year: the Admirals went from 4-1-11 to 12-0-4, the Wolves went from 7-0-9 to 9-1-6. The Saints were so close last year, at 8-1-7 but even that record saw them become third in the West. The Explosions were third in the East last year, improving from 8-1-7 to 13-0-3. But here we are.

The Saints are crowned Western Champions after beating the Wolves 13-17. Despite not scoring in all of the second half, Willowbourne had enough of a lead and a good enough defence to hold off Mayara. In the end, the excellent rushing from the Wolves just took too much time off the clock. The Saints started so well in the first half, with Hedgecock going 18/22 for 194 yards and two TDs playing what looked like the best QB game of the year across the league. Henery Willis, Saints running back, had a massive role as well: he caught eight of those passes (five of which before the LoS) on nine targets for 75 yards, and added 54 rushing yards of his own as well. The Wolves had to run the ball as always, but got nothing but a field goal in the first half. The Saints' best part of the defence is the secondary but they had to stack the box on every play, involving both of the Saints' safeties - and this was enough to hold the Wolves to 92 yards on the half. Running back Zanonthen had 83 yards, and quarterback Loder added 7 as well - 25 positive yards and 18 negative yards. It looked like the cards were stacked against the Wolves all half, and some good half time adjustments helped them in the second to reduce the 17-3 deficit. After the half, Loder spread the ball around his mediocre receivers, but still getting 12/20 for 151 yards (inflated by a single pass going for 84 yards). Van de Streek helped his Wolves some more by getting a crucial interception on Hedgecock at the start of the 4th quarter after the Saints marched down the field in 17 plays - intercepted at the goal line. In the end, the Wolves just couldn't keep running it, and they ran out of time in the fourth quarter. Hedgecock ended up on 28/36, 300 yards, 2 TDs and an INT.

The Explosions confirmed their status as Bowl favourite by winning 27-20 over the Admirals. QB Arerira was sacked once, had two hurries and one more QB hit - that was it. Arerira finished the game with an almost clean jersey and it was such a help to this team: his two running backs and the fullback all took turns carrying the ball and the QB didn't even need to help. Despite the slow start, the third quarter elevated their play and they took the lead from a 17-7 deficit at half time to a 17-24 lead at the start of the 4th. The Admirals, another team with a running QB (out of 4 playoff team, 3 rely on QBs running the ball themselves), had a great first half but then got stopped all the time in the second. The QBs combined for just 30 passing attempts, and the game was over in just 2 hours and 27 minutes, because the clock rarely stopped.

Postseason, Ko-oren Bowl

Willowbourne Saints (West)         3  3  3  0   9
Aerellen Explosions (East)         0  6  3  7  16

The

Aerellen Explosions win their first championship in 10 years with a 16-9 win over the

Willowbourne Saints! The best defence in Ko-oren is too much for the balanced offence of the Saints during all four quarters, and the trophy is rightfully theirs after a dominant campaign from week 1 to the Bowl!

Q1: The Explosions receive the ball, manage three first downs during the drive, but it's never too convincing. They punt after 8 plays for 33 yards. The Saints put together a long drive but are stopped at the 20-yard line and get a field goal, Hedgecock starts off with 6 completions from 6 attempts. Aerellen's second drive starts from their own 8-yard line, and they finally get on the Saints half at the end of the quarter.

Q2: On 4th-and-8, the Explosions get their first points on a field goal from the Saints' 27. Both teams then exchange punts (6 plays for the Saints, then 4 for the Explosions) before they exchange field goals. Both teams get another possession but to no avail. The score is 6-6 at the half. Hedgecock is near-flawless with 17 completions on 22 attempts, for 140 yards. Every centimetre taken is a fight, and the defences don't let up. Drives take up a lot of time, and teams often need to convert on third down, which they are pretty good at. Only five drives per team in the first half.

Q3: Half-time adjustments work decently for each team. The defences are still dominant, but Hedgecock can find some open receivers here and there. The offences try to avoid turnovers at all costs, and the Saints dial down the passing game. On the ground, the Explosions are far better. Henery Willis, for the Saints, gets 24 carries in the second half (!) but yields just 60 yards. The ground game provides both teams with a field goal, as the defences do not break, they don't even bend too much.

Q4: First turnover of the game: Hedgecock sacked, the ball comes out before his knee hits the ground, and the Explosions get an excellent opportunity at exactly the midway line. Second play of the drive, Arerira finds Varafin for a 30 yard gain - by far the longest play of the day. Explosions knock on the door, and in the end Arerira himself knocks it in for the first touchdown of the day. Saints try and try, and with the passing game can use time very efficiently, but cannot get near the Explosions' half. They try to convert on 4th down on two consecutive drives, but fail both times. The Saints fail to score in the fourth quarter and the Explosions run out the clock for the Championship!

Developmental Leagues
D-League final:
Lamau Bears 27 - 27 Mayara Mariners, 33-30 OT

KG2 Finals:
Serevne Polar Stars 20 - 29 Eaglebury Dusk
Intermare Internationals 18 - 25 Penstead Ocelots

Eaglebury Dusk 20 - 26 Penstead Ocelots

Season Stats:
Off ypg:

Willowbourne Saints (405)
Off pass ypg:

Willowbourne Saints (283)
Off rush ypg:

Mayara Wolves (152)

Def ypg:

Aerellen Explosions (294)
Def pass ypg:

Aerellen Explosions (227)
Def rush ypg:

Eaglebury Emperors (55)

Net total ypg:

Aerellen Explosions (+68)

First downs pg:

Mayara Wolves (25)

Giveaways (season):

Schemerdrecht 65ers (41)
Takeaways (season):

Mayara Destroyers (36)
Net TOs (season):

Noordrug Astronauts (+20)

Pass ypg: Ambrose Hedgecock (WIL) 283
Rec ypg: Lomeoch ySarrwdd (MAW) 91
Rush ypg: Mees Mannussen (SCA) 65
TDs: Mees Mannussen (SCA) 13
Tackles: Stanley Emerson (NOO)
Sacks: Karentak Karentathen (MYW) 16.5
Ints: Lucas van de Streek (MYW) 9
Field goal%: Paul Delannoy (AMI) 95%
Punt avg distance & landed in opp 20: Llanwll yPenmheos (MAW)
Returns K+P yds + TDs: Peril Garsasunthen (MYW)

by **Ko-oren** » Thu Nov 22, 2018 3:12 pm

Rugby League - Season 15

Tier 1 - Championship Contenders

Alara Spiders: How much can change in one year! They finished 11th just last season, and look at them now. Lots of contracts were finished, and they immediately started the build. The Suganuma brothers (though 8 years between them) are among many local players trying to build up the Spiders again, and they've got some amazing talent to help them.

Aminey Owls: Not a great spine, but 9 good positional players aside from them that should balance the lack of creativity. The Owls should simply overpower their opponent, and everything points to it that they can do that for 22 straight games. prop Balzac and centre Barbeau are the biggest players, can they cover for the rest?

Nitoya Foxes: They've also shot up from last year, almost as much as the Spiders. The Foxes have a great spine and alright backs but may come up short in the physical department, almost an inverse of the Owls. With FB Nawa and HB Fujioka, the Foxes are in for a fun season.

Tier 2 - Pushing for Playoffs

Aminey Buffaloes: The forwards are the selling point of this team. With Gaudin, they have a national team grade Lock, and they've got some good forwards in Affré and Toutain. Not having great backs might set this team back some, though.

Ferrovente Scorpions: Another mainland team, another good set of forwards. The Scorpions invested heavily, and it shows: aside from a above-average fullback in Vales, they also have some strength and tackling in Mendez and Bran.

Selesi Dragons: They were the best last year, and they should stay near the top. Most all-round team of the league, though age might start to catch up to them. Their window is closing, can they get another championship in? Led by FB Higuchi and HB Kotake, there should still be something in the tank. If 22-year-old winger Ogawa delivers, this team should push up to Tier 1, actually.

Tier 3 - Fighting for top 50%

Etena Vipers: This team could go anywhere, and they'd still be better than last year. They still have dubious forwards, but the backs are a passable group. With a surprise here and there, they could go top 6.

Étouille Vultures: There's a lot to prove for Valé Bousquet: is he, or is he not, a national team grade winger? He's in his prime, so it's now or never. Some investments in the forward pack were needed, hopefully they can continue onwards from their 8th place last season.

Katashi Wasps: Unfortunately the Wasps look like regressing from last year. Katashi teams in general look like that. Not a lot of national team talent here, but some bright spots for next season once a few high-paid poor-to-decent players could leave the team. Until then, this is actually a fairly balanced team but lacks leadership.

Linieux Harriers: Like most Cote Austral teams: good young forwards, poor backs, and hopefully the rest won't disappoint too much. To be very honest there's not much else to say about this team.

Santa Teresa Sabres: The third-richest team hits the competition again with a team devoid of talent. No clue how they do it, but they keep losing talents to Ferrovente, and end up paying has-beens good money to show up. With their chances of injury, they might be in Tier 4.

Tier 4 - Hoping to avoid last place

Katashi Hawks: Definitely down from their 3rd place last year. They're trying their luck with some youngsters, but they're the only ones with an army of 19-year olds and between them and the underperforming veterans, there's not much to see here this year.

Standings

KRL                      Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Alara Spiders             22   17   1   4   536  328 +208    70 - Grand Final
 2 Nitoya Foxes              22   16   0   6   501  393 +108    64 - Semifinal
 3 Ferrovente Scorpions      22   15   0   7   477  424  +53    60 - Semifinal
 4 Aminey Owls               22   12   1   9   532  398 +134    50
 5 Selesi Dragons            22   10   1  11   469  456  +13    42
 6 Aminey Buffaloes          22   10   1  11   450  482  −32    42
 7 Étouille Vultures         22    9   1  12   426  490  −64    38
 8 Santa Teresa Sabres       22    9   0  13   426  459  −33    36
 9 Katashi Wasps             22    9   0  13   418  455  −37    36
10 Etena Vipers              22    8   1  13   430  462  −32    34
11 Linieux Harriers          22    7   0  15   368  515 −147    28
12 Katashi Hawks             22    7   0  15   385  556 −171    28

Playoffs

Nitoya Foxes 24–18

Ferrovente Scorpions

Alara Spiders 14–19

Nitoya Foxes

The

Nitoya Foxes win the Grand Final over the

Alara Spiders! The Dragons finally have to hand over the trophy after winning it twice. The Foxes go into the finals with great form and confidence and upset the Spiders, who even had a week to prepare.

Key matches, key teams
Derby scores:

Aminey Owls 28–24

Aminey Buffaloes

Aminey Buffaloes 26–22

Aminey Owls - this series is tied, both teams won by 4 points.

Katashi Hawks 28–11

Katashi Wasps

Katashi Wasps 28–18

Katashi Hawks - the Hawks, surprisingly, win the series.

Selesi Dragons 36–12

Linieux Harriers

Linieux Harriers 18–34

Selesi Dragons -

Selesi Dragons get two victories - but then again the quality differs tremendously between the teams.

Santa Teresa Sabres 18–30

Ferrovente Scorpions

Ferrovente Scorpions 25–12

Santa Teresa Sabres - Scorpions with two wins in the Finisterre derby!

Nitoya Foxes and

Katashi Hawks. Polar opposites. The

Nitoya Foxes' season: WWWLLLLLWWWWWWWWWWWLWW. After going 3-0-5, they win 11 straigth which is almost enough to put you in the playoffs, and finish the season strong with two wins. The one team to best them in round 20? The

Alara Spiders, at Alara, 30-24. Any surprise there? That's the hardest game of the season. It's hard to believe that the Foxes were 5th halfway through the season (6-0-5), only to finish 2nd by a win and a draw.

Do you know who were 6th at the halfway point, also with a 6-0-5 record after 11 games? Why, it's the

Katashi Hawks. Here's their season: LLWLWLWLWWWLLLLLLLLWLL. The aforementioned 6-0-5 happens exactly after the 3-win streak ends, followed by 8 straight losses. What game kicked off the losing streak in round 12? You probably guessed it... it was their game at Nitoya. Which ended 44-4, their largest loss of the season, as they've never scored fewer than 6 points in any other game, or conceded more than 38. Literally their worst performance, offensively and defensively, tying the fates of these completely opposite teams together somehow. Needless to say, where the Foxes will host the semifinals, the Hawks win the wooden spoon on points over the

Linieux Harriers. The Hawks end up exactly where we predicted them - but they were doing so well in the first half, on pace to finish top 6!

State of Origin
CA: As you probably read in the team previews, Cote Austral is going to have an easy time keeping others from scoring, while protecting the ball well when in possession. They need Barbeau and Bousquet to show up with their agility and scoring talent, or else this might be a low-scoring, frustrating team. Seriously, those forwards though.
FIN: On the down year for the Sabres, this takes down Finisterre's chances as well. They're fielding a young team with plenty of promise, decent forwards, but poor decision-making in attack. Fullback Vales is probably the big man on this team.
YOL: Leleia, the southeastern island, has three teams, one of which might show up this year. The aging squad might make one more push, with experience. Don't count out the newly-promoted players from the Foxes, they might just carry the rest of this team to greatness.
YOS: Clear favourites for the year from the Spiders and Dragons that are on the team. They now even have a lock and a prop to wear down the defence and get some tackling done. Apart from that, wingers Suganuma and Ogawa should tear some edge defences apart - just a shame they don't have a lot going for them at centre right now. 404 second rowers not found.

CA-FIN 16-22
YOL-YOS 20-32

FIN-YOL 16-22
YOS-CA 28-26

CA-YOL 26-20
FIN-YOS 10-22

CA : 3P 1W 0D 2L
FIN: 3P 1W 0D 2L
YOL: 3P 1W 0D 2L
YOS: 3P 3W 0D 0L

Stats
Total number of games: 132
Number of home wins: 84, so 63.64% of games ended in a home win
Number of away wins: 45, so 34.09% of games ended in an away win
Number of draws: 3, so 2.27% of games ended in a draw
Total number of points: 5418
Home points: 3011
Away points: 2407
Average number of points scored by the home team: 22.81
Average number of points scored by the away team: 18.23
Average number of total points scored per game: 41.05

The average score was 23-18, but that five point difference (less than a converted try!) was the difference maker in making almost 2/3rd of games a home win, versus a little over 1/3rd ending in an away win. Fun fact: no match actually ended in 23-18. 30-12 was the most occurring final score (6 games), followed by 24-18 (whoa! That's almost 23-18, 5 times) and 22-16 and 22-18 (4 times).

Tries: Hirokata Suganuma W

Alara Spiders
Points: Shunmyo Fujioka HB

Nitoya Foxes
Tackle breaks: Baba Barbeau C

Aminey Owls
Try assists: Sumio Sunada 58

Selesi Dragons
Tackles: Baris Bran P

Ferrovente Scorpions
Run metres: Marin Gaudin L

Aminey Buffaloes

Developmental Leagues
Yoshima League: Itomata
CAF-League: Marção

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Nov 25, 2018 4:14 am

Rugby Union - Season 25

Tier 1 - Championship Contenders

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia: The Wanderers-Cassiopeia go for a huge push after last year's campaign. Their backs still aren't all that, but they have pretty much the entire national team's forwards on their roster alone. Holden, Wiley, Mundaja, Nichols, Watkins and Daugherty - have you ever seen such a stacked pack?

Tier 2 - Pushing for Playoffs

Ansonville Comets: Ansonville is again right up there among the good teams, but will they be great this year? Matthew White is new to the league but he'll be looking to establish himself as an leftfield choice for starting national team halfback. Combined with a great spine in fullback Nethersole the Comets are in great shape with a bright future, but their forwards might disappoint them.

Aubury Swans: Huge improvements over last year, and they look like they might even make the playoffs. That's some turnaround! Whatever national team forward isn't on the Wanderers/Cassiopeia is on the Swans - with the added bonus that the Swans actually have some pace, scoring ability and tacticians. Watch Bashford and Inchcombe run over guys.

Greencaster Galaxy: The Galaxy are definitely a weaker team than last year, but it's hard to imagine a top 3 without Greencaster. Halfback Hopperton is playing his best rugby right now, and should carry the Galaxy a bit higher up than their roster quality indicates. He'll be looking for Aldridge to score tries, but they could promote a few forwards from the youth department to be sure as well.

Penstead Bears: The Bears had a magical season last year, which will be hard to replicate. They still have part of their championship team, but will it be enough? No huge stars for the Bears - Penstead always has trouble signing big guys given their geography, unfortunately - but the home advantage will help them. Also, the players that do play for them have heart for the team, and it's honestly not a bad team.

Tier 3 - Fighting for top 50%

Eaglebury Aquila: Aquila was the worst team by a country mile last season, and look at them now. They should stabilise a little, but things are looking up. Their best player is 2nd rower Coogellong, with some other forwards to back him up. Aquila have some pieces in every part of their team but lack a spine.

Idyllwild Coronae: They were lucky last year but it looks like they'll finally get exposed this year. There are alright players on this team, but massive differences between the better players and the worse players and that will be exploited by the teams higher up on this list.

Tarrashall Travellers: Not much changed for the Travellers. They could end up anywhere between 3rd and 11th in my book. Erramulla Nundle has been playing in obscurity but this should be the skipper's breakout year, anything less than a try assist per game should be a disappointment for him.

Llandy Bulls: Mid-table hell is a reality for the Bulls, can they ever turn that around? The players aren't going to help: no weak guys on this team, but nobody that can come through for them in a pinch either.

Tier 4 - Hoping to avoid last place

Mawrystwyth Phoenix: It's looking like a down year for the Phoenix... at some point they'll have to find a top 6 finish, right? It looks like a bad year for Mawryshire rugby. Awful spine, almost no pace but no forwards to prop up the team either.

Maynard Andromeda: They already weren't great last year, and it looks like they'll be among the bottom 3 once again. It's a shame Joseph is on this team, he could do better. In fact, it speaks for him that he wants to help this team, but the front office has done nothing to give him players in support. They need some youth.

Willowbourne Foxes: It's hard to see Willowbourne's biggest team this low, especially after a 3rd place finish last year. Unfortunately I can't see them do much better than this. An aging team that lacks quality across the board - but still should keep it close given their defence and fullback.

Standings

KRUL                            Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Ansonville Comets                22   16   0   6   402  273 +129    64 - Final
 2 Aubury Swans                     22   15   0   7   375  261 +114    60 - Semifinal
 3 Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia      22   14   0   8   357  259  +98    56 - Semifinal
 4 Eaglebury Aquila                 22   13   0   9   275  274   +1    52
 5 Llandy Bulls                     22   11   2   9   290  247  +43    48
 6 Tarrashall Travellers            22   10   3   9   286  312  −26    46
 7 Greencaster Galaxy               22   11   1  10   286  227  +59    46
 8 Penstead Bears                   22    9   2  11   242  261  −19    40
 9 Idyllwild Coronae                22    8   2  12   260  273  −13    36
10 Mawrystwyth Phoenix              22    9   0  13   259  327  −68    36
11 Maynard Andromeda                22    6   1  15   212  318 −106    26
12 Willowbourne Foxes               22    4   1  17   266  478 −212    18

And there we are! The

Ansonville Comets are the most consistent team over the season and qualify for the final. The

Aubury Swans surprise friend and foe with a second place, and

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia should feel like they let their fans down with a third place - still in the semifinals, but they should have topped the table here.

Eaglebury Aquila just miss out, but this has been a more than successful campaign for them. The Bulls and Travellers also overperformed, but shame on Galaxy and the Bears for getting this rattled by the opposition. Coronae and Phoenix still somewhat count as mid-table. Andromeda have got nothing going for them and things will have to change, fast. The Foxes take a surprise last place!

Key matches, key teams
Derbies:

Aubury Swans 20–21

Maynard Andromeda

Maynard Andromeda 7–0

Aubury Swans

Idyllwild Coronae 11–23

Aubury Swans

Aubury Swans 43–19

Idyllwild Coronae

Willowbourne Foxes 15–34

Greencaster Galaxy

Greencaster Galaxy 23–6

Willowbourne Foxes

Idyllwild Coronae 10–6

Maynard Andromeda

Maynard Andromeda 7–6

Idyllwild Coronae

Greencaster Galaxy 10–15

Ansonville Comets

Ansonville Comets 20–6

Greencaster Galaxy

Most derby series were one-sided this year: the Galaxy and the Foxes were just plain bad, the Swans and Comets were plain good, and only Coronae/Andromeda was split.

The

Ansonville Comets had a great season going 16-0-6. They were consistent, getting no more than two consecutive losses all across the season: WLWWWWWLWLWWWWWWWLLWLW. What is a bit worrying is that they lost 3 of the last 5, did they peak too early? They lost to the Coronae (11-21), Bulls (17-0) and Swans (10-20). It's just not a good sign that two of them are home losses, and that all of them were by more than a converted try.

Now we look at the overhyped

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia, who went 14-0-8 (Form: WWWWWLLWWWLWLLLLWWWLWW). What is funny here is that they only lost one of the last 6, but whenever they lost in the middle of the season, they lost consecutively. The first spell was against the Swans and Aquila (by 1 and 10 points), then they lost 4 straight against the Comets, Bears, Galaxy, and Bulls. The Bulls were the dragonslayers of the season, winning against teams that were better than them. The Comets had a huge season so losing to them is acceptable - though will have to be overcome if they want to win the championship. The Bears and the Galaxy are puzzling though...

A similar pattern for the

Aubury Swans (LWWWWWLWWWWLWWLLLLWWWW). Finishing with four wins, and getting consecutive win series of 5, 4 , 2 and 4 throughout the season, they're going into the finals with their form and confidence on their side. But what is up with the 4-match slump in the middle? They lost to Phoenix, Foxes, Wanderers-Cassiopeia, and the Travellers... and those are mostly not-good teams. The Swans, however, have found ways to win close matches so that should be going for them.

Finals

Aubury Swans 5–11

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia

Mayara with the result to get them to the final, which was their original goal at the start of the season. Can they overcome the poor form at the end of the season to pull through in the end, or will this be won by the dominant Comets?

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia 17–0

Ansonville Comets

The Wanderers-Cassiopeia win! At 17-0, it was the most dominant game they played all season, and an uncharacteristic loss for the Comets. Congratulations!

State of Origin
MAW-GEH 5-19
SUR-WSR 8-7

MAW-SUR 23-3
GEH-WSR 3-14

WSR-MAW 5-14
GEH-SUR 12-17

MAW - 2W 1L
SUR - 2W 1L
WSR - 1W 2L
GEH - 1W 2L

Stats
Total number of games: 132
Number of home wins: 74, so 56.06% of games ended in a home win
Number of away wins: 52, so 39.39% of games ended in an away win
Number of draws: 6, so 4.55% of games ended in a draw
Total number of points: 3510
Home points: 1952
Away points: 1558
Average number of points scored by the home team: 14.79
Average number of points scored by the away team: 11.80
Average number of total points scored per game: 26.59

The average score is 15-12, but no match actually ended with that score. The most occurring score was a 3-13 away win(?!). It's still good knowing that most matches are extremely close, decided by a single goal. And defence is still something we love: one match ended 0-0. We've also had a 7-6 (twice), a 6-5, a 3-3, 6-3 and 3-0.

Tries: Orville Aldridge (

Greencaster Galaxy)
Points: Matthew White (

Ansonville Comets)
Tackle breaks: Rhonws yPhwgaragh (

Llandy Bulls)
Try assists: Mordecai Hopperton (

Greencaster Galaxy)
Tackles: Quatermain Bashford (

Aubury Swans)
Run metres: Nathaniel Inchcombe (

Aubury Swans)

Developmental Leagues
GWU: Southern Mayara
WSU: Whiteward Woods
MU: Aldercroft

by **Ko-oren** » Mon Nov 26, 2018 12:55 pm

Baseball - Season 20

Previews
Tier 1 - Championship Contenders

Katashi Giants: they have an extremely mixed bag of talent and ages on this team, more than enough to get results now and in the future as well. They'll rely on Ritsushima to get on base, Himura to follow him, Ishimaki and Ogasawara to steal some bases, but they don't really have anyone to score big hits. Well, if that's your only problem. Pitching is pretty decent too with Kumagaya.

Santa Teresa Stars: this team is what it says on the tin: stars. Berganza, Melle and Peredo are a trio consisting of an extremely fast outfielder, a ridiculously accurate pitcher and a tactical catcher - and the supporting cast isn't bad at all. Anything short of the final is a letdown for the Stars.
Tier 2 - Pushing for Playoffs

Aonishi Challengers: they've got both Machida and Hamasaki still pitching for them, so their defence is good. They're both pretty old though, so it's very much a do-or-die season for them. They lack pace and have some of the lowest OBP of the league though.

Echizen Dragons: now here's a team to get excited about, though with the same caveats as the Challengers: they still have pitcher Higashi to carry them through many a close game, but half of their starters are well over 30 years old. They have the league's best catcher in Kagulazaka at age 27 to lead the new generation, and this season will give him much-needed experience.

Katashi Generals: their core is getting into their prime years, between set-up man Hoga, shortstop Gotou and speedy leftfielder Kikuchi there's some individual talent here. There's also more pressure on the Generals than any other team given their market, so there's that as well. They have the talent, but do they have the mental strength?

Nitoya Silvers: they're also in the last few years before a generation leaves. They honestly don't have much going for them in terms of players below 30 years old, so Umemura and Shiro will have to do it now. They're losing some of their speed, which is pretty important as an outfielder, so the Silvers could go between 3rd and 11th.
Tier 3 - Fighting for top 50%

Intermare Admirals: the newly relocated Admirals have something to fight for, if they ever want to fill up the stadium. There's not much baseball in Intermare, so it's a bold move. They have some players to help their cause, though: excellent speed and defence in Sivurila at first base, decent relief and closing pitching with Cevocalu and Uvulivelu, so there's some national team experience in Intermare as well.

Ferrovente Whales: things are on the up for the Whales, they've given some attention to their infielders, adding some players that can get on base and play some defence in Viera and Taboada (22 and 23 years old). This is a young team in general, so expect them in Tier 2 next season.

Western Wanderers: this team is aging, and it's fair to say their window has closed. Most of the reliable good players are 35+ so it'll be the last season before they retire - but they've got youngsters waiting in the wings, they'll better introduce a couple of them throughout the season if they want to stay good.
Tier 4 - Hoping to avoid last place

Arakura Knights: somehow they're often overlooked. This year, however, they just don't have a team to get excited about. Some bright spots here and there (closer Ozawa and shortstop Yoshifumi) but otherwise it's a pretty bland roster.

Suvira Quarry: No stars on this team, and some shocking talent in several places. No clue what this team is to do in the near future, they can only hope their youth breaks through. Half of this team is sub 26 though, so there's something there.

