Nations Cup 2008
From Tickipedia
The Nations Cup 2008 (NC 2008) was the fourth tournament of the Nations Cup series. Up to this day it is the NC with the most participating teams (24) and players (187). Many nations took part with an own national team for their first time.
After a round robin with 4 groups of 6 teams, 16 of the 24 teams advanced to the for the first time played KO-round of the last 16. At the end of the playoffs there was the final between the Unity Express Germany (UEG) and the NC winner of the previous year, the Austrian Troublemakers (AT). After a 2-0 lead UEG could defend this advantage and become NC champion for their first time.
Contents |
[edit] Participating Teams
The registration phase was headed by the registration of many new nations and teams. Finland, Great Britain and Switzerland whose top players played for the transnational teams in the recent years, managed to recruit a real national team. Particularly mentionable is the Italy team because nobody of them had played a tourney before. Belgium and the Netherlands registered a national team as well after they have played their last NC 2005 (Belgium) respectively 2006 (Netherlands). Furthermore Germany and France contributed another team, for the German it was their 6th national team (Another German Team) and for the French their 4th one (Champagne TGV).
| Country | Team Name | Abbreviation | Initial Seeding | ELO Top 5 |
| Austria I | Austrian Troublemakers | AT | 5 | 3724 |
| Austria II | TransAlpin | TA | 17 | 3554 |
| Belgium I | Black Beers of Belgium | BBB | 16 | 3567 |
| Canada I | Canadians After a Name CAN | CAN | 15 | 3571 |
| Finland I | Team Finland | FIN | 23 | 3453 |
| France I | Red TGV | Red | 1 | 3809 |
| France II | White TGV | White | 10 | 3661 |
| France III | TGV Rosé | Rosé | 14 | 3574 |
| France IV | TGV Champagne | Cham | 19 | 3498 |
| Germany I | Unity Express Germany | UEG | 2 | 3800 |
| Germany II | German Train Smashers | GTS | 3 | 3732 |
| Germany III | Our Laughing Express | OLE | 4 | 3729 |
| Germany IV | Team ReBuilt | TRB | 9 | 3688 |
| Germany V | The Incredible Champion Hunters | TIC | 11 | 3655 |
| Germany VI | Another German Team | AGT | 18 | 3533 |
| Great Britain I | Great Britain | GB | 22 | 3454 |
| Italy I | Italy | ITA | 24 | 3279 |
| Netherlands I | Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Oranje Superstars | SOS | 7 | 3702 |
| Spain I | Catalunya | CAT | 8 | 3695 |
| Switzerland I | Switzerland | CH | 21 | 3455 |
| Transnational I | Transnational Rocks U Everytime | TRUE | 12 | 3640 |
| Transnational II | Team Burger King | BK | 20 | 3460 |
| USA I | theTeam | TT | 6 | 3714 |
| USA II | Weapons of Mass Destruction | WMD | 13 | 3603 |
[edit] Players
- Another German Team
- AGT-DerNeusser
- AGT-Hogwarts
- AGT-lisa171
- AGT-pützi
- AGT-Technikerin
- AGT-Toffer14
- AGT-Urgestein
- AGT-xbomanx
- AGT-xsandrax
- Austrian Troublemakers
- AT_Angel6
- AT_dea1
- AT_Lucullupus
- AT_street
- AT_Saurus
- AT_tewe
- AT_Wernerus
- Black Beers Belgian
- BBB-davedavis liégoise
- BBB-freddoche-Orval
- BBB-Geoff-Blanco
- BBB-Koel Player
- BBB-Pepetever-Duvel
- BBB-Popol-ValDieu
- BBB-SuperChi-May
- Catalunya
- CAT-aralai
- CAT-daedin
- CAT-hojita
- CAT-juanfpdm
- CAT-PapiXulu
- CAT-pegaso
- CAT-suburu
- CAT-Tablilla
- Champagne TGV
- Bebs3939 - Meursault
- la douce - Chouchenn
- nico06 - Château Yquem
- pipodibo - Coteaux du Layon
- pipodibo2 - gros plant
- Sysyphus - Madiran
- ti'gévé - Collioure
- xennos - Savagnin
- German Train Smashers
- GTS An-Team
- GTS Colo
- GTS Goscha
- GTS maia
- GTS Mudda
- GTS Nanni
- GTS Ronaldo
- GTS Tofra
- GTS Train
- Italia
- ITA_angelo
- ITA_barbarnaud
- ITA_Federica
- ITA_Giuseppe
- ITA_Iseltwald
- ITA_oibaf
- ITA_Qorlas
- ITA_Vaz1970
- Our Laughing Express
- OLE Bats_
- OLE deep_blue
- OLE Masimo
- OLE Mason
- OLE Nayeli
- OLE Robomat
- OLE sebbo
- OLE U 31
- OLE ww
- Red TGV
- davidb9 - Mercurey
- Deveric-Vosne Romanée
- Elric - Sancerre
- Fandan - Haut-Médoc
- Neozen - Cairanne
- toutoune - Morgon
- kotay - gewürztraminer
- Rosé TGV
- Audrey - Muscat
- Baraka - Cidre
- DiLoL - AngeluS
