Guinness “Greatest of the Streets”: National Championship in the spotlight today

With less than one day before the culmination of the Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” season, tournament coordinator Travis Bess has revealed that all systems were in place for an exciting evening in the National Championship at the Pouderoyen Tarmac, West Demerara.
Bess disclosed, “Preparation heading into tomorrow’s [today’s] National Championship is moving along nicely with the exception of the utility posts that are lying north to south on the tarmac. Other than that, all other systems are in place for an exciting evening.”
According to Bess, the anticipation is palpable as fans and players alike are eager for the event’s commencement, noting, “Well, my expectations for the National Championship are to witness an injury-free tournament, both on and off the field; in addition to that, to watch some of the best football. I expect a large turnout since this is the first year the National Championship will be played in its entirety on the “West Side”, on the Pouderoyen tarmac.”

He further stated, “This year’s National Championship is the most open tournament in recent memory, and to add to that, several sides have the capacity to win it given that most of the traditional favourites and powerhouse sides from Georgetown are not participating, such as Sparta Boss and Gold is Money.
“There are several teams to watch in this year’s tournament, for example, North Ruimveldt, the Georgetown runner-up, who played a whole tournament and didn’t concede a single goal with their airtight defence. That can cause trouble for teams. West Side champion Ballerz Empire with their powerhouse offence can also cause issues for other teams; Laing Avenue can create big problems for teams with their attack as well; Linden champions Silver Bullets, who have a balanced team, can also cause problems for the rest of the teams in the tournament, just to mention a few.”
Nine teams, including the seven divisional winners, will feature at the event. They are Georgetown champions Laing Avenue and second-place finisher North Ruimveldt, West Demerara champs Ballerz Empire and second-place finisher Showstoppers, Essequibo winners All-Stars, Berbice champions East Bank Gunners, Linden winners Silver Bullets, East Coast Demerara victors Hustlers, and Bartica titleholders Mighty Ruler.
Following the conclusion of the official draw on August 28 at the Colours Boutique on Robb Street, the East Bank Gunners will oppose Silver Bullets in the first quarter-final, while the Ballerz Empire of East Bank Demerara will lock horns with North Ruimveldt in the second fixture.
Mighty Ruler will face off against Showstoppers, with Laing Avenue engaging the winner of the play-off fixture between All-Stars and Hustlers.
The winners will advance to the semi-final round. The winners of the event will pocket $1,000,000 and the championship trophy, while the second-, third-, and fourth-placed teams will receive $500,000, $350,000, and $200,000 apiece and a trophy.

Complete Fixtures – September 6th
Play-off
18:30h: Hustlers (East Coast) v All-Stars (Essequibo)
Quarter-final fixtures
(1) 19:00h: East Bank Gunners (Berbice) v Silver Bullets (Linden)
(2) 19:30h: Ballerz Empire (East Bank Demerara v North Ruimveldt (Georgetown)
(3) 20:00h: Mighty Ruler (Bartica) v Showstoppers (West Demerara)
(4) 20:30h: Laing Avenue (Georgetown) v Play-off Winner
Semi-final fixtures
(5) 21:00h: Winner of 1 v Winner of 3
(6) 21:30h: Winner of 2 v Winner of 4
Third-place play-off
(7) 22:00h: Loser of 5 v Loser of 6
Final
(8) 22:30h: Winner of 5 v Winner of 6