Team Kiko Lake

Team Kiko Lake's line up in 2014 - featuring, from left, Holbie Pinnock, Erli Quinnock, "Poke" Cellers, Meela Kitah, and Ditan Colb.

Kiko Lake's Yooyuball team is a strong contender, but entered 2006 with a lot to prove, due to the injury of Helmo Timm, the flashy (yet erratic) play of goalkeeper Ditan Colb, and their superstar defender Meela Kitah coming off the worst year of her career. Not making it past the first round, fans hoped for a surprise in 2007, similar to that of Roo Island's team, though many believed they wouldn't make it past the Round-Robin Phase. With the addition of forward Moni Vyshan, they hoped the team would be more competitive than the previous year's.

En route to AC III, they were sidelined by a rock slide. Kiko Lake entered AC IV with a drastic line up change fans thought would help them a lot. Although this new line-up beat Maraqua in the first game which led to be a confidence booster, they later fell from grace and into the final bracket being beaten by Terror Mountain, placing them 14th. And after making no changes to their line up in 2010 they were not expected to do much better. Though after beating expected contender Shenkuu in game one, they didn't play well after leaving them in 16th place at the end of the finals.

Altador Cup VI had the Kiko Lakers excited for some time, holding 11th place for much of the second round-robin. However, as they began to falter against stronger teams, Teams Shenkuu and Brightvale kicked them out to fourth tier. Then, going into finals, they lost against Mystery Island. However, after losing against Faerieland, they finished 16th.

Under the new system of play introduced in Altador Cup VII, Team Kiko Lake had a massive improvement over previous years' performance. Starting off incredibly strong, they were able to defeat primary threats such as Meridell and Tyrannia in the first round. Continuing this trend into the second round, fans were shocked when they pulled off three sweeps in a row against Maraqua, Moltara, and Faerieland. However, progressing into the third round, they slowed down to a point where in the fourth round, they didn't claim a single Yooyuball win. Regardless, the Kikos finished strong in 6th, a massive improvement over previous underwhelming finishes.

In Altador Cup VIII their arrogance got the better of Kiko Lake. They took their former success for granted and had a weak performance. They finished 14th.

By Altador Cup IX Kiko Lake had learned from their mistakes they made last year. They restored their fans trust by making a strong appearance. Their main strength was Yooyuball, they were even able to defeat Haunted Woods and Moltara in Yooyuball. Although their fierce play in Yooyuball wasn't enough for a top5 ranking, Kiko Lake did reach their old level by finishing 6th.

The team's spirit paid off in Altador Cup X, where the team managed to surprise everyone with results that seemed almost too good to be true. Save for a single loss in Yooyuball to Brightvale in the final round of play, Kiko Lake swept every single match of the entire tourney, making them the undisputed kings of the tournament and landing them their first Altador Cup win, making them the ninth different team to win the Altador Cup, a feat compounded by their humble origins.

Altador Cup XI forced others to raise eyebrows at other teams, after an outbreak of "multiple account disorder" had been exposed. However, Team Kiko Lake continued to perform admirably, though not nearly as dominant as the previous year. Despite their general lack of strength in Yooyuball, their side game strengths were nearly unmatched, and thanks to this strength, Kiko Lake managed to perform well yet again, placing themselves on the podium once more, albeit in the lower 3rd place. Seemingly unaffected from the "Winner's Curse," the team of Kikos were beginning to make a name for themselves as a new powerhouse.

Roster

Team positions are as follows (bolded notes the Team Captain):

Year	Goalkeeper	Left Defender	Right Defender	Left Forward	Right Forward
2006	Ditan Colb	"Poke" Cellers	Meela Kitah	Holbie Pinnock Helmo Timm (Substitute)	Relle Felson
2007				Helmo Timm	Moni Vyshan
2008	Did Not Participate
2009	Erli Quinnock	"Poke" Cellers	Ditan Colb	Holbie Pinnock	Meela Kitah
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

Final Standings

Year	Result
2006	13th
2007	14th
2008	--
2009	14th
2010	16th
2011	16th
2012	6th
2013	14th
2014	6th
2015	1st
2016	3rd
2017	1st
2018	15th
2019	12th
2020	1st

Fun Fact

Right Forward Meela Kitah shared with us a Kiko Lake success story: "None of us are millionaires, and our community has never been excited about Yooyuball, so it was a real struggle getting to the Cup. Our first year, Poke got a job with Health Frog Groceries delivering door to door, Holbie helped out in his uncle's antique shop, and I sold newspapers. Anything so we could go to the Cup. Playing in the Colosseum is a dream come true."