Phalanx vs Charlatans

The first outing of the Cyclone in this tournament came courtesy of Phalanx, picking it as part of their complete Minmatar setup against the Amarr/Gallente choices of Charlatans. A slow start to the match as both teams repositioned and sized each other up, with both teams' logistics ships and drones keeping shields and armour in relatively good order. First blood finally came just after 3 minutes in as the Cyclone of Phalanx finally fell, followed a minute later by their Talwar. The Harbinger of Charlatans hung on for a long time under reps before succumbing to the Tempest, and the pace slowed again as ships circled around each other and failed to break through logistics. Slowly but surely the Charlatans edged ahead, breaking the Vigil before losing their own Exequror, then watched as the Phalanx Scythe died as his team's repair drones seemed to be accidentally placed on the enemy team. With 59 seconds left on the clock, the Phalanx Tempest's luck ran out and sealed the first win of the day for Charlatans.
 
MemeTeam vs Provi-ShotZ

It was top of the table versus the bottom of the table for the second match of the day, though it was MemeTeam who dealt the stronger early-game damage across the smaller ships of Provi-ShotZ; until their own Talwar was caught and quickly reduced to structure before repairs could take hold. It was a destroyer trade as Provi-ShotZ' Coercer finally fell, followed quickly by MemeTeam's Vigil. From here on in the back and forth continued, with both logi pilots staying clear of the danger and keeping their teammates alive as long as possible. MemeTeam's Hurricane was traded for Provi-ShotZ's Abaddon, but two ships on each team would live to see the time tick down to zero in the first match of the championship to run the full 10 minutes, though the Tempest of MemeTeam was dangerously deep into structure for the last few minutes. With a battleship and a cruiser remaining, it was MemeTeam who would take the win thanks to their 4 match point lead.
 
Clevergirls vs Charlatans

Clevergirls cleverly chose to stick close together in the opening minutes against the Charlatans, testing the coordination and repping power of the armour team before taking first blood on Charlatans' Tormentor. The second loss for Charlatans as their Harbinger and Exequror strayed too far from each other, as Clevergirls took the chance to pick off the battlecruiser while it was out of rep range. Not to be phased, Charlatans wore down the Naga and most of the way into the armour of the Osprey, but could not capitalize on it as their Armageddon fell. With just an Algos and Exequror left, a last valiant effort against the Osprey was in vain as Clevergirls picked up their second win of the tournament.
 
Phalanx vs Burnt Out

Another appearance of a Drake, choosing to burn in against the Coercer of Burnt Out and eventually helping take it out for first blood. Phalanx's Scythe then seemed to burn away from his team and towards the enemy team - but in a brilliant play, he managed to get a tight orbit on the Burnt Out Abaddon and was able to out track the battleship guns. The Harbinger and Exequror were whittled down as repair drones brought the Scythe's shields back up, though Phalanx's Merlin was caught out and destroyed, denying Phalanx the full 4 points of a domination victory. With both Punisher and Abaddon falling, it would be a win for Phalanx thanks to some superb piloting from team captain Kaboom.
 
Provi-ShotZ vs Clevergirls

Clevergirls' Harbinger took a beating in the early minutes of the game, hitting structure and dropping  fairly quickly as his teammates worked down the Blackbird of Provi-ShotZ. Clevergirls' Punisher died a second before Provi's Naga, followed by their Thrasher despite the best efforts of repair drones. The battleships were almost on top of each other in a furious close-range fight as the Clevergirls Augoror webbed but avoiding damage with a tight orbit, following the footsteps of Kaboom in the previous match. With the Abaddon unable to break anything it was just a matter of time before the Slasher then the Abaddon itself would fall to the Clevergirls.
It was all change at the top of the table; Clevergirls pulled out wins in both of their matches and now sit in first place with 9 points, 2 ahead of Phalanx and 3 ahead of Provi-ShotZ. With only one more day of matches to go, there is still time for the top spots to switch around- we'll be back with the final Minor League matches on December 10th!