Outbreak. seemed to surprise some people by making it here, but with their only loss being the match they threw to allow RAZOR to advance out of the Group Stages, they never faltered on their way past Darkside. and into the Alliance Tournament IX Final. What is perhaps worthy of raising Shadoo's eyebrow is that they got to watch their two friends, RAZOR Alliance and HYDRA RELOADED battle it out to see who had the right to meet them in the final.

When the dust settled from that match, it was HYDRA RELOADED who advanced, and it was reported that despite how closely these teams worked together, the final match would be unmarred by backroom deals, and neither side would hold back. A half-truth a Caldari lawyer would have been proud of, it certainly didn't set-up the proper expectation for what was to come.

Outbreak. fielded three Sabres, a Claymore, a Huginn, a Thrasher, and a Scimitar that all held range, while their three Sleipnirs landed on the beacon, nose-to-nose with HYDRA's three Vindicators. At range was the remaining HYDRA fleet of three Keres', three Sabres, and an Oneiros.

With the start of the match, the slug-fest began, and Outbreak. downed the three HYDRA Sabres quickly. Two HYDRA Vindicators and two Keres' followed in short order, and Outbreak. looked to have the championship easily in hand. But this is New Eden, and things are seldom as they appear.

HYDRA switched targets from one Sleipnir to another, and unable to break the tank of the last Vindicator, Outbreak. switched to the Oneiros. While they pounded away at it, the HYDRA team, with only the Oneiros, a Vindicator, and a Keres left, began picking apart the Outbreak. team.

There was a slow reversal of moods in the Gallente gambling halls, as one by one the Outbreak. fleet went down. With only the Outbreak. Claymore and Thrasher on the field, the HYDRA Keres' self-destructed. Stranger still, as the Claymore went down next, one of the live commentators joked that the HYDRA Vindicator should turn on it's own Oneiros, and sure enough, it did. Easily finishing off the Thrasher next, only a single Vindicator piloted by HYDRA's Laedy survived. Laedy said it was her first time flying a Vindicator, and added, “I was in it to win it.”

The truth is, HYDRA won this tournament fair and square. So did Outbreak.. Even more, their wins can be directly attributable to Pandemic Legion's actions. HYDRA claims it wasn't even in the final.

Confused yet? Displaying great teamwork, HYDRA and Outbreak. attempted to clarify. “We saw PL intend to field multiple teams, we thought why not us as well? We can do everything they can do and we can do it better,” said HYDRA's Duncan Tanner. And what about no deals marring the final? Duncan Tanner explains, “If people are wondering what the true final was, it was Darkside. versus Outbreak, that was the true final.”

Don Pellegrino, HYDRA's self-destructing Keres pilot, tries to clear up the confusion this way, “The way most of the audience understood it, we're two friendly alliances, but in fact, we are one team. And we managed to be the first alliance to win both first and second place.”

Zarathustra of Outbreak. added, “Everyone should realize this was one team that won first and second.”

“There is no A-Team and no B-Team,” said Duncan Tanner. “What we accomplished wouldn't have been possible without both teams contributions.”

So, when it comes to the final match of Alliance Tournament IX, as cheesy as it may sound, everyone's a winner.