its time for the semi finals, so we figured we'd give you a write-up on republic city's very own stonewall stormers, who'll be facing the _______ _____s this weekend. now things have really been heating up between these two teams, and not just because the _____s came so close to winning last year and the stormers are shaping up to be some pretty tough competition. folks, we're not a gossip column, but we can't just ignore what's been going on between stormer theia ivor and _____ quinten trenowyth, and while it may be unclear what the situation is exactly, there's nothing discreet about it. honestly, the only thing i have to say on the matter is i hope it doesn't affect the stormers' chance at winning this tournament. part of the reason i'm so excited to see the stormers win, and the reason i'm excited they've gotten this far, goes all the way back to last year. if you might recall, the stonewall stormers entered the tournament last year, and i figured i'd support them out of some sort of hometown pride. unfortunately, they didn't get very far. whoever's been keeping tabs on them can see a drastic improvement, not only in all of the players but also in the way they work as a team. this well-oiled machine is nothing compared to the rookies they were last year. and since my team, the haileybury hammers, had a bad run this season and lucked out against the finches, i'm obviously a little biased in rooting for the stormers. part of me wants to chock the stormers' newfound success to unofficial captain aldo luminati. in terms of sheer physical strength, he might exceed any other earthbender still in the tournament you could name. combine that with his strong defensive capabilities and effective and intuitive communication with his teammates, and you get the leader last year's stormers needed. it's clear that luminati cares for his teammates, and he's almost overprotective to a fault, risking potential wins for the safety of his team, but that hardly counts as a flaw. luminati is in that awkward stage of professional sports playing where he isn't exactly a rookie, but i'd hesitate to call him one of the best players in the league. however he does have all of the qualities of a perfect player, and given a few more years, he could be the next [insert awesome probending player here]. where the firm defense provided by aldo luminati ends, the aggressive offensive play is supplied by firebender antheia ivor. ivor is a bit of a loose cannon; while her natural skill and ruthless tactics played a major part in bringing the stormers closer to the finals, those same vicious blows had the stomers on the brink of elimination more than any other team in the league this season. don't get me wrong, you need a quick and ferocious striker like ivor if you want to make it in the big leagues, and i can only name one team in all of probending history that hasn't played a little dirty at least once, but when it starts to hurt the rest of your team, it may be time to reevaluate how you want to play. and i didn't want to make comparisons to the _____s here, but inherent impulses alone might not cut it against firebender eliot newdegate. but however reckless she may be, theia ivor is definitely the firebender the stormers both needed and deserved. last but not least is waterbender jarvis anselm. again, i can't help but draw comparisons: anselm is definitely not the waterbender quinten trenowyth is. however, what anselm lacks in natural talent, he makes up for in his in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of waterbending. he's incredibly well-trained and can make even the most complex plays look simple. while he may be more inhibited and apprehensive than his fellow teammates, anselm is a master of the methods and very aware of the gaps in his opponents' knowledge. what he needs is the experience, seeing as he's only been physically playing probending for about ten months now. last time the stormers competed in the tournament, they had a different waterbender who shall go unnamed. ever since they replaced said waterbender with jarvis anselm, the stormers have been doing much better, especially with regards to team chemistry. i don't want to say i'm surprised the stonewall stomers made it this far because, even last year, anyone could see they had potential. and given the long and arduous process they've gone through and the improvements they've made in their journey to the semi finals, they definitely earned their place in the league.