Teragaseki Dynamo: they sold out for results in the past, and right now they're in a rebuild, and it's not going their way. Some of the players they had hoped could carry this team by now flopped, but they're still fairly young so this might be something 2-3 years down the line. Nothing to see here now though.
Standings

Katashi Generals         132    77   55 
Aonishi Challengers      132    74   58  
Arakura Knights          132    71   61  
Katashi Giants           132    70   62  
Echizen Dragons          132    68   64  
Suvira Quarry            132    66   66  
Ferrovente Whales        132    63   69  
Nitoya Silvers           132    63   69  
Santa Teresa Stars       132    63   69 
Teragaseki Dynamo        132    62   70 
Western Wanderers        132    60   72 
Intermare Admirals       132    55   77

It's Knights versus Challengers in the semifinals, with the Generals waiting in the final! Not exactly what we expected, as Dynamo finished 10th, Quarry finished 6th and the Knights, well, are top 3. The proposed champions Giants and Stars finished 4th and 9th, and baseball is once again best at unforeseen results. The middle of the pack is fairly close, with the Giants just one game out of the semis. The two western (non-baseball country) teams, the Wanderers and the Admirals, finish last and dead last... not a great way to improve crowds there. Safe to say, however, that the Generals were up to the task, withstood the pressure, and are at championship-level about 2 years ahead of schedule!
Postseason

Aonishi Challengers      0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3 
Arakura Knights          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2  

Aonishi Challengers      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 
Arakura Knights          1 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 X  6  

Aonishi Challengers      0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2 
Arakura Knights          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  

Aonishi Challengers      0 1 1 3 0 0 2 0 2  9 
Arakura Knights          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1  3

The Challengers make short work of their opponents in the semis, winning a close game, a dramatic loss, a shutout win, and a bat-happy 9-3 win.

Katashi Generals         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  3 
Aonishi Challengers      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  

Katashi Generals         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1 
Aonishi Challengers      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 X  3  

Katashi Generals         1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  5 
Aonishi Challengers      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2 

 Katashi Generals         0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2 
Aonishi Challengers      1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  6  

Katashi Generals         3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1  7 
Aonishi Challengers      0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0  5  

Katashi Generals         0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0  5 
Aonishi Challengers      1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  4

The

Katashi Generals win the championship 4-2! The scores kept getting bigger and bigger, from 3, to 4, 7, 8, 12 and lastly 9.

Key teams, key games
Here's the Generals' season, summarised in one (very long and unpronounceable) word: WWLWLWWLLLLWWWWWLWLLLWLWLLWWLLWWWWWWLWLWWWLWWLLWLLLWLWLWWWLWLWWWWLLWWWWLWWWLLWWLWLLLLWWLLLWLLWWWLWWWWWWLWWWLLWLWLWWWLLLWWLLWWWWLLWWW
Wins and losses come in bunches, with two 4-game losing streaks and six 4-game winning streaks, and a lot of noise in between.

Meanwhile, the Admirals: WWWLLLLWWWWWWWLWLLLLWWLLLWLLWWWLWLLWLLLLWLLWLLLLLWWLLWLWLWWWLLLWLWLLWLLLLLWLLLWWLLLWWLLWLLLWWLLLLWLWLLLLLLWWWWWLLLWLWLWLLLWLLWLWLWWW
It's immediately obvious that there's a lot more L's, but it's not all bad... the fans had something to look forward to at the start, going 3-0, then 10-4 in the first two weeks. They finished with 3 wins... but that's pretty much it.

Stats
Total number of games: 792
Number of home wins: 427, so 53.91% of games ended in a home win
Number of away wins: 365, so 46.09% of games ended in an away win
Total number of points: 6780
Home points: 3524
Away points: 3256
Average number of points scored by the home team: 4.45
Average number of points scored by the away team: 4.11
Average number of total points scored per game: 8.56
Margins are very close, with the average result... 4-4.

Home teams are just a little more likely to win, regardless.

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:34 am

Semi-professional and amateur sports - Season 3

Ice Hockey
Ko-oren's strength in the WCoH keeps increasing, and so is the KIHL. While still confined to the northeast, budgets are larger and academies are improving.

KIHL                          Pld    W   D   L    Win % 
 1 Southwest Aevanna Rangers      44   30   5   9    0.739
 2 Egevea Islanders               44   28   4  12    0.682
 3 Aevanna Scouts                 44   24   5  15    0.602
 4 Straudum Ice                   44   21   9  14    0.580
 5 Aevanna Plains Wanderers       44   22   6  16    0.568
 6 Noordrug Bi-state              44   20   6  18    0.523
 7 Egevea Northerners             44   15   9  20    0.443
 8 Aevanna Bay Mariners           44   16   6  22    0.432
 9 South Aevanna Storm            44   16   6  22    0.432
10 West Coast Blizzards           44   15   7  22    0.420
11 Launott Polar Bears            44   12   4  28    0.318
12 Aevanna Explorers              44   10   3  31    0.261

The Rangers are the best team by some distance, losing fewer than 10 games. The Islanders are not that far behind, but those two teams are the best teams by far. At the bottom, only the Explorers are far worse than the rest.

Field Hockey

KFHL                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Sterrenwolde                22   14   6   2    51   24  +27    48
 2 Rozenvoorde                 22   13   6   3    41   17  +24    45
 3 Laringen                    22   12   8   2    44   22  +22    44
 4 Vleugelberg                 22   11   5   6    39   32   +7    38
 5 Wintertoorn-S'drecht        22   10   5   7    28   21   +7    35
 6 Herengein-S'drecht          22   10   4   8    36   32   +4    34
 7 Oostgemeenten-S'drecht      22    9   5   8    28   28    0    32
 8 Angelwoud                   22    9   3  10    33   34   −1    30
 9 Venstertoren                22    6   4  12    28   35   −7    22
10 April                       22    5   5  12    21   33  −12    20
11 Hazel-Amber                 22    3   3  16    16   51  −35    12
12 Donderen-S'drecht           22    2   2  18    20   56  −36     8

It's all pretty close up top. Sterrenwolde wins the championship, with Rozenvoorde not far behind and Laringen being extremely close if only they hadn't let so many games fall to draws instead of wins. At the bottom we find Hazel-Amber and Donderen as the only teams way out of pace with the rest of the KFHL.

Lacrosse

KLL                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Sydberg - Greencaster          11   10   0   1   152   85  +67    0.909
 2 Dalmington - Willowbourne      11    7   2   2   131   99  +32    0.727
 3 Anarcourt                      11    7   0   4   127  116  +11    0.636
 4 Thornwich - Greencaster        11    6   2   3   133  100  +33    0.636
 5 Ansonville                     11    6   0   5   117  130  −13    0.545
 6 Cirelbourne                    11    5   2   4   118   94  +24    0.545
 7 Marinwood                      11    5   0   6   104  111   −7    0.455
 8 Cresthill - Willowbourne       11    5   0   6    88  103  −15    0.455
 9 Bruncester                     11    4   2   5   120  129   −9    0.455
10 Windward - Greencaster         11    3   0   8    91  122  −31    0.273
11 Maynard                        11    3   0   8    86  129  −43    0.273
12 Norille                        11    1   0  10    89  138  −49    0.091

Sister cities Norille and Anarcourt couldn't be much further apart, while Greencaster's teams take two spots in the top 4, among which is Sydberg which wins 10 out of 11 and wins the KLL with some emphasis.

Basketball

KBL                                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Couziers-Linieux Centurions          44   34  10  3554 3093 +461
 2 Mayara Blues                         44   32  12  3516 3067 +449
 3 Serramonte-Santa Teresa Castles      44   28  16  3536 3278 +258
 4 Montelo-Santa Teresa Snipers         44   25  19  3429 3222 +207
 5 Ferrovente Tazers                    44   24  20  3254 3292  −38
 6 Miradela-Santa Teresa Silvers        44   22  22  3400 3351  +49
 7 Senoren White Diamonds               44   22  22  3388 3369  +19
 8 Ouleux-Aminey Sapphires              44   19  25  3390 3349  +41
 9 Gehrenna Lions                       44   19  25  3193 3427 −234
10 Étouille Energie                     44   16  28  3118 3377 −259
11 Maethoru Banshees                    44   12  32  3107 3550 −443
12 Lunay-Aminey Argonauts               44   11  33  3064 3574 −510

One of the newer teams, the Centurions, take the championship in a closely contested field - at least, if you count a two-horse race as closely contested. Every single position is contested in some way, with some tiers visible: 1/2, then 3/4/5/6/7, then 8/9/10, and 11/12. The Argonauts are as new as the Centurions but haven't had the players to take them far up.

Kabaddi

KYKL                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Aonishi                22   16   6  1041  733 +308
 2 Furune                 22   15   7   970  789 +181
 3 Katashi West           22   13   9   961  773 +188
 4 Echizen                22   13   9   991  935  +56
 5 Nitoya                 22   12  10   888  870  +18
 6 Aviansola              22   11  11   908  908    0
 7 Suvira                 22   11  11   878  922  −44
 8 Arakura                22   10  12   847  916  −69
 9 Alara                  22    9  13   802  831  −29
10 Lejana                 22    8  14   853 1009 −156
11 Teragaseki             22    8  14   779  950 −171
12 Katashi East           22    6  16   689  971 −282

Kabaddi, too, is gaining some interest in Ko-oren, even though the league is confined to Yoshima. The southeastern islands are already fairly saturated when it comes to sports, with soccer, rugby league and baseball all fighting for top spot, but Kabaddi is more and more seen as a fun way to spend an evening, watching the league in the short weeks that it's on. Congratulations to Aonishi on winning the championship!

Aussie Rules

KMARL                 Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Penstead               20   17   0   3  2299 1453 +846    68
2 yDremdwn               20   12   0   8  2166 1650 +516    48
3 Mawrystwyth            20   12   0   8  2120 1822 +298    48
4 yMhinem                20    9   0  11  1840 2068 −228    36
5 Llandy                 20    6   0  14  1849 2064 −215    24
6 yNelseg                20    4   0  16  1354 2571 −1217    16

  KWSRARL               Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Aralla                 20   13   0   7  2439 1713 +726    52
2 Myaranowra             20   11   0   9  2059 1968  +91    44
3 Nyashawill             20   11   0   9  2001 2107 −106    44
4 Jillong                20   10   0  10  2085 2087   −2    40
5 Eaglebury              20    8   0  12  1791 2233 −442    32
6 Tarrashall             20    7   0  13  1840 2107 −267    28

Penstead wins the Mawryshire division, while Aralla takes the WSR division. Penstead had no other team even close to them starting matchday 4, while Aralla only pulled ahead of the opposition in the final few matchdays, fighting off Nyashawill on MD20, Jillong on MD19, and Myaranowra on MD17, getting three crucial victories over the contenders in WSR. It's back to the drawing board for yNelseg, losing the first seven and getting 4 wins in the remaining 13.

Final:
Penstead 20.8.128 def. Aralla 11.12.78

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 1:40 pm

Soccer - Season 29

Previews

International Results

Champions

Maethoru SC failed to make any kind of impact in the international competitions. Starting in the Champions' Cup, they gave away their home match with a 0-1 loss, then redeemed themselves a bit with a 1-1 away draw. It wasn't enough, obviously.

Meanwhile, the Globe Cup teams have put in effort.

Bruncester United AFC and

Tanques AOE started their season in the first preliminary round of the Globe Cup, and they shared three wins and a draw in the round.

Schemerdrecht SVV, enjoying a protected position from finishing second in the league, joined them in round 2, where

Schemerdrecht SVV and

Bruncester United AFC qualified for round three. Across the six matches in the second round, there were 4 Ko-orenite wins, a draw, and a single loss.

In the third round, they were joined by CC dropouts

Maethoru SC. The three teams in this round combined for two wins and four losses. The champions lost both matches (3-1, 0-3), and the other two couldn't correct a first leg loss with a big second leg win. In the end, only

Schemerdrecht SVV went to the Playoff round, where they'd lose on away goals: 2-1 home win, 1-0 away loss. A valiant effort by the Diamonds, but just short in the end.

The non-ranked competitions, the SBCC and the YC, saw Zinchester fail immediately, Serevne surviving two rounds to fall at the last hurdle, and Gehrenna starting later, made it through one round, but lost in the playoffs as well. Willowbourne Tech won and lost 3-1 in the Youth Cup but weren't prepared for the penalties AT ALL, losing 3-1 on pens in the first round.

Champions' Cup
Second Preliminary Round
(KOR)               Maethoru SC    1–2    Venividicci               (FID)   0–1   1–1

Globe Cup
First Preliminary Round
(SOU)                      Żale    0–5    Bruncester United AFC     (KOR)   0–2   0–3
(PDN)          Ufa Verkhovyansk    3–4    Tanques AOÉ               (KOR)   1–1   2–3

Second Preliminary Round
(MRN)               AFC Hosingr    4–3    Tanques AOÉ               (KOR)   3–1   1–2
(KOR)         Schemerdrecht SVV    5–3    Royal Michaeltown         (SAL)   2–0   3–3
(KOR)     Bruncester United AFC    4–2    Catrina Waves             (ANC)   3–2   1–0

Third Preliminary Round
(AUD)     Tout-Puissant Hasiera    4–3    Bruncester United AFC     (KOR)   2–0   2–3
(BNJ)       Herzegovina City FC    3–4    Schemerdrecht SVV         (KOR)   3–2   0–2
(COS)               Real Azuris    6–1    Maethoru SC               (KOR)   3–1   3–0

Playoff Round
(KOR)         Schemerdrecht SVV    2–2 a  Namiri Forest             (ZWZ)   2–1   0–1

Series B Champions' Cup
First Preliminary Round
(RVR)   Pirate Head Powerful FC    2–1    Zinchester Town           (KOR)   1–0   1–1

Second Preliminary Round
(DNS)        Success Guaranteed    5–10   Serevne AFC               (KOR)   2–7   3–3

Third Preliminary Round
(KOR)               Serevne AFC  a 4–4    Helping Hand              (DNS)   2–1   2–3
(BRN)                       UKA    0–1    Gehrenna FC               (KOR)   0–1   0–0

Playoff Round
(KOR)               Serevne AFC    2–4    Chorion Bluffs Knights    (COM)   0–1   2–3
(EUR)                Dangerford    3–2    Gehrenna FC               (KOR)   1–1   2–1

Youth Cup
First Round
(NWK)                 Blue Town  p 4–4    Willowbourne Tech         (KOR)   3–1   1–3  (3–1 pen)

Cygnus Cup
Preliminary Round
(KOR)                Advance Alara    5-3    MTK Kingsville               (DAR)   4-0   1-3
First Round
(BRE)               Northern Union    3-1     Advance Alara                (KOR)   3-0   0-1

AOCL
Preliminary Round
(KOR)	Maethoru SC		4–3		Cherrygrove City	(SAL)	2-2 2-1

Group Stage
Group B
4 Maethoru SC                    6   1  0  5    6  14  −8    3

Transfers
Ko-oren -> Abroad
Lionel Dalton RB (29):

Cirelbourne United -> Chenoworth Harriers (NPH) 3.25M
Lyami Aviara GK (29):

Advance Alara -> Rybalty (SOU) 1M
Ethan Benjamin CB (22):

Cirelbourne United -> Mallox (COS) 2.75M
Ingmar Linderood RB (26):

Straudum -> Busukuma Athletic Club (BNJ) 3M
Irwin Redsmith RM (22):

Cirelbourne United -> Arka (MYT) 1M
Dennis Lampshire CB (25):

Bruncester United AFC -> Raven River (NPH) 2.5M
Rasmus Tornkwist GK (28):

Straudum -> KF Werzin (QUS) 0.75M
Carlos Mira CM (30):

Miradela GD -> Royal Crystal Palace (CRY) 1M
Heliodoro Araújo ST (20):

Katashi-Kanatsu-> Hugh Town Millionaires (DAR) 2.4M
Valentijn Doorwouds RB (24):

Aminey CS -> Latrobe AFC (KSK) 0.75M
Emmé Escoffier LB (26):

Tanques AOE -> North Spire HC (CRY) 0.5M

Abroad -> Ko-oren
Ulutu-Cunix Tar CB (25): KF Rejin (QUS) ->

Tanques AOE 2.5M
Vojnomir Nikolic AMC (31): No club (PAS) ->

Aminey CS 1M
Oliwer Starosta RM (20): Makarki Youth (SOU) ->

Miradela GD 7.5M
Dwada-Intov Tez LM (26): KF Rejin (QUS) ->

Straudum 1M
Sean MacDermot CB (20): Defi Rovers (BLN) ->

Bruncester United AFC 1M
Cody Denjamic ST (23): Mercedini Armed Forces FC (MRC) ->

Maethoru SC 2.5M
Somporn Metharom LM (21): Vortex Maniwa (HIN) ->

Advance Alara 0.75M
Apple Crumble CB (17): Appleoosa HC (EQS) ->

Schemerdrecht SVV Loan
Cloudburst RB (20): Appleoosa HC (EQS) ->

Advance Alara 2.5M
Checkered Flag CM (22): Canterlot Stars (EQS) ->

Aminey CS 2.5M
Jacqueline Mynatt LM (16): Canterlot Royals (EQS) ->

Schemerdrecht SVV Loan
Rozalin Meynard (EQS) CB (18): AC Stonehenge (RZN) ->

Maynard AFC 1.5M

Ko-oren Top Division -> Ko-oren Top Division
Russell Swadling LB (25):

Advance Alara ->

Cirelbourne United 4M
Cy de Villepin CAM (29):

Aminey CS ->

Branvón 5M
Chloé Beaulieu ST (28):

Aminey CS ->

Straudum 2M
Jean-Michel Dominique DM (20):

Aminey CS ->

Cirelbourne United 4M

Retirements
Man Parmentier LB (33):

Aminey CS
Grady McDonald RB (36):

Bruncester United AFC
Lenne Kollenstaart LB (38):

Schemerdrecht SVV

Team by team previews

Advance Alara

Position last season: 8th /12
Expectations last season: championship contender
Lineup: Jolitoki - Ishiwata, Pott, Dijkhuizen, Cloudburst - Metharom, Tanikawa, Odell, Tsutsui, Mivune - Tsuchida
Star player(s): Tsuchida, Odell, Tsutsui
Transfers:
Lyami Aviara GK (29):

Advance Alara -> Rybalty (SOU) 1M
Russell Swadling LB (25):

Advance Alara ->

Cirelbourne United 4M

Somporn Metharom LM (21): Vortex Maniwa (HIN) ->

Advance Alara 0.75M
Cloudburst RB (20): Appleoosa HC (EQS) ->

Advance Alara 2.5M

Last season definitely wasn't what they hoped it would be. And it's about to get worse.

Advance Alara's (as their official club name is) starting lineup isn't getting any younger. They shouldn't run into the limits of age this season just yet, but

Advance Alara fans can expect a lot of turnover between the team of this season and the team in 2-3 years time. They saw this coming and strengthened the team with two foreign acquisitions: Metharom and Cloudburst. They also promoted a new goalkeeper, Jolitoki. This has cost them, but they had to take action no matter what.

Advance Alara has a competitive team with most of its quality in midfield. Nothing short of a top-6 spot is acceptable, else they're going to be in a fun place when all of the defining players on this team will retire in the coming 3 years. They can only hope the newly acquired depth delivers, while the aging stars hold off on their regression.
Prediction: 8th

Aminey CS

Position last season: 10th /12
Expectations last season: dead last
Lineup: Wareham - Poincaré, Chevalier, Philidor - Didier, Checkered Flag, Nikolic, Denis, Carbonneau - Vallotton
Star player(s): Vallotton
Transfers:
Valentijn Doorwouds RB (24):

Aminey CS -> Latrobe AFC (KSK) 0.75M
Cy de Villepin CAM (29):

Aminey CS ->

Branvón 5M
Jean-Michel Dominique DM (20):

Aminey CS ->

Cirelbourne United 4M
Chloé Beaulieu ST (28):

Aminey CS ->

Straudum 2M
Vojnomir Nikolic AMC (31): No club (PAS) ->

Aminey CS 1M
Checkered Flag CM (22): Canterlot Stars (EQS) ->

Aminey CS 2.5M

Last season wasn't so bad... if you're predicted to go 12th, you can never disappoint.

Aminey CS is in a state of panic. The traditionally biggest team (financially at least) can't be a bottom feeder for too long, or the board, fans, and media will start rioting. One bad season was enough, and they have to get back into the top 6 very soon, or there could be all kinds of changes in leadership, fire sales, etc. To some extent, the fire sale has already began with Dominique and De Villepin leaving, who are both players that are among the top 2% of the league.
The spine of the team is decent enough.

Aminey CS has most of its quality on midfield and in attack, and they've got some different ages here and there as well. Sure, they will have to find some replacements for the likes of Nathan Didier and Henry Denis, but otherwise this squad is pretty healthy - but only if they start getting results. The Pasargan Vojnomir Nikolic should be instrumental in that, he is supposed to get this goal machine started. On the other side, they got an all-new defence from the University leagues so the unproven back line will pose a problem for them at some point.
Prediction: 9th

Branvón

Position last season: 12th /12
Expectations last season: Globe Cup spot
Lineup: Uchino - Rodas, Neves, Saavedra, Queiros - Aponte, Toran, De Villepin - Novoa, Puga, Vinal
Star player(s): De Villepin
Transfers:
Cy de Villepin CAM (29):

Aminey CS ->

Branvón 5M

Desperately trying to forget last season existed, the only way for

Branvón is up.
Finishing dead last in a field of dubious teams takes skill. We thought the culture, home advantage and work rate of this team could place it far higher than its actual ceiling, and were we wrong last year. This year, they're back with one new standout talent, but undoubtedly that's not going to be the only thing that needs to change in

Branvón.

Branvón's working class background has always meant that work rate, conditioning, and strength are important for any hire. The Finisterrans have been quiet around transfers, as every hire must be accepted by the local fans, and they've got some odd standards around there. The culture is holding this team back. Raimundo Puga is actually a bright spot for this team, at 18 years old, but his style is nothing like

Branvón's traditional style. If that pushes him away from the Santa Teresa team, this team will stay at the bottom for a long time to come. De Villepin is an absolutely amazing player that should boost their midfield and attack starting on day 1. That is the only good move from this manager this offseason. Though, if they keep forcing their 'work' football on this team,

Branvón won't go anywhere this season.
Prediction: 12th

Bruncester United AFC

Position last season: 3rd /12
Expectations last season: Mid-table
Lineup: Doolan - Brogley, Gridley, MacDermot, Bing, Giquel - Palethorpe, Wickham, Brisley - Muggeridge, Nethersole
Star player(s): Gicquel, Doolan, Brogley
Transfers:
Dennis Lampshire CB (25):

Bruncester United AFC -> Raven River (NPH) 2.5M
Sean MacDermot CB (20): Defi Rovers (BLN) ->

Bruncester United AFC 1M

One CB out, one CB in.

Bruncester United AFC have been very calm in the offseason. They have followed the NT strike involving Lampshire and have decided to shop him out to Raven River in Nephara - a huge step up. He's replaced by Sean MacDermot, which means

Bruncester United AFC are five years of experience down, but overall haven't lost quality. In fact, the stable buildup could mean that they're going to maintain their position from last year, when they finished 3rd.
Prediction: 2nd

Cirelbourne United

Position last season: 11th /12
Expectations last season: Bottom 33%
Lineup: Kirkham - Letchford, Daft, Spillett, Swadling - Dominique, Brownsmith, Sandry, Eastes - Turner, Zinchester
Star player(s): Turner, Dominique
Transfers:
Lionel Dalton RB (29):

Cirelbourne United -> Chenoworth Harriers (NPH) 3.25M
Ethan Benjamin CB (22):

Cirelbourne United -> Mallox (COS) 2.75M
Irwin Redsmith RM (22):

Cirelbourne United -> Arka (MYT) 1M
Russell Swadling LB (25):

Advance Alara ->

Cirelbourne United 4M
Jean-Michel Dominique DM (20):

Aminey CS ->

Cirelbourne United 4M

50% turnover from last year makes

Cirelbourne United a bit unpredictable.

Cirelbourne United must have watched the past World Cup with two different emotions: happiness over the performance, but despair over the fact that they would be facing some turmoil. The strike saw Benjamin and Dalton leave, and Redsmith was snatched by Mytanar club Arka, and so a lot of the defensive stability of this team fell away. And they already didn't have much to be happy about. The funds from those transfers were immediately spent on some huge signings within the league: Swadling and Dominique.
With the new duo and a recently graduated defensive core,

Cirelbourne United will try to climb up a bit from last year. They must look over at their rivals in

Bruncester United AFC and be a bit envious, but this team has the capability to get there soon. Also,

Cirelbourne United is the youngest team on average - by far. There's light at the end of the tunnel for them.
Prediction: 10th

Katashi-Kanatsu

Position last season: 6th /12
Expectations last season: 6th
Lineup: Hanazawa - Suzukaze, Yamaoka, Mizuno, Vatsu - Yokota, Yogi, Brock - Nagamine, Vachimitsu
Star player(s): Mizuno, Yokota
Transfers:
Heliodoro Araújo ST (20):

Katashi-Kanatsu-> Hugh Town Millionaires (DAR) 2.4M

Katashi prepares for the season in relative isolation.
The southeasterners have shopped out Araújo for some money to Darmen, but very few people will be sad about that in Katashi. Mostly they like to rely on local talent anyway. That's a pretty limiting factor, but so far they've been good.
The relatively young squad (apart from 35-year-old Brock) should be good to compete in the coming years, anyway. They can even get some money off of their great scouting department.
Prediction: 7th

Maethoru SC

Position last season: 1st /12
Expectations last season: Mid-table
Lineup: Theshendan - Hergulauthen, Dieulafoy, Tartaguthen - Porildherinden, Holstege, Janoreirinthen, Hosorthaunden, Lalaseringun - Vaugrenard, Denjamic
Star player(s): Vaugrenard, Janoreirinthen, Theshendan
Transfers:
Cody Denjamic ST (23): Mercedini Armed Forces FC (MRC) ->

Maethoru SC 2.5M

Squad-building masters at it again.

