Stakes high at tonight’s opener

The sixteen teams that will feature on the first night of action in the East Coast Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition already know that winning is the only pathway to advancing further into the tournament. The action gets underway this evening at the Haslington Tarmac with eight matches scheduled where losers will immediately exit the competition, while the winners move into the round robin phase set for Saturday night, at the same venue.

However, before play gets started, Director of Sport Christopher Jones is expected to do the ceremonial kick-off shortly after meeting the teams. The feature game of the night will see hosts Haslington Hypers square off against Mahaica Determinators in the final game, while reigning champion Melanie B start their defence with a clash against a dangerous Buxton unit in the preceding encounter. Over $700,000 in prize monies and trophies will be up for grabs over three days, while the Plate final carries a first prize of $50,000.
The winning team in the competition will receive $400,000, while second, third and fourth place finishers take home $150,000, $100,000 and $75,000 respectively.
The sixteen participating teams are: Melanie-B, 2014 winner Melanie-A, Plaisance-B, 2013 winner Plaisance-A, 2015 champ BV-A, 2016 winner BV-B, Buxton Diamond, Buxton, Victoria Church Yard, Haslington Hypers, Belfield Warriors and Paradise-A, Police-B, Mahaica Determinators, Mahaica Guinness Bar and Uprising