2 days, 27 teams and 7 places in the EVE_NT Championship Minor League - the Thunderdome came alive with the sound of explosions once again for the first ever EVE_NT Cup. Teams from all over New Eden fought in in 5v5 single elimination matches, broadcast live on Twitch with commentary from a whole host of established casters as well as some new talent.

Featuring the return of a pick/ban stage for the team captains, teams had only a short amount of time to pick their fleet composition from a pre-fit selection- not only were the piloting skills of the teams going to be tested, but also the theory crafting abilities of their Captains.

Micro jump drives played a great part in a number of matches, as demonstrated by Power Ducks ">as they faced off against Cadow Shartel; a well-executed micro jump drive in the opening seconds of the match landed Power Ducks’ Hyperion close enough to Cadow Shartel’s Augoror to get significant early-match damage on the only logi ship on the field. With the armour logi down, the way was paved for a convincing victory for Power Ducks.

Coupbois proved to us all that you really ">can’t stop the Rokh in their match against Sudden Otters. Despite eventually losing the match, the combined power of a Megathron, Exequror and Rifter were unable to break the last sliver of structure of the Rokh as it held on solo for the last 4 minutes.

27 teams were brought down to just 4 for the Cup semi-finals - Exodunks faced the Sudden Otters after taking out the Power Ducks, while Nasty Boyz shrugged off Unintendied Consequences to square off against Templis; defeaters of the Goggle Wearing Internet Crime Fighters and denyers of those who wanted to Make Amarr Great Again.

Templis and Nasty Boyz played it cool for the ">early part of the match, sizing each other up and waiting for the opportune moment. Ducking and dodging was the name of the game after a rocky start for Nasty Boyz, losing their frigate and destroyer without trade. With just 3 and a half minutes left, it was time for an epic comeback- and Nasty Boyz delivered, starting with the Tornado. At the 1 minute mark there was just a single point in it, but Templis’ Talwar suddenly swiftly fell and handed two points, and the place in the finals, to Nasty Boyz.

Sudden Otters ">wasted no time in battering the Scythe of Exodunks with artillery fire from the Maelstrom as the rest of the team gained ground to take it down. It ended with the Otters’ Osprey falling first, with the Scythe hanging in there as the Slasher of Otters was the next to fall. The Scythe finally fell, but not before the rest of the Exodunks team took a third ship in trade. Sudden Otters just couldn’t quite bring it back, and it was Exodunks who would face Nasty Boyz in the final.

The pressure was building all through the first few minutes of ">the Cup final - damage on both teams’ battleships as well as a significant hit on the Algos of Exodunks kept everyone on their toes to see who would be first to fall. Despite best efforts of the Augoror, it would be the Algos that would fall first to put Nasty Boyz in an early lead. Exodunks clawed back a valuable kill on the Exequror of their opponents before turning their efforts back to the Armageddon. Nasty Boyz turned the tables again, taking down the Augoror and Punisher as their battleship and Dragoon teetered on the edge of their armour. The Armageddon dropped lower and lower, but so did the Abaddon of Exodunks - and it would be the Abaddon that exploded first, the Nasty Boyz battleship holding on just long enough to secure their win and earn the first place spot in the EVE_NT Cup.

Congratulations to Nasty Boyz, winners of the first ever EVE_NT Cup! We’ll hopefully be seeing them again for the second season of the EVE_NT Championship in a few short weeks - along with the rest of our new Minor League teams:

• Exodunks

• Power Ducks

• Templis

• Sudden Otters

• Make Amarr Great Again

• Offline

All of the matches are available to watch over on ">our YouTube channel, while the Arena site has the breakdown of the match results and brackets.

Expect some epic rematches and whole lot more rapid unscheduled disassemblies as we kick off the EVE_NT Championship on February 5th!