APL Review

Varun Venkatesh, Class of 2020

Two days of (almost) exhilarating action and a nail biting ending. In fact, it the nail biting was so intense, people forgot about the football. Last weekend’s APL started off with great intensity. Gabru vs Team 4 Play was the first match, and after an exciting 12 minutes of football, Gabru won 1–0. Now if you’re expecting a different ending to the games, you can put a stop to that thought now. The most entertaining this gets is as good as a 1–0 or (if one is lucky), a 1–1.

Group A

On day 1, group A looked like it had a clear leader in Gamli’s VI, winning both of their games in real time earning 6 points and running away with it. Thiccbois seem to have the second spot as the other two teams did not put any points on the board. However, things changed when Gamli’s VI lost to Degenerates. The Degenerates put 2 past the leaders of the group, giving Gabriella a chance to qualify since they had won against Degenerates earlier in the day. The last match of the group was between Thiccbois and Gabriella, where Gabriella had to win to go through and Thiccbois had to not lose. Like every other upset, Gabriella pulled it to penalties and won, giving them the ticket to the quarterfinals.

Group B

Nutty Masters at the end of Day 1, had 4 points after 2 victories via penalties. They were in a supreme spot to go through followed by Sonepat Studs, on 2 points. Clockwork played 2 and lost both the games leaving them almost out of the competition. Wily warriors had a slight chance of going through, however it depended on their fixture against Sonepat Studs. Wily Warriors lost to Nutty masters, putting Nutty masters on top in the beginning of Day 2. However, Wily Warriors still had a chance if they win their game against clockwork in real time and if Sonepat Studs lose their game. Unfortunately, there was one too many ifs in that equation and Sonepat Studs ended up winning their last game on penalties, thereby going through to quarters.

Group C

End of Day 1, all teams have played 2 games each, Gabru have the lead as they won both their games, in full time against Team 4 play and on penalties against DB Dabang. As it stood, Gabru were flying away with the top spot with 5 points at the end of the day, Team 4 play on 2 with a win against Las Magnifico. As expected, Gabru and Team 4 play won their next games on Day 2 to go through comfortably.

Group D

Group D on Day 1, was the tightest group, with Brute Warriors on 4 points, Ascharya Fuck-it on 3 points and a game in hand, and Gogo on 1 point with 2 games to play. No team had achieved the status of runaway leaders and were all in the competition, except FZ warriors. Losing both their games on opening day and the other 3 teams competing with games in hand, it looked like their chances of qualifying were very limited. Ascharya Fuck-it lost their opening game to Gogo, helping them get back in the race with 4 points. This meant Ascharya Fuck-it had to win their next game against group leaders, Brute Warriors. At this moment the tournament started to heat up a bit as Ascharya Fuck-it received a red card and lost to Brute Warriors. Brute Warriors and Gogo went through to the quarters.

Quarter-finals

Gabru vs Sonepat Studs

Sonepat Studs pull a victory over Gabru who looked promising in the group stages. Sonepat Studs, through sheer determination went through to the semis, upsetting one of the favorites early in the competition.

Brute Warriors vs Gabriella Utd

Brute Warriors went through to the quarters courtesy a Rudra Cariappa header, helping them ease through the round. Brute Warriors seemed to gain confidence as they went through each match, much like a video game protagonist, getting special powers after every round.

Nutty Masters vs Team 4 Play

Team 4 Play showed why they are the defending champions, putting up a solid performance. A special mention must be made for Clinton Manoti from Team 4 Play for covering their defensive line well. Team 4 Play went through to the semis and were en-route to defend their APL trophy(though at this point it still looked rather unlikely).

Gamli’s VI vs Gogo

Gamli’s VI, having the upper hand on paper put up a worthy performance on field to pull through to the semis. They played as professionals, keeping the momentum going backed with the emotion of Shourya Reddy’s last APL, one of the anchors of Ashoka Football.

Semi-finals

Sonepat Studs vs Brute Warriors

Rudra, once again leading his team from the front as he puts one in the back of the net with great build up from Zoheb and Jai, leading to the goal. Sonepat Studs tried their best to cause another upset, but failed, ultimately.

Team 4 Play vs Gamli’s VI

Team 4 Play, facing their toughest opponents so far in the tournament, portrayed once again that with all 6 players playing together, they were able to pull off the one chance they had. Aditya Jaishankar slotted one in the bottom corner on the counter and they went through to the finals of the tournament, closest to defending their title with nothing but one roadblock.

Finals

Team 4 Play vs Brute Warriors

It is almost 2:00 AM, all players are tired, the cold-water showers already on their head. Both the teams played their heart out, trying to win it in real-time, however failed to do so. The game went to penalties. Both the teams seemed reluctant to score, and the game moved to sudden death, where both the teams were still reluctant to score. The alcoholics in the group were getting shaky, one of them shouting, “Split the cup, it is not worth it”. However, after an ample number of tries and saves, Clinton scored the winning penalty to secure Team 4 Play the victory and defend their title in the process. Twice in a row, the owners must be pretty happy!

Top Scorers: Rohan Chaudhuri (Gamli’s VI) and Rudra Cariappa (Brute Warriors) — 3 goals each
Golden Glove — Aditya Kumar Gupta (6 clean sheets)
Female MVP: Aania (Gamli’s VI)
Male MVP: Jai Suneja (Brute Warriors)