Quidditch Premier League

The Quidditch Premier League (QPL) is an elite quidditch league that represents the sport in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany.[1] The league is composed of seventeen teams - four in each of the UK North Division, the UK Central Division, and the UK South Division, and five in the European Division. The QPL season runs from June to August every year, with each team playing three divisional fixtures in the regular season. The playoffs include all seventeen teams competing in either Division 1 or Division 2 the QPL Championship fixture in late August, with the winning team being named as the QPL Champions for that season.

Quidditch Premier League
Current season, competition or edition:
2018 Quidditch Premier League season
SportQuidditch
Founded15 November 2016
DirectorJack Lennard
DivisionsUK North
UK Central
UK South
European
No. of teams17
CountriesUnited Kingdom
France
Belgium
The Netherlands
Germany
Most recent
champion(s)		London Monarchs
Most titlesWest Midlands Revolution (1)
London Monarchs (1)
Sponsor(s)SAVAGE The Ultimate Apparel Company
Epione Medical Supplies
Official websiteQPL Official Website

History

The Quidditch Premier League was founded in November 2016 by Jack Lennard in hopes of developing quidditch further during the summer months in the UK's off-season.[2] Lennard is the current Director of the League.[3] The QPL was launched live on Sky News Sunrise and immediately gained international attention, with appearances in BBC News, ITV News, and even a mention on Conan.[4][5][6][7] The first season debuted in June 2017, and saw the West Midlands Revolution crowned as the inaugural champions.[8] In September 2017, two new teams were added; the Welsh Dragons, in the South Division, and the Scottish Thistles, in the North Division. These represent the first national Scottish and Welsh quidditch teams.[9] The 2018 League was once contested across 3 fixtures in each division, followed by a championship at Cardiff Arms Park. The winners were the London Monarchs, who swept the board with an unbeaten season; the Southeast Knights finished as runners-up, and the 2017 champions, the West Midlands Revolution, came third.[10] Before the 2018 season commenced, it was announced that the Quidditch Premier League would be establishing a European Division with five teams for the 2019 season. The new teams are based in Paris, Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Cologne.[11] It has also subsequently been announced that a further two UK teams would be debuting in 2019, based in London and North West/North East England, which will see the two UK divisions become three.[12]

Competition Format

The teams hold tryouts in their respective catchment areas during February of each year to select their squads of 25 players. Teams that share catchment areas, such as the London teams, the Northern teams, and the European teams, hold joint tryouts followed by a draft for prospective players. Each season features twelve divisional fixtures, three for each division, in June, July, and August, where all the teams in that division gather to play a round-robin format.[13] The Championship fixture, held at a professional sports stadium, takes place at the end of August, and features all seventeen teams split across two Divisions based on divisional standings, and is a knockout event. Previous Championships have been held at Craven Park Stadium, Hull and Arms Park Stadium, Cardiff.[14][15]

Teams
Team Catchment Area Debut Season Current Manager
UK North Division
Yorkshire Roses Yorkshire and the Humber 2017 Josh Armitage
Northern Watch North West and North East England 2017 Elliot Fisher
Northern Angels North West and North East England 2019 Timur Zakirov
Scottish Thistles Scotland 2018 Gavin Hughes
UK Central Division
Eastern Mermaids East of England 2017 Hannah Ridley
Welsh Dragons Wales 2018 Heather Dimmer
West Midlands Revolution West Midlands 2017 Kyle Bolderson
East Midlands Archers East Midlands 2017 James Thanangadan
UK South Division
London Monarchs Greater London 2017 Seb Waters
London Lions Greater London 2019 Natasha Ferenzcy
Southeast Knights South East England 2017 Harry Smith
Southwest Broadside South West England 2017 Charlie Strickland
European Division
Paris Lumières Continental Europe 2019 William Nouvel
Lille Géants Continental Europe 2019 Amaury Moulin
Brussels Atoms Continental Europe 2019 Nicolas Dehez
Amsterdam Pride Continental Europe 2019 Kieran Smith
Cologne Talons Continental Europe 2019 Nicholas Hirst

See also

References
  1. Szalai, Georg (15 November 2016). "Quidditch Premier League Unveiled in U.K." Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  2. Payne, Marissa (17 November 2016). "There's now a Premier League for Quidditch, the game from 'Harry Potter'". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. Flood, Alison (15 November 2016). "Off to a flying start: Quidditch Premier League launched in UK". The Guardian.
  4. "Muggle Quidditch has UK launch". Sky News. 15 November 2016.
  5. "A Quidditch Premier League launches in the UK with eight teams". BBC News. 15 November 2016.
  6. "Quidditch Premier League launches in UK". ITV News. 15 November 2016.
  7. "Conan Monologue 11/16/16". Conan. 16 November 2016.
  8. "Quidditch: Harry Potter game brought to life in Hull". BBC. 28 August 2017.
  9. https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/harry-potter-fans-get-scotland-s-first-national-quidditch-team-1-4567498
  10. "Quidditch Premier League: 2018 Final Standings". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  11. "Quidditch Premier League Expands To Europe In 2019". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  12. "New UK Teams For 2019, Plus Divisional Shakeup". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  13. "Quidditch Premier League FAQ".
  14. "2017 QPL Championship Fixture to be Held at KCOM Craven Park Stadium, Hull". 11 April 2017.
  15. Knapman, Joshua (10 January 2018). "Quidditch championships are coming to Cardiff this summer". Wales Online. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
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