And the results for the 5th April ;
Lightning vs Nari
Experienced Lightning against relative newcomer Nari, both fully trained and raring to go - in fact, so keen that Europa seemed to come to a halt once they began, and the audience missed the first attacks and defences! When we caught up, Nari was holding an impressive lead, and although Lightning tried hard to fight back, Nari was not letting go and came out the winner.
SpareUno vs Eric
Two newer birds, which usually means a close fight - and sure enough, it was. Despite Eric appearing stunned by SpareUno's initial onslaught, holding off the first rush seems a battle-winning tactic yet again, and Eric turned the fight around and emerged victorious.
PeckyBalboa vs Fir
Both well trained but new to the Arena, and keen to make their mark. Almost nothing between them, it really was a close fight, but Fir not only rushed in first but then held on to a slight lead all the way top the end, despite tough resistance from Pecky.
Goldy Feathers vs Mixer
Two new hatchlings, and one of the closest bouts we've seen this season. Right from the start, they exchanged hits in almost perfect symmetry, and it went right to the wire - either bird could have won with one final hit, and Mixer managed the knockout blow when literally one hit from defeat. Bad luck for Goldy, but a great match!
Cyanide vs Frosty
Bit of a grudge match between the two current league leaders, Cyanide coming in to the fight slightly ahead of Frosty on points. Equal in skills, Frosty if a touch stronger, but Cyanide faster - and speed was the clincher in this bout. Very close, Cyanide won through with a couple of quick hits at the close of the match, to keep her leader's place in the tables.
Quicksilver vs Grumpy
Two more semi-trained birds, well on their way to GM but looking fairly evenly matched - and in a treat for the audience, our third close fight, with Quicksilver leaping in first and taking a lead, Grumpy doggedly (chickenedly?) hanging in and clawing ahead again, before a final flurry from Quicksilver clinched the victory.
Bernie vs Dopey
Equally skilled, although an edge in speed and intelligence made Bernie look to have a slight edge - so promptly Bernie stared into the distance looking away from Dopey, whilst Dopey ignored her trainer and wandered around the ring! Some sharp words from their owners followed, and they managed to concentrate on the job in hand. And they certainly went for it when they remembered their task, both charged in at high speed and after a frenzied exchange, Bernie claimed a clear win.
For the evening's end bout, we tried something that we'd had a run-through of earlier, since I did fear it could turn into an epic slogging and healing match - two Cu Sidhe, Rover and Charlie. Both are fairly untrained, since the suspicion was two GM healers might make for an interesting but protracted battle! As it was, a very noisy and rather messy fight ensued, both doing almost exactly the same damage to their opponents, but Rover held in there thanks mainly to a fractionally higher healing skill, to end the match a rather battered and bruised winner.
So, for the points situation -
5: Cyanide
3 : Spike, Shadow, Frosty
2 : Midnight, BlueBlaze, Spot, Trinsic Steel, Lightning, Nari, Bernie
1 : Lime, ThrobbingGristle, SnotKlap, Nugget, Cerulean, Flash, Moonfeather, Dryad, Eric, Fir, Mixer, Quicksilver
Cyanide extends her lead, still catchable but going strong. Let's see if the lead is reduced, or extended, or a new challenger emerges, at the next meeting - Monday, 19 April, 8PM UK time, at the O*T Arena!
