Welcome back to Quaffles & Bludgers! We’re happy to bring you another exciting week of matches. This week, we’re doing something a little different, with two writers taking on the match summaries! While one has taken on the Side A matches, another takes on Side B, travelling across Europe for your entertainment!
Once again, we at the Daily Prophet would like to remind readers that the European Cup Final will be held in Doda Pilii Romania. Tent rentals will be available August 14th with the Final being held on the 21st. Tickets will be offered at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class prices with seating available for each tier and they will also be going on sale August 14th.
Now then, as there are matches aplenty each match week, we’ll only be providing a brief summary of matches until we’ve moved out of the group stage.
| Top Five Teams |
| Varna Lamia |
| San Pietro Lupi |
| Schengen Kropemann |
| Parisian Hellhounds |
| Constanta Fangs |
Side A
Constanta Fangs [Romania] 670 – 320 Appleby Arrows [British & Irish]
This is the first time we’re seeing the Appleby Arrows in action since the Euro Cup started, and while many opposing teams were not thrilled to see them arrive, their fans were elated! One thing is for certain when they play; It’s going to be an interesting match. The Arrows’ first match took place at home in England, where they faced off against the Constanta Fangs, a team known for being swift and deadly with their offensive play even if their defense tends to be lacking. With this in mind, the Arrows opened the match with devastating attacks by their beaters, dropping two of the Fang’s chasers within the first few minutes of the match, allowing a 3 to 1 battle between the chasers to shock both sides of the crowd. Constanta Fang beaters worked hard to protect their remaining chaser but this put their seeker at risk, and the Appleby Arrows wasted no time in focusing their fire here as well. A little over fifteen minutes into the match the two fallen chasers rejoined play, but by that point the Appleby Arrows had gained over 200 points while the single Constanta Fang chaser managed to get a score of thirty. Many fans on both sides thought the match was done, that there was no way for the Fangs to pull it back around. They were mistaken though! Once all three Fang chasers were up and running, it was a well oiled machine, and with the Fang beaters now aware of the abnormally aggressive gameplay before them, it was time to take back the match, and so they did. One after the other, the Fang chasers put the quaffle past the Arrows’ keeper, but this meant trouble. The Arrows happen to be a team that will do anything to win, and boy, did they try. With Arrow beaters and chasers focused on destroying the Fang chasers, it left the Fang seeker free to fly at their own leisure. With an already glorious score of 520-320, the Fangs’ seeker made an easy catch of the snitch while the Arrow’s seeker was busy cheering on their fellow teammates’ performance.
Grodzisk Goblins [Poland] 160 – 240 Falmouth Falcons [British & Irish]
Another match held here at home in England, we witness the Grodzisk Goblins brave the Falmouth Falcons like none others have to date. Going into this the Goblins knew that they had to prepare for the worst, but what they didn’t know was quite how bad it was going to be. The match kicked off with the first ten points rapidly granted to the Goblins, clearly their intention was to get as many points as possible before the violence started, but following this the Goblins suddenly found it a lot harder to go for the quaffle owing to both Falcon beaters and one of their chasers flying around the pitch cobbing every single Goblin that got in their way, no matter who it was. One unlucky Goblin, who also happened to be one of the team’s top scorers, had to endure two elbows in a row, quickly followed by a bludger that knocked her right off of her broom, granting her not one but two penalty shots, once she could see straight. Warnings and sparkings were being sent out almost once every few minutes, but the Falcons didn’t let this slow them down. Soon the match turned for the worse, as the Daly and Baxter duo then focused on bludgering and attacking Goblin players as much as they could. At one point the sound of the whistle blowing from the referee almost surpassed the noise that came from the cheering and booing crowd. It got so overwhelmingly violent that some people who witnessed the match first hand claim that the Goblins looked too frightened to challenge the Falcons further. It was over in a flash of gold and a splash of mud. The seekers, who were head to head and speeding after the snitch, suddenly ended up in two very different locations. The Goblins’ seeker snatched up the snitch while, somehow, the Falcon’s seeker landed in a muddy puddle far below. No one knows quite what happened, it is suspected that a wand had been drawn and aimed at the Goblin’s seeker but the spell actually hit the Falcon seeker. Unfortunately, even this wasn’t enough for the Goblins to pull the win.
San Pietro Lupi [Italy] 540 – 220 Mirto Mooncalves [Italy]
Underdog no more! San Pietro Lupi’s last match in Norway started them off brilliantly and the flow continued to their next matchup in Italy, taking on the Mirto Mooncalves. Italy vs Italy! Not just a regular quidditch match, but one to determine which is the best Italian team, of course! The match was going smoothly with both sides scoring equally, easily keeping up with each other, until a storm began to rage overhead, setting broom tails ablaze with lightning. In the short time that it took one of the Mooncalves chasers to get the fire under control, the Lupi pulled a head and took the lead, and for the duration of the match the poor Mooncalves struggled to catch up. When San Pietro was already 170 points ahead, their seeker made a spectacular dive and caught that elusive golden snitch, driving a knife into the hearts of Mooncalves players and fans alike. San Pietro Lupi’s winning streak continues! Can anyone stop them?
