EYBBL Round 6 Closer

This has certainly been a round that puts the “blood” in Blood Bowl!

ROUND RESULTS

DIVISION 1

As the season winds down and the gaps between the teams extend, it’s common to see a bit of positional stagnation.

Division 1 is a prime example as most of the teams managed to hold onto their spots, except Prime Wags who, after a hail-Mary draw against the Eathen Eagles, jumped into the 5th spot, dropping the Brid Bay Wolves, with the play-off bracket firmly in their sights.

It’s been another tragic loss for the Eagles as the team’s star Catcher, Ellisar Feathertail, was drafted by the Glade Guardians, making him the third consecutive player to leave the team. 3 players in 3 games is costly to any team, particularly considering the hefty sign-on fees Union players are known to ask for.

So close to the playoffs, the team’s General and Coaching Staff will almost certainly begin to sweat as they assess their competitive performance in a crucial part of the post-season.

Having been made the offer, the team’s PR team remarked that’s the price of “suffering from success”. Elves, eh?

DIVISION 2

Division 2, in a similar fashion, saw one change as the Stir River Fly Boys topped the Runty Mud Cakes, with a 4-point win, after the Snotlings wrangled a tense draw in an all-time Stunty Showdown against the league veterans, the Grand Maws.

We’ve received reports that after their round 5 fixture, one of the Runty Mud Cakes’ Fungus Flingas went missing. Conveniently a deficit of 30,000 gold pieces was noted by the team’s Chief Financial Officer about the same time.

Whether the team paid to have the little guy “taken care of”, or the ex-Blood Bowl star is living it large on the way to a retirement retreat somewhere in Estalia, it’s hard to say.

Emboldened by their performance, the Grand Maws went on to score a confident 2-1 victory against the Gutter Runners, which saw them jump up by one place in the overall standings, ahead of the Brid Bay Wolves.

Looking at the big picture, the top-3 contenders remain unchanged but on closer examination, it can be noted the point gap between the teams has now narrowed significantly.

A win from any of the teams could be the decider of the No. 1 seed spot going into the playoffs.

A big win from the Lothern Lions could see them submarine into the top 5 spots to secure a more favorable playoff picture while the coaching staff at Gork’s Vulchaz will undoubtedly be working overtime to cement their place with their next fixture against the Black Crag Bruisers.

NEWS

The one fixture fans and sports analysts across the Old World will be talking about was the fated game between Big Red’s Raiders and Blood Sweat and Beers.

The Chaos Chosen came into the game with a purpose - put points on the board, end the Norse domination of the top spot.

The 1-1 scoreline might not reflect a resolute determination to achieve that, but to anyone watching the game, it was clear the points weren’t the main focus. In fact, not much was clear as the blood splatter and gory entrails of the Norse players certainly obscured the vision of the front row fans, and most of the broadcasting team from Pitchside Carnage TV.

If there was an award for having most of your players permanently retired by death, Blood Sweat and Beers would be ahead of the competition by miles.

The Raiders caused 5 casualties in total including an Ulfwerner who was unable to recover to rejoin the team for the rest of the game, and a Valkyrie who, having suffered minor injuries impressed the NAF scouts enough to be drafted into the Big Leagues by the Valheim Grizzlies, shortly after the game.

The Norse retaliation (having caused one beastman to miss the rest of the game) was a meager repayment for what was to come later as they suffered another 2 deaths in their second Ulfwerner, and the team’s star kicker lineman.

To add insult to injury, we’ve received reports from the team’s medical staff that one of their few remaining linemen will also miss their next fixture against the Stir River Fly Boys due to, what the Chief Medical Officer described as “severe trauma to the groin area caused by profuse stomping”. Everyone at the office certainly wishes him a speedy return to health.

This marks the second consecutive game in which the Norse suffered 2 deaths, and their reputation as the league’s punching bag can be fortunately offset by their deep pockets, as shortly after the match they announced a pair of new signings which will see them return to full strength before their final game of the season.

The question on everyone’s minds will be: “As loaded as their vaults are, how long can they sustain replenishing such a high casualty rate?”. Heading into a critical part of the post-season where one mistake could cost them the chances of lifting the League Trophy, the fans will certainly be kept on the edge of their seats.

This can’t be said for Big Red’s Raiders, whose confidence is absolutely palpable. Their 5 casualty draw will see them surge to be the top contender in the “Most Casualties” award, snatching the title from season-long favorites Runty Mud Cakes.

More fuel to the fire ahead of their final fixture, with both of the teams facing off against each other, looking to do as much damage as possible, while getting that all-important win.

The gloves are certainly off, with the coaching staff of both teams making bold statements as to their teams’ prowess. One of the Raiders’ key players remarked that (he) “always wondered how far (he) could punt a Snotling”, while one of the chief engineers from the Mudcakes’ camp stated he will “drive me Pump Wagon right into that Minotaur’s *****”.

Tensions are high, horns and blades are sharpened, and it’s all to play for as the 16 teams head into the final round of the 4th season.

Stay tuned for more updates!

ROUND 6 PLAYOFF PICTURE