The annual charity SK Ballers Christmas Cup took place on Monday 29th December, with 12 teams fighting it out for the title.
Group A
Some controversy in Group A (we'll get to that), but in the opening games, two of the big hitters in the group played out a 1-1 draw as Dustbusters FC and Syluf Gudjursson couldn't be separated. Cocwombles got off to a flyer as they hammered Requis FC 4-0, and Shaw Heath Bees 6's joined them on three points after beating their brothers in SHBNextGen. Dustbusters picked up a first win in the second round of games, beating Cockers 4-1, and they would win all of their remaining games in the group to finish top on 13 points. The second round of games is where the controversy came in, as Shaw Heath 'beat' Syluf 3-2, a result that ultimately saw them finish second in the group. They lost just one other game, to Dustbusters, and a 2-1 win over Cockwombles in their final game saw them pip Cockers to second place. Syluf officially finished 4th, and a narrow win for Requis over NextGen saw them avoid finishing in bottom spot.
Group B
Group B went all the way as Netsix & Chill, Inter MiVan and Not Sure Yet battled for the two semi final spots. All three teams won their opening two games, before Netsix took top spot by beating Out On Bale 3-2 in their third game while Not Sure Yet and Inter drew 1-1. Netsix dropped their first points in the next round of games as they drew 0-0 with Not Sure Yet, and Inter took over at the top with a 2-0 win over Not Quite Carling. OA FC didn't manage a point or a goal in their opening two games, so wins over Not Quite Carling and Out On Bale came too late to give them a chance of qualifying. Netsix and Inter faced off in the final round of games with Netsix needing a win to guarantee a spot in the final 4. The game looking to be heading for a 0-0 draw until Inter nicked it in the dying seconds. Not Sure Yet still needed to win their last game to claim second spot from Netsix, and Netsix's hopes ended in the opening minutes as NSY raced into an early 3-0 lead over OA FC to qualify for the semis. Also in the final round of games, Out On Bale won the battle of the pointless teams, beating Not Quite Carling 3-0.
Semi Finals
As you'd expect, both semi finals were tight affairs. Dusbusters v Not Sure Yet would have been our pick for the final before the tournament started, but they met in the semis. This one looked like it was heading for penalties, but Dusters struck late to pick up a 1-0 win and a spot in the final. In the other semi, surprise Group B winners Inter MiVan were also narrow winners, but their goal came earlier as they beat Shaw Heath Bees 1-0.
Final
It wasn't the line up we were expecting for this years final, but Inter MiVan deserved their spot in the final after remaining unbeaten in their 6 previous games. They got off to a bad star here as Dustbusters raced into an early two goal lead. Inter did pull a goal back to threaten a grandstand finish, but Dusters sealed the game with the final attack of the game to wrap up a 3-1 win and they deservedly claim the title of SK Ballers Christmas Cup winners for 2025.
A massive thank you to all teams who took part. We put a high price on entry, with some people choosing to donate more, so we had a chance to raise a decent amount for Andy's Man Club, and we are delighted to announce we will be making a donation of £432.32 in the coming days.
