The Northern and Southern Cups are the two major regional quidditch tournaments of the United Kingdom. Organised by QuidditchUK, the tournaments serve both as qualification prerequisites for other tournaments, such as the European Quidditch Cup[1] and the British Quidditch cup alongside being their own stand alone tournaments. Regionals are often considered the most important tournaments of the year, after the British Quidditch Cup. As of the 2016–17 season, these regional tournaments served as qualifiers for the latter tournament, as there were now more teams in the United Kingdom than its national championship could support. Those teams that fail to qualify for BQC each season compete in the Development Cup instead.
Locations of the Northern (blue) and Southern (red) Cups
The idea for a regional tournament originally came from Southampton Quidditch Club, who devised an independently organised Southern Cup, which was due to take place in February 2014. Inspired by this, Keele Quidditch Club created a counterpart "Northern Squirrel Cup" open to all the teams who were not invited to the Southern Cup (on the basis of geographical location). Due to adverse weather conditions, the Southern Cup's expected debut was cancelled, but the Northern Cup went ahead as planned in March. Eight teams competed, with Bangor Broken Broomsticks winning the tournament after beating Nottingham in the final. The Southern Cup eventually went ahead in November of that year—the next quidditch season—where another eight teams competed. Southampton, the hosts, were defeated in the final by Radcliffe Chimeras.
Seeing the initial success of these tournaments, QuidditchUK, the United Kingdom's governing body for quidditch, took both tournaments under their control, in time for the 2015–16 season. These tournaments were organised by QuidditchUK and a committee selected by them, rather than by any specific club. Similarly, no club officially hosted either tournament, though both locations were situated nearby to established QuidditchUK teams. The Northern Cup was hosted at Belmont Community School in Durham on 31 October–1 November, while the Southern Cup took place at Horspath Athletics Ground in Oxford, on 14–15 November. The latter had played host to several tournaments in the past, including the 2015 European Quidditch Cup.
In 2017 both the Northern and Southern Cups were used as qualifiers for the British Quidditch Cup, with the top 16 teams from each tournament moving on to regionals. Although both Cups are going to continue to select the top 32 teams in the UK, it is currently unannounced whether the places for nationals will be distributed equally or some form of weighted distribution will be used.
Qualification[]
Qualification for either tournament is based solely on the geographical location of the team. A theoretical horizontal line is drawn at latitude 52.632000 (52°37′55.2″), dictating that any teams based south of that line compete at the Southern Cup, and all north at the Northern Cup.[1] At this time there is no additional criteria; any team registered with QuidditchUK is eligible to play, regardless of experience or skill level.
Format[]
Traditionally, the tournaments have consisted of pool play, followed by bracket play, in a standard knockout tournament structure. The exact format however is flexible, due to the varying number of teams competing in each iteration of the cups. The top two teams from each group move through to the upper bracket while the rest play in the consolation bracket. In order to balance group play and allow for more representative bracket play a seeding system is used.
Seeding[]
All teams are split into three categories: first seeds, second seeds and unseeded teams. How teams are seeded depends on where they came at last years nationals and how many groups there are in the competition. Each group is randomly allocated a first and second seeded team, then the unseeded teams are randomly allocated a group.
The teams final standing in tournaments affects their seeding for the upcoming British Quidditch Cup. The top four teams are placed in the first seed, the fifth to eighth teams are second seeded, and any other qualifying teams are unseeded.