Sofia Fates[Bulgaria] 270 – 380 Heidelberg Harriers [Germany]
Our forth match of Side A takes us over to Germany where the Fates and the Harriers collided in an epic battle to be the winner of this match. Both teams, unfortunately, are seeking redemption after their previous matches. Sofia Fates had a hard time keeping up with the Braga Broomfleets, while the Heidelberg Harriers were completely flattened in Bulgaria. Interest to see who will come out victorious had skyrocketed leading up to the match. Both with something to prove, the teams started off the match with a ferocious game play and a lot of desperation. A chaser on either team was quickly taken out as all four beaters on the pitch developed a very dangerous, high speed conflict between them where each team’s beaters were determined to take the others down. While both teams are known to have good chasers, they both have exceptional beaters, and pretty soon the game’s focus turned solely to the beaters even though the score was steadily growing on both sides. With a tremendous swing of his bat, beater Timotheos Bogdanov of the Sofia Fates sent a bludger a little too hard at the crowd and was quickly called out for bumphing. The score reached a close, nail-biting game of 250 for the Fates and 230 for the Harriers, this led to both teams attempting to regroup and refocus. With several calls of blatching on both sides, the Fates quickly earned themselves two more goals, while the Harriers’ seeker made a heart-stopping catch of the golden snitch while skillfully dodging bludgers from the Fate’s beaters.
Schengen Kropemann [Luxembourg] 280 – 240 Naantali Nakki [Finland]
With a win already under their belts, Kropemann set out on their next match to get themselves another win, no matter what it took. As fans know, they took on the Kustavi Viikinit last week, where their keeper, Lucile Luettgen suffered a bludger to the head- fortunately coming out alright due to her history of such injuries. Meanwhile, the Nakki were ready for redemption after last week’s embarrassing defeat. It seemed like fate was on their side this time, as the team quickly secured a 110 point lead against the Luxembourg side with impressive teamwork from their chasers, including an expert demonstration of the Finbourgh Flick from Chaser, Sini Ulla. The Kropemann team wasn’t giving up just yet though. They fought alongside the team, giving their best before finally, Anissa Bode, the Schengen seeker managed to capture the snitch while hanging upside down from her broom, closing the gap and ending the game in her team’s favour.
Vatican Vampires [Italy] 430 – 10 Karasjok Kites [Norway]
In Norway, the crowd practically roared with anticipation for the week’s final Side A match. Karasjok Kites had an impressive go against the Holyhead Harpies and fans were eager to see a repeat of that action as they took on the Vatican Vampires on their home turf. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the way the match would play out. After kicking off, the Vatican Vampires allowed Karasjok to score what many are calling a pity goal before ultimately demolishing the team in the most embarrassing displays we’ve seen yet. One of the most notable moments for the Vampires featured Barnaba Adami with the quaffle with Bagni and Nicodemo flanking him. Several of the Karasjok players tried to make a move, their chasers approaching in hawkshead formation when Adami spun out of the way. Passing the quaffle to Bagni who passed it to Nicodemo, the team kept the quaffle out of the enemy’s hands, including a kick from Nicodemo. After passing the quaffle back to Bagni, the chaser secured yet another goal with a Dionysus Dive. After an hour of this, with Vampire keeper Ismael Di Stefano blocking the Kites’ every attempted goal, Seeker Ysolt Bandoni managed to capture the snitch, leaving the Karasjok team on their pitch dejected and embarrassed.
Side B
Pride of Portree [British & Irish] 170 – 310 Vrasta Vultures [Bulgaria]
For the first Side B match of week two, fans traveled to Bulgaria to witness the legendary Vrasta Vultures go head to head with Pride of Portree. The Bulgaria side was loud with the cheers of fans, their roars drowning out the British & Irish who had traveled to support their team on this sunny afternoon. Portree kicked off with a strong start to the match, scoring the first two early goals led by newcomer and former Triwizard Tournament contestant, Elliott Reid. With the loss of former chaser, Alyona Longo, Portree was eager to prove that they hadn’t suffered despite fan concerns that Reid didn’t match the spirit of the well loved team. Unfortunately for the purple and gold, the Vrasta Vultures hadn’t come to play. After giving Portree a head start, the Bulgarian team began to really show what they were capable of, determined to remind everyone just why they are a household name, no matter your home country. They stood up to the challenge Portree raised and put on a helluva show. Working as a team, the Vultures’ chasers blew across the pitch like a storm, whilst Ierameel Markov stole the quaffle from Portree’s Akilina Picasso in the process. On the goal end of the pitch, Markov was approached by Reid, eager for a steal, only to meet the young newbie’s chest with not one but two boots, nearly sending the boy crashing to the earth. Markov passed the quaffle to teammate Mouses Chavdarov who then spiked the quaffle past Hayoon Seol and into the goal with an impressive Dionysus Dive, the likes of which we haven’t seen this tournament. Even with Portree Seeker, Marfa Parma, capturing the snitch, the Vultures walked away from the pitch victorious just as they planned.
