Altrolete Stackers

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 Kreasi Cups **(3)** | 2009, 2011, 2020

The **Altrolete Stackers** (formerly known as the **Altrolete Isolationers**) are a Greatian professional bladeball team based in Altrolete, Arvanit. As a member of the Greatian Bladeball League (GBL), the team plays in the Southern League West (SL West) division.

## History

### Founding and early struggles

The Altrolete Isolationers were founded in 1971 and began play that season, one of six teams to join the league that season as part of the 1971 Expansion. Like the rest of the expansion teams, and most expansion teams at that, the Isolationers consistently finished with losing seasons, posting the league-worst record in 1975 and 1976. It would take them 11 years to finish a season at .500, finishing 7-7 in 1982, and 14 years to post a winning season, finally finishing 8-6 in 1985 and barely reaching the playoffs.

Despite reaching the postseason in 1985, they were swept in the first round by the eventual champion Assange Deadbolts. The Isolationers reached the playoffs two more times in 1986 and 1987, but were eliminated in the first round both times. Following this, the team suffered immense embarrassment as their window of opportunity closed, and another painful rebuild ensued.

### Success but no Cigar

The Isolationers returned to their losing ways between 1988 and 1994, but by 1992 had established a solid young core of players. Despite finishing at .500 in 1992 and 1993, they did not reach the playoffs, but in 1994, they did. This team was expected to go far, but knowing the Isolationers' luck, they would fumble. The Isolationers reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time in their history in 1994, but lost. They then reached the playoffs every year from 1995 to 2001, but came up short each year. The farthest they got was the Kreasi Cup Finals in 1999, but were swept by the Duesburg Diamonds in three games.

### Rebuild and First Cup Win

Following the Isolationers' final round loss in 1999, the team reached the first round of the playoffs in 2000 and 2001, but lost in the first round both times. The team's window of opportunity was officially shut and they were forced to rebuild once again. The majority of the 2000s decade was spent rebuilding, with a solid young core once again brewing. The Isolationers missed the playoffs from 2002-2006, but made it in 2007.

And what happened in 2007? They lost in the second round to the eventual champion Revclo Westerners. The Isolationers once again were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in 2008, but make no mistake, this Isolationers team was no joke. With all the pieces finally together (they suffered core player injuries in 2007 and 2008), the Isolationers were finally ready. In 2009, they posted a franchise record 12-3 record, and reached their first Kreasi Cup Finals in ten years, since the devastating 1999 loss. The Isolationers ended up defeating the Foye Rivers in the 2009 finals, winning their first ever cup. Thirty-eight years of agony for this franchise had come to an end.

### Dominance and 2nd Cup Win

The Isolationers were expected to win, win, win for years to come. In 2010, they posted an impressive 11-4 record, the second-best record in the entire league, only short to the Foye Rivers. However, the Isolationers were defeated in the second round of the playoffs by the New Nate Rockers, in a Game 3 overtime upset. The Rockers would eventually go on to win their 16th Cup, but the Isolationers returned in 2011 strong. They once again posted an 11-4 record, and this time turned the tables on New Nate, defeating them in the first round in a two-game sweep. The Isolationers defeated the Chris Capitals in the second round to advance to the Kreasi Cup, where they defeated the Cristoforo Bridgegappers in five games to win their 2nd Cup.

### A Sharp Downturn

Following their 2nd Cup win in 2011, the Isolationers were expected to dominate for years to come. However, questionable trades by the team's General Manager Randy Pageau led the team to a mere 8-7 record in 2012, where the Isolationers were again defeated by the New Nate Rockers, this time in the first round. The Rockers would eventually advance to the Cup finals, but would lose to the Esposito Roadkill in an upset. Altrolete's window was once again closing, this time sooner than expected, and after finishing 8-7 again in 2013—but this time failing to reach the playoffs—and then 7-8 in 2014, Altrolete's window was officially shut.

Altrolete again finished 7-8 in 2015, barely missing the playoffs for the 3rd straight year, but then finished 6-9 in 2016 and 2017. Despite this, Altrolete possessed three of the top fifteen minor league prospects in all of bladeball, and so another young core of players was on the rise. In 2018, the team received a rebrand, now called the Altrolete Stackers, and sporting a new logo and uniforms. The Stackers finished 8-9 in 2018, again missing the playoffs, but the talent was there. Everybody realized it, and, with a few offseason acquisitions for major talent by General Manager Dustin Moesby, the Stackers were ready to dominate in 2019.

### Third Cup Win & Success

In 2019, the Stackers posted a dominant 13-5 record, winning their division, the SL West division, by five games. In fact, they were the only team in that division to reach the playoffs. In the first round, the Stackers defeated the fresh New Conlu Clutchers team, a team which made it to the second round of the playoffs in their first season a year prior, in three games. Then, they advanced to face the eventual champion Duesburg Diamonds in the second round, but, in an upset, were swept in two games. A dominant season ultimately proved to be a failure, but the Stackers would return strong in 2020.

A year of craziness for the GBL, the entire 2020 season was played without fans due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nonetheless, Altrolete returned with its dominant ways, again posting a 13-5 record and clinching the second seed in the Southern League, behind the absolutely dominant New Conlu Clutchers, who finished 14-4. Regardless, Altrolete would defeat the Tipton Manuvers in the first round, then defeat the Clutchers in the second round, to advance to face the New Nate Rockers in the 2020 Kreasi Cup. This was an opportunity to exact revenge on New Nate for the two teams' last postseason meeting in 2012. The Stackers did just that, defeating the Rockers in four games for their third Kreasi Cup.

Going into 2021, the Stackers were favorited to win the cup again, and made it into the playoffs with a 16-6 record, coming in second place in the SL West division to the Foye Rivers, who were 17-5. The Stackers would end up beating the Clutchers again in the Four Series, but would ultimately be knocked out in five games by the eventual 2021 champion Rivers in the Four Series. In 2022, they were again knocked out in the Four Series, this time by the underdog and eventual SL Pennant winner Thaxton Vipers.