Maethoru SC - we don't know how, but they did it - and they celebrated another title last year. They surely don't have the best team, but they have some talent in the right places, a balanced squad in terms of experience, talent, and personality, and they were just a tad smarter than the other 11 teams. For next season, the team is mostly the same other than the strikerini from Mercedini, Cody Denjamic. Apparently they feel that another solid player will do them good. He's the perfect complement to Vaugrenard, so in that case,

Maethoru SC should have considerably more firepower up front, capable of shutting down opponents early instead of late this time.
Prediction: 1st

Maynard AFC

Position last season: 9th /12
Expectations last season: Bottom 33%
Lineup: Cholmondeley - Bywaters, Kildare, Norman, Meynard, Suchet - Pennington, Gillis - Pirastadhaunden, Wouters, Uleaven
Star player(s): Cholmondeley
Transfers:
Rozalin Meynard (EQS) CB (18): AC Stonehenge (RZN) ->

Maynard AFC 1.5M

Maynard AFC is a team in the Ko-orenite Top League. That says about all you need to know.
The attack-first (the only such team in the league) bought a project for the future, that hopefully should help them immediately as well. With Rozalin Meynard (perfect name for this team),

Maynard AFC is another step further towards a bright future, but the present day still looks a bit bleak.
Between Cholmondeley and Pirastadhaunden, there's bright spots, but between Uleaven, Norman, Kildare and Gillis, this team has an atrocious midfield and not much to look forward to in defence.
Prediction: 10th

Miradela GD

Position last season: 7th /12
Expectations last season: 2nd
Lineup: Munks - Aivulaen, Varela, Seoane - Valente, Agramonte, Vahamonde, Starosta - Noya, Vermelho, Bugarin
Star player(s): Seoane, Munks, Noya, Varela, Starosta
Transfers:
Carlos Mira CM (30):

Miradela GD -> Royal Crystal Palace (CRY) 1M
Oliwer Starosta RM (20): Makarki Youth (SOU) ->

Miradela GD 7.5M

This team of extremes just got more extreme.

Miradela GD already had a team with 5 top tier players and 6 poor players, and the gap only got larger. On top of that, they got themselves in some debt after spending 7.5M om Oliwer Starosta, the biggest transfer ever involving a Ko-orenite team. This signals that this is a do-or-die year for

Miradela GD: if this goes wrong, they might have to sell of Starosta after a year (or Seoane or Noya). If it goes right, they will still have to watch their financial steps. It does not make it easier that they have a pretty old team (Starosta is the youngest by some distance at 20) that will have to be replaced at some point.

Miradela GD is all in this year.
Prediction: 3rd

Schemerdrecht SVV

Position last season: 2nd /12
Expectations last season: Mid-table
Lineup: Gosens - Langenhof, Nijboer, Apple Crumble, Grootenhuis - Mynatt, Berendsen, Hilberdink - Siebelt, De Meester, Van Riesen
Star player(s): Grootenhuis, Berendsen, Nijboer
Transfers:
Apple Crumble CB (17): Appleoosa HC (EQS) ->

Schemerdrecht SVV Loan
Jacqueline Mynatt LM (16): Canterlot Royals (EQS) ->

Schemerdrecht SVV Loan

Schemerdrecht SVV about to park two buses every single week.
The northerners were so close last year, and they've made moves to indicate they're ready to compete once again. There's a few teams that can make a legitimate shot, and

Schemerdrecht SVV are in there as always. So far, it's been 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride' but they just might get there this year. The squad is younger than ever, and has two true veterans (Berendsen and De Meester), and features three players not legally allowed to vote (under Ko-orenite law), because all three are under twenty, but also because two of the three aren't Ko-orenite citizens. Two players loaned from the Equestrian States should make

Schemerdrecht SVV a bit more competitive, but the inexperience is also going to be a risk.
Prediction: 4th

Straudum

Position last season: 5th /12
Expectations last season: 4th
Lineup: Runneboom - Hellegeland, Van Schelven, Aandal, Lang - Avalor, Tez, Breedland, Paulsen - Beaulieu, Gilling
Star player(s): Van Schelven, Hellegeland
Transfers:
Ingmar Linderood RB (26):

Straudum -> Busukuma Athletic Club (BNJ) 3M
Rasmus Tornkwist GK (28):

Straudum -> KF Werzin (QUS) 0.75M
Dwada-Intov Tez LM (26): KF Rejin (QUS) ->

Straudum 1M
Chloé Beaulieu ST (28):

Aminey CS ->

Straudum 2M

Smart moves by a smart team.

Straudum is an enormous defensive powerhouse, and they're continuing to be so. They've gotten big money from Linderood and Tornkwist's transactions, and have gotten Tez and Beaulieu in return, as well as promoting Runneboom and Lang from the University leagues. It seems a bit improvised to sell your goalkeeper and then having to reach for a younger GK, but maybe

Straudum is playing some 3d chess and they know what they're getting in Beaulieu, Tez, Runneboom, and Lang.
It's going to be hard to score against this team. Even with Beaulieu, they'll have trouble scoring.
Prediction: 6th

Tanques AOÉ

Position last season: 4th /12
Expectations last season: 11th
Lineup: Moineau - Granet, Tar, yLladdlog - Boisselot, Manaudou, Longchambon, Ulysse - Duchemin, Delaplace, Affré
Star player(s): Longchambon, Ulysse, Duchemin
Transfers:
Emmé Escoffier LB (26):

Tanques AOE -> North Spire HC (CRY) 0.5M
Ulutu-Cunix Tar CB (25): KF Rejin (QUS) ->

Tanques AOE 2.5M

Tanques AOE might surprise some people, but they also might not.

Tanques AOE have been doing a lot of very sensible things. Much needed improvement in their back line, reinforcing their midfield (one of the best, between the creativity of Longchambon and the ability of Ulysse) and taking nothing away from their more than capable attackers. Biggest concern is the defence. Moineau, Granet and Manaudou aren't exactly the most reliable players.
Prediction: 5th

by **Ko-oren** » Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:50 pm

Cricket - Season 8

Format and scheduling changes
This season, there is more focus on the longer form of the game - First Class. Since Ko-oren's debut in international Test cricket series, the six cricketing regions have come together to make some big changes to the agenda.

First Class cricket will go from 5 to 4 days, but instead of each team playing the other regions once, we will move to a full-round robin. This means that there will be 10 matches instead of 5 played for each team. The bonus point system has been slightly tweaked as well. Match results still yield the same number of points (12 for a win, 6 for a draw, 8 for a tie). Bonus points for batting are decreased, while points for bowling have been increased as all teams, except one, had twice as many batting points as bowling points. That team also had more bonus points than match points. The new system will be as follows:
Bowling points: getting a team all out under 110 adds 5 points, under 140 points adds 4 points, under 180 adds 3, under 220 adds 2. Batting points: scoring 300+ points scores 1 point, 350+ scores 2, 375+ scores 3, 400+ scores 4, 450+ scores 5.
The scoring system will be further reviewed after this season to ensure balance.

The added strain on the schedule, with players leaving for national team duty more often, have resulted in higher funding for the six teams, which will be put towards giving more players full-time contracts. Each team may now have 20 full-time players under contract instead of the previous 16. The number of rookie contracts has gone up from 2 per team to 4 per team.

List-A cricket will be shortened, going from 10 to 7 matches. There will first be a single round-robin tournament of 5 days. Then the top 3 teams will play each other once, as will the bottom 3 teams.

T20 will remain at 11 matches, with an extra final between the 1st and 2nd placed team at the end of proceedings.

Schedule
May: 7x LA
June: 4x FC
July: 11x T20 + final
August: 4x FC
September: 2x FC

Preview
Eastern Surbourneshire has had a few dark years but are looking to establish themselves back at the top of Ko-orenite cricket in the years to come. Adding Shapter and Chapman to their team adds youth, bowling and batting. The big players for this team are some big names regardless, between having Harvey and Chapman as right-handed bowlers with differing styles, and punitive batting with Willis and Shapter. Darknoll can do it all, from left-handed bowling to putting up runs of himself. For the time being, the East should contend for the one-day trophy but First-Class might be a bridge too far for now.

Greencaster has depth, but looking at the ages of the defining players on this team, they are on their last few years of possible success. Not a very deep batting lineup, but they should be able to keep scores low on account of their bowling (Treadway, Chesterman, and up-and-coming Roan). First-Class should be their aim, and the one-day trophy might not be such a weird goal either.

Leeshire are hitting their championship years either this year or the next. There should be plenty of runs in their match, both in the innings they're batting as well as the innings they're bowling. Stanway and Manwaring will be looked at to score runs, while Courtenay and Raycraft will have to take wickets. There's not a lot of national team experience here, so

Leeshire will be dark horses for the time being.

Mawryshire are still waiting for a grand generation. Don't underestimate them, they've supplied some national team heroes in the past years with yCherwean, yMharwn, yRheighewn and yFhireath, but the other five teams have caught up in all of their positions. Given the talent and their ages,

Mawryshire's window might well and truly, finally have closed.

Western Surbourneshire, as always, have to rely on cunning and strategy to take down teams, as they have the smallest population of the six teams to draft from. They do have national team captain Marsden, so for now the mental attributes of this team are the best of Ko-oren. They added a few youngsters that, well, haven't really been promising so far with the exception of Levi Duncke (batsman). If he is a success, the West could play spoiler for the better teams instead of just trying to avoid 6th place. Batting can take this team places (Twaddle, Wilson and Duncke), but bowling isn't great here.

Willowbourne have the largest roster of Ko-oren, the most players to choose from even with a semi-small population - only one city and its suburbs to draft from. There's a lot of national teamers here, so between the bowling of Hooligan and Black, together with Wilkins, and the batting of Stevenson, Doyle, and again Wilkins, there's something here. They also still have the best wicketkeeping in Meredith, though quality drops significantly after these six. That's still a pretty good lineup though.

In T20, where talent is always spread thin (to allow the real good players to put up some incredible numbers), there are only a few contenders:
-

Burnet Rubiess (with Marsden, Twaddle, Manwaring, and Meredith)
-

Eastern Miners, usually getting most, if not all, players from Eastern Surbourneshire so they have a bit of a large playerbase, including Harvey, Raycraft, and Chapman
-

Greencaster Bears, the big, popular, big-market team always casting a shadow over city-mates the Heralds, are always dangerous with Darknoll, Willis, Shapter, Treadway, and Chesterman
- A bit of a surprise, the

Idyllwild Antlers have secured Courtenay, yCherwean and Denison and might go somewhere
- The

Mawrystwyth Mustangs,

Mayara Marauders,

Norille Chevron Vert, and

Willowbourne Zenith all have one or two exceptional players between some unproven talent and mid-level players, looking to finish top-6.
- The

Penstead Pirates,

Linieux Lieutenants,

Greencaster Heralds and

Aubury Maroons will mostly be playing to not finish 12th.

Results

Apparently,

Leeshire are already hitting their stride this year. They have made it through the first five matchdays with a single loss (against

East Surbourneshire).

Mawryshire were a good bit better than expected, surprising friend and foe with two 350+ innings in matches three and four but losing the other three anyway.

Willowbourne are pretty good overperformers with their large choice of mid-level talent.

West Surbourneshire haven't been able to use any tactics to their advantage and win one in the first five. That said, they looked like contenders in match one, keeping

Greencaster to 117 runs and topping that after 30 overs of their own.

Leeshire,

Willowbourne and

East Surbourneshire qualify for the top league, while the other three will play each other once more for the minor bowl.

In the championship group,

Willowbourne wins both matches to win the overall List-A Championship! They enjoy a bye day, before needing 39.2 overs to overcome a target of 234, after they had already beaten

Leeshire in the first Championship Group match with a low total: 186 over 185. The minor group was won by

Greencaster.

Final List-A table:
1.

Willowbourne (2-0 in Championship Group)
2.

Leeshire (1-1 in Championship Group)
3.

East Surbourneshire (0-2 in Championship Group)
4.

Greencaster (2-0 in Minor Group)
5.

West Surbourneshire (1-1 in Minor Group)
6.

Mawryshire (0-2 in Minor Group)

First-Class is under way!

Greencaster are early favourites with convincing wins, but

Leeshire and

Willowbourne are close behind.

Leeshire are definitely happy with their batting, but they've already missed out on points because of their bowlers failing to take wickets in time.

Willowbourne, meanwhile, have taken small wins and only really dominated

West Surbourneshire on MD4, which is where almost all of their bonus points so far come from.

East Surbourneshire definitely should be better, no wins in the first month so if they get a comeback it's all to blame on a poor start.

# TEAM                P W D L T Pts (Result+Bat+Bowl+InningsWin)
1 Greencaster         4 3 0 1 0 36+12+9+14 = 71
2 Leeshire            4 2 1 1 0 30+17+7+7  = 61
3 Willowbourne        4 2 1 1 0 30+6+9+7   = 52
4 Mawryshire          4 2 0 2 0 24+5+4+0   = 33
5 West Surbourneshire 4 1 0 3 0 12+5+3+7   = 27
6 East Surbourneshire 4 0 2 2 0 12+11+3+0  = 26

KT20L                    Pld    W   L 
 1 Eastern Miners            11    9   2
 2 Linieux Lieutenants       11    9   2
 3 Aubury Maroons            11    6   5
 4 Penstead Pirates          11    6   5
 5 Greencaster Bears         11    5   6
   Greencaster Heralds       11    5   6
   Mawrystwyth Mustangs      11    5   6
   Mayara Marauders          11    5   6
   Willowbourne Zenith       11    5   6
10 Burnet Rubiess             11    4   7
11 Idyllwild Antlers         11    4   7
12 Norille Chevron Vert      11    3   8

Well, at least we have two decisive finalists. The Miners made short work of nearly every team in the comp, winning their first nine matches before dropping the last two versus the Mustangs and the Bears. The Lieutenants finished on the same record, though a little less decisive as they lost an early one to the Miners, then staying undefeated for a while before also losing their MD11 matchup with the Rubies. There have been a lot of surprises this season, with the Bears losing five of the first six to pretty much end their grand final hopes, even losing the city derby against the Heralds. All while the Lieutenants were said to finish in the bottom four - and the same was said about our number 3, the

Aubury Maroons. Norille finished last, including an 88-run shocker against the Bears on MD10 - the lowest score of the season. The Miners were the only team posting 200+, doing so on 3 (!) separate occasions. There have also been a few very quick chases, but the quickest was posted by the Lieutenants over the Antlers, winning with 5 wickets for 96 runs, needing just 11.3 overs. The second quickest was by Zenith, 104 runs scored in 11.5 overs, surpassing the Rubies' 3 for 103 in 20 overs.

T20 Final:

Eastern Miners 92/5 (20 overs)

Linieux Lieutenants 196/6 (20 overs)

All the hype of the season went out the window with this final, the Lieutenants once again forcing their opponents into a very slow innings, this time keeping the Miners to a sub-100 innings - while chasing 197. Congratulations to the Lieutenants, a win coming from absolutely nowhere, but dominating nonetheless.

# TEAM                P W D L T Pts (Result+Bat+Bowl+InningsWin)
1 Greencaster         8 6 0 2 0 72+31+12+21 = 136
2 East Surbourneshire 8 3 3 2 0 54+25+15+7  = 101
3 Leeshire            8 3 2 3 0 48+30+10+7  = 95
4 Willowbourne        8 3 1 4 0 42+7+19+7   = 75
5 Mawryshire          8 4 1 3 0 52+8+10+0   = 70
6 West Surbourneshire 8 1 1 6 0 18+9+3+7    = 37

This contest looked done after 4 matches, but the East have climbed from 6th to 2nd and with a match between East SRB and

Greencaster to go.

Leeshire look like a good #3 but could take second place as well.

Willowbourne and

Mawryshire are behind by some distance. West SRB looks awful.

Overall standings
T20

KT20L                    Pld    W   L 
 1 Eastern Miners            11    9   2
 2 Linieux Lieutenants       11    9   2
 3 Aubury Maroons            11    6   5
 4 Penstead Pirates          11    6   5
 5 Greencaster Bears         11    5   6
   Greencaster Heralds       11    5   6
   Mawrystwyth Mustangs      11    5   6
   Mayara Marauders          11    5   6
   Willowbourne Zenith       11    5   6
10 Burnet Rubiess             11    4   7
11 Idyllwild Antlers         11    4   7
12 Norille Chevron Vert      11    3   8

Eastern Miners 92/5 (20 overs)

Linieux Lieutenants 196/6 (20 overs)

List-A

1. Willowbourne        (2-0 in Championship Group)
2. Leeshire            (1-1 in Championship Group)
3. East Surbourneshire (0-2 in Championship Group)
4. Greencaster         (2-0 in Minor Group)
5. West Surbourneshire (1-1 in Minor Group)
6. Mawryshire          (0-2 in Minor Group)

First-Class

# TEAM                P  W D L T Pts (Result+Bat+Bowl+InningsWin)
1 Greencaster         10 6 0 4 0 72+35+12+21 = 140
2 East Surbourneshire 10 4 4 2 0 72+38+15+7  = 132
3 Leeshire            10 3 3 4 0 54+37+10+7  = 118
4 Willowbourne        10 5 1 4 0 66+11+22+7  = 106
5 Mawryshire          10 4 3 3 0 66+17+10+0  = 93
6 West Surbourneshire 10 2 1 7 0 30+13+8+7   = 58

*12 points for a win, 6 for a draw, 8 for a tie.
*Bowling points: getting a team all out under 110 adds 5 points, under 140 points adds 4 points, under 180 adds 3, under 220 adds 2.
*Batting points: scoring 300+ points scores 1 point, 350+ scores 2, 375+ scores 3, 400+ scores 4, 450+ scores 5.
*A win by an innings or by 10 wickets adds 7 bonus points.

And that's another season done! As always, short but sweet and very intense, four and a half months of cricket, trying to get everything done before the colder seasons take over again. On the whole,

East Surbourneshire is back at the top, and hopefully will use its improving core players to take a championship here and there in the coming years.

Leeshire is on the up as well, and

Greencaster has the exact kind of players needed for the longer format.

Willowbourne has taken the shorter format, but as their players age and settle, they should be up there for First-Class as well.

Mawryshire and

West Surbourneshire look... questionable.

As far as players go,

Greencaster's Monroe Baldry was the clear champion of the year, scoring many centuries on the many huge innings the team had in First-Class cricket. The young trio of Darknoll (25yo), Willis (25yo) and Shapter (21yo) shone for

East Surbourneshire as the year went on, and Lachlan Harvey took most wickets of all Ko-orenite players, also for

East Surbourneshire.

Willowbourne was the team with the best defence allround, with no clear best player among a pool of about five regulars. All in all, they took wickets the quickest while keeping scores low, but there is a lot that they should thank their wicketkeeper Finley Meredith for.

Leeshire was disappointing in terms of how good their team is on paper, and we expect them to back with vengeance next season.

Leeshire has the highest potential, especially defensively, between Etherington, Raycraft and Courtenay - but they did not show up this year.

There is also always a worst player, and we'd like to nominate Ferdinand Carson for this one. He is a full-time batsman for

West Surbourneshire, but failed to take the team places during the First-Class season, getting more ducks than 50s. Curiously, he plays for the

Linieux Lieutenants in the T20 league, and we all know that the Lieutenants won their league - and Carson played very well for them, during those 12 matches in July.

Overall worst player might have to be Levi Duncke, batsman for

West Surbourneshire and

Norille Chevron Vert - though numbers-wise, he was a bright spot for both teams. He just was on the wrong team during the wrong time, maybe?

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Dec 08, 2018 8:08 am

Soccer - Season 29

Top League - Rounds 1-22

Now for the first 22 matches of the Top League, to find out which teams will play the for the Championship in the better group and which teams will have to play in the Challenge Group. The 12-team division is split in half, with the top half competing in the Championship Group and the bottom half going to the Challenge Group. Points and results from rounds 1-22 will count as normal, and at the end there is one final table of rounds 1-32.

Top League                                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Straudum                                    22   11   5   6    17   10   +7    38
 2 Miradela GD                                 22   11   3   8    35   27   +8    36
 3 Maethoru SC                                 22   10   6   6    29   24   +5    36
 4 Tanques AOÉ                                 22   11   2   9    42   36   +6    35
 5 Bruncester United AFC                       22    9   7   6    20   11   +9    34
 6 Schemerdrecht SVV                           22    9   7   6    12    9   +3    34
 7 Cirelbourne United                          22    8   7   7    23   21   +2    31
 8 Branvón CD                                  22    9   4   9    23   29   −6    31
 9 Advance Alara                               22    8   4  10    30   31   −1    28
10 Aminey CS                                   22    5   7  10    19   24   −5    22
11 Katashi-Kanatsu                             22    5   6  11    17   29  −12    21
12 Maynard AFC                                 22    3   8  11    26   42  −16    17

Pretty much as expected, it's

Straudum,

Miradela GD,

Maethoru SC,

Tanques AOE,

Bruncester United AFC and

Schemerdrecht SVV to the Championship division, just 4 points between them. The best defences just got better and goals have become even more scarce, and that's with teams like

Advance Alara,

Katashi-Kanatsu,

Tanques AOE, and

Miradela GD focusing on attack this year. With

Bruncester United AFC,

Straudum,

Schemerdrecht SVV and

Cirelbourne United all having excellent defences it's no surprise that bad teams with good offences are going to have trouble against good teams with good defences.

Schemerdrecht SVV score about once in every two matches, but concede even fewer goals, and

Straudum tops the league not even scoring once every match. At least we're going to see the closest championship race we've seen in decades with all six teams being genuine contenders!

Straudum go into the final 10 matches leading the group by two points. Not much, but in a league where every single point is contested, it just might be an edge that'll be hard to crack by the other five. Defensive stability is immensely important for them, at the cost of scoring goals.
Form: WLDLWWWDLLLWWDWWWDWDWL (11-5-6)
In key matches,

Straudum have been decent. They've beaten

Maethoru SC twice, 0-1 and 1-0, gotten four points against

Miradela GD (0-0 and 0-1), three points against

Tanques AOE (1-0 and 0-1)... and if you spot a theme, there hasn't been more than one goal per game here. The few games where more than one goal has been scored, they've won a 1-3 away match at 12th placed

Maynard AFC, won 1-2 away at Branvón, 0-3 away at

Cirelbourne United... which looks very impressive until you realise they've lost both games against

Advance Alara, a hyper-attacking team besting them 0-2 and 2-1, which might mean that there's at least one team that's figured them out. In close games, against teams that are as cautious as them,

Straudum have simply been better.

Miradela GD go into the final 10 matches on a three-win streak, with wins over

Advance Alara,

Aminey CS and

Branvón... not the best diet, but it won't hurt your chances or your confidence. In the key games,

Miradela GD have been hit and miss. 4-0 at home versus

Maethoru SC... followed by a 6-1 away defeat at

Tanques AOE.
Form: LLWWWLWDWDLDWWLLWLLWWW (11-3-8)
The yellow-and-green have been very inconsistent and aren't good at turning draws into wins. That said, they're the one team that is able to overcome a deficit because they're simply the best team at scoring goals.

Maethoru SC go into the final 10 matches with decent results but with a poor goal difference. Throughout the season they've failed to keep clean sheets, and Theshendan hasn't looked like his national team performances (where he's been stellar).
Form: WWDLDLLWWDDDWWWWLLWWLD (10-6-6)
Either

Maethoru SC are playing very well and capable... or they're losing 4-0. In key matches, they lost to

Straudum twice, beat

Tanques AOE twice (3-1, 5-1!), had two high scoring games with

Miradela GD (4-0 loss, 3-1 win), been marginally better than

Schemerdrecht SVV (1-1, 0-1 win), and tied

Bruncester United AFC twice (0-0, 0-0). That's 4-3-3, which means it barely mattered if

Maethoru SC plays a top team or a bottom team, they're about equally likely to pull of a good result.

Tanques AOE have had the most potent attack and the threat of always being able to score will be their key to perform well in the final 10 matches. If only they'd learn to score goals in every single match, not just score a lot of goals one week and fail to show up the next, that'd be great. All in all, their results have trended up as the season went, so they just might have what it takes to take the championship.
Form: LLDWLWLLLWDWLWWWLWWWLW (11-2-9)
Against the other five, their record is 4-0-6. Two wins in the first half, two wins in the second, it's just that they've started routinely beating the hell out of the minnows in the second half of the season. With 8 wins and three losses in the second half, they've got the best record going into the Championship Group - but they've got to learn to beat the top as well. There's potential here, but they're only playing teams that they've been poor against.

Bruncester United AFC have managed to avoid losses, but generally tied games instead of winning them. At least they got rid of a stretch of five draws in the middle of the season.
Form: WLDLLWWDWDDDDDWWLLWLWW (9-7-6)
Against the other five contenders, they're 3-5-2, so they've been super efficient against the teams they're about to play a lot more. Even though they come into the final stretch on a four-point deficit, they've got the best goal difference already and by far the best record against the Championship Group.

Schemerdrecht SVV have a stout defence but a very poor attack. Their best results came in the middle of the first 22 rounds, but dropped some games towards the end, yet finally ended on a draw, a win and a draw to close out the first 67% of the season.
Form: WWDLDWLWWWDLDWLLDWLDWD (9-7-6)
Against the other five,

Schemerdrecht SVV are 3-1-1 in the first half of the season, and 1-2-2 in the second half. They're in the top 6 at a four point deficit so they're not out, but things aren't looking good. Between not being able to score and allowing the other contenders to take points agains them everywhere, I don't know if

Schemerdrecht SVV are up to the task.

Challenge Group Matches

Round 1
Maethoru SC (1) 0–0 Straudum (1)
Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 0–1 Bruncester United AFC (1)
Tanques AOÉ (1) 0–0 Miradela GD (1)

Round 2
Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 0–0 Maethoru SC (1)
Straudum (1) 1–0 Tanques AOÉ (1)
Miradela GD (1) 0–0 Bruncester United AFC (1)

Round 3
Maethoru SC (1) 0–4 Miradela GD (1)
Straudum (1) 0–0 Schemerdrecht SVV (1)
Bruncester United AFC (1) 2–0 Tanques AOÉ (1)

Round 4
Maethoru SC (1) 1–1 Bruncester United AFC (1)
Miradela GD (1) 1–0 Straudum (1)
Tanques AOÉ (1) 3–1 Schemerdrecht SVV (1)

Round 5
Tanques AOÉ (1) 1–1 Maethoru SC (1)
Bruncester United AFC (1) 0–1 Straudum (1)
Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 2–2 Miradela GD (1)

Another half in, it's clear that

Schemerdrecht SVV aren't going to do much in the Challenge Group. They've fought valiantly to make it in, their defence is still admirable, but they can't make it happen.

Miradela GD, meanwhile, are continuing their record: two wins and three draws, they're not giving away anything at all.

Straudum are close behind, and still virtually first, with their two goals scored (1-0 win, 1-0 win) and one conceded (0-1 loss).

Maethoru SC, who were close to first, also fail to make an impression... so close to the end, they lost 4-0 to

Miradela GD and tied every single other match.

