Ghent Gargoyles became 13th at EQC last year. – Picture: Quidpic.be
Belgium’s fourth European Quidditch Cup participant, Ghent Gargoyles, has its origins in 2014. The club, currently consisting of two teams, will be sending a team to EQC for the fourth time. They have known many successes since then, from a third place at Benelux Cup 2015 to a thirteenth place at EQC 2018. Coached by Nick De Leu, Dale Housden and Viktor Moortgat they only want to go further.
The current second-best team in the country will be playing its first EQC on Belgian soil. After just missing out on EQC 2017 in Mechelen, the Gargoyles made a comeback by winning one of Belgium’s two spots for EQC in Pfaffenhofen. There the team showed they were not inferior to the rest of Europe. They achieved their goal of reaching upper bracket -top sixteen- and even bettered it by becoming the thirteenth best team in Europe. To do so they became second in their group on day two and beat OSI Vikings on day two, after a closely matched, but tactically strong game. And with great results come new goals. This year, the Ghent Gargoyles are determined to win a place in the top ten.
Their road to EQC 2019 took a promising start when the Gargoyles won the qualifier, earning one of three remaining spots. On top of that, the team convincingly won the second place at Belgian Quidditch Cup and the Belgian league. For extra training and further promotion of the team-spirit, the entire club went on a teambuilding-weekend. A friendly against Ruhr Phoenix provided extra practice for the EQC-squad, consisting of a Ghent Gargoyles I core, strengthened by players from the second team.
Find out Ghent Gargoyles’ roster below:
| Fischer | Suzanne |
| Vander Heyden | Ellen |
| Huycke | Ellen |
| Taelman | Niels |
| De Graeve | Jens |
| Van Steenkiste | Josse |
| De Leu | Nick |
| Van Meirvenne | Stijn |
| Verbeure | Brian |
| Roelants | Gloria |
| Housden | Dale |
| Unruh | Micah |
| Opsomer | Lotte |
| Bellégou | Glenn |
| Moortgat | Viktor |
| Piens | Jona |
| Daems | Joke |
| Haenebalcke | Matthias |
Day 1 schedule for Ghent Gargoyles:
| Ghent Gargoyles | |
| time + pitch | opposing team |
| 8:30 am – pitch 2 (livestream 2) | Mammoths |
| 11:30 am – pitch 1 (livestream 1) | Dementores |
| 13:30 pm – pitch 3 | METU Unicorns |