Valentines Cup III Announced; Quidditch Post Secure Exclusive Coverage Agreement

The Quidditch Post can exclusively announce that Valentines Cup III: The Good, The Bad, And The Quovely will be hosted on the 6-7 February, 2016 by Oxford University Quidditch Club (OUQC). We are also delighted to announce a formal media exclusivity contract between the Quidditch Post and OUQC for the event.

The third edition of the largest fantasy quidditch tournament in the world, Valentines Cup III will be held at Horspath Athletics and Sports Ground on the outskirts of Oxford, UK, a location that will be familiar to attendees of last year’s Valentines Cup and the 2015 European Quidditch Cup. The size of the event will remain consistent with last year’s tournament with 20 teams of roughly 16 players each (not including each team’s captain), meaning that there will be 320 players, plus the 20 captains, taking part.

The Valentines Cup III logo | Designed by Ellie Aaen

The tournament will take the form of pool play on Day One and an upper and lower bracket on Day Two. The pools will consist of five groups of four teams each, in a format that reflects last year’s event. The Tournament Director of Valentines Cup II, and now President of OUQC, David Dlaka, explained the mission of the tournament’s 2016 edition.

“Valentines Cup I established itself as the merc tournament to watch out for,” Dlaka said. “Valentines Cup II expanded as much as possible and was one of the most high-profile tournaments of last season. With Valentines Cup III, we're looking to continue the path of excellence we've set upon and further improve both the execution of the tournament and the joy people will derive from it, having learned from last year's experiences.”

The Quidditch Post is also delighted to announce that OUQC has accepted a significant bid from our organisation to create an exclusive media partnership in covering the event. Dlaka expressed his excitement at the prospect of the deal.

“The Quidditch Post, from an external perspective, has shown much promise in delivering a quality service in promoting events, as well as critically examining said events,” Dlaka said. “We're thrilled to work with them, and I foresee excellent co-operation between two strong organisations.”

This agreement will bring the very best coverage to our readers and all who have an interest in the tournament. Not only can audiences expect detailed written previews and analysis, they can expect live draft coverage, audio coverage on our increasingly popular Quidcast shows, and detailed visual attention from our talented range of artists and graphic designers. Our team of statisticians will also be turning their full attention to the tournament to bring the community a greater insight to the event than ever before. COO Jack Lennard is delighted to be working with OUQC.

“Valentines Cup III is exactly the kind of high-profile event that the Quidditch Post covers best,” Lennard said. “With this partnership, we’ll be able to serve the community better than ever, bringing more detail and depth to our coverage. Not only will this help cement our position as the world’s quidditch media home but it will also bring the fantastic work that OUQC is doing to an ever-larger audience, setting an example for tournaments around the globe. I am absolutely over the moon that OUQC has chosen to partner with the Quidditch Post, and can’t wait to see what amazing things we can produce together.”

The first Valentines Cup was held in Oxford in February 2014, and the tournament has been a fixture of the quidditch calendar since then, becoming not only the largest fantasy quidditch tournament in the world, but a brand consistently associated with quality and high standards of organisation. Details on when sign-ups will be and the exact amount of the tournament fee will be announced in the near future exclusively by the Quidditch Post.