Tournament Rules

Learn more about who makes the tournament rules, how the competition operates, and find answers to the questions most frequently asked by participants in the Altador Cup.

The Committee

Have you ever wondered who is behind the workings of the Altador Cup? Who decides which Yooyus to use or which team should play against which? Wonder no more -- it's the Altador Cup Rules Committee, a highly respected group of officials that carefully examines all game play to make sure the rules are being properly applied. The Rules Committee's oversight ensures that the Altador Cup is fun and fair for all the teams involved, and they take their responsibilities in reviewing petitions and disputes very seriously!

While some might feel that they are too strict, the committee's decisions play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the tournament. Though there have been times when popular opinion has been against the committee or one of its decisions, nobody doubts that the committee members' actions are always motivated by a desire to protect the best interests of the Altador Cup.

Altador Cup IX

When is the Altador Cup?

The Altador Cup schedule is as follows:

5/12-5/21 Tournament pre-event
5/22-6/01 Team sign-ups and practice rounds begin.
6/02-6/30 Tournament play takes place
7/01-7/02 Tiebreaker played (if necessary)
7/2 Y16 Altador Cup champions are announced and the Prize Shop opens.

Each stage of the tournament begins at 12:00:00 A.M. NST and ends at 11:59:59 P.M. NST.

What is the Altador Cup?
Since making its triumphant return in Y8 after a 1,000-year hiatus, the Altador Cup has become a cornerstone of Neopian sporting culture. The tournament is held each year at the famed Colosseum in Altador, where teams take the field to play Altador's traditional game, Yooyuball. Each Altador Cup commences with a week-long sign-up period and practice session, in which participants can choose a team and brush up on their skills. This year, the practice round will begin on Friday, May 25th and run through Thursday, May 31st. The practice session is then followed by a quartet of six-day rounds to determine the team that will win the coveted Altador Cup. In this year's tournament, 18 teams from the lands of Neopia will once again gather in Altador to compete in Yooyuball, along with three side games, Make Some Noise, Slushie Slinger, and Shootout Showdown.

The celebrated centrepiece of the Altador Cup is Yooyuball, which has been played in Altador for centuries. In Yooyuball, the object is to throw the ball into the opposing team's goal. Slings are used to carry and throw the ball, which is a curled-up Petpet called a Yooyu. Yooyus are native to Altador, and the strongest Yooyus are rigorously trained to participate in this prestigious tournament. Seven different types of Yooyu are used in the game, each of which has its own special attributes. Players never know which type of Yooyu will appear during the match, giving Yooyuball an element of unpredictability. Teams must be able to adjust their strategy and play depending on the type of Yooyu currently being used if they hope to be competitive in the Altador Cup.

To learn more about the history of the modern Altador Cup, please read the Neopedia entry.

The Rules Committee
The three highly respected Altadorians who make up the Altador Cup Rules Committee have been entrusted with the duty of ensuring that the rules of Yooyuball are being followed properly. Though their decisions have occasionally been unpopular, everyone can agree that the Rules Committee's dedication to their task makes the Altador Cup more fun and more fair for all those who participate. It is due to their hard work that the Altador Cup runs smoothly year after year and remains Neopia's most celebrated sporting event.

How do I participate?

How the Tournament Works:

Start by joining one of the 18 teams that are competing in the Altador Cup this year. It's easy to do. You don't have to join a team to play the Altador Cup games, but you won't earn any prize shop points or have a chance of winning one of the cool Altodor Cup trophies unless you're playing for a team.
This year, the Altador Cup tournament once again pits 18 teams, representing the lands of Neopia, against each other. A few teams have had some significant roster shake-ups since the last tournament, so keep an eye on them!
Tournament play is made up of five rounds. For each round, six teams will be placed into one of three brackets. During the round, every team in the bracket will play each other once.
Each day, your team will face a new opponent. You must contribute as much as you can to your team by playing not only Yooyuball, but also Slushie Slinger, Make Some Noise, and Shootout Showdown.
This year, there will be four "bye" days. The bye days will happen once per round during the first four rounds, and will not fall on either the first or last day of a round.
Your results in each daily match-up contribute to your team's overall standing in the tournament. Please remember to help your team win all four daily match-ups.
At the conclusion of every round, each team in a bracket will be rewarded points based on how they played in comparison to the other teams in their bracket. With each subsequent round, the point values increase, allowing teams that may have gotten off to a rocky start to catch up toward the end. After all five rounds have been played, the teams. points will be tallied up and (if necessary) any ties will be broken. The following Monday, the results will be revealed and the champions will be named!
New match-ups begin promptly at 12:00:00 A.M. NST every day. If there are any ties that need to be broken, the tiebreaker(s) will take place from 2:00 PM NST on Saturday, June 29th until 2:00 PM NST of Sunday, June 30th. You can always see whom your team will be facing on future days by visiting the Schedule/Results page.

_{*NST = Neopian Standard Time, equal to U.S. Pacific Time}

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Tournament Rules

Altador Cup IX

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