A new champion will be crowned this evening in the 3rd annual Magnum Mash Cup Futsal Championship, as former champion Bent Street tackles Rio All-Stars at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
Maria Samaroo, representative of the Woodpecker Trophies and Sport, posing alongside Tournament Chief Esan Griffith (left), Kingston Captain Nigel Denny (2nd left) and Rio All-Stars manager Troy Lambert (right) at the official trophy presentation ceremony
The narrative of the match pits a traditional giant in Bent Street against an emerging force in Rio All-Stars of Queenstown.
The numbers also portray their own story, pitting the tournaments leading attack in Bent against Rio All-Stars, owners of the best rearguard.
Littered with mercurial talents such as Daniel Wilson, Colin Nelson, Akel Clarke, Sheldon Holder, Jermaine Beckles and Adrian Aaron, Bent Street has recorded a whopping 23 goals.
This resulted in wins against Mocha (round of 16 stage), Sophia (quarterfinal) and Kingston (semifinal). In terms of their defensive quality, Bent Street has allowed six conversions.
On the other side, Rio All-Stars despite all their attacking quality, has dominated the opposition with staunch defending. The result of such an approach has only allowed four goals, with Cecil Jackman and Solomon Austin pivotal in this area.
However they have only been breached once in the knockout round, following clean sheets against giants Back Circle (quarterfinal) and Future Stars (round of 16) as well as 3-1 win over Leopold Street (semifinal).
Offensively, 10 goals have been recorded by the likes of Jermin Junior, Kelsey Benjamin, Lennox Cort and Job Caesar.
Troy Lambert, Manager of Rio All-Stars encouraged everyone to come out and vie the finale, adding, “I expect a very competitive finale between the two teams, I expect this to be one of the best finals in the history of the event. We know of the quality of Bent Street and that they are the favorite, but we are not going to lie down easily and we are coming to win.”
Prior to the commencement of the final, the third place matchup between Kingston and Leopold Street will occur. Nigel Denny, captain of Kingston, urged all the supporters of the team and members of the community to show up at the venue and show their support for the side.
He further added that the team is confident of finishing the tournament on a positive note. Also, two exhibition matches will be staged to kickoff the evening’s festivities.
Meanwhile, established sporting brand Woodpecker Trophies and Sports, officially presented the trophies yesterday to the organizers of the event at their Alberttown location.
Speaking at the simple presentation, Esan Griffith, San Sports Director and Coordinator of the tournament thanked the company for their contribution, adding, “This is the grand finale of the event and I expect keen competition and rivalry between Rio All-Stars and Bent Street.” He added that while Bent Street is an established force nationally, “Rio has proven themselves a force in the shorter format of the game.”
He further stated that the tournament is geared towards improving the fabric of social cohesion amongst the communities and that the match will be a grand showdown and exhibition of talent.
Winner of the event will pocket $600,000 and the championship trophy, while the second place side will collect $400,000 and the respective accolade.
On the other hand, the third and fourth place unit will receive $200,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding trophy. Among the other sponsors of the event include the National Sports Commision and MVP Sports.
