Bottom of the Bracket an innovative tournament
For the past few years, most tournaments in the So...
Bottom of the Bracket featured many players from higher ranked teams as snitches. | Photo by Brad Armentor
A couple teammates and I all kind of got bored with always seeing the same two teams play in the finals. We wanted to make a tournament where the competition was level all the way across the board and then we just called it “Bottom of the Bracket” to give it a silly name,” said Semon.Semon and his fellow officers started planning the tournament in November and were pleased with the positive responses they received. “People at first were not sure to be honored or offended they were invited, but in a joking fashion. The teams at the level we wanted to have come and the big four and big five schools all thought it was a great idea.”The tournament took place at the Rice University Recreational Center on Saturday, January 26th. Teams started the day looking forward to the more level playing field, as it was truly anyone's tournament to win. The tournament was broken into pool play and bracket play, with Silver Phoenixes (College Station, TX) coming out on top after pool play. Many games in the semi-finals and finals were won by snitch catches, demonstrating that the teams were evenly matched. The finals were played between Sam Houston State University Quidditch (Huntsville, TX) and Roadrunner Quidditch (San Antonio, TX), with SHSU getting the snitch grab for a final score of 60-40. Brandi Cannon, president of SHSU Quidditch was excited by her team's win. “There were a lot of things on our side. We had a full roster this tournament and the weather was great, but having a full roster was the best thing. We usually we go with half our team or some players get hurt during the game. We also didn't have too many injuries this time,” said Cannon. Roadrunner Quidditch's second-place finish impressed many of the other teams considering RRQ is in its second semester of existence. “I'm really proud of what we've been able to do so far. I want us to get ahead as quickly as possible. I'm doing everything to help us get down the physicality and strategy to compete at all the major tournaments this year,” said Cullen Carter, chaser and president of RRQ. While several of the top teams in the Southwest were not invited, some players traveled to snitch, referee and take photos of the tournament. Brad Armentor, an LSU chaser, wanted to test his snitching skills and enjoyed having a more relaxed tournament experience. “I snitched, I refereed and I took pictures. The snitching was definitely the most fun. I like doing funny things for the crowd,” said Armentor. “This is one of the best snitching tournament I've ever seen. They were perfect. I don't think there was ever a time we felt gypped,” recalled Cannon. The Bottom of the Bracket was a great success overall, with many teams already looking forward to similarly styled tournaments in the future. “I thought it was great how they gave other teams an opportunity to show the quidditch community what they could do and give every team and opportunity to win,” said Carter. The next major tournament in the Southwest is the Mardi Gras Cup in Baton Rouge, LA, which takes place Saturday February 2nd.