West Midlands Revolution crowned champions of first ever Quidditch Premier League

Credit: Triple Hoops Films

Pictures from Triple Hoops Films.

The West Midlands Revolution has been crowned champions of the first ever Quidditch Premier League.

The game is devised from the fictional sport Quidditch, which features in the Harry Potter books series.

Author JK Rowling tweeted her congratulations to the winning team.

The real-life version of the game has been growing in popularity in recent years. A US Quidditch Cup has been held annually since 2007.

However, this was the first time the sport had been played in a professional sports stadium in the UK.

To fans of the sport, it is considered a "landmark in UK Quidditch history".

Eight teams from across the UK competed to become national champions at the Craven Park stadium in Hull.

After a heavy fought match, the West Midlands Revolution were triumphant against the Southeast Knights.

Eight teams were in the running to become national champions. Credit: Jessica Cornelius

  • How does (non-magical) Quidditch work?

A quidditch team comprises 21 athletes, with seven players per team on the field at any one time.

Each player must have a broom between their legs.

The four maximum rule of quidditch states that at most there can be four players of the same gender on pitch at one time - to ensure the game is inclusive.

Players can be one of four positions:

  • Keepers - Guard the hoops from opposing chasers and become a 4th chaser on offense.

  • Chasers - Throw the quaffle through the opposite team's hoops to score goals worth 10 points.

  • Beaters -Throw bludgers at the opposing team to 'knock them out' and make them return to hoops.

  • Seekers - Catch the snitch (worth 30 points) to end the game.

Quidditch is based on the fictional sport that appears in the Harry Potter book series. Credit: Jessica Cornelius

A team of seven will consist of one Keeper, three Chasers, two Beaters and one Seeker.

A game of Quidditch also involves three types of balls:

  • The Quaffle - a semi-deflated volleyball thrown through the hoops by chasers and keepers.

  • Bludgers - dodgeballs thrown at other players by beaters. There are 3 bludgers on the pitch.

  • The Snitch - a sock with a tennis ball in it, attached to the snitch runner's shorts. When caught by either team's seeker, the game ends

A quidditch team consists of 21 athletes, with seven players on the field at any one time. Credit: Jessica Cornelius