A new year and new teams kicked off the first week of Minor League action for the Spring 2017 EVE_NT Championship. 8 teams fighting it out in 5v5 combat for the top spot of the league and a shot at promotion to the Major League.

Sudden Otters vs Nasty Boyz

NT Cup winners Nasty Boyz were first up, their Amarr-heavy armour comp facing the shield setup of Sudden Otters. A Burst logi frigate seemed like a bold pick by Sudden Otters, but seemed to have no problems keeping his team alive as they took down Nasty Boyz’s Dragoon for first blood. The Oracle was next to fall, with his Rifter and Augoror teammates following shortly after, giving a 4-kill lead to the Otters. A domination victory was so close, but Nasty Boyz managed to claw back a kill on a Caracal before finally losing their Armageddon. First win of the tournament to Sudden Otters.

Exodunks vs Power Ducks

Exodunks’ claimed a heavy early kill, taking down the Tempest of Power Ducks; but the tables kept turning as their own Exequror and Rifter exploded just seconds later, before claiming Power Ducks’ Ferox in return. Kill-trading continued until just the Caracal of Power Ducks remained against the Armageddon and Prophecy of Exodunks. Despite holding on admirably, La Loca finally did fall and the win went to Exodunks.

Templis vs Offline

The Apocalypse/Naga combination of Offline made short work of Templis’ Dragoon for the first kill of the match, with the Offline team seeming to be unscathed as they started to work on the Oracle and Armageddon of their opponents. The first match with two logi cruisers, both teams yoyo’d between damage levels until breaking point - the Osprey of Offline traded for the Rifter and Oracle of Templis, leaving the Exequror and Armageddon to team up and beat down whatever they could. Sadly a Thrasher and a Naga was all they could manage, giving Offline their first win.

Footwork vs Make Amarr Great Again

The returning Footwork team from last season’s Major League made a strong first appearance in the 2017 season, making short work of MAGA’s Talwar and Harbinger. With neither team fielding logi, it was all down to repair drones and self-reps as Footwork’s Apocalypse held out long enough to finish off a Punisher before finally falling. MAGA’s Maller dealt out a surprising amount of damage before dying, softening up Footwork’s Algos for the Scorpion to finish off. A Ferox, Caracal, and Tristan combination burnt down the last of the Scorpion’s structure, and Footwork claimed a victory.

Power Ducks vs Nasty Boyz

Power Ducks seemed to have lucked out, as their Hyperion was the first to get through the ban stage of match setup; but their luck ran out fast, as a miscalculation saw the battleship micro jump itself out of the arena and hand an easy 5 points over to Nasty Boyz. It went from bad to work for Power Ducks, as their Merlin and then their Scythe was also taken out without trade. Their Talwar was the next victim, leaving just a Ferox to try and make a dent in the armour of Nasty Boyz- it was not to be, and Nasty Boyz picked up the first domination victory of the tournament.

Offline vs Exodunks

Positioning and repositioning was the name of the game for both Offline and Exodunks, with both teams staying fairly stable for the first couple of minutes of the match. Offline eventually managed to get hold of the Hurricane of Exodunks, taking that and a Cormorant off the field as their logi brought their Thrasher back from the threat of structure. Offline kept up the control pressure and claimed kills on the Scythe and Merlin, but the Rokh of Exodunks rallied round and denying a domination victory by finishing off Scavengo in the Thrasher. A second win went to Offline.

Sudden Otters vs Footwork

Both teams had already scored themselves a win as they went into the last match of the day, and there was a lot of early-game damage on the larger ships for both sides. Footwork’s Oracle and Talwar took the brunt of the damage, with the Oracle eventually being the first to fall. The Talwar was a swift second kill for Sudden Otters, while their own Exequror slowly repaired back its lost armour. Footwork’s Merlin fell to a second burst of rapid light missiles, while his Apocalypse and Caracal teammates started to make a dent in the armour of the Algos and Rifter. As the Apocalypse exploded, it seemed like a second domination victory would be scored in the first week - and despite the best efforts of team captain Lady Arrien, it would indeed be a domination victory for Sudden Otters.

A great first showing for all of our Minor League teams; Sudden Otters are just a single point ahead of Offline in the standings, so there is still all to play for when they return to Thunderdome on February 19th!

A full rundown of the match results and points scored is available over on our Arena site, along with information on the rules and ship fittings of this season’s Championship.

Next week sees the first outing for our Major League teams, including those promoted from victory in last season’s Championship. Will last season’s winners The Other Team be able to repeat their successes? Join us on Twitch on February 12th for more glorious spaceship combat and explosions!