Northern cup[]
2014[]
The first Northern Cup was held at Keele University in March 2014. Eight teams competed over the weekend with Bangor Broken Broomsticks being the eventual winners. The final standings were as follows:
Final standings[]
Position
Team
1st
Bangor Broken Broomsticks
2nd
Nottingham Nightmares
3rd
Keele Squirrels
4th
Loughborough
5th
Chester
6th
Leeds Griffins
7th
Derby QC
8th
HogYork Horntails
2015[]
The second Northern Cup was held on 31 October 2015 in Belmont. Fourteen teams competed after the withdrawal of the Preston Poltergeists. After two days of competitive games, composed of pool play and both upper and Consolation brackets,[2] the final standings were as follows:[3]
Upper bracket[]
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Loughborough Longshots
90*
Holyrood Hippogriffs
10
Loughborough Longshots
30
Durhamstrang
70*
Durhamstrang
110
Leicester Thestrals
70*
Durhamstrang
50
Nottingham Nightmares
150*
Keele Squirrels
150*
Bangor Broken Broomsticks
50
Keele Squirrels
40
Nottingham Nightmares
130*
Third place
Nottingham Nightmares
180
Leeds Griffins
40*
Loughborough Longshots
130*
Keele Squirrels
70
Consolation bracket[]
Semi-finals
Final
Derby Union
100*
HogYork Horntails
40
Derby Union
100*
Chester Centurions
40
St. Andrews Snidgets
0
Chester Centurions
60*
Final standings[]
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
1st
Nottingham Nightmares
Final
8th
Leeds Griffins
Quarters
2nd
Durhamstrang
Final
9th
Derby Union QC
LB final
3rd
Loughborough Longshots
Semis
10th
Chester Centurions
LB final
4th
Keele Squirrels
Semis
11th
St. Andrews Snidgets
LB semi Finals
5th
Leicester Thestrals
Quarters
12th
HogYork Horntails
LB semi Finals
6th
Bangor Broken Broomsticks
Quarters
13th
Durham Direwolves
Group stages
7th
Holyrood Hippogriffs
Quarters
14th
Manchester Manticores
Group stages
2016[]
The third Northern Cup returned to Belmont on 12 November 2016. Twenty teams competed over the weekend. On the first day, five groups of four played each other, with the two highest ranked teams from each group moving into the upper bracket while the rest competed in the Consolation bracket. This was the first tournament to be used to qualify teams for nationals, with the top 16 teams invited to compete in the coming British Quidditch Cup. The results of the tournament were as follows:
Upper bracket[]
Play-in games
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Loughborough Longshots
90*
Holyrood Hippogriffs Firsts
30
Holyrood Hippogriffs Firsts
100*
Nottingham Nightmares
90
Loughborough Longshots
90
Durhamstrang
110*
Leeds Griffins
50
Durhamstrang
170*
Durhamstrang
30
Velociraptors QC
160*
Velociraptors QC
180*
Leicester Thestrals
0
Leicester Thestrals
140*
Manchester Manticores
70
Velociraptors QC
120*
Tornadoes QC
20
Third place
Bangor Broken Broomsticks
40
Loughborough Longshots
110^
Tornadoes QC
200*
Tornadoes QC
120
Consolation bracket[]
Play-in games
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
St. Andrews Snidgets
90*
Holyrood Hippogriffs Seconds
30
St. Andrews Snidgets
10
Derby
50*
Derby
60
Sheffield
140*
Sheffield
130*
Chester
0
Sheffield
30
HogYork
220*
HogYork
170*
Liverpool
0
Liverpool
240*
Preston
0
HogYork
130*
Keele Squirrels
70
Durham Direwolves
40*
Keele Squirrels
110
After bracket play had finished, two more matches were played between the four quarter-finals losers in order to rank the 15th–18th places:
Chester
130*
20
St. Andrews Snidgets
Direwolves
90*
10
Liverpool
Final standings[]
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
1st
Velociraptors QC
Final
9th
Nottingham Nightmares
UB play ins
17th
Liverpuddly Cannons
BQC play offs
2nd
Durhamstrang
Final
10th
Manchester Manticores
UB play ins
18th
St. Andrews Snidgets
BQC play offs
3rd
Tornadoes QC
Semis
11th
York
LB Finals
19th
Holyrood Hippogriffs seconds
LB play ins
4th
Loughborough Longshots
Semis
12th
Sheffield QC
LB finals
20th
Preston
LB play ins
5th
Bangor
Quarters
13th
Derby QC
LB Semi Finals
6th
Leeds Griffins
Quarters
14th
Keele Squirrels
LB Semi Finals
7th
Leicester Thestrals
Quarters
15th
Durham Direwolves
LB Quarter Finals
8th
Holyrood Hippogriffs Firsts
Quarters
16th
Chester
LB quarter Finals
2017[]
The fourth Northern Cup was held at Sheffield Hallam Sports Park in November 2017. Twenty-three teams competed over the weekend. Velociraptors Quidditch Club were the champions for the second time in a row.