- Drannoc - Vacqueyras
- Floutch - le Jaja de Jau
- HALIK - Pratavone
- JFGUIGUI - GRAVES
- RV54 - Cassis
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Oranje Superstars
- Peter de Zeeuw
- SOS Annabel
- SOS Mr Bean
- SOS Patterson
- SOS Sjoerd de Slome
- SOS Truckerteller
- SOS youki
- Switzerland
- CH-bassie
- CH-Jac
- CH-Leleline_M
- CH-Prali
- CH-Rick Rogers
- ch-swissli
- CH-tchols
- CH-tis11
- CH-uschoen
- Team Burger King
- BK -- solinsf
- BK-aceJumpMan23
- BK-DieSuperlok
- BK-Hauptbahnhof
- BK-RealtorWill
- BK-Neven Subotic
- BK-Yellow
- Team CAN
- Bigslug CAN
- express CAN
- Hawaienne CAN
- John CAN
- kolmo CAN
- matsch CAN
- Tink CAN
- Team Finland
- FIN-Evelyn3
- FIN-Juuco
- FIN-sisu
- FIN-Snowstar
- FIN-tumpp1
- FIN-Valkama
- FIN-Zimo
- Team GB
- GB-angil
- GB ironhorse1
- GB-jonty
- GB-nellytheelephant
- GB-Robin Hood
- GB-Stephan1972
- GB-stemayf
- Team ReBuilt
- TRB erps
- TRB Mnemosyme
- TRB Ramses
- TRB Rocket
- TRB-SchwyzerToni
- TRB Sookie
- TRB Spock
- TRB Tenniskasi
- TRB ThoMue1982
- The Incredible Champion hunters
- TIC - El Sid
- TIC - Hecki
- TIC - Heizer_65
- TIC - MaxiJazz
- TIC - Pitze
- TIC - U 32
- TIC - Uhrfriese
- TIC - wasdenn
- theTeam
- theDizz
- theKid
- theScorps
- theTprail
- theTyrana
- theVballman20
- theWildfire
- theZeno
- Transalpin
- steve111
- TA_itchy
- TA_Karin1961
- TA_Pammes
- TA_sauvignon57
- TA_süszifusz
- Transnational Rocks U Everytime
- TNTic
- TRUE Denmark
- TRUE Loan
- TRUE Magic Hansen
- TRUE Mary Mary
- TRUE MiguelMarques
- TRUE Olle Boll
- TRUE Rui
- Unity Express Germany
- thadd
- UEG-chrismmm
- UEG-horo
- UEG-rudi
- UEG-schnupferl
- UEG-Schwen
- UEG-Volleytom
- womble
- White TGV
- -EPO- Moulin à Vent
- foudecoasters - Cerdon
- ilété1fois - Jurançon
- léachris - Champagne
- nicole - vin de moselle ~ Wanadoo
- RFAD - Saint-Emilion
- Sirius
- TEE - Citeaux
- tiploup - Jasnières
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- psteinx
- WMD Baron
- WMD Baroness
- WMD Black Widow
- WMD Drake WMD
- WMD Monstar
- WMD onyx puffin
[edit] Initial Seeding
According to the NC Rules (rule 13.5.) the following groups were the result from the seeding list:
| Seed | Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| 1 | Red TGV (FRA I) | Unity Express Germany (GER I) | German Train Smashers (GER II) | Our Laughing Express (GER III) |
| 2 | Catalunya (ESP I) | Supercali... Oranje Superstars (NED I) | theTeam (USA I) | Austrian Troublemakers (AUT I) |
| 3 | Team ReBuilt (GER IV) | White TGV (FRA II) | The Incredible Champion Hunters (GER V) | Transnational Rocks U Everytime (TNT I) |
| 4 | Black Beers of Belgium (BEL I) | Canadians After a Name CAN (CAN I) | TGV Rosé (FRA III) | Weapons of Mass Destruction (USA II) |
| 5 | TransAlpin (AUT II) | Another German Team (GER VI) | TGV Champagne (FRA IV) | Team Burger King (TNT II) |
| 6 | Italy (ITA I) | Team Finland (FIN I) | Great Britain (GBR I) | Switzerland (SUI I) |
[edit] Round Robin
--> For further information and single results: NC08 Round Robin
[edit] Group A
| # | Team | Clashes Won | Clashes Lost | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Games Won | Games Lost | Difference | through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Catalunya | 5 | 0 | 17 | 8 | 59 | 36 | (+23) | 5 |
| 2 | Red TGV | 4 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 63 | 39 | (+24) | 5 |
| 3 | Black Beers of Belgium | 2 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 59 | 46 | (+13) | 5 |
| 4 | Team TransAlpin | 2 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 51 | 51 | (0) | 5 |
| 5 | Team ReBuilt | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 48 | 60 | (-12) | 5 |
| 6 | Team Italy | 0 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 20 | 68 | (-48) | 5 |
In Group A the Catalunya team provided the basis for their succes till the semifinal. Slightly surprising they beat Red TGV in the decesive clash for position 1. Likewise the failure of Team ReBuilt was not expected but they lost their decisive clash vs. the Belgian team. The NC newbie Italy couldn't achive any surprise, they won only three matches.
