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In the Hellmouth Cup, the Long Beach Flightless Birds represented a frustrating gravitational barrier for the Salt Lake Turbulence . The Flightless Birds, Masters of the Ground, had no business obstructing the Masters of the Air, and yet they consistently and effectively held the Turbulence back, and just like a cold layer of air trapping the smog and pollution of Salt Lake on a winter day, the Birds smothered the Turbulence with exhaust from their own patterns.

In Season 18 of the Hellmouth Cup, their first postseason faceoff, the Long Beach Flightless Birds managed to overcome the Salt Lake Turbulence 3-2 in a brutal, ugly League Championship Series that truly set the tone for the rivalry going forward - a titanic clash of order versus chaos, with the winner taking everything. Long Beach knew better than to try and outmaneuver Salt Lake in the air. Instead, they dragged them down into a chaotic tussle in the dirt and the mud, clogging Salt Lake's perfect patterns with grit and unpredictability. The Turbulence were humiliated, grounded by a team of Flightless Birds, and were sent packing at the end of that LCS with a chip on their shoulder that would never disappear.

In Season 21 of the Hellmouth Cup, the Long Beach Flightless Birds and Salt Lake Turbulence were set for a League Championship Series rematch, with the Turbulence desperate to prove themselves to the fan base after being bested by the Birds in the Season 18 LCS. Salt Lake adapted the second time around, proving the superiority of their analytical approach. In another 3-2 series that was another ugly brawl between the forces of order and the forces of chaos, the Turbulence held tight, emerged victorious, and went on to bring the first ever Hellmouth Cup to Salt Lake.