Round 6
Straudum (1) 0–1 Maethoru SC (1)
Bruncester United AFC (1) 0–1 Schemerdrecht SVV (1)
Miradela GD (1) 1–1 Tanques AOÉ (1)

Round 7
Maethoru SC (1) 2–1 Schemerdrecht SVV (1)
Tanques  AOÉ (1) 0–1 Straudum (1)
Bruncester United AFC (1) 3–1 Miradela GD (1)

Round 8
Miradela GD (1) 3–1 Maethoru SC (1)
Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 1–0 Straudum (1)
Tanques AOÉ (1) 1–0 Bruncester United AFC (1)

Round 9
Bruncester United AFC (1) 0–0 Maethoru SC (1)
Straudum (1) 1–0 Miradela GD (1)
Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 1–0 Tanques AOÉ (1)

Round 10
Maethoru SC (1) 1–1 Tanques AOÉ (1)
Straudum (1) 0–1 Bruncester United AFC (1)
Miradela GD (1) 1–0 Schemerdrecht SVV (1)

Tables of the Groups

Championship                                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Miradela GD                                 10    4   4   2    13    8   +5    16
 2 Bruncester United AFC                       10    4   3   3     8    5   +3    15
 3 Straudum                                    10    4   2   4     4    4    0    14
 4 Schemerdrecht SVV                           10    3   3   4     7    9   −2    12
 5 Maethoru SC                                 10    2   6   2     7   11   −4    12
 6 Tanques AOÉ                                 10    2   4   4     7    9   −2    10

   Challenge                                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Advance Alara                               10    4   4   2    14    9   +5    16
 2 Cirelbourne United                          10    4   4   2     7    5   +2    16
 3 Aminey CS                                   10    4   3   3    11    6   +5    15
 4 Katashi-Kanatsu                             10    4   2   4    13   12   +1    14
 5 Branvón CD                                  10    3   2   5     8   14   −6    11
 6 Maynard AFC                                 10    3   1   6     6   13   −7    10

Straudum went into the Championship group with a two-point cushion, and they lost it, on the very last match day, with a 1-0 loss at home to

Bruncester United AFC... while at the same time

Miradela GD won a close 1-0 battle against the rejuvenated

Schemerdrecht SVV. In Round 9,

Straudum won against

Miradela GD to seemingly put enough between them and

Miradela GD to protect first place... The latter came to life in the final five matchdays, winning three of the last five to make something of their season. It's been exciting, it's been close, there haven't been too many goals, but here is finally the final table:

Final Standings

Top League                                            Pld    W   D   L   GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1  Miradela GD                                 32   15   7  10   48   35   +13   52 CC, AOCL
 2  Straudum                                    32   15   7  10   21   14   +7    52 GC
 3  Bruncester United AFC                       32   13  10   9   28   16   +12   49 GC
 4  Maethoru SC                                 32   12  12   8   36   35   +1    48 GC
 5  Schemerdrecht SVV                           32   12  10  10   19   18   +1    46
 6  Tanques AOÉ                                 32   13   6  13   49   45   +4    45
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
7  Cirelbourne United                          32   12  11   9   30   26   +4    47 Vilitan Cove Invitational
 9  Advance Alara                               32   12   8  12   44   40   +4    44
 8  Branvón CD                                  32   12   6  14   31   43   -12   42
 10 Aminey CS                                   32    9  10  13   30   30    0    37
 11 Katashi-Kanatsu                             32    9   8  15   30   41   -11   35
 12 Maynard AFC                                 32    6   9  17   32   55   -23   27

And there it is!! The Championship was decided on goal difference, and

Miradela GD is our new Ko-orenite Champion!!

Straudum come in second with a defence that dominated from day 1 to day 32, followed by a very balanced

Bruncester United AFC, then

Maethoru SC who lost fewest out of all 12 clubs,

Schemerdrecht SVV who put up a good comeback on the last five days to move up a place, and

Tanques AOE with a very attacking, open style that unfortunately didn't do them too much good in this Ko-orenite league.

The Challenge Group finished with

Cirelbourne United taking 7th overall, then Advance

Advance Alara and their brand of possession-based football, Branvón who've managed to get quite a few points together in the final 10 rounds to avoid their predicted 12th, and then

Aminey CS,

Katashi-Kanatsu-Kanatsu who surely aren't too happy about the year, and

Maynard AFC who unfortunately haven't been up to standards all season long.

Lower League Rankings

NK2D                                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Laringen AFC                                33   14  13   6    34   28   +6    55 SBCC
 2 Linderivier AFC                             33   13  12   8    33   28   +5    51
 3 Donderen                                    33   14   8  11    30   27   +3    50
 4 Nyashawill                                  33   12  13   8    38   33   +5    49
 5 April Bassin FC                             33   13  10  10    36   32   +4    49
 6 Tuinderbeek FC                              33   12  12   9    26   19   +7    48
 7 WSR AFC                                     33   14   6  13    29   34   −5    48
 8 Sterrenwolde FC                             33   12   6  15    38   38    0    42
 9 Dartha AFC                                  33   10  11  12    35   30   +5    41
10 Gehrenna FC                                 33    9  10  14    35   46  −11    37
11 Honingsweg                                  33   10   4  19    33   38   −5    34
12 Serevne AFC                                 33    8   9  16    18   32  −14    33

In the Northern 2nd division, newly promoted Donderen and Nyashawill immediately impress at a higher level. The other newly promoted team, Honingsweg, will fall back to the third division. Gehrenna and Serevne fall down from 1st and 2nd of last year to 10th and 12th this year - a lot of players are promoted to the Top League each year and it has a big impact on the better teams of the 2nd division. Sometimes, it seems, it's not a good idea to be that much better than the rest.

SK2D                                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ambergate City                              33   18   6   9    42   25  +17    60 SBCC
 2 Argyle Tuesday                              33   17   5  11    39   29  +10    56 SBCC
 3 Castelo e Calvente CS                       33   15   8  10    39   34   +5    53
 4 Mawrystwyth                                 33   14   8  11    36   35   +1    50
 5 Anarcourt CF                                33   14   6  13    41   43   −2    48
 6 Amandine AdF                                33   13   9  11    28   34   −6    48
 7 Coloruna                                    33   12   7  14    33   34   −1    43
 8 Leeshire United                             33   10  12  11    35   32   +3    42
 9 Zinchester Town                             33   11   9  13    30   31   −1    42
10 Limecroft & Abyss FC                        33   11   9  13    27   34   −7    42
11 Huthwich & Iduloren FC                      33    6  14  13    24   29   −5    32
12 Soothill                                    33    8   5  20    28   42  −14    29

Soothill, Coloruna and Mawrystwyth are new into the Southern 2nd division, and they have mixed results. Soothill go straight back down to the third level again, while Mawrystwyth looks to have hit a good spot. The southeastern state has a good team in Mawrystwyth in absence of Llandy, who relegated last year. Ambergate City win the division, and some of our favourite names - Limecroft & Abyss, Huthwich & Iduloren - are sadly going down this season.

Y2D                                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Otavura                                     33   21   5   7    45   22  +23    68 SBCC
 2 Chikuno                                     33   15   9   9    26   19   +7    54
 3 Motojagava                                  33   14   8  11    29   25   +4    50
 4 Fukushira                                   33   13  10  10    27   26   +1    49
 5 Yonenomura                                  33   12  11  10    32   26   +6    47
 6 Shimohavi                                   33   11  11  11    39   34   +5    44
 7 Echizen                                     33   12   7  14    33   40   −7    43
 8 Vurusen                                     33   11   7  15    31   39   −8    40
 9 Nitoya                                      33   10   9  14    28   27   +1    39
10 Aviansola                                   33   11   6  16    31   35   −4    39
11 Teragaseki                                  33   10   9  14    28   39  −11    39
12 Odahayashi                                  33    9   6  18    26   43  −17    33

Yoshima always does things differently, and there is no 3rd level connected to this league. Otavura surprisingly claims the championship by a large margin, while Chikuno finish 2nd for the 2nd straight year and previous winners Motojagava finish 3rd. Fukushira go from 3rd to 4th, and so the top of the division stays largely intact. Things have always been more stable in the Yoshima division, anyway.

NK3D                                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ossendal                                    33   15  10   8    39   28  +11    55
 2 Shinsen                                     33   16   6  11    44   35   +9    54
 3 Mayara Soccer Guild                         33   12  15   6    33   22  +11    51
 4 Rozenvoorde FC                              33   14   9  10    39   28  +11    51
 5 Myaranowra                                  33   13  11   9    43   31  +12    50
 6 Senoren FC                                  33   13   9  11    27   22   +5    48
 7 Egevea                                      33   10  15   8    25   24   +1    45
 8 Kerkhaven-Rommefort-Combinatie              33    9  13  11    31   31    0    40
 9 Grimhof VV                                  33   10  10  13    26   41  −15    40
10 Arboren FC                                  33   10   7  16    30   42  −12    37
11 Launott                                     33   10   5  18    29   41  −12    35
12 Turnaarde FC                                33    7   8  18    21   42  −21    29

The top 3 secure promotion to the Northern 2nd division, and we will see Ossendal and Shinsen there as very good candidates, while Mayara finished within one win from 6th palce. The details matter, and so Mayara go up to the 2nd level. The teams that descended to the 3rd division last year are stuck here for another year, as Rozenvoorde finish 4th, Senoren is found in 6th and Arboren have some thinking to do in 10th.

SK3D                                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Chamiers                                    33   16   8   9    33   20  +13    56
 2 Planneige                                   33   14  11   8    37   30   +7    53
 3 Langward                                    33   15   3  15    33   28   +5    48
 4 Llandy                                      33   13   8  12    27   32   −5    47
 5 Ferncombe                                   33   14   5  14    35   45  −10    47
 6 Sydberg                                     33   13   7  13    39   31   +8    46
 7 Couziers-Olympiques                         33   13   6  14    37   34   +3    45
 8 Brighthaven Town                            33   13   6  14    31   37   −6    45
 9 Strongfair                                  33   11  10  12    26   22   +4    43
10 Belmore FC                                  33   11   9  13    29   37   −8    42
11 Oai                                         33   10  11  12    26   23   +3    41
12 Grainshire United                           33    9   8  16    26   40  −14    35

Chamiers win the championship and claim promotion by some margin - still small, but quite large at the lower levels, followed by Planneige and Langward. Relegatees Llandy are 4th, and for a proud club like Llandy this must come as a blow, especially as Mawrystwyth are doing well for themselves in the 2nd division. Grainshire finish nearly last and last in 2 straight years at two different levels...

Uni-North                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Technische Universiteit Sterrenwolde        33   22   4   7    48   25  +23    70 Youth Cup
 2 Maethoru National University                33   15  10   8    35   22  +13    55
 3 Schemerdrechtuniversiteit                   33   15   7  11    33   29   +4    52
 4 Sudaefjolluniversitet                       33   15   6  12    31   30   +1    51
 5 Katashi Ika Daigaku                         33   14   8  11    36   32   +4    50
 6 Gehrenna National University                33   14   8  11    36   34   +2    50
 7 Katashi Yoshima Daigaku                     33   12   7  14    42   37   +5    43
 8 Nordorenfjolluniversitet                    33   12   7  14    34   38   −4    43
 9 Aevanna Ecologiske Universitet              33    8  13  12    29   36   −7    37
10 Katashi Keizai Daigaku                      33    9   8  16    31   37   −6    35
11 West Strand Riding University               33    8   7  18    31   44  −13    31
12 Furune Geijutsu Daigaku                     33    7   9  17    24   46  −22    30

   Uni-South                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Willowbourne Technological Academy          33   15  12   6    39   21  +18    57
 2 Willowbourne Institute of Humanities        33   16   9   8    47   36  +11    57
 3 National University of Willowbourne         33   14   8  11    28   25   +3    50
 4 Université des Arts d'Aminey                33   13   7  13    33   39   −6    46
 5 Greencaster Business University             33   11  11  11    28   29   −1    44
 6 Surbourneshire Technical University         33   12   8  13    27   31   −4    44
 7 University of Mawryshire                    33   12   7  14    28   32   −4    43
 8 Economical Institute of Amandine            33    9  15   9    39   30   +9    42
 9 Santa Teresa Naval Academy                  33    9  14  10    23   25   −2    41
10 Uni of A&E of Grain- and Leeshire           33    8  13  12    30   37   −7    37
11 Université de la Côte Austral               33    9  10  14    25   37  −12    37
12 Greencaster Technical University            33   10   6  17    31   36   −5    36

Now for the University Leagues, the defacto feeder leagues of the Top League: In the North, Sterrenwolde make mincemeat of their opposition and win by 15 points - a type of domination we haven't previously seen in the university leagues. Maethoru finish second, and in third we find it's all Intermare this year, as Sterrenwolde's 'state mates' Schemerdrecht (universiteit) finish in 3rd. All of the Yoshiman teams finish 5th to 12th, so it doesn't look like the Yoshiman 2nd division is going to get much stronger in the coming years.

In the South, all three Willowburnian schools finish 1st to 3rd. There's a lot of rivalries in the university leagues, but having three schools from the same city having to battle each other to find out which one's the strongest is beyond all expectation.

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:24 pm

Soccer - Season 29

Cup

Round 4
Shinsen (N3) 1–0 Anarcourt CF (S2)

Bruncester United AFC (1) 1–0

Miradela GD (1)

Advance Alara (1) 0–2 April Bassin FC (N2)
West Strand Riding University (UN) 0–3

Cirelbourne United (1)
Donderen (N2) 0–0 Otavura (Y2) (0–0 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Strongfair (S3) 0–4

Maynard AFC (1)
Leeshire United (S2) 1–3

Katashi-Kanatsu (1)

Straudum (1) 0–1 Argyle Tuesday (S2)

Round 5 - Quarterfinals
April Bassin FC (N2) 0–0

Bruncester United AFC (1) (0–0 AET) (5–4 pen.)
Shinsen (N3) 1–3

Katashi-Kanatsu (1)
Otavura (Y2) 0–1

Cirelbourne United (1)

Maynard AFC (1) 3–0 Argyle Tuesday (S2)

Round 6 - Semifinals
April Bassin FC (N2) 0–2

Cirelbourne United (1)

Katashi-Kanatsu (1) 1–1

Maynard AFC (1) (1–1 AET) (4–3 pen.)

Round 7 - Final

Cirelbourne United (1) 1–1

Katashi-Kanatsu (1) (3–2 AET)

Two teams that have failed to make the Championship Group still made the Ko-orenite Cup final, showing that anything can happen (as long as you're playing in the Top League)! Cirelbourne United not only secured the top spot in the Challenge Group, but also added a tangible prize, beating Katashi-Kanatsu in the final after an exciting extra time. Shoutout to April Bassin FC, playing on the second level, making it to the semifinals and knocking out three Top League teams (Maynard, Bruncester and Alara). In fact, only four of the final eight teams are from the Top League, making the Ko-orenite Cup a competition of upsets as always.

Stats

Team of the Year:
GK - Wellington Doolan (

Bruncester United AFC) // 18 clean sheets // 0 goals // 1 assist // 1 yellow // 0 red

RB - Quentin Seoane (

Miradela GD) // 8 clean sheets // 3 goals // 5 assists // 4 yellow // 0 red
CB - Minne van Schelven (

Straudum) // 23 clean sheets // 3 goals // 3 assists // 9 yellow // 1 red
CB - Kennetth Spillett (

Cirelbourne United) // 13 clean sheets // 1 goal // 3 assists // 3 yellow // 0 red
LB - Peter Hellegeland (

Straudum) // 23 clean sheets // 0 goals // 3 assists // 7 yellow // 1 red

DM - Analor Avalor (

Straudum) // 23 clean sheets // 4 goals // 5 assists // 9 yellow // 0 red
CM - Reizo Yokota (

Katashi-Kanatsu) // 10 clean sheets // 3 goals // 9 assists // 8 yellow // 0 red
CM - Jacqueline Mynatt (

Schemerdrecht SVV), EQS // 20 clean sheets // 4 goals // 3 assists // 3 yellow // 0 red
WM - Oliwer Starosta (

Miradela GD), SOU // 8 clean sheets // 8 goals // 15 assists // 6 yellow // 1 red
AM - Maximilien Longchambon (

Tanques AOE) // 5 clean sheets // 10 goals // 18 assists // 7 yellow // 0 red

SS - Mata Vaugrenard (

Maethoru SC) // 9 clean sheets // 14 goals // 7 assists // 4 yellow // 0 red
ST - Domingos Noya (

Miradela GD) // 8 clean sheets // 17 goals // 5 assists // 4 yellow // 0 red
ST - Tsuki Tsuchida (

Advance Alara) // 6 clean sheets // 19 goals // 8 assists // 6 yellow // 1 red

The (extended) Team of the Year features some Top League winners, of course. Miradela's players are found in all three lines, showing their dominance in all parts of the field. Straudum, valiant runners-up, are found in defence and defensive midfield, which is exactly what they excelled in. Quite a few players are making a case for themselves for a spot on the national team, or a heroic return to the Dragonflies. Two foreign transferees made it in as well, Miradela's top prospect (and most expensive transfer of all time), Oliwer Starosta, and Equestrian States youngster Jacqueline Mynatt.

Goals
1 - Tsuki Tsuchida (

Advance Alara) - 19 goals
2 - Domingos Noya (

Miradela GD) - 17 goals
3 - Antoine Duchemin (

Tanques AOE) - 16 goals

Assists
1 - Maximilien Longchambon (

Tanques AOE) - 18 assists
2 - Oliwer Starosta (

Miradela GD) - 15 assists
3 - Nubolzasun Lalaseringun (

Maethoru SC) - 13 assists

Clean Sheets
1 - Siert Runneboom (

Straudum) - 23
2 - Hidde Gosens (

Schemerdrecht SVV) - 20
3 - Wellington Doolan (

Bruncester United AFC) - 18

Qualifiers

CC -

Miradela GD
GC -

Straudum,

Bruncester United AFC,

Maethoru SC
SBCC - Otavura, Ambergate City, Argyle Tuesday, Laringen AFC
AOCL -

Miradela GD
Cygnus -

Cirelbourne United
Vilitan Cove Invitational -

Cirelbourne United

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:24 pm

Rugby League - Season 16

Preview

We didn't see a lot of surprises last year. The Foxes won the Grand Final coming in from a second place after all 22 rounds, while the Spiders were the strongest team in the regular season but then lost the Grand Final. The Owls and Buffaloes, Aminey's teams, came in 4th and 6th. The Scorpions finished in third and lost the semifinal to the eventual champions. While this southern team did pretty well, the Sabres still cannot find their way up but did significantly better than their projected 11th place (they came in 8th). All the other teams, from provincial Yoshima teams (Dragons, Vipers), provincial Cote Austral teams (Harriers, Vultures) and the Katashi teams (Wasps, Hawks), finished somewhere below the top. Especially the largest market in Rugby League, the city of Katashi, will demand big results from its teams this year. The Hawks finished in last/12th on point differential. The Wasps finished 9th and weren't much better.

Going even further back, to season 14, there's been a lot of turnarounds. The Spiders went from 11th to 1st, the Foxes from 9th to champions, while the Hawks went from 3rd to 12th. Some consistency: The Vipers and Harriers both have two straight bottom 3 finishes.

As always, the continental teams, from Cote Austral and Finisterre, focus more on forwards. The Yoshima (including Leleia) teams have better backs.

Looking at the teams for this year:
Tier 1 - Contenders

Harriers - Believe it or not, but the team is finally here. A great young group, led by one of the country's best forwards in Bonnet, is finally trying to go for gold. They also signed centre Brunet this year, at 23 years old one of the best talents at centre to hit the league in a while.

Scorpions - After a few stable finishes in the top 4, they're finally ready to challenge for the championship. Between half Saavedra and prop Bran, their forwards and halves are in excellent condition and as long as they can find some speed in between crafty passes and punitive tackling, they are unbeatable.

Tier 2 - Fighting for finals

Dragons - the Selesi team still hold on to the core that brought them big results in seasons 13 and 14, and why not. By now, they still don't have a new generation so the current one will have to get some good finishes in right now, while they still can. Winger Ogawa is a younger player that did break the starting XIII, but he's probably the best winger in the country right now. For the rest, the halves (Sunada, Kotake) are not prone to make mistakes and have plenty of athleticism.

Foxes - Last year's champions seem to have lost some power. Half Minamoto is losing his speed, the other half Fujioka has to compensate for that - but how long can he do that?

Vipers - Another story of great turnaround in Yoshima! The Vipers, after many futile years, have the second youngest squad and with winger Nakazono and centre Jamamoto, they have the most exciting backs in the league - not hard, with both Katashi teams in terrible shape. Still, don't count them out.

Spiders - Bit of an up and down team here. Speed and agility with winger Suganuma and centre Satomi, but poor tackling and nearly no chance for them to wear the opposition down with the forwards. A flawed team, but with enough stars to make this something.

Buffaloes - There's a lot of teams right on the cusp of something good. Second rowers are hard to come by, but this Aminey team has a few great ones. Matthieu and Gaudin lead the hardest hitting forward pack in the league, get hype!

Tier 3 - Taking on the top half

Sabres - Santa Teresa is in Tier 3 once again. They just cannot seem to escape this tier, with a team with plenty of bad apples and a few stars (centre Canlas).

Wasps - Just such an uninspiring team to look at, and a few new signings do not help that. Their coach is running on fumes and it won't be long before the fans call for his firing. If that happens, we're in for a couple of looong years in Katashi.

Hawks - The entire city is in Tier 3. They're pretty much the same as the Wasps even though they try to be as different as possible most of the time. If there's one derby I will be skipping this year, it'll be the Katashi derby.

Vultures - Now here's a team that's trying, but it just doesn't look like there's much in the academy. They have the youngest squad by average age, and winger Bousquet might create something here and there, but success will be few and far between.

Tier 4 - Trying not to finish last

Owls - Don't really know what happened here, but with some players leaving and others retiring, this team was stuffed into a really poor spot within a matter of weeks. It'll take a few years of rebuilding, and they don't even have something to show for it.

Standings

KRL                      Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Linieux Harriers          22   16   0   6   543  361 +182    64
 2 Aminey Buffaloes          22   13   1   8   489  418  +71    54
 3 Ferrovente Scorpions      22   13   0   9   489  384 +105    52
 4 Nitoya Foxes              22   12   0  10   467  406  +61    48
 5 Etena Vipers              22   12   0  10   470  456  +14    48
 6 Santa Teresa Sabres       22   11   1  10   461  497  −36    46
 7 Étouille Vultures         22   11   0  11   418  505  −87    44
 8 Selesi Dragons            22   10   0  12   453  429  +24    40
 9 Katashi Wasps             22   10   0  12   449  475  −26    40
10 Alara Spiders             22   10   0  12   419  480  −61    40
11 Katashi Hawks             22    9   0  13   405  501  −96    36
12 Aminey Owls               22    4   0  18   384  535 −151    16

Analysis
The Harriers have been all-powerful and were lucky to have most of their bad games in the first half of the season: LWLWWWLWLWWWWWWWLWWWLW. They first lost to the Buffaloes and Vipers, then to the Dragons and Hawks. Those first losses are easily explained, but that second bad spell is very hard to look at. Those were not good teams this year! Then, on the second-last day, they were rattled by the Scorpions - which helped them finish 3rd and thus made them the finals.

The Owls have been awful (LLWLLLLLLLLLWLLLLWLLWL), only beating the Spiders (10th), the Vultures (7th), the Vipers (5th) and Hawks (11th). Basically, the Vipers both lost to the Owls and beat the Harriers.

Previewing the Finals, here are the previous scores among the top 3:

Ferrovente Scorpions 16–18

Aminey Buffaloes

Aminey Buffaloes 10–30

Ferrovente Scorpions - split series

Aminey Buffaloes 28–12

Linieux Harriers

Linieux Harriers 28–12

Aminey Buffaloes - split series

Linieux Harriers 21–19

Ferrovente Scorpions

Ferrovente Scorpions 19–16

Linieux Harriers - split series

Derbies

Aminey Buffaloes 36–18

Aminey Owls

Aminey Owls 19–23

Aminey Buffaloes

Selesi Dragons 22–11

Linieux Harriers

Linieux Harriers 22–18

Selesi Dragons

Santa Teresa Sabres 6–46

Ferrovente Scorpions

Ferrovente Scorpions 40–10

Santa Teresa Sabres

Katashi Wasps 18–22

Katashi Hawks

Katashi Hawks 6–30

Katashi Wasps

Finals
Semifinal:

Aminey Buffaloes 18–19

Ferrovente Scorpions

Final:

Linieux Harriers 10–30

Ferrovente Scorpions

The Scorpions complete a series of away wins to claim the championship!

Statistics
Total number of games: 132
Number of home wins: 85, so 64.3939393939394% of games ended in a home win
Number of away wins: 46, so 34.8484848484849% of games ended in an away win
Number of draws: 1, so 0.757575757575758% of games ended in a draw
Total number of points: 5447
Home points: 3043
Away points: 2404
Average number of points scored by the home team: 23.0530303030303
Average number of points scored by the away team: 18.2121212121212
Average number of total points scored per game: 41.2651515151515

The numbers for this season are very close to the numbers of last season. Points scored are up by a little bit, home teams are a little more successful. Overall, the average score is still 23-18 in favour of the home team. Three final scores were very popular: 18-22, 24-18, 28-12.

State of Origin
Cote Austral - Finisterre 32-22
Yoshima - Leleia 32-24

Leleia - Cote Austral 32-48
Finisterre - Yoshima 28-42

Yoshima - Cote Austral 36-34
Leleia - Finisterre 24-28

Yoshima:      3-0-0
Cote Austral: 2-0-1
Finisterre:   1-0-2
Leleia:       0-0-3

Team of the Year & Awards
FB: Heitor Vales,

Scorpions
W: Ieviro Nakazono,

Vipers & Isamu Ogawa,

Dragons
C: Sté Brunet, Harriers & Arijasu Jamamoto,

Vipers
H: Tome Saavedra,

Scorpions & Shunmyo Fujioka,

Foxes
L: Marin Gaudin,

Buffaloes
SR: Na Matthieu,

Buffaloes & Bruno Rodas,

Sabres
P: Baris Bran,

Scorpions & Ma Bonnet,

Harriers
H: Toyozo Ueda,

Dragons

Tries: Sté Brunet,

Harriers
Points: Tome Saavedra,

Scorpions
Line breaks: Arijasu Jamamoto,

Vipers
Try assists: Luc Devillers,

Harriers
Tackles: Na Matthieu,

Buffaloes
Run metres: Hugo Canlas,

Sabres

Developmental Leagues
Yoshima League Champions: Esalosava
CAFL Champions: Tarraganes

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:12 am

Rugby Union - Season 26

Preview
Last year, we predicted the multiple merger team, the

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia, to win it all. After a disappointing regular season, they turned up the boosters for the finals, won twice and lifted the shield - the final being a 17-0 win over the Comets. Some of the most famous teams, the

Willowbourne Foxes, the

Mawrystwyth Phoenix and

Greencaster Galaxy, all finished in the bottom half. Most derby series ended very one-sided, with one team winning both derbies by a large margin. For a lot of teams, this is a season of revenge. You'll see that Tier 2 is a lot bigger this year: the talent is distributed among the teams more evenly, so I'd say that Tier 2 is a bit weaker.