[edit] Group B
| # | Team | Clashes Won | Clashes Lost | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Games Won | Games Lost | Difference | through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unity Express Germany | 5 | 0 | 17 | 8 | 56 | 39 | (+17) | 5 |
| 2 | Supercali... Oranje Superstars | 3 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 60 | 42 | (+18) | 5 |
| 3 | Canadians After a Name CAN | 3 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 50 | 47 | (+3) | 5 |
| 4 | Another German Team | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 53 | (-11) | 5 |
| 5 | White TGV | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 50 | (-11) | 5 |
| 6 | Team Finland | 0 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 56 | (-16) | 5 |
The subsequent NC champion UEG had a hard round robin. With 4 close 3-2 wins (1x 5-0) they reached their 5-0 round robin record. The positions 2-5 had only a slight difference of one win. As in group A the team seeded on rank 3 before round robin couldn't reach the playoffs - for this group it was the White TGV.
[edit] Group C
| # | Team | Clashes Won | Clashes Lost | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Games Won | Games Lost | Difference | through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | the Team | 5 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 65 | 34 | (+31) | 5 |
| 2 | German Train Smashers | 3 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 58 | 40 | (+18) | 5 |
| 3 | The Incredible Champion Hunters | 3 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 54 | 48 | (+6) | 5 |
| 4 | TGV Rosé | 2 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 38 | 55 | (-17) | 5 |
| 5 | Great Britain | 1 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 53 | (-8) | 5 |
| 6 | TGV Champagne | 1 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 31 | 61 | (-30) | 5 |
After many disappointments in the former NC's the best seeded USA team played an excellent round robin this year. The finalist of the recent two years, GTS, had some problems and was defeated twice. Nevertheless they reached position two just ahead of the TIC's. The Rosé TGV got the last remaining playoff seat, beating Team GB and the Champagne TGV.
[edit] Group D
| # | Team | Clashes Won | Clashes Lost | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Games Won | Games Lost | Difference | through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austrian Troublemakers | 5 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 63 | 33 | (+30) | 5 |
| 2 | Our Laughing Express | 4 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 59 | 51 | (+8) | 5 |
| 3 | Transnational Rocks U Everytime | 2 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 48 | 43 | (+5) | 4+ |
| 4 | Team Burger King | 2 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 39 | 51 | (-12) | 4+ |
| 5 | Weapons of Mass Destruction | 2 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 44 | 56 | (-12) | 4+ |
| 6 | Team Switzerland | 0 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 35 | 54 | (-19) | 4+ |
In Group D another team played an excellent round robin with a 19-6 match record (AT). Behind team OLE the both transnational teams of this NC advanced to the playoffs.
[edit] Playoffs
--> For further information and single results: NC08_Playoff_Results
After round robin the groups got a randomized letter in order to randomize the clashes for the round of the last 16. This leads to the following designations:
- Group A (UEG, SOS, CAN, AGT)
- Group B (AT, OLE, TRUE, TBK)
- Group C (CAT, Red, BBB, TA)
- Group D (TT, GTS, TIC, Rosé)
According to the NC Rules (rule 13.5.) the following clahes and playoff table were the result from this procedure:
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 ... UEG - Unity Express Germany 1 ... BK - Team Burger King | 4 ... UEG 1 ... Red | 3 ... UEG vs 2 ... TT | 4 ... UEG vs 1 ... AT | The NC 08 Champion UEG
|
| 4 ... Red - Red TGV 1 ... TIC - The Incredible Champion Hunters | ||||
| 4 ... CAN - Canadians After a Name CAN 0 ... OLE - Our Laughing Express | 2 ... CAN 3 ... TT | |||
| 2 ... TA - TransAlpin 3 ... TT - theTeam | ||||
| 3 ... SOS - Supercali... Oranje Superstars 2 ... TRUE - Transnational Rocks U Everytime 08 | 2 ... SOS 3 ... CAT | 0 ... CAT vs 5 ... AT | ||
| 4 ... CAT - Catalunya 1 ... Rosé - TGV Rosé | ||||
| 2 ... AGT - Another German Team 3 ... AT - Austrian Troublemakers | 3 ... AT 2 ... GTS | |||
| 1 ... BBB - Black Beers of Belgium 4 ... GTS - German Train Smashers |
[edit] Round of last 16
In 7 of the 8 clashes in the first playoff round the favorite advanced to the quarterfinal. Only the clash between the Canadiens and Germanys OLE team brought a big surprise, giving the North Americans a surprisingly distinct 4-0 win.
