Last saturday in Ghent, the highly anticipated Belgian Quidditch Federation’s European Qualifier took place. In this tournament, it would be decided which of the four participating Belgians teams would join Antwerp Quidditch on the road to the European Quidditch Cup.
The four teams that battled each other during the rainy day were Antwerp B, Qwaffles, Ghent Gargoyles I and Liège Leviathans A. Each team played their best game. Each player went the extra mile in fighting for those very important European Quidditch Cup spots. We are already very proud to be able to say that the level of quidditch in Belgium is very high, but we are even prouder to be able to say that the four participating teams in the Qualifier all had an even matched level of skill. Going into the tournament, each team knew that they had a chance of making it to the European Quidditch Cup.
In the first part of the day, all teams had to play each other in a round-robin, a competition style in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn. Based on their performance there, they would play for the second highest European Quidditch Cup seed or the fourth, and final, European Quidditch Cup spot.
Ghent Gargoyles I proved that they would be tough to beat. They ended this round by convincingly winning three out of three games, playing their games well out of range. The other teams Liège Leviathans A, Antwerp B and Qwaffles were more evenly matched, meaning any outcome was possible. Each of the games they played against each other was very close. Each of the teams won one game after high level of play by all.
This resulted in a tie and in the end, the tiebreaker to make the decision was least yellow cards. Which meant Antwerp B and Qwaffles would battle for that final European Quidditch Cup spot while the other two teams were already definitely sure of their place in the tournament.
The first final game that took place was the one for the second seed. Ghent Gargoyles I versus Liège Leviathans A, a game that would also determine the winner of the day. Ghent Gargoyles I defeated Liège Leviathans A in an interesting game, leaving Ghent Gargoyles I as winner of the tournament.
“Coming into this tournament, it felt really impossible to predict who would grab the qualifying spots. The competition did not disappoint, with very close matches between Liège Leviathans A , Qwaffles and Antwerp B. We are very happy to get one of these coveted slots, especially after such a thrilling tournament, and wish to thank the Belgian Quidditch Federation for the well run show, all officials for travelling especially for us, and all our opponents for the intense but fair games”
— Arnaud Bourdoux, Liège Leviathans A
“After our silver medal at the last Belgian Cup and our performance at the last European Quidditch Cup, Ghent Gargoyles definitely was one of the favorites. That’s something the team wasn’t used to, but with the exceptional focus of our players, we managed to make it happen. Winning was always the goal but we hadn’t expected to win with scores so widely out of range!”
— Nick De Leu, Ghent Gargoyles I
As the final game of the day, the battle for the last ticket to EQC, Qwaffles and Antwerp B played each other for the second time that day. The two teams’ skills were evenly matched with each other and it proved to be a tough game for both. In the 18th minute when the snitch was released, the two teams were tied. In the end, Antwerp B defeated Qwaffles with a successful snitch catch.
“I think we can be happy with our result, even though we know there is work to do. We’ve worked hard to be where we are, and it finally paid off.”
— Lana Naudts, Antwerp B
“Can’t wait to see those three teams alongside Antwerp A in the round of 16 in Harelbeke. It will be interesting to see how well Belgium does.”
— Florian Dion, Qwaffles
After an exciting day of Quidditch, we now know which teams will be playing for Belgium at the European Quidditch Cup in Harelbeke, May 11th and 12th. In the next six months Antwerp Quidditch, Antwerp B, Ghent Gargoyles I and Liège Leviathans A will be working very hard to play their best games yet at European Quidditch Cup. But no worries, you won’t be without quidditch until then! The league still continues and of course the teams will see each other on the battlefield once again at Belgian Cup. Who knows what that will bring? Will Brussels avenge themselves? Hold on tight!