2018[]
The fifth Northern Cup was held at Sheffield Hallam Sports Park on 10–11 November 2018. Twenty-two teams competed over the weekend. On the first day, 2 groups of five and three groups of four played each other, with the top 12 ranked teams overall moving into the upper bracket, with 8 further teams playing play-in matches, with the losers joining the final two teams in the Consolation bracket. The top 16 teams were invited to compete in the upcoming British Quidditch Cup; the unsuccessful teams would have another opportunity to qualify via the Development Cup. The top 5 teams were invited to EQT, the nationwide qualifying tournament for the upcoming European Quidditch Cup.[4] The results of the tournament were as follows:[5]
^ abThe snitch survived for 45 minutes and thus the game was decided on quaffle points alone.
Southern Cup[]
2014[]
The first southern cup was hosted by Southampton Quidditch club on the 8th-9 November. 8 teams competed over the weekend. The first day consisted of 2 groups of 4 while the second day was knockout. By the end of the weekend Oxfords Radcliffe Chimeras claimed gold, Southampton silver and London Unspeakables 3rd. The full brackets and final standings where as follows:
Bracket Play[]
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
340
Norwich Nifflers
0
Radcliffe Chimeras
210*
Falmouth Falcons
10
Reading Rocs
40
Falmouth Falcons
170*
Radcliffe Chimeras
140*
Southampton QC
30
Southampton QC
130*
Bristol Brizzlepuffs
0
Southampton QC
170*
London Unspeakables
20
Third place
London Unspeakables
70*
Oxford Quidlings
60
Falmouth Falcons
40
London Unspeakables
50*
Final standings[]
Position
Team
Stage
1st
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
Final
2nd
Southampton Quidditch Club
Final
3rd
London Unspeakables
Semis
4th
Falmouth Falcons
Semis
5th-8th
Bristol Brizzlepuffs
Quarters
5th-8th
Oxford Quidlings
Quarters
5th-8th
Norwich Nifflers
Quarters
5th-8th
Reading Rocs
Quarters
2015[]
The second Southern cup was held on the 14th and 15 November at Horspath Athletics Track (oxford), was due to follow a similar structure to its northern counterpart.[6] However, due to technical issues the Consolation bracket had to be cancelled. Seventeen teams competed over the weekend with Oxfords Radcliffe Chimeras eventually claiming Gold. the upper bracket results are as follows:
Bracket play[]
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
130
Southampton QC 2
50*
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
90*
Brizzlebears
20
Brizzlebears
100*
Falmouth
90
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
130*
Warwick QC
90
Taxes QC
40
Warwick QC
130*
Warwick QC
80*
Southampton QC 1
30
Third place
Southampton QC 1
110*
Werewolves of London
10
Southampton QC
100*
Brizzlebears
0
Final standings[]
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
1st
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
Final
9th
Swansea Seven Swans
Groups
17th
Exeter Patronums
Groups
2nd
Warwick QC
Final
10th
Reading Rocs
Groups
3rd
Southampton QC firsts
Semis
11th
Cambridge University QC
Groups
4th
BrizzleBears
Semis
12th
Oxford Quidlings
Groups
5th
Falmouth Falcons
Quarters
13th
BrizzleBees
Groups
6th
Werewolves of London
Quarters
14th
Norwich Nifflers
Groups
7th
Southampton QC seconds
Quarters
15th
London Unspeakables
Groups
8th
Taxes Quidditch
Quarters
16th
Portsmouth Horntail Strikers
Groups
2016[]
The third southern cup took place on the 29th-30 October at Millbrook rugby club in Southampton. 17 teams competed over the weekend with the top 16 qualifying for the coming British Quidditch cup. The weekend Followed a similar structure to last years with day one being group stage and day to single elimination knockout. Due to only 16 teams qualifying for BQC a play in match between the two lowest seed teams after day one was played to distinguish 16th and 17th place. by the end of the tournament Warwick QC had claimed gold, the full bracket results and final standings where as follows:
