NEW champions will be crowned this evening in the 3rd annual Magnum Mash Cup Futsal Championship, as former champions Bent Street tackle Rio All-Stars at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
This match pits traditional giants Bent Street against emerging upstarts Rio All-Stars of Queenstown.

The match pits the tournament’s leading attack in Bent against Rio All-Stars, owners of the best rearguard.
Packed with mercurial talents such as Daniel Wilson, Colin Nelson, Akel Clarke, Sheldon Holder, Jermaine Beckles and Adrian Aaron, Bent Street have recorded a whopping 23 goals.

This resulted from wins against Mocha (round of 16 stage), Sophia (quarterfinal) and Kingston (semifinal). In terms of their defensive quality, Bent Street have allowed six conversions.

On the other side, Rio All-Stars, despite all their attacking quality, have dominated the opposition with staunch defending. The result of such an approach has only allowed four goals, with Cecil Jackman and Solomon Austin pivotal in this area.

However, they have only been breached once in the knockout round, following clean sheets against giants Back Circle (quarter-final) and Future Stars (round of 16) as well as 3-1 win over Leopold Street (semi-final).
Offensively, 10 goals have been recorded by the likes of Jermin Junor, Kelsey Benjamin, Lennox Cort and Job Caesar.

Troy Lambert, manager of Rio All-Stars encouraged everyone to come out and witness the finale, adding, “I expect a very competitive final between the two teams. I expect this to be one of the best finals in the history of the event. We know the quality of Bent Street and that they are the favourites, but we are not going to lie down easily and we are coming to win.”

Prior to the commencement of the final, the third place matchup between Kingston and Leopold Street will take place. Nigel Denny, captain of Kingston, urged all the supporters of the team and members of the community to show up at the venue and show their support for the side.

He further added that the players are confident of finishing the tournament on a positive note. Also, two exhibition matches will be staged to kick off the evening’s festivities.
Meanwhile, established sporting brand Woodpecker Trophies and Sports, officially presented the trophies yesterday to the organisers of the event at their Alberttown location.

Speaking at the simple presentation, Esan Griffith, San Sports Director and Coordinator of the tournament, thanked the company for its contribution, adding, “This is the grand finale of the event and I expect keen competition and rivalry between Rio All-Stars and Bent Street.”

He added that while Bent Street are an established force nationally, “Rio have proved themselves a force in the shorter format of the game.”
He further stated that the tournament is geared towards improving the fabric of social cohesion amongst the communities and that the match will be a grand showdown and exhibition of talent.

Winner of the event will pocket $600 000 and the championship trophy, while the second-placed side will collect $400 000 and the respective accolade.

On the other hand, the third- and fourth-placed units will receive $200 000 and $100 000 respectively with the corresponding trophy. Among the other sponsors of the event are National Sports Commission and MVP Sports.