Tier 1 - Contenders
None! No outright contenders yet. The Coronae have improved the most, the Phoenix are incredibly strong (but not very fast) and Andromeda have more tactical players and are on a last chance.
Tier 2 - Fighting for Finals

Idyllwild Coronae - here's one of the three big revenge clubs. The Coronae have been embarrassed in their derbies, and they're ready to escape the eclipse from Maynard and Ansonville. They have solid players in every single line, though may lack creativity in passing. There are no weak points on this team, and we will see where the strong points lie. They should be very strong in attack, but we'll see. Plenty of years left to build on this squad too, with the Weddall brothers, and winger Alardice all under 24.

Llandy Bulls - An outside contender for the playoffs. I don't think they will make the top 3. If they have a few upsets and manage to finish top 3, I wouldn't be too surprised either. Experienced forwards, heavy, great tacklers, but a bit of a slow team all around. prop yTewnchaeg and second rower yMhalmawm: if they have a good year, the Bulls are going to finish top 4 or better.

Mawrystwyth Phoenix - First of all: the downsides. There's not much on the sides. Both defence and attack will be very easy to handle on the wings. The good things: the further you go towards the centre of the field, the more talent there is. Quality kicking, too. Like the Bulls, this is a very, very outside contender.

Maynard Andromeda - A very up and down team, but more ups than downs by far. This is the last year they can rely on their current spine before they'll have to deal with the rest of the league or promote some youth. It doesn't look like they can make it in, but there's more urgency here than anywhere else.
Tier 3 - Trying for top half

Ansonville Comets - Their two new players get them up from tier 4 to tier 3. Their spine may still be atrocious at times, but Moore and Atkinson will boost the forwards somewhat, while Finnerty adds great edge defence, speed, and maybe some spectacular interceptions.

Eaglebury Aquila - The Eagles have had the offseason of a lifetime. There wasn't much here last year, but now they've added Rowland Sheehan, the biggest offseason target with great awareness and athleticism on the wing. They now also have one of the largest talents at the half with Whithingham - you'll see the Swans will let a half and a back through... Well, here's that Achilles' heel, all added in one single offseason.

Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia - What happened? The by far best team of last year, nearly entirely made up of West Strand Riding players, looks to have collapsed. Lots of players lost to other teams, and they're lost with a few decent forwards, and one great at prop, Cowan Holden. They promoted some backs from their academy, but it doesn't look like it'll be a turnaround.
Tier 4 - Avoiding last place

Aubury Swans - Aubury continues on with a squad that has no real stars. Often you see no weak points on such a team, but the forwards are a little light, and from the preseason we've learned that the Swans will leave some gaps open here and there. A clever half and a quick back will make them pay. They've added some weight to the scrum with Englefields at Prop.

Greencaster Galaxy - Coming off of an up and down year, they mostly added depth to their squad. Very light forwards, still, and prop Zephyr won't change that too much, and only one huge name in Ewell at fullback. They will have to rely on him.

Penstead Bears - There's so much to take revenge for. They had no help in their home advantage, and if you take that away from the Bears, there's not much to like here. It just doesn't look like they're going to be better than last year, some emergency promotions notwithstanding.

Tarrashall Travellers - A lot of players left, as the league finally realises that the best forwards come from West Strand Riding, and the Travellers are the only team in this area. There are some very good additions on the rest of the squad, with Amaranga and Bebenna at half and centre. They probably won't finish last, but I don't see what this team can rely on.

Willowbourne Foxes - Another team that just can't seem to make the turnaround. They were magical a few seasons ago, unbeatable. Ever since, they're messing around with youth players and some weak buys from other teams, but there still isn't anything you could remotely see finish in the top half.

Standings

KRUL                           Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
  1 Llandy Bulls                    22   13   2   7   266  157 +109    56
  2 Idyllwild Coronae               22   14   0   8   272  183  +89    56
  3 Maynard Andromeda               22   13   1   8   233  200  +33    54
  4 Ansonville Comets               22   12   2   8   185  156  +29    52
  5 Eaglebury Aquila                22   13   0   9   234  219  +15    52
  6 Penstead Bears                  22   10   1  11   244  274  −30    42
  7 Greencaster Galaxy              22    9   2  11   239  291  −52    40
  8 Mawrystwyth Phoenix             22   10   0  12   199  162  +37    40
  9 Tarrashall Travellers           22    9   1  12   186  231  −45    38
 10 Mayara Wanderers-Cassiopeia     22    9   0  13   195  262  −67    36
 11 Aubury Swans                    22    8   0  14   208  277  −69    32
 12 Willowbourne Foxes              22    7   1  14   222  271  −49    30

Analysis
Three stories jump out at us this year. The Bulls with their miraculous first place, the Phoenix who had it all together but still finished 8th, and the Swans, who beat every single rival every time but lost nearly every other match.

First, the

Aubury Swans: LLLLLLLLWLWWWWLWWLLWLL. They started out with eight straight losses, but then seemed to get things together. By that point it was far too little, far too late. They went 8-6 after that, and that's just not enough. They'll get there, if they remember that results in the first half of the season also count. This also explains their Derby record - every derby was played late in the season halves.

Second, the

Mawrystwyth Phoenix: WWLLWWWWLLLLWLWWWLLLLL. Kind of a reverse Swans. They were 10-7 with five matches to go, tied for third and two points out of first, and a point differential to get very jealous at. They already had a four-loss spell a bit earlier, and it came back harder than ever with that 5-game slide. Oh, the things that could have been! Their losses to close out the season: Bears, Bulls, Aquila, Galaxy, Coronae. Aka: the top 7, minus themselves and minus the Comets. If you're looking for the Comets game: that's the single L in the second half of the season in between the W and the WWW. Yeah, playing against the contenders like that isn't going to win you a title.

Third, the

Llandy Bulls: WLWLWDLLWLWWWWWLWDWWLW. Solid showing all around, and some draws when wins were out of the question. Very good performance year-round, and plenty of momentum going into the finals!

Derbies

Aubury Swans 27–25

Maynard Andromeda

Maynard Andromeda 14–30

Aubury Swans - Double win for the Swans. Ehh, what?

Idyllwild Coronae 18–24

Aubury Swans

Aubury Swans 30–6

Idyllwild Coronae - Double win for the Swans again. Ehh, what?? Half of the Swans' wins came against their rivals, both of whom finished in the top 3!!

Willowbourne Foxes 19–13

Greencaster Galaxy

Greencaster Galaxy 22–23

Willowbourne Foxes - Double win for the Foxes - two upsets!

Idyllwild Coronae 24–18

Maynard Andromeda

Maynard Andromeda 27–13

Idyllwild Coronae - Maynard on point differential over Idyllwild. What an incredibly high quality derby, with the numbers 2 and 3 involved!

Greencaster Galaxy 24–28

Ansonville Comets

Ansonville Comets 25–25

Greencaster Galaxy - The Comets win, the Galaxy come close with a crazy comeback in match two. A final disallowed try sees them lose the series.

Finals
No. 2 vs No. 3

Idyllwild Coronae 10–14

Maynard Andromeda - Andromeda wins and moves on to the final! A somewhat high-scoring game given the rest of the league, but that's a great way to promote the league.

Llandy Bulls 9–3

Maynard Andromeda
The Bulls pull through to win the Championship! In a final dominated by kicking, the Bulls place a huge focus on defence, fighting for every metre and winning a closely contested match!

Statistics
Total number of games: 132
Number of home wins: 60, so 45.4545454545455% of games ended in a home win
Number of away wins: 67, so 50.7575757575758% of games ended in an away win
Number of draws: 5, so 3.78787878787879% of games ended in a draw
Total number of points: 2683
Home points: 1251
Away points: 1432
Average number of points scored by the home team: 9.47727272727273
Average number of points scored by the away team: 10.8484848484848
Average number of total points scored per game: 20.3257575757576

A slight advantage to the away team, and low scoring at an average 9-11 final score.

State of Origin
There's never a shortage of scoring in the Origin games.

WSR - Mawryshire 23-34
Gehrenna - Surbourneshire 38-34
Mawryshire - Gehrenna 13-23
Surbourneshire - WSR 17-28
Gehrenna - WSR 24-19
Mawryshire - Surbourneshire 25-31

GEH - 3-0 +19 
 MAW - 1-2 -5
 WSR - 1-2 -5
 SRB - 1-2 -9 

GEH wins on wins/losses. SRB is last on point differential. MAW is second on H2H versus WSR.

Team of the Year & Awards
Props: Newddlawdd yTewnchaeg, Bulls & Lucas Luckett, Andromeda
Hooker: Beddwr yFhiflar, Bulls
Second row: Llafawm yMhalmawm, Bulls & Gene Weddall, Coronae
Flankers: Algernon Atkinson, Comets & Neiran yGhearyc, Phoenix
Number 8: Gemhaeg yDdwffrell, Bears
Halves: Eldon Wilmer, Andromeda & Nimrod Whithingham, Aquila
Centres: Rhonws yPhwgaragh, Bulls & Burrula Bebenna, Travellers
Wingers: Leslie Prater, Andromeda & Orville Finnerty, Comets
Fullback: Melton Scenay, Coronae Tries Rowland Sheehan, Aquila

Points Clint Henry, Andromeda
Tackle Breaks Burrula Bebenna, Travellers
Try Assists Rhonws yPhwgaragh, Bulls
Tackles Cicero Moore, Comets
Run Metres Careis yHardyllyn, Phoenix

Developmental Leagues
GWU: Bergegny - Bergegny were ahead by 10 points halfway and never looked back.
WSU: Marinwood - WSU's version of a big market team win it all.
MU: Aldercroft - Back to back championships for a quality programme!

by **Ko-oren** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 1:10 pm

Semi-professional and amateur sports - Season 4

Ice Hockey

KIHL                          Pld    W   D   L    Win % 
 1 Straudum Ice                   44   27   4  13    0.659
 2 West Coast Blizzards           44   26   4  14    0.636
 3 Aevanna Scouts                 44   23   8  13    0.614
 4 Southwest Aevanna Rangers      44   23   6  15    0.591
 5 Aevanna Plains Wanderers       44   22   4  18    0.545
 6 Egevea Northerners             44   22   3  19    0.534
 7 Egevea Islanders               44   21   3  20    0.511
 8 Noordrug Bi-state              44   19   5  20    0.489
 9 South Aevanna Storm            44   14  11  19    0.443
10 Aevanna Bay Mariners           44   13   8  23    0.386
11 Launott Polar Bears            44   12   6  26    0.341
12 Aevanna Explorers              44    7   8  29    0.250

Only a handful of teams managed to win more than half their games. Two have been clearly better than the rest, and they are both outside of ice hockey's home region of Aerellen. Straudum always has a strong team, given their large home region, and West Coast has an unbeatable home advantage - just from being so far away. The Blizzards are very hard to beat on the West Coast, and about average on the road. The six Aevanna teams are infighting, as per usual: the Scouts are strongest, and we find the Storm, Mariners and Explorers at the bottom.

Field Hockey

KFHL                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Rozenvoorde                 22   14   4   4    43   20  +23    46
 2 Oostgemeenten-S'drecht      22   10   7   5    33   21  +12    37
 3 Hazel-Amber                 22    9   7   6    27   17  +10    34
 4 Laringen                    22   10   4   8    35   28   +7    34
 5 Vleugelberg                 22   10   4   8    37   37    0    34
 6 Sterrenwolde                22    7   9   6    30   27   +3    30
 7 Angelwoud                   22    8   5   9    40   41   −1    29
 8 Herengein-S'drecht          22    8   5   9    23   32   −9    29
 9 Venstertoren                22    8   3  11    29   36   −7    27
10 April                       22    6   7   9    22   31   −9    25
11 Wintertoorn-S'drecht        22    6   5  11    30   34   −4    23
12 Donderen-S'drecht           22    3   6  13    29   54  −25    15

Rozenvoorde ran away with this weeks before the end of the competition - and even then they kept winning. For Wintertoorn, this is nothing short of a catastrophy, they had hoped to challenge for the title. Injuries, bad luck and poor planning ended their campaign early. Oostgemeenten is another team that had hoped to finish a bit closer to Rozenvoorde, they were still second but with a 9-point deficit they simply came up short - just not as short as the rest of the league.

Lacrosse

KLL                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Marinwood                      11    8   1   2   136  117  +19    0.773
 2 Windward - Greencaster         11    7   0   4   137  117  +20    0.636
 3 Bruncester                     11    7   0   4   119  102  +17    0.636
 4 Cirelbourne                    11    7   1   3   112   96  +16    0.682
 5 Anarcourt                      11    6   1   4   141  131  +10    0.591
 6 Sydberg - Greencaster          11    5   2   4   121  102  +19    0.545
 7 Dalmington - Willowbourne      11    5   1   5   118  109   +9    0.500
 8 Maynard                        11    4   1   6   115  131  −16    0.409
 9 Thornwich - Greencaster        11    4   2   5   116  135  −19    0.455
10 Cresthill - Willowbourne       11    3   2   6   111  126  −15    0.364
11 Norille                        11    3   0   8   102  129  −27    0.273
12 Ansonville                     11    1   1   9   101  134  −33    0.136

The Lacrosse season is short and sweet, and mostly is a battle between the two largest cities of the country. The Lacrosse league enjoys some popularity in cities and towns alike, even in such a saturated (though densely populated) area. The pride of Marinwood win the league by a win and a draw, and really run away with the competition. Greencaster get the moral victory between the cities of Greencaster and Willowbourne as Windward finishes second, and the working class towns of Bruncester and Cirelbourne get some retribution for their cities' decline with third and fourth. The richest towns involved, Anarcourt, Maynard, Norille and Ansonville, all finish towards the bottom.

Basketball

KBL                                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Senoren White Diamonds               44   38   6  3653 3072 +581
 2 Couziers-Linieux Centurions          44   31  13  3460 3193 +267
 3 Ouleux-Aminey Sapphires              44   30  14  3511 3100 +411
 4 Mayara Blues                         44   26  18  3494 3197 +297
 5 Lunay-Aminey Argonauts               44   25  19  3392 3366  +26
 6 Miradela-Santa Teresa Silvers        44   24  20  3390 3287 +103
 7 Serramonte-Santa Teresa Castles      44   22  22  3252 3365 −113
 8 Ferrovente Tazers                    44   18  26  3191 3394 −203
 9 Gehrenna Lions                       44   16  28  3265 3449 −184
10 Étouille Energie                     44   14  30  3241 3510 −269
11 Maethoru Banshees                    44   11  33  2982 3467 −485
12 Montelo-Santa Teresa Snipers         44    9  35  3091 3522 −431

The Basketball League is small but spread out across Ko-oren's southern bay coast. Between the capitals (Mayara, Gehrenna, Maethoru, Senoren), the contrarian cities in Cote Austral (Couziers, Ouleux, Lunay, Étouille), and the religious cities of Finisterre (Miradela, Serramonte, Ferrovente, Montelo), there are some clashing ideas about how sports should be enjoyed. This year, it's the capital's White Diamonds, long-time powerhouses in first, with the Cote Austral teams following.

Kabaddi

KYKL                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Nitoya                 22   18   4  1046  769 +277
 2 Furune                 22   16   6   969  718 +251
 3 Katashi West           22   15   7   983  779 +204
 4 Lejana                 22   15   7   975  773 +202
 5 Suvira                 22   11  11   897  772 +125
 6 Katashi East           22   10  12   911  890  +21
 7 Alara                  22    9  13   830 1006 −176
 8 Teragaseki             22    8  14   764  892 −128
 9 Arakura                22    8  14   673  899 −226
10 Aviansola              22    8  14   707  945 −238
11 Echizen                22    7  15   776  919 −143
12 Aonishi                22    7  15   793  962 −169

Kabaddi is quietly becoming the sports enthusiast's guilty pleasure, and the venues of Yoshima are filling up accordingly. It's getting more and more known as it's another sport where the various places in Yoshima can fight amongst each other (the other sports being baseball and rugby league). Nitoya wins, in addition to their quality baseball team, they now also have the best Kabaddi team. The teams everyone loves to hate, Katashi West and East, finish in the top 6 as well.

Aussie Rules

KMARL                 Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Mawrystwyth            20   13   0   7  2164 1746 +418    52
2 yNelseg                20   12   0   8  1960 1827 +133    48
3 yMhinem                20   11   0   9  1976 1871 +105    44
4 Penstead               20   11   0   9  1911 2045 −134    44
5 Llandy                 20    9   0  11  2037 1856 +181    36
6 yDremdwn               20    4   0  16  1757 2460 −703    16

  KWSRARL               Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Eaglebury              20   15   0   5  2231 1679 +552    60
2 Aralla                 20   13   0   7  2077 1826 +251    52
3 Jillong                20    8   0  12  1985 1887  +98    32
4 Nyashawill             20    8   0  12  1696 1961 −265    32
5 Tarrashall             20    8   0  12  1742 2027 −285    32
6 Myaranowra             20    8   0  12  1695 2046 −351    32

Aussie Rules is the best kept secret of the west coast, and even though the towns are small, the sport is taken very seriously. Field sizes do depend on the ground - not every town has a large enough flat space, seriously! In the Mawryshire division (KMARL), there are large enough spaces and teams' quality is a bit more spread out, with Mawrystwyth eventually taking first place. In the KWSRARL (Ko-orenite West Strand Riding Aussie Rules League, again, seriously) there are two very good sides and a lot of similar teams at the bottom, all tied for third.

Eaglebury 16.8.104 def. Mawrystwyth 13.14.92

Eaglebury has the best record and takes the home advantage in the final all the way, winning the league for WSR!

by **Ko-oren** » Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:45 pm

Soccer - Season 30

Previews

International Results

Ko-orenite clubs have once again played just a little better than the previous season. The KFA and its Top League are still finding their feet in the third consecutive UICA season.

Miradela GD couldn't break the champions' tendency to crash out of the Champions' Cup prelim round in the very first clash - but they also continued the streak of our champions then doing pretty well in the Globe Cup.

Best of all, however, was

Straudum: they beat Cosumar's Pelethas 2-0 and 5-0, then beat Darmen's Sterling City to qualify for the group stage! Unfortunately they then finished fourth out of four - but the points have been gotten and we're climbing in the UICA rankings again. Our performance in the SBCC has been even better than that, with two of our teams making the group stage - pointing to Ko-oren as a cradle of great footballing talent and our status as a 'selling' nation.

Miradela GD did make the AOCL group stage after dealing with a playoff round.

Cirelbourne United survived the first round in Cygnus - it might not look like much, but winning your first round means you're at least better than one other team. Progress.

The biggest news to come out of the international season was not in the Top League, nor in the second divisions: Ko-oren's university teams have done extraordinarily well in the IUCC, the revival of the Uni Leagues' Champions' Cup, right up the alley of our two university competitions. The National University, located in our capitals, didn't do so hot but both Willowbourne universities made it to the semifinals, where we were treated to a city derby, at such a level! Ko-oren is on the rise after all. Willowbourne Tech won the showdown, and then also won the final to secure the very first club competition trophy for any Ko-orenite club.

In addition, we have been named the 31st biggest soccer economy as decided by transfers, but that ranking will undoubtedly be affected by Ko-orenite clubs landing zero players in the transfer period. Players have still left the Top League for foreign clubs so we should still feature on the list. Looking at our UICA ranking (52nd after this season), last season we might be a little overrated - as said, that should be corrected in this season's financial rating. Before long, our financial power should match our UICA position. There are three transfer windows involved, even though the Top League has worked with international transfers for only one of those windows. Everything points to the fact that Ko-oren has a bigger soccer economy than that - regardless of our low position in UICA.

Top League clubs have mostly found cheap players in the rest of the Multiverse, and our average spending per transfer is very low. The 12 clubs' income is just about average (but doesn't correct for the number of total transfers).

Champions' Cup
Second Preliminary Round
(KOR)               Miradela GD    2–3    New Lions Club            (TIN)   1–2   1–1

Globe Cup
Second Preliminary Round
(KOR)               Maethoru SC    1–2    Koflir                    (QUS)   1–1   0–1
(NPH)               Coret Hawks    3–4    Straudum                  (KOR)   1–3   2–1
(EQS)         Cloudsdale Flyers    1–4    Bruncester United AFC     (KOR)   0–3   1–1

Third Preliminary Round
(KOR)               Miradela GD    5–1    St George University      (SAL)   1–0   4–1
(KOR)                  Straudum    7–0    Pelethas United           (COS)   2–0   5–0
(JSY)             Qidade Savana    4–2    Bruncester United AFC     (KOR)   2–1   2–1

Play-Off Round
(KOR)                  Straudum    5–3    Gwinevra Barbarians       (APX)   2–2   3–1
(KOR)               Miradela GD    3–4    Medoria Löwen             (COM)   1–2   2–2

Qualifying Round
(KOR)                  Straudum    2–1    Sterling City United      (DAR)   1–0   1–1

Group Stage (4 teams per group)
Group G                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
4 Straudum                  KOR    6    1   0   5     5   11   -6     3

Series B Champions' Cup
First Preliminary Round
(CSA)               La Solitude    3–5    Argyle Tuesday            (KOR)   2–1   1–4

Second Preliminary Round
(EFL)               FC Tavernia    3–2    Argyle Tuesday            (KOR)   2–2   1–0
(CRS)            Defence Forces    1–4    Ambergate City            (KOR)   1–4   0–0

Third Preliminary Round
(WRL)             Vieux-Port FC    3–4    Ambergate City            (KOR)   1–0   2–4

Play-Off Round
(KOR)                   Otavura    5–4    Gornik Mszczonow          (UAR)   3–1   2–3
(SAL)              Union Orange    1–3    Ambergate City            (KOR)   1–1   0–2

Group Stage (4 teams per group)
Group C                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
3 Ambergate City            KOR    6    1   2   3     6   10   -4     5

Group H                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
4 Otavura                   KOR    6    1   2   3     5    8   -3     5

AOCL
Preliminary Round
(KOR)	Miradela GD		 5–3	Cherrygrove City	(SAL)	2-0 3-3

Group Stage (4 teams per group)
P Group A                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts                      
4 Miradela GD                 6   1  1  4    3  11  -8    4

Cygnus Cup
Preliminary Round
(KOR)           Cirelbourne United    6-1    North Laborno Albion         (SRX)   4-0   2-1

First Round
(KOR)           Cirelbourne United    1-4    Mar Sara FC                  (VAL)   1-1   0-3

IUCC
Qualifying Stage (5 teams per group)
  QUALIFYING STAGE - GROUP A          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
5 Maethoru National University (KOR)    4   0  1  3    2   7  -5    1

Group Stage (3 teams per group)
  GROUP E                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
  1 Willowbourne Institute of Humanities (KOR)   4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9
  
  GROUP H                                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Willowbourne Technological Academy (KOR)     4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9

Quarterfinals
Willowbourne Institute of Humanities (KOR) 2–1 Luftwaffenakademie (STL)
Portland Business Library (ASA) 0–1 Willowbourne Technological Academy (KOR)

Semifinals
Willowbourne Institute of Humanities (KOR) 1–1 Willowbourne Technological Academy (KOR) (2–2 AET) (4–5 pen.)

Final
Zeppelin University (HIN) 1–1 Willowbourne Technological Academy (KOR) (1–1 AET) (4–5 pen.)

Transfers
Ko-oren -> Abroad
Wheeler Gillis LM

Maynard AFC -> Newton Castle FC (ETN)
Vincenzo Vinal ST

Branvon CD -> RFK Ogdenagorv (MRC)
Steven Kapitein CM

Schemerdrecht SVV -> Bloomer FC (DAR)
Hubbe Kampmans CM

Schemerdrecht SVV -> Club Jim Falls (DAR)
Tomoviko Mivune CAM

Aminey CS -> Rushmore United (DAR)

Abroad -> Ko-oren
/

Top division -> Top division
Hidde Gosens GK

Schemerdrecht SVV ->

Cirelbourne United
Samou Vallotton SS

Aminey CS ->

Branvon CD
Acha Dieulafoy CB

Maethoru SC ->

Branvon CD
Carlinhos Queiros RB

Branvon CD ->

Aminey CS
Erasmo Valente RM

Miradela GD ->

Cirelbourne United
Geré Manaudou DM

Tanques AOE ->

Cirelbourne United

Retirements
Osgood Brock RM (36):

Katashi-Kanatsu
Cicy Boisselot LM (35):

Tanques AOE
Roibén Toran CM (34):

Branvon CD
Aoren Aivulaen LB (32):

Miradela GD -> Second division
Karre Dijkhuizen CB (32):

Advance Alara -> Second division

Team by team previews
* denotes players that have been promoted from lower divisions or Uni teams before this season.
Foreign players are denoted with their trigramme between brackets, like (HIN), (EQS), and so on.
Captains are denoted with (c).

Advance Alara
Position last season: 8th
Expectations last season: 8th
Lineup & Reserves: Wakasugi* - Cloudburst (EQS), Pott, Shiba, Kanata* - Tanikawa, Odell, Tsutsui, Murakami*, Metharom (HIN) - Tsuchida(c)
Ishiwata, Miyazawa, Maeda
Star players: Tsuchida, Odell, Tsutsui, Ishiwata
Transfers:
Karre Dijkhuizen CB (32):

Advance Alara -> Second division

Story for this season:

Advance Alara keeps aging and Ishiwata has been benched, even though he still is one of their best players on paper. The eastern side have decided to go with Cloudburst, the foreign arrival that they've shelled out so much for - but they may have invested in the wrong position. This will be their last, or second-last, year with this stacked a midfield. Odell, Tsuchida and Tsutsui are in their early 30s now.

Despite all this, things look pretty good for the team, and we expect that Ko-oren's only attacking side will not only make it into the Championship Group, they will even seize a Globe Cup spot.
Prediction: 4th

Aminey CS
Position last season: 10th
Expectations last season: 9th
Lineup & Reserves: Wareham - Deschanel*, Picard*, Ardouin, Compton - Denis, Checkered Flag (EQS), Carbonneau, Nikolic(c) (PAS), Didier - Charbonneau*
Anvil*
Star players: Didier, Ardouin
Transfers:
Tomoviko Mivune CAM

Aminey CS -> Rushmore United (DAR)
Samou Vallotton SS

Aminey CS ->

Branvon CD
Carlinhos Queiros RB

Branvon CD ->

Aminey CS

Story for this season:

Aminey CS look to stay in place for this season. They have promoted a lot of youth while they also lost their star striker in Vallotton. They lost further offensive impulses of Mivune, who departed for Darmen. In return, the tried-and-trusted duo of Didier, Nikolic and Denis (average age 33) are the creative, pacy and threatening players on this side. Charbonneau is their newly promoted striker, but doesn't inspire the fans just yet.
Prediction: 10th

Branvon CD
Position last season: 9th
Expectations last season: 12th
Lineup & Reserves: Uchino - Buthoningun*, Saavedra, Neves, Rodas - Caldeira*, Oakley*, De Villepin(c) - Puga, Vallotton, Novoa
Basquez, Dieulafoy, Aponte, Reza*, Beaudouin
Star players: Vallotton, Novoa, Puga, Caldeira, Basquez
Transfers:
Vincenzo Vinal ST

Branvon CD -> RFK Ogdenagorv (MRC)
Samou Vallotton SS

Aminey CS ->

Branvon CD
Acha Dieulafoy CB

Maethoru SC ->

Branvon CD
Carlinhos Queiros RB

Branvon CD ->

Aminey CS
Roibén Toran CM (34):

Branv??D -> Retired

Story for this season: Well,

Branvon CD is about to shoot for the stars. While they lost (and made good money for) Vinal, they have attracted an experienced and immediate upgrade in Vallotton.

