Puddlemere Climbs Ranks
Catapults Come Crashing Down
Arrows Enter Top Three
Cannons Beat Down Ballycastle
Another week, another exciting article of Quaffles & Bludgers here at the Daily Prophet! We are down to the wire here with this week’s matches setting the stage for the season’s finale on April 24th. A finale that promises to be one of the most exciting the British and Irish League has seen in some time!
Matchweek 27 started in Wigtown, Scotland with the league’s bottom two facing off in a match that truly could have gone either way. Fans on both sides were on the edge of their seats as they watched the chasers of both teams go head to head. While Wigtown took an early lead with Paternoster back on her broom after her injuries two weeks ago, Puddlemere was certainly giving them a run for their money. With Puddlemere only 4 goals behind Wigtown, eyes on both sides were anxiously searching the field for any sign of that glint of gold that could secure the victory. In the end it was Callum McClarken who took the snitch with some of the very same impressive flying we’ve grown to expect from the reserved seeker. The match ended in Puddlemere’s favour, boosting the team’s standing on the table. Wigtown 340 – 450 Puddlemere
The next game took us to Montrose, where the Magpies and the Caerphilly Catapults took to the sky in a surprisingly brutal match. Both teams being midtable, they started fairly matched but it didn’t take long for fans and reviewers alike to see that this was a massacre in disguise. From the moment the quaffle was in the air, the Magpies’ Chasers kept their hands on it. While the Catapults managed a fair few goals themselves, once Magpie star beater Adam Fletcher knocked Catapult chaser and team captain Gabriella Dudley from the skies, all hope was lost for the Welsh team. While Toutorix Tracy, seeker for the Catapults managed to lessen the blow of their loss by catching the snitch, the match still ended in the Magpies’ favour. Montrose 670 – 540 Caerphilly
Moving on to Banchory, we watched two teams from opposite ends of the table face off as the Bangers tried their best against the top four team, Appleby Arrows. A truly exciting match, this was a close one with fans of the Bangers wholly expecting the team to pull off an exciting victory when they took the lead. Arrows keeper Dale Morris struggled to block the shots that came his way, even fumbling so hard as to take a quaffle to the face- a quaffle which bounced off his head and into the post in the comedic moment of the century, if you ask me! The game continued this way with the Bangers taking 56 goals to the Arrow’s 52, a tight and close match with the lead going back and forth. That is until Seeker Everett Butcher took matters into his own hand, quite literally, closing his fist around the snitch and securing the victory for the Arrows. This victory shifted Banchory down the table two ranks and boosted the Arrows into third spot, stealing it from the Falmouth Falcons. Banchory 560 – 670 Appleby
“Let’s all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.” That’s the motto of one of the teams to face off in our last match of the week, the Chudley Cannons. There was already a dejected air to one side of the crowd as we arrived in England to watch the Cannons take on the Ballycastle Bats, of course, the other side was said to already be drinking to victory. While the fans and even Ben Foddle, current Cannons manager seemed to have already given up, the Cannons themselves never seemed to get the memo. There are those who will tell you the Cannons’ glory days are over, those people clearly didn’t attend this match. From kick off it was clear that this was not the Cannons we’re used to seeing. The team was organised and worked together with a synergy previously unknown to the orange and black. Whether it was the influence of Sayaka Satō or simply a bad day for the Bats, the Cannons managed to lock Ballycastle out of victory, with Justyn Riley blocking all but 12 goals from the former League leaders. The chasers on the other hand managed to secure an impressive 40 goals before Satō captured the snitch, ending this embarrassment for the once impressive Ballycastle Bats. While the match didn’t lead to movement by either team on the table, we don’t think Puddlemere will be going into next week’s match underestimating the Chudley Cannons after this performance. Chudley 550 – 120 Ballycastle
That brings us to a close for this week of Quidditch news! Only one match remains in the season, a match which will determine the winner of the 2027-2028 British and Irish League Cup! We are on the edge of our seats in anticipation and we hope you are too! Be sure to check out next week’s edition for the thrilling conclusion to this year’s season, ta ra!
The Department of Magical Games and Sports Host the Presentation of the British and Irish League CupAlso:
The Dangerous Dai Commemorative Medal
The Quaffle Control Masters Trophy
The Josef Wronski Award For Excellent Pitch Skills
April 25th
Hogsmeade
Street Party To Follow
