In the Downmere Racing League there are four positions available to each racing team, with only two per cart allowed for an actual race. Racing teams can only have three members total and must declare the two members in the cart when they pick the track they will be racing on. Track selection goes in order of win record and includes the regular season results (for those teams which participated in the regular season)
Here follows an accounting of the Downmere Racing League's Elturel Grand Races from the Wildcard Tournament on the first day through the Grand Races on the second day unto the declaration of the winning team.
[ Wildcard Tournament ]
In the first round, The Singing Anvil smashed the competition with Shimmerbane taking a distant second. Poison Oath put in a respectable performance but ultimately only managed third place. Archer Maggots struggled to stay upright and were ultimately disqualified.
In the second round, it was a very close race which saw Widowmaker pull off a last-second victory while The Effective Defect Detectors struggled valiantly toward the finish line. Humming Oath was also in view for a very close and disappointing third. Distance Matters, like the Maggots before them, couldn't get the hand of track 1 and saw their dreams crushed by its brutal turns.
In round three, Natural Selection absolutely dominated on track 4, with Dazzling Chaos' tight track 3 performance giving them a run for their victory. Dashing Griffons nearly mastered track 1 while Star's End met their end on the straits of track 2.
In the fourth round, Divided Vikings showed up with the first track 2 victory of the wildcard tourney - true to their pre-season form. This team is the stand-out hope, being only barely eliminated from bracket seeding during the regular season. Thosi Ael brought in a comfortable, if unimpressive, second place. Neither Chaser nor Dragon's Fire could finish the race, ending their seasons on disqualifications.
Round five's Bouldergarde won with ease, ruling the race off track 2 in typical fashion. A surprise upset from Shameless Wound eliminated fan-favorite Aestaesar Teir despite their excellent track 1 strategy. Underdark Swarm was disqualified off track 4.
In the sixth round, Shatterfoxes came out of nowhere with a very convincing track 3 win with Ordinary Sacred right behind for a close second. Shi Shas Taelaerdarol brought a respectable third while Aestaesar Teir, who shamelessly cannibalized their sister team's chances, were disqualified after an abysmal second attempt at track 1.
With the initial runs complete, the wildcard tournament moved quickly to establish the first placement match where the best of the day's winners so far would determine their seeding in the Grand Race brackets.
For the first placement match, by random draw, Shatterfoxes was awarded first pick and took track 4. The Singing Anvil won second pick and chose track 3. Widowmaker grabbed third pick and chose track 2 which left Bouldergarde to gear up for the unforgiving track 1. The race was hot! Shatterfoxes won the first placement with Bouldergarde managing a second place berth. The Singing Anvil challenged well, but dropped out to third at the last moment while Widowmaker took fourth.
Shimmerbane, Dazzling Chaos, Thosi Ael, Shameless Wound, The Effective Defect Detectors, and Ordinary Sacred were left to choose who would continue through an elimination circuit. Ordinary Sacred was the first to secure their spot with consecutive wins while Shimmerbane was eliminated. Thosi Ael and The Effective Defect Detectors closed on a tie, knocking out Dazzling Chaos and Shameless Wound. In a close final race, The Effective Defect Detectors actually chose track 1 while Thosi Ael tried for an easy win off track 4. But there was nothing easy about watching them disqualify out while The Effective stunned with a record-setting track 1 performance.
In the second placement match, random draw allowed The Effective first pick, which they used to choose track 1 for the second time. Ordinary Sacred used second pick to secure track 4, Divided Vikings grabbed third pick and track 3 with Natural Selection accepting track 2. The audience was shocked again when The Effective won the round with a perfect track 1 performance, setting a new record and besting their own which was made just moments before. Natural Selection grabbed second placement off their track 2 position. Then Ordinary Sacred and Divided Vikings rolled in neck & neck, with Ordinary Sacred winning third placement.
[ The Grand Races ]
In a string of upsets that just won't quit, Widowmaker surprised audiences of the first race when they delivered an excellent race off track 2 to upset regular season leaders Iron Stag Racing, who managed second place on track 4. Divided Vikings won third on track 1 after Grim Shadow disqualified off an extremely poor track 3 performance.
The Effective do it again! In the second race they win the hearts of the crowd of another of their shockingly impeccable track 1 runs. Shatterfoxes pulled off an impressive second place finish from track 2 and it is impossible to overstate the strangeness of what is happening today. These wildcard teams have been holding dominant positions over established leaders from the regular season. The Flaming Hydra flew in for a tight third place finish. Ladies and gentlemen, the crowd is unequivocally stunned. The Mayor's own team - holding second place overall off a phenomenal regular season - has just been eliminated from the tournament. That's right, Cart Official is out after their first race of the day. Nobody can believe it.
In race 3, Acceleration is flawless! They clock an unbelievable time on track 3, running the gauntlet of windmills with ease. Even so, it was one after another down the last stretch of track, with Natural Selection zooming into second and Redhammer taking third right behind. Bouldergarde fell to the curse of track 1, disqualifying out before they could complete their run.
And to complete the set, in race 4 The Singing Anvil continues the saga of upsets today, running over their competition for a convincing track 2 win. Angry Gods claimed second on track 4 with Hellriders grabbing a solid third from track 3. Ordinary Sacred fell to the track 1 curse as well, finishing their day on a hard disqualifier.
Iron Stag Racing delivers in race 5, bringing a convincing win while The Effective falters in their track 1 strategy - only grabbing second place. Shatterfoxes pulls off a narrow third place on track 3, leading Widowmaker out of the tournament with a disappointing track 2 performance.
What a blazing performance from The Singing Anvil, who take first place with a record-setting track 2 performance in the sixth race. Natural Selection grabs a very convincing second off a solid track 1 run. Acceleration managed third on track 3 and Angry Gods disappoints with a track 4 disqualification to end their tournament run.
In race 7, Redhammer knocks back The Flaming Hydra on the home stretch to secure a track 4 first place to The Flaming Hydra's track 3 second. Divided Vikings claims third off a valiant track 1 attempt to be eliminated alongside the Hellriders.
The 8th race sees The Flaming Hydra strike back for a track 2 win, with Shatterfoxes continuing to show their versatility on a solid second place finish from track 1. Redhammer just made third from track 4, literally knocking Acceleration out of the tournament with a well-timed shot from their budger.
Race 9 sees a solid track 2 run which nets Natural Selection a first place win over The Effective who manage second again off their track 1 strategy. The Singing Anvil grabbed third from track 3 with Iron Stag limping out of the tournament on track 4.
In race 10, Redhammer pours it on from track 4, bringing in a dominant first place. The Flaming Hydra follows close behind for second and The Singing Anvil's third is not enough to continue. Shatterfoxes disqualified on track 1, unable to repeat their performance from earlier in the day.
Race 11, the final match of the day sees Redhammer win it all by hair in the final stretch, literally inches ahead of The Effective. And that means the Elturel Grand Races champion of season 4 are Redhammer, securing their final victory from track 4. The Effective nearly secured the win from their shocking track 1 dominance, finishing the race in almost the same moment as Redhammer. Just a little behind them came The Flaming Hydra from track 3, with Natural Selection closing the series when they finished their run on track 2 only a minute later.
And all of that concludes quite likely the most exciting season of the Downmere Racing League that we've ever seen. With the changes we've seen implemented by the Downmere's over the course of the season and the exciting modifications soon to hit in the offseason, we'd have to say this is one sport that just gets more and more exciting each year. Join us again when season 5 starts up!