The Haslington Market Tarmac will be the venue on Saturday night for the semi-final round and eventual championship match in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ East Coast Demerara zone.
The four teams that are in the running for the championship, following two nights of elimination matches, are Vryheid’s Lust, Liliendaal Hustlers, Non-Pareil, and Beterverwagting (BV)-A.
The Vryheid’s Lust lads are scheduled to face off with BV-A in the first semi-final from 19:00h. Vryheid’s Lust defeated two-time winner Melanie-B on penalty kicks in the earlier quarter-final section and will be aiming to add another high-profile scalp to their list.
However, the experienced BV-A side will be laser-focused on returning to the final, in their bid to capture a second title, and are in clinical form following their 2-1 defeat of Church Yard in the previous round.
Meanwhile, Non-Pareil will oppose Hustlers in the second semi-final from 19:30h. The Non-Pareil boys enter the match-up riding a wave of momentum following their come-from-behind 3-2 win over Eagles. However, the formidable Hustlers outfit will be no pushovers, following their gritty penalty shoot-out victory over Old School.
The respective semi-final winners will progress to the championship match, while the losers will compete in the third-place playoff.
The winner of the event will receive $250,000, and the championship trophy, while the loser will collect $150,000 and a trophy. The third and fourth-place finishers will receive $100,000, and $70,000 respectively, and a trophy.
Meanwhile, the Plate section of the competition will conclude before the start of the main tournament final.
The first semi-final will witness Portmore battling Team Cruel at 20:00h, while Buxton Diamond will battle Uprising at 20:30h. The winners will compete in the final for $60,000.
According to tournament coordinator Rawle Welch, “Thrilling is the word that can be best used to describe the final night in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ East Coast Demerara zone. We have had tremendous support from the communities, who must be commended for showcasing discipline as a major highlight of the tournament has been the incident-free nature.”
“Three of the four teams could be first-time finalists, which cannot be understated or undervalued as the competitiveness and growth of the event bode well for its future. The Plate section also has been fiercely competitive and was a structure introduced to reward teams that were unlucky in the previous round and has really taken on a life of its own, and this must be attributed to the teams.”
He further said, “Despite a two-year absence, the passion, drive and fire to compete and participate still burns bright for the tournament. Saturday evening will be no different, and we expect another mammoth crowd to descend on the venue which has certainly exceeded expectations this year.”
Complete Fixtures
Semi-finals
(1) BV-A vs Vryheid’s Lust-19:00h
(2) Liliendaal Hustlers vs Non-Pareil-19:30h
3rd Place
(3) Loser (1) vs Loser (2)-22:00h
Final
(4) Winner (1) vs Winner (2)-22:30h
Plate Semi-finals
(1) Portmore vs Team Cruel-20:00h
(2) Buxton vs Uprising -20:30h
Final
(3) Winner (1) vs Winner (2)-21:30h