[edit] Quarterfinals
The clashes in the quarterfinals were very interesting and spectactular. The first one was the match between the two best seeded teams in this years NC. Due to Red TGV's second position in their group this great match became possible. Eventually UEG won these games and advanced to the semifinal.
The second great clash was the one between AT and GTS. It was the rematch of last years final. AT defeated their German opponent again.
The third quarterfinal was a pure North American issue. The surprisingly strong Canadiens forced the powerful Americans. With a decision in the last match theTeam won this clash.
The fourth highly competetive clash was the one between SOS and CAT. The Spanish team won 3-2 and got the last remaining place in the semifinals.
[edit] Semifinals
The constellation of the semis were very interesting. In both clashes there were one favorite for the NC title (UEG, AT) and one team which made the breakthrough this year after the disappointements in the previous NC's (CAT, TT).
In the first semifinal AT reached a very impressive win. They defeated CAT with 5-0 though they won three matches with 4-3 only.
The other clash was slightly more balanced. After a 0-1 disadvantage UEG was able to win three consecutive matches and advanced to the final.
[edit] Final
The final between UEG and the defending NC champion AT started with a slightly surprising 2-0 lead for the UEG team. After more than one week break the remaining matches where played. AT shortened UEG's lead to 1-2 but on Saturday, the 29th November, UEG-schnupferl was the one who made the UEG team the new NC champion. The fifth match wasn't played so UEG got a 4-0 win by forfeit for their last match.
[edit] Ranking
| Final position | Team | Country | Seeding position |
| 1 | Unity Express Germany | Germany | 2 |
| 2 | Austrian Troublemakers | Austria | 5 |
| 3 | theTeam | USA | 6 |
| 3 | Catalunya | Spain | 8 |
| 5 | Red TGV | France | 1 |
| 5 | German Train Smashers | Germany | 3 |
| 5 | Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Oranje Superstars | Netherlands | 7 |
| 5 | Canadians After a Name CAN | Canada | 15 |
| 9 | Our Laughing Express | Germany | 4 |
| 9 | The Incredible Champion Hunters | Germany | 11 |
| 9 | Transnational Rocks U Everytime | Transnational | 12 |
| 9 | TGV Rosé | France | 14 |
| 9 | Black Beers of Belgium | Belgium | 16 |
| 9 | TransAlpin | Austria | 17 |
| 9 | Another German Team | Germany | 18 |
| 9 | Team Burger King | Transnational | 20 |
| 17 | Team ReBuilt | Germany | 9 |
| 17 | White TGV | France | 10 |
| 17 | Weapons of Mass Destruction | USA | 13 |
| 17 | Great Britain | Great Britain | 22 |
| 21 | TGV Champagne | France | 19 |
| 21 | Switzerland | Switzerland | 21 |
| 21 | Team Finland | Finland | 23 |
| 21 | Italy | Italy | 24 |
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] NC Quick tournaments
The NC Quick Tournaments were played between round robin and the playoffs. Despite their failure of advancing to the playoffs the TRB-team had the two best individual players in this NC QT's, earning two second places.
[edit] Captains QT
The first QT of this years NC was won by womble (UEG), who was a substitute of UEG's captain Schwen. Besides the TBK team every team send a player for this tournament.
See main article: Quick Tournament Captains NC 2008
[edit] Heroes QT
The second QT was won by Deveric-Vosne Romanée, the best player of the Red TGV team in round robin. 21 players took part.
See main article: Quick Tournament Heroes NC 2008
[edit] NC Fantasy Game
The NC Fantasy Game was an innovation by Stephan1972. It was about recruiting a fantasy team of 6 NC players, whose ELO points (USA + 2pl) must not rise about 22000 ELO points. You earned fantasy points if your chosen players won a NC match.
See main article: NC Fantasy Game
[edit] Further Links
- The Nations Cup Rules for this year
- List of the current year's Captains
- List of the current year's Board Representatives
- Zeno's Corner with various statistics about NC 2008
- Final Results Round Robin for the concise view from the recap table
- Round Robin by Clash for more detailed tables including all clash results
- all matches and games by round for a detailed overviev about all match results
- Playoff Structure for an explanation of the playoff procedure