Aminey CS is now without a striker, but

Branvon CD don't care as they surprisingly end up with the league's strongest attack - all while promoting a very high work ethic.

Branvon CD has been criticised for their style a lot in recent years, promoting technical and tactical players even though their working class background dictates a physical, high-work-ethic approach - but even their fans can't say no to this. The oldest players on the squad are 30 years old, so if

Branvon CD can keep this team together, they are in for 3-4 awesome years. This is how you respond to your rival (

Miradela GD) being crowned champion.
Prediction: 3rd

Bruncester United AFC
Position last season: 3rd
Expectations last season: 2nd
Lineup & Reserves: Doolan - Gicquel, MacDermot (BLN), Kitchingham*, Gridley, Brogley(c) - Palethorpe, Wickham, Oakden* - Muggeridge, Nethersole
yGofwef*, Hovestad*, Brisley, Gregory*
Star players: Palethorpe, Doolan, Gicquel, Brogley
Transfers:
/

Story for this season: Preparing for this season in peace and quiet,

Bruncester United AFC have decided to take last year's well-performing team and hoping to take them a level further by just adding youth players. It looks like they hit the jackpot with Oakden, who should immediately inspire one of the league's poorest attacks. But that's not what

Bruncester United AFC are about: they are about defending and only defending, employing five defenders and two defensive midfielders. If there is any team looking to concede zero goals next year, it's this team with Ko-oren's national goalkeeper, captain and wingbacks. All in all, however, if they concede even one goal, we can't see them tie it up at all.
Prediction: 6th

Cirelbourne United
Position last season: 7th
Expectations last season: 10th
Lineup & Reserves: Gosens - Rilastadhaunden, Parrott(c), Carbey*, Letchford - Dominique, Manaudou, Forward*, yTawdnhawch* - Zinchester, Turner
Kirkham, Lowther*, Swadling, Sandry*, Valente, Brownsmith
Star players: Carbey, Dominique, yTawdnhawch, Turner
Transfers:
Hidde Gosens GK

Schemerdrecht SVV ->

Cirelbourne United
Erasmo Valente RM

Miradela GD ->

Cirelbourne United
Geré Manaudou DM

Tanques AOE ->

Cirelbourne United

Story for this season: Lots of depth signings for

Cirelbourne United, getting Valente straight on the bench. Out of all 12 teams,

Cirelbourne United had most promoted players directly going into the starting XI, which has improved dramatically. Still, they boast one of the weakest midfields outside of their DM Dominique and new winger yTawdnhawch - a rare sight to have a Mawryshire-born player end up on a soccer field. Good news for

Cirelbourne United is that their best players all have some 10 years ahead of them. Bad news for

Cirelbourne United is that the rest of their squad can be downright disappointing, and if their young players cannot find their groove, they'll have a nearly guaranteed loss. All three of their signings are not inspiring but should prepare the team for getting through bad spells. They have invested in mental strength in that regard, which is instrumental in supporting such a young, volatile cast of Carbey, Dominique, yTawdnhawch, and Turner.
Prediction: 11th

Katashi-Kanatsu
Position last season: 11th
Expectations last season: 7th
Lineup & Reserves: Hanazawa - Vatsu, Mizuno, Yamaoka, Suzukaze - Yokota(c), Yogi, Nakazono*, Ishimaki* - Nagamine, Olio*
Mashimo*, Ida*, Vachimitsu
Star players: Mizuno, Hanazawa, Yokota, Olio
Transfers:
Osgood Brock RM (36):

Katashi-Kanatsu -> Retired

Story for this season:

Katashi-Kanatsu have changed course over the last few years, continuously landing in the bottom 6 while doing so. Now, we see the first glimpse of the new generation of this team, where instead of a few stars, they have brought every position on the field up to par. Their promotions have been limited to the bench, hoping to develop some new defenders down the line, though they have got young wingers that will immediately have to produce. They also have a talented striker, Olio, who can't delay a great entrance to the Top League. Especially the team's maturity in defence is a new thing, as

Katashi-Kanatsu have often focused on brief flashes of brilliance in attack. There's still the pacy, flashy attacking plays but hopefully with a much better lock at the back.
Prediction: 7th

Maethoru SC
Position last season: 4th
Expectations last season: 1st
Lineup & Reserves: Theshendan(c) - Tartaguthen*, Monurga*, Hergulauthen - Marrable, Amawai*, Janoreirinthen, Holstege, Lalaseringun - Vaugrenard, Denjamic (MRC)
Tedhaunden*, Dishatinden*, Porildherinden, Hosorthaunden, Ensaunden*
Star players: Theshendan, Lalaseringun, Janoreirinthen, Vaugrenard
Transfers:
Acha Dieulafoy CB

Maethoru SC ->

Branvon CD

Story for this season:

Maethoru SC, always up there in the top 6, were forced to take a step back last season. They hoped to repeat their championship season, but barely made it into the Globe Cup in the end. The front office responded by addressing the defence, adding two newly promoted players - but unfortunately still not shoring up the defence properly in most people's eyes. The massive +-looking midfield (DM, RM, CM, LM and AM) is nearly entirely brought back from last season, including Marrable and Amawai who both fit in the U21s, and two star players (with long names) who are 23.

Maethoru SC are on the way up, which is strange to say of a team that continuously finishes in the UICA places, but there's no team like this one if it comes to having young players that play like they're over 30.
Prediction: 5th

Maynard AFC
Position last season: 12th
Expectations last season: 11th
Lineup & Reserves: Cholmondeley - Suchet*, Genperinden*, Meynard (EQS), Norman, Bywaters(c) - Pennington, Batchelor* - Maxwell*, Pirastadhaunden, Wouters
Kildare, Richey*, Potter*, Uleaven
Star players: Cholmondeley, Batchelor
Transfers:
Wheeler Gillis LM

Maynard AFC -> Newton Castle FC (ETN)

Story for this season:

Maynard AFC remains plagued by poor decisions, poor scouting and few opportunities to make the team better. In a small, 12-team league, talent shouldn't be very diluted but players seem to time and time again pass on playing for

Maynard AFC. They have landed a few new talents, of which Batchelor looks like a real new power on the team. The shift towards a more defensive formation suits the team, who have decent finishers but, with the two-man midfield, fail to create chances. They should be employing the long ball again, and maybe this time it will work. No really, this team needs a managerial change more than any other team. There is no way a team can stay near the bottom for this long.
Prediction: 12th

Miradela GD
Position last season: 1st
Expectations last season: 3rd
Lineup & Reserves: Munks - Seoane, yChibwod, Varela - Magrath, Yerowrie*, Starosta (SOU), Vahamonde - Vermelho(c), Noya, Bugarin
Agramonte, Viera*, Salomon*
Star players: Varela, Seoane, Munks, Magrath, Yerowrie, Starosta, Noya
Transfers:
Aoren Aivulaen LB (32):

Miradela GD -> Second division

Story for this season: Well, if there has ever been such a good roster in the Top League, please tell us so. I have no reason to take any other team over

Miradela GD, although their defence is tiny and lacking in such a defence-minded league. Like last year, I expect

Miradela GD to overpower their opponents in possession and in scoring, but most of all they have a star-filled team that anyone will have a hard time stopping. The defence is a little slow but with Seoane and Varela, they're experienced and tough. Munks is one of the league's best goalkeepers. They lost only a veteran past his peak to the offseason. They had an excellent signing in Yerowrie, a talent from the unlikely region of West Strand Riding. Noya is the cornerstone of this attack if

Miradela GD actually want to produce goals - without him, there will be many chances but most of them wasted.
Prediction: 1st

Schemerdrecht SVV
Position last season: 5th
Expectations last season: 4th
Lineup & Reserves: Goossen - Grootenhuis, Apple Crumble (EQS), Langenhof(c), Heldoorn* - Berendsen, Hilberdink, Crone* - Siebelt, Van Riesen, De Meester
Nijboer*, Eikholm*, Mynatt
Star players: Grootenhuis, Goossen
Transfers:
Steven Kapitein CM

Schemerdrecht SVV -> Bloomer FC (DAR)
Hubbe Kampmans CM

Schemerdrecht SVV -> Club Jim Falls (DAR)
Hidde Gosens GK

Schemerdrecht SVV ->

Cirelbourne United

Story for this season:

Schemerdrecht SVV have one of the youngest teams in the league after losing Kapitein, Kampmans and Gosens to Darmeni clubs and

Cirelbourne United. This leaves them with a serious question as to how they plan to uphold last season's quality into this season. Short answer: they won't. They will regress. Even if the northern club are the masters of making more happen with less, having such a young team without clear stars is a recipe for giving up a lot of points. This team will get better with age, though. Also, they now have the money to hunt for a big upgrade next season.
Prediction: 8th

Straudum
Position last season: 2nd
Expectations last season: 6th
Lineup & Reserves: Neihof - Janmayarie*, Van Schelven, Aandal, Hellegeland - Avalor, Tez (QUS)(c), Inchcombe, Paulsen - Beaulieu, Gilling
Kastberg, Breedland, Brakke*, Melenberg, Rupusthaunden*
Star players: Van Schelven, Hellegeland, Neihof
Transfers:
/

Story for this season: They kept their team together after the heroic 2nd place last season. Many said the team was still too young, lacking leadership, but here they were. And again, we're going to say that this team is light, without much direction once they advance the ball beyond the midway line. They have an excellent central defence, and they have a lot of intelligence on midfield - but that doesn't score goals on its own. Their youth signings haven't been great and they've been relegated to the bench with the exception of the rightback. That's a position they needed a player on, so that's something. We're still predicting the downfall that we expected last season.
Prediction: 9th

Tanques AOE
Position last season: 6th
Expectations last season: 5th
Lineup & Reserves: Moineau(c) - yLladdlog, Tar (QUS), Devillers - Train, Ulysse, yChibwod, Longchambon - Bousquet*, Delaplace, Duchemin
Granet, Rouselle*, Affré
Star players: Longchambon, yChibwod, Train, Ulysse, Bousquet
Transfers:
Geré Manaudou DM

Tanques AOE ->

Cirelbourne United
Cicy Boisselot LM (35):

Tanques AOE -> Retired

Story for this season:

Tanques AOE is simply an extraordinary team as far as the Top League goes. Their solidity at the back (though not always reliability at the back) is alright, but they have basically the entire NT's midfield. Longchambon is a revelation as a 10, and the wing support with yChibwod and Ulysse is fantastic. With Train, they have a defensive midfielder to support everything. Bousquet is a new player and such a phenomenon as a false 9, this is one insane team to watch. They will win every midfield battle. They will create chances, they are happy in possession, and they will score some goals.
Prediction: 2nd

Calendar
All 52 weeks have been assigned. Here is the Ko-orenite playing calendar for season 30.

The Top League kicks off in week 8, and the next seventeen weekends will each have one matchday. In the middle of all that, week 17 features both round 10 as well as the first Cup round. Week 25 is the first non-league week, but it has the second Cup round instead. Round 18 of the Top League follows the next week.

Then, we hit summer. Play is a little more interrupted here, with a bye week, round 19, Cup round 3, round 20, bye week, round 21, Cup round 4, and then round 22, in the span of eight weeks. Round 22 is the special round: the 12-team league is split in two after this one. The top six teams at the end of the 22nd round will play in the Championship Group, which will hand out the trophy, Champions' Cup and Globe Cup spots. The bottom six teams will compete in the Challenge Group, which hands out only a Vilitan Cove Invitational spot. If you've paid attention so far, you'll know that the first 22 rounds are a double round robin (11 opponents * 2 games).

Now, we get to two bye weeks.

After that, the final League round kicks off: another double round robin within the smaller groups of 6 teams. That's 10 more rounds. After Cup round 5 in week 37, we get 10 consecutive weekends with League soccer - after which we have our champion. The Cup semifinals (round 6) is played in week 44 in the same week as the 29th League round. Following the end of the league in week 47, week 48 holds the Cup Final - and that's the end of the league year. We then have four weeks off, after which it all starts again.

Just to keep you updated: week 6 is the AOCL final. Week 27 is the Cygnus Cup final. Weeks 48, 49, and 50 have the Youth Cup, Globe Cup and Champions' Cup finals - and the Super Cup is played in weeks 51 and 52. Here's to another football-filled year!

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:04 pm

Soccer - Season 30

Lower League Soccer
Ko-oren is home to three second divisions. Two of these, the Northern and Southern divisions (NK2D and SK2D), are seen as a bit better than the third (Yoshima, Y2D). This is because the Northern and Southern leagues have a promotion/relegation system with a third division - Yoshima does not.

In the North, Laringen win another second division title, this time by keeping up-and-coming Dartha just barely behind them. It was a good year for the way-out-there teams of the North, with remote WSR and April Bassin in the top 6. Mayara Soccer Guild and Ossendal are straight back down after their promotion last year. Linderivier fall from second to 11th.

NK2D                                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Laringen AFC                                33   18   6   9    40   28  +12    60 SBCC
 2 Dartha AFC                                  33   17   7   9    39   22  +17    58
 3 WSR AFC                                     33   16   8   9    37   27  +10    56
 4 Tuinderbeek FC                              33   15   6  12    35   32   +3    51
 5 Donderen                                    33   15   5  13    39   44   −5    50
 6 April Bassin FC                             33   13   9  11    36   29   +7    48
 7 Shinsen                                     33   14   5  14    35   31   +4    47
 8 Sterrenwolde FC                             33   12   9  12    28   28    0    45
 9 Nyashawill                                  33   11   7  15    26   37  −11    40
10 Linderivier AFC                             33   10   8  15    23   33  −10    38 Relegation
11 Mayara Soccer Guild                         33    8   8  17    32   40   −8    32 Relegation
12 Ossendal                                    33    6   8  19    25   44  −19    26 Relegation

Castelo e Calvente, while not the most famous team of the South, have established themselves as a regional power. They were third last year, just out of SBCC contention - but this time around they are Ko-oren's prime representative on 63 points. Newly promoted Chamiers are third, and last year's number one and two, Argyle and Ambergate, have fallen to 4th and 5th.

SK2D                                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Castelo e Calvente CS                       33   18   9   6    39   22  +17    63 SBCC
 2 Zinchester Town                             33   18   5  10    42   35   +7    59 SBCC
 3 Chamiers                                    33   16   9   8    40   29  +11    57
 4 Argyle Tuesday                              33   14   7  12    35   32   +3    49
 5 Ambergate City                              33   13   9  11    31   28   +3    48
 6 Leeshire United                             33   12   7  14    34   38   −4    43
 7 Amandine AdF                                33   12   4  17    31   37   −6    40
 8 Langward                                    33   10   9  14    31   34   −3    39
 9 Anarcourt CF                                33   10   9  14    33   37   −4    39
10 Planneige                                   33    9  11  13    36   42   −6    38 Relegation
11 Coloruna                                    33    9  11  13    38   46   −8    38 Relegation
12 Mawrystwyth                                 33    9   6  18    25   35  −10    33 Relegation

The Yoshiman second division counts as much more of a crapshoot than the other two. The teams here don't transfer very often with each other, but the top teams feed into

Advance Alara,

Katashi-Kanatsu, and sometimes

Schemerdrecht SVV,

Tanques AOE, and others. Otavura, given their remote location, are regional powerhouses now with two straight good finishes. Echizen, however, take the win while keeping their rivals, Teragaseki, in third place. Chikuno fall from 2nd to 4th.

Y2D                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Echizen                                     33   16  10   7    41   25  +16    58 SBCC
 2 Otavura                                     33   16   8   9    42   32  +10    56
 3 Teragaseki                                  33   14   9  10    41   28  +13    51
 4 Chikuno                                     33   14   7  12    41   37   +4    49
 5 Aviansola                                   33   13  10  10    35   32   +3    49
 6 Shimohavi                                   33   10  14   9    31   28   +3    44
 7 Vurusen                                     33   11  11  11    38   36   +2    44
 8 Motojagava                                  33   10  13  10    26   33   −7    43
 9 Odahayashi                                  33   12   7  14    34   44  −10    43
10 Yonenomura                                  33   10   6  17    26   35   −9    36
11 Fukushira                                   33    9   7  17    31   45  −14    34
12 Nitoya                                      33    8   8  17    38   49  −11    32

Myaranowra, Launott and Gehrenna secure promotion to the second division! Some larger teams, especially Kerkhaven, can't find a way up at all.

NK3D                                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Myaranowra                                  33   17   6  10    43   26  +17    57 Promotion
 2 Launott                                     33   15  11   7    38   23  +15    56 Promotion
 3 Gehrenna FC                                 33   16   6  11    43   33  +10    54 Promotion
 4 Arboren FC                                  33   14  10   9    31   29   +2    52
 5 Serevne AFC                                 33   13  10  10    34   36   −2    49
 6 Grimhof VV                                  33   13   7  13    34   37   −3    46
 7 Egevea                                      33   12   9  12    44   39   +5    45
 8 Senoren FC                                  33   11  12  10    29   27   +2    45
 9 Turnaarde FC                                33   10   6  17    33   43  −10    36
10 Kerkhaven-Rommefort-Combinatie              33    9   8  16    34   42   −8    35
11 Honingsweg                                  33    8  11  14    29   43  −14    35
12 Rozenvoorde FC                              33    8   8  17    32   46  −14    32

The longest team names go back to the second division! Couziers are renowned cupfighters and they are back up. Huthwich are the richest lower-division team and they make it back as well. Strongfair complete the trio, while the likes of Limecroft stay here for another year. Ferncombe punch well above their weight - can they do that next year?

SK3D                                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Couziers-Olympiques                         33   16  12   5    45   28  +17    60 Promotion
 2 Huthwich & Iduloren FC                      33   17   5  11    55   37  +18    56 Promotion
 3 Strongfair                                  33   14   8  11    42   41   +1    50 Promotion
 4 Ferncombe                                   33   13  11   9    36   36    0    50
 5 Limecroft & Abyss FC                        33   14   6  13    46   41   +5    48
 6 Belmore FC                                  33   13   7  13    35   38   −3    46
 7 Brighthaven Town                            33   13   6  14    37   31   +6    45
 8 Sydberg                                     33   13   6  14    36   36    0    45
 9 Oai                                         33    8  15  10    31   31    0    39
10 Grainshire United                           33    9  11  13    42   50   −8    38
11 Soothill                                    33    8  10  15    25   39  −14    34
12 Llandy                                      33    9   5  19    28   50  −22    32

Sterrenwolde get another championship, but this time they aren't champions months before the end of the league. GNU have done very well. AEU have recovered well from their top players leaving for the second division teams, while Yoshiman teams (the three Katashi teams and Furune) fail to make an impact.

Uni-North                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Technische Universiteit Sterrenwolde        33   17   8   8    46   32  +14    59
 2 Gehrenna National University                33   16   9   8    46   28  +18    57
 3 Aevanna Ecologiske Universitet              33   14   8  11    33   30   +3    50
 4 Maethoru National University                33   13  11   9    32   32    0    50
 5 Katashi Yoshima Daigaku                     33   12  10  11    31   28   +3    46
 6 West Strand Riding University               33   11  12  10    33   28   +5    45
 7 Sudaefjolluniversitet                       33   11  11  11    28   27   +1    44
 8 Furune Geijutsu Daigaku                     33   11  11  11    35   36   −1    44
 9 Schemerdrechtuniversiteit                   33   11   9  13    26   28   −2    42
10 Katashi Keizai Daigaku                      33    7  13  13    33   36   −3    34
11 Katashi Ika Daigaku                         33    9   7  17    30   47  −17    34
12 Nordorenfjolluniversitet                    33    7   9  17    28   49  −21    30

Both Willowbourne teams, two of the best four University teams of last season, finish in the top 4. What a competition though, as Cote Austral take first place and Mawryshire get somewhat of a local soccer culture together. That state normally doesn't feature much soccer (cricket, gridiron or rugby union, rather), but some talents have made the Top League and the grassroots level impresses as well.

Uni-South                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Université de la Côte Austral               33   17   8   8    38   24  +14    59
 2 Willowbourne Institute of Humanities        33   17   5  11    36   29   +7    56
 3 University of Mawryshire                    33   17   4  12    43   31  +12    55
 4 Willowbourne Technological Academy          33   16   6  11    34   25   +9    54
 5 Economical Institute of Amandine            33   13  11   9    34   32   +2    50
 6 Surbourneshire Technical University         33   12   9  12    27   27    0    45
 7 Université des Arts d'Aminey                33   12   6  15    30   32   −2    42
 8 Uni of A&E of Grain- and Leeshire           33   11   8  14    40   46   −6    41
 9 Greencaster Business University             33   10  10  13    32   34   −2    40
10 Santa Teresa Naval Academy                  33   11   6  16    37   44   −7    39
11 National University of Willowbourne         33   10   6  17    34   46  −12    36
12 Greencaster Technical University            33   10   5  18    29   44  −15    35

Top League Soccer - Round 1-22

And now for what you're here for. The first twenty-two rounds of the Top League. After this stage, the top 6 play another full round robin to decide on the champion, while the bottom six also play on.

Top League                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Tanques AOÉ                                 22   11   9   2    37   23  +14    42
 2 Advance Alara                               22   11   8   3    35   19  +16    41
 3 Miradela GD                                 22   10   6   6    37   35   +2    36
 4 Maethoru SC                                 22    8   9   5    31   22   +9    33
 5 Bruncester United AFC                       22    8   8   6    22   15   +7    32
 6 Branvón CD                                  22    9   5   8    22   20   +2    32

 7 Aminey CS CS                                   22    9   4   9    33   27   +6    31
 8 Cirelbourne United                          22    9   3  10    18   19   −1    30
 9 Straudum                                    22    6   7   9    10   13   −3    25
10 Katashi-Kanatsu                             22    5   7  10    27   40  −13    22
11 Schemerdrecht SVV                           22    4   6  12    13   27  −14    18
12 Maynard AFC                                 22    4   4  14    12   37  −25    16

Tanques AOE' road to the Championship Group
0: Advance Alara 2–0 Tanques AOÉ
1: Tanques AOÉ 4–2 Katashi-Kanatsu
2: Schemerdrecht SVV 1–2 Tanques AOÉ
3: Branvón CD 1–2 Tanques AOÉ
4: Tanques AOÉ 4–1 Maynard AFC
5: Maethoru SC 1–1 Tanques AOÉ
6: Tanques AOÉ 1–1 Miradela GD
7: Straudum 0–0 Tanques AOÉ
8: Tanques AOÉ 1–0 Bruncester United AFC
9: Cirelbourne United 1–2 Tanques AOÉ
10: Tanques AOÉ 3–2 Aminey CS (vs rivals)
11: Tanques AOÉ 1–1 Advance Alara
12: Katashi-Kanatsu 0–3 Tanques AOÉ
13: Tanques AOÉ 0–0 Schemerdrecht SVV
14: Tanques AOÉ 1–3 Branvón CD
15: Maynard AFC 0–1 Tanques AOÉ
16: Tanques AOÉ 2–2 Maethoru SC
17: Miradela GD 1–1 Tanques AOÉ
18: Tanques AOÉ 1–0 Straudum
19: Bruncester nited AFC 1–1 Tanques AOÉ
20: Tanques AOÉ 1–1 Cirelbourne United
21: Aminey S 2–5 Tanques AOÉ (vs rivals)

Advance Alara's road to the Championship Group
0: Advance Alara 2–0 Tanques AOÉ
1: Maynard AFC 0–4 Advance Alara
2: Advance Alara 2–1 Maethoru SC
3: Miradela GD 0–0 Advance Advance Alara
4: Advance Alara 2–0 Straudum
5: Bruncester United AFC 1–3 Advance Alara
6: Advance Alara 1–1 Cirelbourne United
7: Aminey CS 2–0 Advance Alara
8: Advance Alara 1–1 Branvón CD
9: Advance Alara 6–6 Katashi-Kanatsu (vs rivals)
10: Schemerdrecht SVV 0–2 Advance Alara
11: Tanques AOÉ 1–1 Advance Alara
12: Advance Alara 2–0 Maynard AFC
13: Maethoru SC 0–0 Advance Alara
14: Advance Alara 3–1 Miradela GD
15: Straudum 0–1 Advance Alara
16: Advance Alara 1–0 Bruncester United AFC
17: Cirelbourne United 1–2 Advance Alara
18: Advance Alara 0–0 Aminey CS
19: Branvón CD 2–1 Advance Alara
20: Katashi-Kanatsu 0–0 Advance Alara (vs rivals)
21: Advance Alara 1–2 Schemerdrecht SVV

All rivalries of Season 30
Maethoru SC 2–1 Aminey CS
Aminey CS 2–2 Maethoru SC

Tanques AOÉ 3–2 Aminey CS
Aminey CS 2–5 Tanques AOÉ

Bruncester United AFC 1–0 Cirelbourne United
Cirelbourne United 0–1 Bruncester United AFC

Schemerdrecht SVV 0–0 Straudum
Straudum 0–0 Schemerdrecht SVV

Branvón CD 0–2 Miradela GD
Miradela GD 1–0 Branvón CD

Advance Alara 6–6 Katashi-Kanatsu
Katashi-Kanatsu 0–0 Advance Alara

Completely as advertised,

Tanques AOE have gotten a great squad together that can defend as well as attack - what a midfield. Them and

Advance Alara are big favourites to win the title in the next 10 rounds through rarely losing.

Advance Alara is a bit of a surprise here, they were good and much improved from the year before - but this good? The red-black Eastern side had to get a good year this year, and the veterans delivered with a big help from the new under-23 core of the team. Maybe this'll convince the likes of Ishiwata, Odell, Tsuchida and Tsutsui to play for another year - they will likely make it into the Globe Cup at least.

Miradela GD are a little short of what they were penned down for. They're eight points behind, going into the final 10 rounds, and the tiny defensive structure they had fell away completely. Seoane, yChibowd and Varela are a talented group, but with zero depth it turns out that

Miradela GD will eventually lose a few games in the final 15 minutes. It's still great that they've made third place on a +2 goal difference. They've mostly recorded small but high-scoring wins, but there was so much more on offer.

