History Made at the British Quidditch Cup!

by · April 3, 2018

On March 24 and 25, 32 teams fought for the title of British Quidditch Cup champion, and the Velociraptors Quidditch Club came out victorious for the second year in a row, marking the first time ever that a team has successfully defended its British Quidditch Cup title!

The annual highlight of the British quidditch season, this year’s championship was held at Brookes Sport, Oxford. Competing teams were selected from the regional tournaments Southern Cup and Northern Cup, which were held earlier in the quidditch season. Non-qualifying teams will play in the upcoming Development Cup set to take place at York Playing Fields, North Yorkshire on April 14–15.

Teams were drawn into groups, with seedings based on pre-tournament play. Once Day 1 group play was finished, the teams were divided into either the upper bracket or lower bracket based on match rankings. Day 2 play consisted of elimination rounds, with the losing team exiting the race for either the consolation title or British Quidditch Cup champion.

After narrowly beating Bristol Quidditch Club to win the gold last year, Velociraptors Quidditch Club defended their title against contenders Warwick in an exhilarating final. Against Warwick’s superb play, Raptors were forced to catch the Snitch twice: the first time to take the game into overtime and the second to finally claim the title with a score of 70*–30.

Jay Holmes, a player for Velociraptors, was delighted with the win.

People see Raptors as a faceless machine, but I think we’ve shown that we have the biggest heart.

Werewolves of London claimed the last spot on the podium, beating Southampton Quidditch Club 110–30*.

In the lower bracket, Chester Centurions beat Manchester University Quidditch Club 60*–40 to win the consolation title.

Outside of competitive play and in another British quidditch first, parents of Quidditch UK players took on the Oxford Quidlings in a fun and casual friendly match.

Interested in joining UK Quidditch? Simply find your nearest team and get started!