Upper bracket[]
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Werewolves of London
180
Portsmouth
30*
Werewolves of London
130*
BrizzleBears
40
BrizzleBears
140*
Swansea
40
Warwick QC
40*
Werewolves of London
20
Warwick QC
110*
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
30
Warwick QC
110*
London Unspeakables
0
Third place
London Unspeakables
110*^
Southampton QC Firsts
80
BrizzleBears
110*
London Unspeakables
30
Consolation bracket[]
Play-in games
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Oxford Quidlings
50
Southampton QC Seconds
130*
Oxford Quidlings
130*
The Flying Chaucers
60
Southampton QC Seconds
40
Exeter
110*
Exeter Eagles
50
Cambridge University QC
170*
Exeter Eagles
70*
Falmouth
120^
BrizzleBees
120*^
Reading Rocs
90
Falmouth
140
BrizzleBees
70*
Norwich
0
Falmouth
160*
Final standings[]
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
Position
Team
Stage
1st
Warwick QC
Final
9th
Falmouth Falcons
LB Final
17th
Flying Chaucers
LB play-ins
2nd
Werewolves of London
Final
10th
Exeter Eagles
LB Final
3rd
BrizzleBears
Semis
11th
Southampton QC Seconds
LB Semis
4th
London Unspeakables
Semis
12th
BrizzleBees
LB semis
5th
Southampton QC Firsts
Quarters
13th
Oxford Quidlings
LB Quarters
6th
Swansea Seven Swans
Quarters
14th
Cambridge University QC
LB Quarters
7th
Oxford Radcliffe Chimeras
Quarters
15th
Reading Rocs
LB Quarters
8th
Portsmouth
Quarters
16th
Norwich Nifflers
LB semis Quarters
2017[]
The fourth Southern Cup took place on the 11–12 November at Millbrook rugby club in Southampton. 21 teams competed over the weekend with the Top 15 qualifying for the coming British Quidditch cup. The weekend followed a similar structure to the format of previous years, with day one having group stage matches and day two containing single elimination playoffs. Due to only 15 teams qualifying for BQC, play in matches took place between the lowest seeded teams in the Lower Bracket to determine the teams that qualify. The tournament was won by Southampton QC Firsts. The full bracket results are as follows:
Upper bracket[]
Play-in games
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Werewolves of London
150
Exeter Eagles
30*
Bristol Bees
20
Exeter Eagles
130*
Werewolves of London
90*
Warwick QC
50
Warwick QC
70*
London Unspeakables
40
Southampton QC Firsts
140*
Werewolves of London
90
Southampton QC Firsts
130
Portsmouth Strikers
30*
Reading Knights
50
Portsmouth Strikers
70*
Southampton QC Firsts
130*
Bristol Bears
10
Third place
Radcliffe Chimeras
40
Warwick QC
120*
Bristol Bears
70*
Bristol Bears
30
Consolation bracket[]
Play-in games
Quarter-finals (BQC qualification)
Semi-finals
Final
Falmouth Falcons
W
London Unbreakables
FF
London Unbreakables
120*
Norwich Nifflers
70
Falmouth Falcons
160*
Cambridge University QC
40
Bath QC
70*°
Cambridge University QC
90°°
Falmouth Falcons
70*
Southampton QC Seconds
60
Southampton QC Seconds
120
Oxford Quidlings
10
Oxford Quidlings
W
The Flying Chaucers
FF
Southampton QC Seconds
70*
Swansea Swans
20
Swansea Swans
130*
Bournemouth Banshees
30
Bournemouth Banshees
W
Winchester Wampus
FF
2018[]
The fifth Southern Cup took place on 24–25 November at Knole Academy in Sevenoaks, Kent. 18 teams competed over the weekend, with the top 14 qualifying for the upcoming British Quidditch Cup. Furthermore, the top 7 teams would qualify for EQT, the nationwide qualifying tournament for the European Quidditch Cup. On the first day, two groups of five and two groups of four played each other. Unlike Northern Cup, there was no consolation bracket. Instead, all 18 teams would compete in the upper bracket, with the bottom 4 teams participating in play-in games. The tournament was won by the Werewolves of London.
Quidditch (sport)