Maethoru SC are back in contention. It seems that whatever this club does, they will end up in the top 6 no matter what. They might just play a vital role in there - though they need to make up 9 points. The weakest

Maethoru SC squad in years has a great young core of Tartaguthen, Monurga, and Amawai. Not exactly local talent, but still a great deal for the team. The best front office in soccer can do some damage from here on out.

Bruncester United AFC are in the top 6 - which suits them given their defensive prowess. Fifteen goals conceded across the year, and not a completely botched offensive scheme. The best wing back duo, Gicquel and Brogley, have been put to good use and now they can secure a Globe Cup spot once again.

In the last few years, they've been awful - but this year, we wrote them down for third place. It turned out that

Branvón CD weren't there yet. Still, they are sixth and that means that they are at the party, with their big rivals

Miradela GD whom they can now play four times in one year. Revenge has never felt this great, and

Maynard AFC will have to take notes. This is how you rebuild. The creativity of Puga, Vallotton and Novoa has been left free and without the need to play working-class football, they are now unchained. Not the offensive numbers they had hoped for, but the results are fine and that's what matters.

Aminey CS do pretty well, having made seventh place. There was a 5-2 round 22 loss to

Tanques AOE that prevented them from making the Six. To be honest, after selling some of their best players it's a miracle they finished this far up. But to big market

Aminey CS, the Challenge Group just isn't worth it.

Cirelbourne United have also outperformed their expectations by a good margin. They were hoping to sustain themselves and rebuild using depth signings and adding youth, they made it to 8th and frankly not very far behind the likes of

Maethoru SC.

This wasn't going to be

Straudum's year. After a few good years, they're back in the lower half which their financial situation would dictate. The defence is there as always, but the results have regressed back to the mean.

Katashi-Kanatsu, meanwhile, was going for much more than 10th. Having made the Six last year, they hoped to make it back. Maybe they went for a too youthful approach, and they will be back in the Six next year. Nakazono, Ishimaki, and Olio have been alright at times and great at other times, so they might just get there.

The biggest let-downs of the year have been

Schemerdrecht SVV though. Sure, they didn't have the top-4 team of the last few years, but 11th is a stretch. Bad decisions, some injuries, and losing their central midfield to Darmeni clubs: there is money for improvements. Lastly, there is

Maynard AFC and we never thought it would be anyone else. The smallest market of the league will have to do better. There is local talent being developed here so I want to make the case that they deserve better at this point - but the decisions made at the starting XI level just aren't up to standard compared to the rest of the league. We are waiting for some managerial changes yet again.

Top League Soccer - Rounds 23-32
Now that we know which teams go into the top six, for the championship and the UICA spots, and which teams go to the bottom six, to settle scores from the first 22 rounds, it's time for the final Groups. We have the Championship Group, featuring

Tanques AOE,

Advance Alara,

Miradela GD,

Maethoru SC,

Bruncester United AFC and

Branvón CD.

Branvón CD and

Advance Alara were expected to do well but they're punching above their weight regardless.

Maethoru SC and

Miradela GD are somehow always in the top 6.

Bruncester United AFC have shored up the defence and defence does still win you points, especially in Ko-oren.

Tanques AOE have assembled the team of the decade, or at least it feels like that, and they are hunting for their firs title.

In the Challenge Group, we have

Straudum,

Schemerdrecht SVV and

Cirelbourne United, who had hoped to make the top 6. There are

Katashi-Kanatsu and

Aminey CS, big clubs who have taken a small hit, and

Maynard AFC, who have yet to impress.

Teams retain the points and goals from the first 22 rounds. That gives

Advance Alara and

Tanques AOE a cushion in their championship race.

Championship Group                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Miradela GD                                 10    8   1   1    22   11  +11    25
 2 Branvón CD                                  10    5   2   3    11    7   +4    17
 3 Tanques AOÉ                                 10    4   1   5    10   10    0    13
 4 Advance Alara                               10    3   2   5    13   17   −4    11
 5 Bruncester United AFC                       10    3   1   6     6   14   −8    10
 6 Maethoru SC                                 10    2   3   5    10   13   −3     9

   Challenge Group                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Straudum                                    10    5   4   1     9    3   +6    19
 2 Katashi-Kanatsu                             10    4   2   4    17   13   +4    14
 3 Schemerdrecht SVV                           10    4   2   4     7    7    0    14
 4 Cirelbourne United                          10    4   2   4     8   11   −3    14
 5 Maynard AFC                                 10    4   1   5     8   10   −2    13
 6 Aminey CS                                   10    2   3   5    11   16   −5     9

Miradela GD blow out the opposition in the final 10 games. There are so many deciders among the final 30 games, every single time you win, an opponent cannot get three necessary points. Their eight games won, give them 24 points, but also takes away 24 points from their direct opposition. Noya was on fire, scoring 9 of the final 22 goals.

Branvón CD show that they deserve to be in the top 6, with 17 points lifting them from sixth to fourth. But with these two teams doing so well... where are

Tanques AOE and

Advance Alara? Turns out that they might have peaked too early: they are found in third and fourth on 13 and 11 points. All of the momentum

Tanques AOE had coming into the final stage is gone as they failed to turn losses into draws.

Bruncester United AFC and

Maethoru SC are the final teams, both missing the Globe Cup.

Bruncester United AFC could not find the net anywhere near enough.

Straudum came into the Challenge Group with great form, losing just one of the final 10 rounds. They move up from ninth to seventh - good for an conditional Invitational spot. Wins were far more divided in the Challenge Group: even

Maynard AFC won 40% of their fixtures. There wasn't much movement as a result.

That gives us this final table:

Top League                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Miradela GD                                 32   18   7   7    59   46  +13    61   Champions, CC, AOCL
 2 Tanques AOÉ                                 32   15  10   7    47   33  +14    55 GC
 3 Advance Alara                               32   14  10   8    48   36  +12    52 GC
 4 Branvón CD                                  32   14   7  11    33   27   +6    49 GC
 5 Maethoru SC                                 32   10  12  10    41   35   +6    42
 6 Bruncester United AFC                       32   11   9  12    28   29   -1    42
 
 7 Straudum                                    32   11  11  10    19   16   +3    44 Vilitan Cove Invitational
 8 Cirelbourne United                          32   13   5  14    26   30   −4    44
 9 Aminey CS                                   32   11   7  14    44   43   +1    40
10 Katashi-Kanatsu                             32    9   9  14    44   53   −9    36
11 Schemerdrecht SVV                           32    8   8  16    20   34  −14    32
12 Maynard AFC                                 32    8   5  19    20   47  −27    29

Stats

Goals
1. Domingos Noya (

Miradela GD) - 25
2. Antoine Duchemin (

Tanques AOE) - 16
3. Seibei Olio (

Katashi-Kanatsu) - 14

Assists
1. Oliwer Starosta, SOU (

Miradela GD) - 16
2. Reizo Yokota (

Katashi-Kanatsu) - 15
3. Maximilien Longchambon (

Tanques AOE) - 15

Clean sheets
1. Gudo Neihof (

Straudum) - 20
2. Wellington Doolan (

Bruncester United AFC) - 13
3. Raye Moineau (

Tanques AOE) - 12

Team of the Year
GK Gudo Neihof (

Straudum)
RB Isabela Basquez (

Branvón CD)
CB Minne van Schelven (

Straudum)
CB Don Carbey (

Cirelbourne United)
LB Alan Brogley (

Bruncester United AFC)
DM Cole Train (

Tanques AOE)
CM Philip Odell (

Advance Alara)
CAM Maximilien Longchambon (

Tanques AOE)
Wing Oliwer Starosta, SOU (

Miradela GD)
SS Samou Vallotton (

Branvón CD)
S Domingos Noya (

Miradela GD)

Qualifiers
CC

Miradela GD
GC

Tanques AOE,

Advance Alara,

Branvón CD
Cygnus

Miradela GD
AOCL

Miradela GD
SBCC Castelo e Calvente CS, Laringen AFC, Echizen, Zinchester Town
VCI

Straudum

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:06 pm

Soccer - Season 30

Ko-orenite Cup

Cup R1

Brighthaven Town (S) 1–1 Llandy (S) (1–2 AET)
Ossendal (N) 1–0 Grainshire United (S)
Schemerdrechtuniversiteit (UN) 1–3 University of Mawryshire (US)
Willowbourne Technological Academy (US) 0–0 Nitoya (Y) (0–1 AET)
Huthwich & Iduloren FC (S) 1–1 Greencaster Technical University (US) (1–1 AET) (4–2 pen.)
Launott (N) 6–1 Gehrenna National University (UN)
Planneige (S) 1–0 Surbourneshire Technical University (US)
Sudaefjolluniversitet (UN) 0–1 Katashi Ika Daigaku (UN)
Honingsweg (N) 1–2 Myaranowra (N)
Maethoru National University (UN) 1–0 Economical Institute of Amandine (US)
Aevanna Ecologiske Universitet (UN) 0–3 Nordorenfjolluniversitet (UN)
Teragaseki (Y) 1–2 Université des Arts d'Aminey (US)
Greencaster Business University (US) 0–1 Leeshire United (S)
Uni of A&E of Grain- and Leeshire (US) 3–2 Rozenvoorde FC (N)
Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US) 1–0 Zinchester Town (S)
Ferncombe (S) 0–1 Grimhof VV (N)
Katashi Yoshima Daigaku (UN) 2–0 Egevea (N)
Technische Universiteit Sterrenwolde (UN) 0–2 Katashi Keizai Daigaku (UN)
Odahayashi (Y) 0–4 Gehrenna FC (N)
Vurusen (Y) 1–1 Dartha AFC (N) (1–2 AET)
Arboren FC (N) 0–4 Willowbourne Institute of Humanities (US)
Limecroft & Abyss FC (S) 1–0 Soothill (S)
Belmore FC (S) 1–2 West Strand Riding University (UN)
Shinsen (N) 1–2 Chamiers (S)
Couziers-Olympiques (S) 3–0 Université de la Côte Austral (US)
Furune Geijutsu Daigaku (UN) 1–3 Sterrenwolde FC (N)
Senoren FC (N) 1–1 Aviansola (Y) (1–1 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Sydberg (S) 0–0 Turnaarde FC (N) (0–0 AET) (4–3 pen.)
Strongfair (S) 1–0 Serevne AFC (N)
Mayara Soccer Guild (N) 2–2 Oai (S) (2–2 AET) (2–3 pen.)
Echizen (Y) 4–1 Langward (S)
Kerkhaven-Rommefort-Combinatie (N) 0–0 National University of Willowbourne (US) (0–0 AET) (4–2 pen.)

Cup R2

Chamiers (S) 1–0 April Bassin FC (N)

Advance Alara (1) 4–0 Shimohavi (Y)
Planneige (S) 2–0 Leeshire United (S)
Tuinderbeek FC (N) 3–0 Dartha AFC (N)

Miradela GD (1) 4–0 Nyashawill (N)

Cirelbourne United (1) 0–3

Aminey CS (1)
Willowbourne Institute of Humanities (US) 2–3

Maynard AFC (1)
Huthwich & Iduloren FC (S) 1–0 Ambergate City (S)
Mawrystwyth (S) 0–0 Castelo e Calvente CS (S) (1–0 AET)
Sterrenwolde FC (N) 1–0 Katashi Ika Daigaku (UN)
Oai (S) 0–1 Couziers-Olympiques (S)
Linderivier AFC (N) 0–1 Argyle Tuesday (S)
Grimhof VV (N) 2–0 Chikuno (Y)
Gehrenna FC (N) 0–1 Fukushira (Y)
Coloruna (S) 1–0 Nitoya (Y)
Launott (N) 0–1

Straudum (1)
Echizen (Y) 2–2

Tanques AOE (1) (2–3 AET)
Kerkhaven-Rommefort-Combinatie (N) 2–0 Anarcourt CF (S)
Amandine AdF (S) 3–3 Uni of A&E of Grain- and Leeshire (US) (3–3 AET) (3–2 pen.)
University of Mawryshire (US) 0–0 Université des Arts d'Aminey (US) (0–0 AET) (4–5 pen.)
Limecroft & Abyss FC (S) 0–2

Katashi-Kanatsu (1)
Aviansola (Y) 1–0 Llandy (S)
Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US) 2–0 Sydberg (S)
Katashi Yoshima Daigaku (UN) 0–0 Otavura (Y) (1–1 AET) (3–1 pen.)
WSR AFC (N) 0–1

Schemerdrecht SVV (1)
Donderen (N) 0–2

Maethoru SC (1)
Strongfair (S) 2–1 Maethoru National University (UN)
Motojagava (Y) 0–0 Branvón CD (1) (1–1 AET) (2–4 pen.)

Bruncester United AFC (1) 1–0 Yonenomura (Y)
West Strand Riding University (UN) 0–2 Myaranowra (N)
Katashi Keizai Daigaku (UN) 2–2 Nordorenfjolluniversitet (UN) (3–3 AET) (1–4 pen.)
Laringen AFC (N) 2–1 Ossendal (N)

Cup R3

Maethoru SC (1) 4–1 Nordorenfjolluniversitet (UN)
Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US) 0–0

Advance Alara (1) (0–0 AET) (3–2 pen.)
Couziers-Olympiques (S) 1–1 Mawrystwyth (S) (1–1 AET) (3–1 pen.)
Aviansola (Y) 1–1 Tuinderbeek FC (N) (1–1 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Sterrenwolde FC (N) 0–1 Katashi Yoshima Daigaku (UN)
Myaranowra (N) 1–0 Kerkhaven-Rommefort-Combinatie (N)

Bruncester United AFC (1) 0–2

Tanques AOE (1)
Laringen AFC (N) 1–0 Strongfair (S)
Grimhof VV (N) 0–0 Coloruna (S) (0–0 AET) (5–4 pen.)

Aminey CS (1) 3–3 Huthwich & Iduloren FC (S) (3–4 AET)
Planneige (S) 1–2

Katashi-Kanatsu (1)

Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 2–1 Fukushira (Y)
Chamiers (S) 0–0

Miradela GD (1) (0–0 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Branvón CD (1) 0–0

Straudum (1) (0–1 AET)

Maynard AFC (1) 1–2 Argyle Tuesday (S)
Université des Arts d'Aminey (US) 0–2 Amandine AdF (S)

Cup R4

Laringen AFC (N) 0–1

Maethoru SC (1)

Miradela GD (1) 1–0 Myaranowra (N)
Katashi Yoshima Daigaku (UN) 0–2

Katashi-Kanatsu (1)
Amandine AdF (S) 0–0 Argyle Tuesday (S) (0–0 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Couziers-Olympiques (S) 1–1 Huthwich & Iduloren FC (S) (2–1 AET)

Schemerdrecht SVV (1) 2–2 Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US) (2–3 AET)

Tanques AOE (1) 2–1

Straudum (1)
Tuinderbeek FC (N) 1–0 Grimhof VV (N)

Cup R5 - Quarterfinals

Tuinderbeek FC (N) 1–5

Tanques AOE (1)
Argyle Tuesday (S) 0–2 Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US)

Maethoru SC (1) 0–2 Couziers-Olympiques (S)

Miradela GD (1) 1–1

Katashi-Kanatsu (1) (2–1 AET)

Cup R6 - Semifinals

Santa Teresa Naval Academy (US) 0–2

Tanques AOE (1)

Miradela GD (1) 2–0 Couziers-Olympiques (S)

Cup R7 - Final

Tanques AOE (1) 1–2

Miradela GD (1)

by **Ko-oren** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:51 am

Baseball - Season 21

Previews

Best infields
The best defences start with the infield. Nothing is supposed to get past them, and a textbook performance starts here.
Tier 1:

Katashi Giants,

Intermare Admirals,

Arakura Knights,

Santa Teresa Stars
Tier 2:

Echizen Dragons,

Aminey Wanderers,

Katashi Generals,

Suvira Quarry
Tier 3:

Teragaseki Dynamo,

Ferrovente Whales,

Amandine Challengers,

Nitoya Silvers

Tier One gives us teams with good players at every position. Some teams, like the

Intermare Admirals, have more than one great player here as well (Sivurila, Holtmaat, at first base and second base), and others get by with having no poor players at all (the

Katashi Giants). Tier Two has teams where the infield typically has one great player, but there is an obvious flaw somewhere. The

Echizen Dragons have Fouquet at first base, but they lack a good player at second base. Once the first base has been taken, we see that the

Echizen Dragons allow more players to advance to second than any other team, across a season. Tier Three is composed of teams that have put little thought into the infield - that said, they just think other parts of the team are more important.

Best outfields
Here are some of the better hitting teams, with quicker, more powerful, or both. The offence often starts here, completed by a good infield.
Tier 1:

Nitoya Silvers,

Amandine Challengers,

Echizen Dragons,

Santa Teresa Stars
Tier 2:

Katashi Generals,

Katashi Giants,

Intermare Admirals,

Suvira Quarry
Tier 3:

Teragaseki Dynamo,

Aminey Wanderers,

Arakura Knights,

Ferrovente Whales

Tier One, while it may look like these are elite units, has some teams with poor spots in the outfield. The

Nitoya Silvers are likely the most complete, with international players at centre- and left field - but they lack a similar individual at right field. Also, the centre and left fielders (Umemura and Shiro) are well into their thirties - but the tiers don't account for that. The

Amandine Challengers, just moved there, have kept their team together for the most part, aided by many new youth signings. It looks like they've hit on something, as a lot of mainlander talent has decided to start their careers early at the

Amandine Challengers. Keep your eyes on Paterson, and Mignard, this might be a show they've got locked down for the next decade. Tier two has decent players here, with the

Katashi Generals clearly better than the rest. Esumi, Kikuchi and Vamada are a good squad, on average maybe better than some Tier one teams - but on the whole there's no deciding player that wins you games.

Best starters
The starting groups are starting to come together. There is no position where teams are so universally divided, having legendary pitchers and subpar pitchers on the same team.
Tier 1:

Aminey Wanderers,

Katashi Giants,

Suvira Quarry,

Ferrovente Whales
Tier 2:

Amandine Challengers,

Teragaseki Dynamo,

Santa Teresa Stars,

Intermare Admirals
Tier 3:

Katashi Generals,

Nitoya Silvers,

Echizen Dragons,

Arakura Knights

This one is the hardest to judge. It really comes down to planning: every team has clear greats and clear almosts. Even Tier One teams, like the

Katashi Giants, have Akija and Kumagaya on the one hand - and Jukimuro and Nagatsuka on the other. Nagatsuka isn't a liability, but we can see the Giants saving up Jukimuro for weaker opponents or less important games. It's harsh, but it is how it is. The

Aminey Wanderers are a weird bunch, with Gavreau and Brands, they have two national teamers, leaving them with almost no funds for the rest of the starters. If you think there's no talent on the Tier Three teams: the

Nitoya Silvers have Uranishi. This category is closer than you'd think.

Best bullpens
Starters only take you so far (the fifth inning, usually). The only thing that matters is the score at the end, so the relievers better be as good as the starters.
Tier 1:

Amandine Challengers,

Intermare Admirals,

Santa Teresa Stars,

Suvira Quarry
Tier 2:

Echizen Dragons,

Arakura Knights,

Katashi Generals,

Teragaseki Dynamo
Tier 3:

Katashi Giants,

Ferrovente Whales,

Aminey Wanderers,

Nitoya Silvers

The differences here are huge. Tier One teams have a massive trump card compared to the rest. The

Katashi Giants are listed in Tier Three, even though they have the largest bullpen. They have choice, but it's more like a dilemma where every choice might be just not enough.

Best catchers
Ko-oren is a little conservative when it comes to calling pitches, and catchers are the go-to database on what's worked this game, what normally works against each batter, and what the pitcher is capable of. The catcher is the biggest asset towards good pitching here.
Tier 1:

Echizen Dragons,

Santa Teresa Stars,

Katashi Generals,

Aminey Wanderers
Tier 2:

Nitoya Silvers,

Ferrovente Whales,

Intermare Admirals,

Amandine Challengers
Tier 3:

Katashi Giants,

Suvira Quarry,

Teragaseki Dynamo,

Arakura Knights

Again, there are big fluctuations per team because this position group is very small. The Tier One nations have catchers that are considered for the World Baseball Classic-winning Greenblues (Kagulazaka, Berganza, Kashiwa, Medin respectively). Tier Two stars off good, but drops off significantly (Arima for the

Nitoya Silvers, is a very good Tier Two catcher).

Overall
Giving four points for a Tier 1 appearance, two for Tier 2 and one for Tier 3, rewarding the positive outliers, here are our teams:
1.

Santa Teresa Stars - 18
2.

Intermare Admirals - 14
3.

Amandine Challengers - 13
4.

Echizen Dragons - 13
5.

Suvira Quarry - 13
6.

Katashi Giants - 12
7.

Aminey Wanderers - 12
8.

Katashi Generals - 11
9.

Ferrovente Whales - 9
10.

Nitoya Silvers - 9
11.

Arakura Knights - 9
12.

Teragaseki Dynamo - 7

So, given last season, we can see that the

Santa Teresa Stars are spending like they are a top 3 team - which, given their status, they should be. The

Intermare Admirals had a decent team, finished last due to uncertainty around the move, but now in their second season as a mainlander team, they should be competing. The

Amandine Challengers were second last season, kept their team, but now face the same problems in their first season on the mainland (having come from Aonishi). The

Echizen Dragons and

Suvira Quarry are still in the top 6, like their finish last season. Very solid mid-table teams, that might surprise for a playoff spot (in the top 3). Both Katashi teams, the

Katashi Giants and the

Katashi Generals, finshed in the top 4 last season, but they seem to have dropped a little. The Giants are too hot-and-cold, with some great positions and some abysmal ones, and the Generals are not top in anything, really. The

Aminey Wanderers are looking to finally leave the stream of bottom-3 finishes, while now at the bottom we find the cursed

Arakura Knights (despite their 3rd place last season!), the

Teragaseki Dynamo, the

Nitoya Silvers, and the

Ferrovente Whales - the latter three all in the bottom 6 of last year.

Standings

Pld     W    L    Win % 
 1 Santa Teresa Stars        132    80   52    0.606 - Final
 2 Aminey Wanderers          132    80   52    0.606 - Semifinal
 3 Amandine Challengers      132    79   53    0.598 - Semifinal
 4 Echizen Dragons           132    71   61    0.538
 5 Katashi Generals          132    70   62    0.530
 6 Intermare Admirals        132    70   62    0.530
 7 Suvira Quarry             132    61   71    0.462
 8 Nitoya Silvers            132    59   73    0.447
 9 Teragaseki Dynamo         132    59   73    0.447
10 Katashi Giants            132    56   76    0.424
11 Arakura Knights           132    54   78    0.409
12 Ferrovente Whales         132    53   79    0.402

The

Santa Teresa Stars, as expected, win the right to go straight to the final! The

Aminey Wanderers, on their first season where every single home game is played in Aminey, and the

Amandine Challengers, on their first season in the mainland region of Amandine, get to play the semifinals. The

Amandine Challengers were here last year as well, and at the time they qualified for the final - which they then lost 4-2.

Let's hope for them that this year will be different.

Finals
Semifinals

Aminey Wanderers          2 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0  6
Amandine Challengers      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Amandine Challengers      0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 1  5
Aminey Wanderers          0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  4

Amandine Challengers      1 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0  8
Aminey Wanderers          1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0  5

Aminey Wanderers          0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  3
Amandine Challengers      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Aminey Wanderers          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2
Amandine Challengers      0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 X  4

The Semifinal is a best-of-5. For the first time ever, this entire series is played on the mainland - and not just that: it's played in the same subdivision of Ko-oren throughout. This kind of setup was just not possible two years ago: the

Aminey Wanderers still travelled between Aminey and other cities as a home base (hence the nickname, Wanderers). The

Amandine Challengers used to be from Aonishi, an industrial city in Ko-oren's east. It sure looks like the battle between baseball and cricket for the province of Cote Austral is won by baseball - that's a big population of potential baseball fans. Anyhow, to the series.

Game 1 was just stating the intent of both teams, and a resounding victory to Amandine. The Wanderers have a scary pitching lineup, and they gave Gavreau the starting job. He's been excellent for the Greenblues, but today he was off: when he was taken off in the fifth, he'd already allowed 4 runs (enter the Challengers' big hitter, Addison Paterson). Paterson homered to get him and Mignard home in the first. Campbell, the Challengers' pitcher, struck out the Wanderers whenever he wanted, and it's due to the quickness of Barrande that they got the single run.

Game 2 was slightly longer, and more even. Scoring was put off to very late in the game, with both relievers (Hamasaki and Delacroix) giving up a lot of hits.

Game 3 meant that both teams have had a lead in this series, the Challengers now just one win away from a second consecutive final. Aminey went with Beaugendre, the weakest starter - and they knew right away. Two home runs across ten at-bats scored seven runs for the Challengers, one of the largest innings of the entire season!

Game 4 made things more interesting at 2-2. Aminey fought back, they returned to their best pitcher in Brands, and made very sensible moves all the way through. Conservativism was the name of the game, and they scored three runs in the end.

Game 5 - here it is. the Challengers are back to the final.

Final

Santa Teresa Stars        1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Amandine Challengers      0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 X  3

Amandine Challengers      0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0  3
Santa Teresa Stars        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Amandine Challengers      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Santa Teresa Stars        0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  4

Santa Teresa Stars        0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0  4
Amandine Challengers      0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Santa Teresa Stars        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Amandine Challengers      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 X  6

Amandine Challengers      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Santa Teresa Stars        0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 X  6

Amandine Challengers      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2  4
Santa Teresa Stars        1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

The Final took place across all seven games in the ABBA system. It was a back-and-forth, the Challengers taking an early 2-0 lead, then giving that up as the Stars went 2-2, then 3-3, until finally, after 10 innings, the Challengers won their championship. The Challengers had another giant inning late in the fifth game, down 3-0 but coming back 3-6 with all six runs scored in a single inning! It's never over until it's over, and nothing is impossible here. The Stars had the record up to that point with four runs in the third game for a 4-1 victory.

Generally, relievers and finishers were great for both teams, the majority of runs were scored in the middle of the game - the late innings for the starting pitchers. The Challengers have the better starters, the Stars have the better relievers. In the final three games, they kept the Stars to three runs in the first five innings of each game combined! Though the Stars gave up very few runs in the final hour of the game - except for the 6-3 loss and the very last game.

In the last game, looking at a 2-0 deficit, the Challengers kept their foes runless while they barely fought themselves back in - then scored two runs in extra innings. The series was one innings too long for the Stars.

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Apr 06, 2019 4:43 am

Gridiron season 44

Previews

East
Offence
1.

Schemerdrecht 65ers
2.

Aerellen Explosions
3.

Aminey Caspians
4.

Noordrug Astronauts
5.

