Rochester Thestrals Snatch Victory at US Quidditch Cup 11, Texas Cavalry Is Back-to-Back Champion

by , · April 26, 2018

The crowds have thinned, the dust has settled, and the University of Rochester Thestrals have won the collegiate division of the highly anticipated US Quidditch Cup for the first time ever while Texas Cavalry was crowned champion of the community division with a repeat win.

The US Quidditch Cup (formerly called the Quidditch World Cup) is the largest quidditch tournament in the world. This year, it hosted 87 teams at Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas, on April 14–15, 2018. Featuring many of the world’s top teams and athletes, it remains one of the best showcases of the sport of quidditch.

This was the first year the US national championship was split into two divisions, allowing college teams with younger players to rise to the top of their division while the more experienced “super” community teams battled it out in their own division.

The UR Thestrals, a team that bowed out early in the round of 32 last year, took advantage of this year’s division system, in dramatic fashion, snatching the championship from the clutches of the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). UT Austin has won the title three times previously, but the Thestrals were able to stay in range with an impressive Beater game that killed any momentum UT Austin could gather. It was only after a timely catch from behind that the Thestrals finally achieved victory and ended the game at 100*–90 (a * indicates a Snitch catch, worth 30 points in Muggle quidditch) in an absolutely nail-biting final.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in the community division, Texas Cavalry, the defending champion from last year’s US Quidditch Cup 10, went undefeated during pool play. The team went on to defeat the Bosnyan Bearsharks 90*–30 in the semifinals before dispatching Lone Star Quidditch Club (LSQC) in the all-Texas finals by the same margin. Texas Cavalry’s glory of its back-to-back win could only be matched by the devastation felt by LSQC, which has always placed highly after being denied the title at US Quidditch Cup 8 by UT Austin in the final.

 

 

Texas Cavalry was a dominant force again in this tournament with now-legendary Keeper Augustine Munroe at the helm. With his assistance, the team played a far more aggressive and fast-paced style than the slow play seen last year. Notably, the final saw many old teammates pitted against each other, with Texas Cavalry and LSQC both heavily composed of UT Austin graduate players, making for an incredibly exciting match, which you can watch here (if anything, watch for Rob Snitch’s amazing hat, for which he won the Most Fly Snitch Award).

In general, the Swiss-style format of the tournament, which we reported on here, made for an incredibly exciting array of games, including the exhilarating fan experience that was Quidditch Club Boston (2016 champions) vs. Lake Erie Elite. Here, underdogs Lake Erie Elite managed to pull off a spectacular comeback to clinch the game against the formidable Team USA heavy Boston lineup.

After the slow and unappealing style of play that was commonplace last year, this year’s increased pace of gameplay was remarkable, making for one of the best spectator experiences of quidditch to date. The quality of the game coverage was also exceptional, with games live streamed onto US Quidditch‘s YouTube channel, including multiple switching camera angles, a Snitch cam, and commentary, not to mention the Snapchat story. MuggleNet Live! was also present throughout the tournament and captured footage of some of its most exciting moments!

Will you go back and watch some of the matches? (You should!) Which was your favorite?