Bergen Oars [Norway] 210 – 630 Ostrava Otesaneks [Czech Republic]
In the Czech Republic, the Ostrava Otesaneks and the Bergen Oars were due to fight it out on the pitch and fight they did. Though the match started with the sky cracking in two and unleashing a torrential downpour on the pitch, neither team allowed their parade to be rained on and gave it their all. After their embarrassing defeat at the hands of Italy’s Mirto Mooncalves, the Otesaneks were determined to redeem themselves now that keeper, Loki Péťa had returned to play, with a much stronger jaw if rumours of magical enhancement are to be believed. We saw the Otesaneks return the favour of beating the keeper, watching the twins, Emil and Ivanka Vašek juggle the bludger between them while chaser Antonín Dagmar rushed towards the goal. Just before Dagmar shot, Vašek femme sent that bludger flying at the Bergen keeper, Inga Oddvar, knocking the Oar from the sky and clearing the post for Dagmar to score. While the Bergen Oars did their best, scoring a surprising 21 goals, it wasn’t enough to take down the Otesaneks and the Norway team suffered their second loss this tournament when Ostrava seeker, Radomíra Svatoslav captured the snitch before immediately being struck from the sky by a stray strike of lightning.
Braga Broomfleet [Portugal] 260 – 490 Varna Lamia [Bulgaria]
In Bulgaria once more fans arrived eagerly to see how the Braga Broomfleet could stand up to the Varna Lamia only to find another terrible case of weather. In a freak turn of events, suspected to be the work of a bitter Quidditch hopeful, players found themselves pelted by frogs falling from the sky. Still, neither team was willing to let that stop them- we’ve all played in worse in our school days, right?- and the game was quickly underway. Varna showed some interesting tactics, the team’s chasers quite literally dribbling the quaffle down the pitch, making it more difficult for Braga to steal it without crashing into the ground. This tactic worked well for the team, though the Broomfleet seemed to catch on before long, forcing the team to change it up again. Despite the hard fought battle, the Broomfleet couldn’t stand up to the ferocity of the Lamia team, and were left in the dust.
Kustavi Viikingit [Finland] 200 – 40 Plovdiv Raptors [Bulgaria]
Still in Bulgaria, we saw the Kustavi Viikingit and the Plovdiv Raptors meet on the pitch- the Raptors determined to see themselves victorious once more and Viikingit seeking redemption after an embarrassing defeat last week.The first half of the match featured a back and forth between the Raptors and Viikingit with the pair scoring goals on both sides, and a humiliating moment for the Raptors where they managed to sink the quaffle into their own posts. Raptor chaser Noah Naumov had sailed across the pitch standing on his broom in an impressive fashion, and would have made quite the spectacle had he not gotten turned around and scored on his own team.This was a particularly short game despite the excitement as the Viikingit seeker captured the snitch between his teeth. notably breaking a few, and ending the match in Kustavi’s favour.
Sardegna QC [Italy] 120 – 490 Holyhead Harpies [British & Irish]
Over in Italy, this season’s league winners from Italy and Britain came to blows. Sardegna started off strong, feeling right at home amongst a mainly Italian crowd, but Holyhead have never been a team to roll over and accept defeat. They fought back hard, with Withka leading the Chaser counter attacks – Sardegna’s romantically starved Stefano Ricci simply couldn’t defend his hoops from her quaffles or her charm. Vitrac put through her own fair share of goals despite taking a plethora of knocks from the bludgers, though eagle-eyed spectators noticed she was covered in marks even before the match had started. Sardegna had a strong chance at the snitch at one point, though Kelpie Galloway stole it in the end, while demonstrating spectacularly why people applaud a Wronski Feint.
Bigonville Bombers [Luxembourg] 630 – 370 Provence Princes [France]
Back in France, the Bigonville Bombers and Provence Princes prepared for the final match of the week. While both teams suffered a loss in week 1, the Bombers found themselves especially feeling the pressure as their previous loss had in fact been another team from the French league. Once again, we witnessed spectacular play from both teams however it was the Bigonville Bombers who truly stole the show. With spectacular flying and playing, we witnessed a brilliant display of tactics from the team with a reverse pass leading into a porskoff ploy and finally a move that could give the Chelmondiston Charge a run for its money when it comes to the most dramatic way to score a goal. Fans watched in awe as Bigonville Chaser, Niko Stokes passed the quaffle to teammate Creola Champlin with a kick, who then leapt from her broom, kicking the quaffle through the goal and still managed to land back on her broom. Impressive playing all around, the Bombers truly gave fans their money’s worth and not even a Provence snitch catch could steal the show nor the victory from the Luxembourg team.
That’s it for this week, we hope you’ll check in next week for another exciting break down of week three’s matches!