Schemerdrecht Admirals
6.

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies

The

Schemerdrecht 65ers are going into the season with the best offence of the East. Their gameplan is as complete as it gets, and they are able to rely on a host of different playmakers. Especially TE Van Luttert and RB Galway, paired with an above-average QB in Leroy Fullmore. The O-line is solid, more so around the edges than in the centre, and Galway runs horizontally more than vertically as a result. Their main weakness is their poor receiving corps other than Van Luttert. The

Aerellen Explosions come second, boasting one of the league's best signalcallers in Aolif Arerira, aided by a great O-line - again, best around the edges and poorer in the centre. Arerira will have to shoulder the bulk of the offence as the front office didn't really help him with skill positions: WR Varafin is fine, and RB Alaraicia is alright despite hitting the 30s, but that's it as far as their skill positions go. Next are the

Aminey Caspians, who again build their offence around hitting WR Lokaguthen and WR Crozier, with an average QB in Mati Sylvestre. OG Verninac can keep his jersey clean, but there is no running possible with this roster. The

Noordrug Astronauts are not much worse than the Caspians, though they have a poor QB. Their skill positions are well above average though, and they can get a running game going pretty easily with RB Svenszoon and TE Antonsen. The latter is the star of the offence, and the O-line is well built as well. OG Brande might be in his 30s, he's a good candidate for the national team already. Fifth are the

Schemerdrecht Admirals, mostly due to a very poor QB in Robbe de Croon whom they just can't seem to replace. TE Klijn and national team RB Mannussen keep this offence alive most of the time, and they might have the best O-line in the league - so it's running to set up a rare pass. Last are the

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies, never a great offensive powerhouse, but they are very happy to have QB Robin Reeman, with his experience and quality. As long as he gets enough time to hit WR Schoolhendrik or RB Olink, this team might extend a drive, but the awful O-line means that Reeman will have to throw quick or not at all.

Defence
1.

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies
2.

Schemerdrecht 65ers
3.

Aminey Caspians
4.

Aerellen Explosions
5.

Noordrug Astronauts
6.

Schemerdrecht Admirals

So this is

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies territory. Despite the questionable secondary (once the pride of the team), there is so much pressure on the O-line and the QBs from DT Avink, DE Bakker and MLB Fokke that running will be hard and time to develop a play is hard to come by. With SS Dollen, they can gameplan some receivers away too. If only there were better cornerbacks on this team, they would have had more than enough to cover for the offence's mistakes. Nextare the

Schemerdrecht 65ers, a team as complete as it gets. Zone defence is hardly possible with this roster, to start with the bad points. DT Braakjans and DE Maatman give this team the second best D-line after the Dragonflies in the entire league, and CB Ensink is likely the best CB in the country at the moment. MLB Keijser has developed very well, but that's as far as this defence goes. Third are the

Aminey Caspians, who don't really have any bad spots but don't have the players to continuously stop offences either. CB Dutertre is a huge addition to this team, as is OLB Moreau, and they single-handedly take this team from fifth to third or so. Next are the

Aerellen Explosions, who somehow are the last team in this division alphabetically. There are loads of gaps on this team, especially in the middle of the field between the safeties and linebackers. There isn't really a player to get very excited about - but their worst unit is probably better than any other team's worst unit. It's just a very bland team. Fifth are the

Noordrug Astronauts and CB Nieuwstroom shows that Ko-oren will have a very potent secondary in the next World Bowl, after years of mediocre secondary play. For the rest, this roster is pretty bare but only the D-line is truly bad. Last are the

Schemerdrecht Admirals, who missed on a few picks and are now left with a sub-par team. DE Binnenpoorte is a great pass-rusher on the national team and one of the biggest earners on the team, but other than that we have S Reinsma, MLB Mulders and DT Ter Meulen - but they can't carry this team.

West
Offence
1.

Mayara Destroyers
2.

Mawryshire Centaurs
3.

Mayara Wolves
4.

Willowbourne Saints
5.

Eaglebury Emperors
6.

Greencaster Godspeed

On to the West. The best offence should be the

Mayara Destroyers', led by QB Kizaunthaunden who is probably a little better than most QBs, but it's his cast where this team shines. WR Patrasthen, and Whitlock, TE Tharadhen, RB Jurethen, this is probably the most star-filled roster in the league. The O-line will give Kizaunthaunden time, especially OT Tathinden who should be the Destroyers' long time answer at LT. Second is the

Mawryshire Centaurs, with a middle-of-the-road QB in yThollhas, but like the Destroyers they have some talent at the skill positions. WR ySarrwdd is just fine, but TE Pwlh is an absolute mismatch wherever you field him, and RB yGwmrwll is a great find in their second division team. The O-line is spectacular between OT yPeolewf and C ySegrwm. Next are the

Mayara Wolves, and so we've had the two teams from the capital this high up the power rankings. QB play in the West remains a problem, and Loder fits that narrative. Utility player Garsasunthen mostly operates as kick/punt returner but sees the field as a pass catching running back as well, and he should be the biggest pain for any defensive coordinator. WR Junstarin deserves a call to the national team asap as well. The rest of the unit isn't bad, but it's not great either. Fourth are the

Willowbourne Saints. They added a lot of depth this offseason but maybe they would have wanted some starters as well. The O-line is monstrous with Schildwacht, McLelland and Welsh - but the QB (Hedgecock) isn't going to do much and who is he going to throw it to? Second last we find the

Eaglebury Emperors. Surprisingly, we find a quality QB this low: Stanley Parkes. He is surrounded by some of the worst supporting cast in the league, unfortunately. How come none of our 12 teams can find some decent combinations? TE Kagageera might be the most apt, and the line is pretty good too, but they've got no receivers. This could be a very one-dimensional team. Lastly there are the

Greencaster Godspeed, who might have the best kicker in Ko-oren (Abner Bennett) but the offence itself is a dumpsterfire. One of the worst (if not the worst) QB in Whistling, together with absolutely nobody to catch the ball, a great running back behind a mediocre-to-bad line.

Defence
1.

Mayara Destroyers
2.

Eaglebury Emperors
3.

Greencaster Godspeed
4.

Mayara Wolves
5.

Willowbourne Saints
6.

Mawryshire Centaurs

The West, as a whole, has worse defences than the East. The Destroyers would be up there in any division, but the Wolves, Saints and Centaurs would all compete for 6th in the East. Individual talent on the

Mayara Destroyers is fantastic, with OLB Gunmothinden, MLB Haserin, FS Mesjathaunden and DT Rusadhin, there are players in every level of this defence that can tear any offence apart. Naming OLB Piralasthen and DE Haunidhinden as 'average' players on this defence means that the Destroyers are STACKED. Second are the Emperors, because nobody is going to top these Destroyers. They've had a nice influx of local talent that has to show up to give this team a chance. S Minjarrah, OLB Darknoll, DT Farrier: there are three capable units here but it can get rough arond the edges and there will be depth issues. Third are the

Greencaster Godspeed who've mostly assembled their great players to pressure the O-line. OLB Henry, MLB Casey and DE Burton are all new forces on this team and it should take them to a much higher level immediately. Fourth are the

Mayara Wolves, and this division gets ugly very quickly. The Godspeed are fine, but the last three teams on the division just don't have good defensive play. OLB Daunaringun is the only one I expect to show up, and this team is horrible in the trenches. The rest is not good enough to cover for that. Bear that in mind as we look at number five and we realise that there are two worse teams than that, starting with the

Willowbourne Saints. There is depth here, and there is talent outside the secondary, but if nobody steps up, there's not much star power here. The

Mawryshire Centaurs are last, and a busy offseason can't change that. DT yMonras will have to deliver, but there's nobody to deliver to. Double-team him and there's heaps of space behind him.

Regular Season, Stage 1

In the first 11 rounds, every team plays every other team once. This includes 5 divisional matchups and 6 games against teams in the other division.

KGL                              Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Mayara Destroyers                 11   10   0   1    0.909    0.909
 2 Schemerdrecht 65ers               11    9   0   2    0.818    0.818
 3 Mayara Wolves                     11    7   1   3    0.682    0.700
 4 Mawryshire Centaurs               11    7   0   4    0.636    0.636
 5 Noordrug Astronauts               11    5   1   5    0.500    0.500
 6 Aerellen Explosions               11    5   1   5    0.500    0.500
 7 Eaglebury Emperors                11    5   0   6    0.455    0.455
 8 Greencaster Godspeed              11    4   1   6    0.409    0.400
 9 Aminey Caspians                   11    4   1   6    0.409    0.400
10 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies          11    4   0   7    0.364    0.364
11 Schemerdrecht Admirals            11    3   1   7    0.318    0.300
12 Willowbourne Saints               11    0   0  11    0.000    0.000

Entirely as expected, the

Mayara Destroyers are the best team in the first round. Week five had the biggest fixture of them all, between the hyped teams in the West and East, Destroyers versus 65ers (

Mayara Destroyers 16–23

Schemerdrecht 65ers). This was the one thing stopping the Destroyers from winning all games, and again no team has gone 11-0 in the first stage. The

Aerellen Explosions came close last season (10-0-0) and so have the

Mayara Destroyers. At least it's reassuring to see that the biggest teams of the preseason have delivered in the regular season. The

Schemerdrecht 65ers, in turn, lost twice (

Schemerdrecht 65ers 9–14

Mayara Wolves) and (

Schemerdrecht 65ers 19–30

Schemerdrecht Admirals). Really, that last result happened. The 11th team on the list stopped the 65ers from topping the table!

Behind the two contenders, we see the

Mayara Wolves with a great start but then getting worse as the season went on (three losses in the last four weeks) and they lost to the

Mawryshire Centaurs,

Mayara Destroyers, and

Aerellen Explosions. In the divisional round, as we will see, there is another Mayara city derby and what a game that should be. One with direct playoff implications, that is. In fourth, we have another Western team, the

Mawryshire Centaurs. They had a poor start with losses to the 65ers, Dragonflies, Destroyers and Emperors. That last one should sting, it might just be the decider so they can't go to the semifinals with two excellent Mayara teams in the same division - and the Centaurs and Emperors are huge rivals. Then we have two Eastern teams, which looks like the worse division for now. The

Noordrug Astronauts and the

Aerellen Explosions look to be among the Eastern semifinal contenders for now, but both couldn't win more than they lost.

The

Willowbourne Saints are the first team to go 0-0-11. Honestly, they shouldn't be this bad, right?

Regular Season, Stage 2

WEST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Eaglebury Emperors                 5    4   0   1    0.800    0.800
 2 Willowbourne Saints                5    4   0   1    0.800    0.800
 3 Mayara Destroyers                  5    2   1   2    0.500    0.500
 4 Mawryshire Centaurs                5    2   0   3    0.400    0.400
 5 Mayara Wolves                      5    1   2   2    0.400    0.333
 6 Greencaster Godspeed               5    0   1   4    0.100    0.000
 
    EAST                             Pld    W   D   L    Win %    Win % 
 1 Schemerdrecht 65ers                5    5   0   0    1.000    1.000
 2 Aerellen Explosions                5    3   1   1    0.700    0.750
 3 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies           5    2   1   2    0.500    0.500
 4 Aminey Caspians                    5    2   0   3    0.400    0.400
 5 Schemerdrecht Admirals             5    1   0   4    0.200    0.200
 6 Noordrug Astronauts                5    1   0   4    0.200    0.200

The second stage is fought within the division only, so we'll approach this per group.

In the West, the Destroyers haven't had a great time. Losses to the Emperors and the Saints - the surprises of the group, both going 4-0-1. The Saints! 0-0-11 in the first stage, and look at them now! It won't be enough for the playoffs, but at least it might take them off last place. The Centaurs and Wolves, the other good teams from Stage 1, clock in just behind the Destroyers, neither one taking advantage of the poor Destroyers' period.

In the East, the 65ers look sure of the next round, and they added 5 more wins to their record. If that isn't a lock for the Bowl, I don't know what is. They've been dominant all season. Two out of five wins were by a single score, the rest was well out of reach. The

Aerellen Explosions will join them in the semis, finishing second again. The Dragonflies redeem their season somewhat, while the Admirals and Astronauts had no business here.

Regular Season Derbies

Mawryshire Centaurs 7–10

Eaglebury Emperors

Mawryshire Centaurs 3–20

Eaglebury Emperors

Willowbourne Saints 27–20

Greencaster Godspeed

Willowbourne Saints 19–20

Greencaster Godspeed

Mayara Destroyers 23–23

Mayara Wolves

Mayara Destroyers 31–9

Mayara Wolves

Noordrug Astronauts 12–23

Aerellen Explosions

Noordrug Astronauts 29–17

Aerellen Explosions

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies 6–30

Aminey Caspians

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies 10–16

Aminey Caspians

Schemerdrecht 65ers 20–13

Schemerdrecht Admirals

Schemerdrecht 65ers 19–30

Schemerdrecht Admirals

With that, let's look at the final table.

Regular Season Final Standings

East                             Pld    W   D   L
 1 Schemerdrecht 65ers               16   14   0   2
 2 Aerellen Explosions               16    8   2   6
 3 Aminey Caspians                   16    6   1   9*
 4 Noordrug Astronauts               16    6   1   9*
 5 Sterrenwolde Dragonflies          16    6   1   9*
 6 Schemerdrecht Admirals            16    4   1  11

   West                             Pld    W   D   L
 1 Mayara Destroyers                 16   12   1   3
 2 Eaglebury Emperors                16    9   0   7*
 3 Mawryshire Centaurs               16    9   0   7*
 4 Mayara Wolves                     16    8   3   5
 5 Greencaster Godspeed              16    4   2  10
 6 Willowbourne Saints               16    4   0  12

Lots of tiebreakers:

In the East, there was a three way tie. Each team involved won one series - and won both games in that series, so the table between them looks like three 2-0-2 teams. The point differential has to do something for us here, and it does. The Caspians are on a net +21, the Dragonflies on a -15 due to awful losses to the Caspians (that 6-30 really hurts) and the Astronauts are on -6.

Caspians - Dragonflies: Caspians by 30 (2-0)
Dragonflies - Astronauts: Dragonflies by 15 (2-0)
Astronauts - Caspians: Astronauts by 9 (2-0)

The Western tiebreaker was a lot easier, it were just two teams. Even better, they're rivals and the winner takes a semifinal spot. The Emperors went into the last game on a 3 point win. So it turned out that those Stage 1 events did decide on the semifinalist after all! The Emperors won the last game by 17 points so they'll be going to the postseason. Again, this one stings.

Playoffs

Schemerdrecht 65ers (East)         7 17  3  7  34
Aerellen Explosions (East)         7  7  3  7  24

Mayara Destroyers (West)           3 14  6 14  37
Eaglebury Emperors (West)          0  0 14  0  14

The divisional finals have gone, and we have our Ko-oren Bowl final! In the regular season, there was simply no way to stop the

Schemerdrecht 65ers and the

Mayara Destroyers - though the latter had more of a slump than the former. In the Semifinals, they show once again how dominant they are, the

Mayara Destroyers have absolutely no trouble with the

Eaglebury Emperors. Scoring in every single quarter, from a field goal late in Q1, to two touchdowns on consecutive drives in Q2, and for a minute it looked like the tables turned in Q3. On the first drive immediately after the kickoff, the Destroyers settled for a field goal from the 20-yard line on 4th-and-4. They now took a 20-0 lead so why not - and the Emperors nearly made them pay. The next drive, they get something together. Stanley Parkes finds his poor receiving corps a few times in a row, Kagageera gets three receptions on just the one drive, and Parkes himself smashes in from the 2-yard line. The next play, Kizaunthaunden throws an INT to the Emperors' CB Wongar who returns to the 10-yard line. From here, RB Wanorra goes the distance for 14 points in 3 minutes: 20-14. The

Mayara Destroyers get it together from here on out though, score another field goal, then shut out the Emperors for the remainder of the game. In the end, a 37-14 scoreline looks like a complete blowout - but it was 20-14 towards the end of the third quarter and it is really on the Emperors to not take it from there and upset the Destroyers.

The East was a little closer again, trading blows for most of the game. Both get a touchdown in the first quarter after trading punts on both teams' first drives. The third quarter, both teams start slow with 6-7 minute drives each, both resulting in field goals. Then we've skipped over the second quarter, which is where the difference between the teams shows. The

Aerellen Explosions first go to a 14-7 lead: MVP-candidate Aolif Arerira finds WR Varafin for a 24-yard gain, then Alaraicia on a 14-yard screen pass, Varafin again for 48 yards and then hands it to Alaraicia again for the 2-yard touchdown. After this, the 65ers show their class: QB Fullmore finds his incredible duo at TE and RB, Van Luttert and Galway, who combine for 79 yards on the drive for the touchdown. The next play, Alaraicia fumbles, recovered by Maatman (don't tell me we haven't warned you about this!), and Fullmore, Van Luttert and Galway do the rest for another 7 points. With an extra field goal, and trading touchdowns in the fourth, the

Schemerdrecht 65ers go to the final!

Schemerdrecht 65ers (East)         3  0  3 10  16
Mayara Destroyers (West)          14  7  6 10  37

And here we are! Congratulations to the

Mayara Destroyers on their title! After season 41's lost final to the

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies, the

Mayara Destroyers are the second team to make the final twice in the modern era. They've now made the playoffs on three occasions - and that makes them the most successful team of the modern era as well. As a sidenote, prior to this season only two teams haven't made the playoffs in the 4 years the modern era's lasted: the

Eaglebury Emperors and the

Schemerdrecht 65ers - and they've both done it this year! Talk about parity.

For the first time, a team breaks the 20-point barrier in the final as well. So far, 17 points were enough to win the final on all three occasions (17-13, 17-16, 17-13) and the

Mayara Destroyers needed a little more than the first quarter to land 21 points. Most of the Mayara offence was relegated to a side-thought in the semifinals, but here they shone like never before: QB Kizaunthaunden took his WRs, Patrasthen and Whitlock, as well as his TE Tharadhen to a much deserved championship, on possibly the QB's last season. The rest of the skill positions will stay together for a few more years, most of them in their early 20s. What a relief to the fans and the front office that they get a championship out of this incredibly skilled team.

On the back of the game, QB Nelunrosun Kizaunthaunden announced his retirement. He commented that winning the championship aided his decision, otherwise he might have kept going for another year. C Ben Geerts of the losing team also retires.

Developmental Leagues
D-league Final:
Laringen Ravens 12-20 Aminey Bengals

KG2 Finals:
Eaglebury Dusk 36-33 Launott Caps
Ora Australis 27-12 Aevanna Phoenix

Eaglebury Dusk 37-15 Ora Australis

Season Stats
Offence of the year:

Mayara Destroyers
Defence of the year:

Eaglebury Emperors
Team of the year:

Schemerdrecht 65ers

League MVP: Lloyd Whitlock, WR

Mayara Destroyers
QB of the year: Aolif Arerira, QB

Aerellen Explosions
RB of the year: Garathen Jurethen, RB

Mayara Destroyers
Receiver of the year: Gwerwd Pwlh, TE

Mawryshire Centaurs
Pass rusher of the year: Elijah Farrier, DT

Eaglebury Emperors
Defensive back of the year: Peter Dollen, SS

Sterrenwolde Dragonflies
ST of the year: Zeb Drogace, R

Eaglebury Emperors

Postseason Announcements
QB Nelunrosun Kizaunthaunden retires (Hall of Very Good)
QB Ambrose Hedgecock retires
CB Jacob Nijdekker retires
C Ben Geerts retires

by **Ko-oren** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 2:06 am

Cricket - Season 9

Format and scheduling
No adjustments have been made compared to previous season. First class matches are still four days long, with a full round robin between the six First Class teams. Bonus points remain the same as well. Twelve points are awarded for a win, six for a draw, eight for a tie and zero for a loss. Seven bonus points are awarded for a win by an innings or a win by 10 wickets. A team can get a maximum of five points for bowling per innings, and a maximum of five points for batting per innings.

The international calendar remains cramped as always, between the long domestic season, the Test Cricket matches that the Dragonflies have now participated in for two straight seasons, and the two One Day International series scheduled against the Plough Islands and Darmen. Therefore, each team will still only play seven List-A matches. The KCA feels like the Test and T20 formats are most important to excel at, so the ODI-length format is not restored to its original length of ten rounds. In return, the List-A competition is the first competition to be completed, ensuring that all of the early-season hype goes towards that competition.

May: 7x LA
June: 4x FC
July: 11x T20 + final
August: 4x FC
September: 2x FC

Preview (In alphabetical order)

East Surbourneshire has got a competent strike force, and will especially expect much from their openers, Shapter and Langhorne. Shapter is a young player that should be their starter for years to come, Langhorne should be able to teach him until he's completely ready. While the batsmen are the better players on this team, they have two great bowlers in Harvey and Fox. The former is a national teamer, the latter is still waiting for the first call-up. Together they are a dangerous ambidextrous fast-bowling duo. The team has no players over 29 and after years of poor play, they are on the way up, especially after their local pride won the T20 last season.

Greencaster are all about the batting this year. Igglesden and Crawford have both earned a national team spot as openers, and they are backed by the likes of Baldry and Ahern - both of which have also appeared for the Greenblues. They also have Gilbert Wheelwright behind the wicket, but other than that there are no massive stars. Cyril Treadway is on the team as well as an all-rounder, basically the player to make this position so important to Ko-oren. They have a very young and a very old core, with not much in between.

Leeshire have a very old group of players, and they will need to promote a few youngsters next year or thereafter. They had a small start of promotions this year, with Arnold Douglas (all-rounder) and Dirhonindhen (batsman) at the forefront as players that should make an immediate impact. Beyond that, the team revolves around Grover Treadway (brother to the

Greencaster player) as an opener, with White, Stanway and Dirhonindhen following him. Douglas as an all-rounder should be an upgrade straight away, and in Raycraft, Etherington and Courtenay they have capable bowlers with international experience. This is the team to look at this year.

Mawryshire, as always, rely only on home-grown talent. This goes for most teams, but only

Mawryshire allows no players that have any ties to another cricketing region, limiting their talent pool somewhat. They don't seem to be much worse off, only there are no big-impact players that you could look at to set a nice target or take a wicket in a pinch. Or at least, they have some Greenblues: yChaegrheodd, yMharwn, yRheighewn, yFhireath... it seems that the KCA thinks there are only batsmen in the region. That's not entirely true: they have a great wicketkeeper in yCherwean.

West Surbourneshire's talent is spread out among positions, with a bit of a focus on openers and bowlers. That's not talent that should go wasted, as Ko-oren is far stronger at bat than bowling, so the West may have an advantage here, together with

Leeshire and

East Surbourneshire. Twaddle with the new 19-year old Leaby starting, then Welsh in the middle of it all, and the nation's captain Marsden and another new discovery Bartley to take the wickets, this might be an outsider to win a title this year.

Willowbourne, historically the smallest talent pool of all regions, have gotten creative again and are now playing a few newly promoted players alongside the narrow group of stars. There is one area where the Willowburnians are thriving, and that is at wicketkeeper... if only they could trade one away, or something. Meredith and Wilkins, what a duo. Lincoln, a right-handed spinner, has come into his prime, and Stevenson will get a few runs early for the team as well. They also have Doyle and Hooligan of Greenblue quality, but the youthful rest of the team will have to earn their respect.

List-A

These are the List-A standings after five matches.

Greencaster and

Mawryshire get four wins each, and advance to the championship round together with

Leeshire - who'd have expected they would have to qualify by the skin of their teeth? Both Surbourneshires and

Willowbourne go to the Challenge round.

KC1DL                   Pld    W   D   L
1 Greencaster               5    4   0   1
2 Mawryshire                5    4   0   1
3 Leeshire                  5    3   0   2

4 West Surbourneshire       5    2   0   3
5 East Surbourneshire       5    1   0   4
6 Willowbourne              5    1   0   4

The sparks don't exactly fly, with only totals between 200 and 300. That doesn't make for interesting cricket by itself though! It only means there were no huge first innings totals or any implosions - and that's what we like to see. Six regions that are neck-and-neck.

In the Championship Group,

Greencaster get a final-ball win to take

Mawryshire's 245 target.

Leeshire come up short in their bout against

Greencaster, the chase stalling out in the final over - they needed 10, they got only 3.

Leeshire then post a Round-best 286, but

Mawryshire show that their low expectations doesn't put them with their back against the wall at all! They match the target in under 40 overs!

T20

KT20L                    Pld    W   L 
 1 Penstead Pirates          11    8   3 - Final
 2 Aubury Maroons            11    8   3 - Final
 3 Willowbourne Zenith       11    7   4
 4 Linieux Lieutenants       11    7   4
 5 Norille Chevron Vert      11    6   5
 6 Greencaster Heralds       11    6   5
 7 Burnet Rubies             11    6   5
 8 Mayara Marauders          11    6   5
 9 Idyllwild Antlers         11    3   8
10 Mawrystwyth Mustangs      11    3   8
11 Greencaster Bears         11    3   8
12 Eastern Miners            11    3   8

Shortest innings: Round 10,

Greencaster Heralds successful chase over

Burnet Rubies, 7-112 versus 10-109, in 12 overs

Highest score: Round 6,

Mayara Marauders set a target of 220, losing two wickets, on four players setting 11 RPO

Highest successful chase: Round 9,

Burnet Rubies overcoming the

Greencaster Bears' target of 164, getting 7-167 in 18.4 overs

T20 Final

Aubury Maroons 163/5 (20 overs)
Penstead Pirates 177/4 (20 overs)

First Class

Standings
Team                W D L T Bat Bowl IW PTS
Willowbourne        4 1 5 0 31  14   0  54+45 = 99
Greencaster         6 1 3 0 27  25   14 78+52+14 = 144
East Surbourneshire 2 3 5 0 14  10   7  42+24+7 = 73
West Surbourneshire 3 2 5 0 13  7    0  48+20 = 68
Mawryshire          1 6 3 0 35  5    7  48+40+7 = 95
Leeshire            6 3 1 0 38  19   7  90+57+7 = 154

Mawryshire knew how to make their narrow team work by taking nearly every single match to a draw - dragging out massive innings in the hope that the opponent would need more than two days to match their single innings' target. In the end, it works for them in the sense that they aren't last - they leave both Surbourneshires behind them - but they couldn't challenge the top few teams. The Surbourneshires have had a poor season, and especially

West Surbourneshire would have wanted something else. They won three matches, but none of them impressive. Even in their losses, they just could not make it close, giving way long innings and barely scoring in their own.

Willowbourne have a mixed season, finishing third, but it's

Greencaster and

Leeshire, as expected, that have made an impact. Both won six out of 10, but

Leeshire made sure to turn the remaining matches into draws for the most of it.

Leeshire even out-slugged

Mawryshire, yet

Greencaster were masters at cutting their opponents short (and getting two innings wins out of it).

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