And the results, hopelessly late, I seem to be getting less organised all the time... but with a bit of luck accurate...
Sango vs Frosty - both fully trained, Frosty a veteran of the arena and Sango a newer contender, this one promised a close fight to start the evening and lived up to that promise. Early attacks from Sango gave her a lead, but Frosty hung in grimly and gradually turned the match around, giving her another - albeit very hard-fought - victory.
Cyanide vs Spot - two experienced fighters, past victories for Cyanide and an edge in skills made her a favourite but Spot was determined to have a go. Some slight strangeness at the start of the bout, where both birds stared at each other for a few seconds (and the world apparently stopped for the audience too!), then Spot found inspiration from somewhere and defied all the odds by pushing to a hard fought victory against Cyanide! A fight that caught all of us by surprise, and a very unexpected result.
Trinsic Steel vs Empress. Second appearance for Trinsic Steel after an impressive start last match, Empress returning to the ring after mixed results in the past. Neither bird fully trained as yet, they were a close match in skills which usually means a close fight will ensue. Empress was first off the mark but as is often the case, if the initial rush does not carry the fight the solid defender turns the match around. Trinsic Steel stood firm, and soon turned the match in her favour for her second win of the season.
Moonfeather vs Dopey. Not a good evening for Dopey, on paper the stats, skills and experience all pointed to a win for Moonfeather, and for once the form book - and my predictions of the likely outcome - held true. A brave show, but Dopey was rather outclassed and soon fell to a sustained assault from Moonfeather.
Lightning vs Nari. Again, a veteran against a relative newcomer, but closely matched in skills. The birds started a long staring contest before finally closing to fight, Nari being the first to charge in - but Lightning is a tough fighter, and although it was a far from easy battle held on and wore down Nari's defences to claim another victory.
Bernie vs Grumpy. Two newer birds, both keen to make their mark, so an even fight was on the cards. It started very close, Grumpy rushing in to the attack and both birds trading blows, but suddenly Bernie landed a quick flurry of hits that sent Grumpy reeling, Bernie kept up the pressure and claimed a convincing victory.
Goldy vs Dryad. New competitor against a 'veteran' who had been in the ring before, but not with much success to date. Goldy leapt in, but following the pattern we seemed to have set for the evening, first rush enthusiasm was matched by solid defence and patience, and the battle soon swung in Dryad's favour. Brave try by Goldy, but it wasn't her night, and Dryad claimed the victory.
For the end of evening 'novelty match', we stuck with winged creatures but moved up the scale a little, and let two novice dragons battle it out. The crowd were slightly nervous, since the fence around the arena looks somewhat flimsy, but we had thoroughly tested it and confirmed it was indeed dragon-proof. Cunningly named, Evil Dragon and Trainee Dragon squared off against each other, in a very noisy contest. Evil seemed to have an early lead, Trainee held on well assisted by some cleverly timed self-healing, but Evil was not letting up the assault and proved too the stronger of the two. Interestingly, not a significantly longer fight than one between trained battle chickens - although dragons take a LOT more bandaging afterwards!
League status after this evening, current points are :
4: Cyanide
3 : Spike, Shadow, Frosty
2 : Midnight, BlueBlaze, Spot, Trinsic Steel, Lightning,
1 : Lime, ThrobbingGristle, SnotKlap, Nugget, Cerulean, Flash, Nari, Moonfeather, Bernie, Dryad
So, Cyanide still holding a lead, but several contenders pushing for the first place, and still a pretty open field. The next round is planned for Monday 5 April, hope to see folks there for the seventh match of the season!
