This weekend Brazil’s Superliga Nordeste (Northeast Superleague) semifinal round begins play as the Ceará Caçadores will host the João Pessoa Espectros at Presidente Vargas Stadium in Fortaleza on November 1st.
This is a special match for the roster of Caçadores because this is the first time a Ceará team has ever reached the finals of a regional competition. The Fortaleza team finished the regular season with five wins and one loss dropping one game to the undefeated Recife Mariners (6-0). After the merger between Fortaleza Dragões do Mar and Ceará Cangaceiros to form the Caçadores, the team came close to reaching the final of the Superliga Northeast last year, when it was defeated by the Espectros 24-18 at Murilão Stadium in Fortaleza.
The current Superliga Nacional runner-up, the João Pessoa Espectros want to repeat the victory over their rivals from Ceará from last season. The Paraiba Espectros finished the regular season with four wins and two defeats, with both losses coming at the hands of the Recife Mariners. Despite the losses, the team, led by head coach Brian Guzman, is the favorite to reach the final of the Superliga Northeast again. The team has a veteran squad with many players who played for the Brazil Onças (Brazilian National Team) when they played in the 2015 IFAF World Championships.
The other semifinal between the Recife Mariners and the Recife Pirates will be played November 8.
Superliga Nacional Standings 2015 |
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Centro-Sul (Mid-South) |
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| Unique Group | Teams | Win | Lost | Draw | PF | PA | Net | Home | Away | Streak | |||||||
 |
y – Cuiabá Arsenal | 5 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 69 | 45 | 3-0 | 2-0 | won 5 | |||||||
 |
x – Coritiba Crocodiles | 5 | 1 | 0 | 159 | 78 | 81 | 2-1 | 3-0 | won 4 | |||||||
 |
Itapema White Sharks | 3 | 2 | 0 | 125 | 123 | 2 | 2-0 | 1-2 | lost 1 | |||||||
 |
Foz do Iguaçu Black Sharks | 2 | 3 | 0 | 135 | 102 | 33 | 1-1 | 1-2 | lost 2 | |||||||
 |
São José Istepôs | 2 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 75 | 1 | 1-2 | 1-1 | won 2 | |||||||
 |
São Paulo Storm | 1 | 4 | 0 | 72 | 134 | -62 | 1-2 | 0-2 | lost 4 | |||||||
 |
Goiânia Rednecks | 0 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 180 | -124 | 0-2 | 0-3 | lost 5 | |||||||
Nordeste (Northeast) |
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| North Group | Teams | Win | Lost | Draw | PF | PA | Net | Home | Away | Streak | |||||||
 |
y – Ceará Caçadores | 5 | 1 | 0 | 194 | 87 | 107 | 3-0 | 2-1 | won 2 | |||||||
 |
x – Recife Pirates | 3 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 88 | -17 | 1-2 | 2-1 | won 1 | |||||||
 |
América Bulls | 2 | 4 | 0 | 115 | 133 | -18 | 2-1 | 0-3 | lost1 | |||||||
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o – Ufersa Petroleiros | 2 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 77 | -38 | 1-2 | 1-2 | lost 2 | |||||||
| South Group | Teams | Win | Lost | Draw | PF | PA | Net | Home | Away | Streak | |||||||
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y – Recife Mariners | 6 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 44 | 173 | 3-0 | 3-0 | won 6 | |||||||
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x – João Pessoa Espectros | 4 | 2 | 0 | 181 | 55 | 126 | 1-1 | 3-1 | lost 1 | |||||||
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Vitória | 2 | 4 | 0 | 73 | 184 | -111 | 1-2 | 1-2 | won 1 | |||||||
 |
o – Sergipe Bravos | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 253 | -244 | 0-2 | 0-3 | lost6 | |||||||
x – Clinched playoff
y – Clinched Division and Homefield Advantage
0 – Relegated to lower division