InterpoloHalle (Cathal, Niels, Bulle, Levin) won the Bristol Open
Directly after the London Open, a 24-team squad mixed tournament took place the following weekend. Some of the international players went on vacation in the UK in between and so had another tournament right away.
The two courts are located just outside Bristol and were only set up for the weekend. Most of the players camped right next to the court.
Due to the large number of teams, the tournament started at 8am on Saturday. Five Swiss rounds were played in two groups.
The two best teams so far met in the Winners Bracket Final. It was Rose Petal (Emmet, Brice, Lizzy, Josh) against InterpoloHalle. The game was very fast from the start and went on for about 10 minutes when the score was still 1:1. Levin scored a full court big shot on the empty net to make it 2:1 and turn the game slightly in his team’s favor. Shortly before the end of the game, Cathal then scored to make the final score 3:1
In the Loosers Braket Final, Frogbuds (Miles, Mya, Pip, Saul) played against Islas Angels (Kropa, Fiona, Mark, Jimbo). The team from Dublin had already decided the last game by golden goal and then fought on. The team around London veteran Miles could only score twice while the team around Kropa scored 3 goals and thus made it to the next round. RosePetal, who were determined to make it to the final, were waiting there and brought their full strength, winning 3:1 against Islas Angels.
The final was then a rematch between RosePetal and InterpoloHalle, who were still unbeaten until then. The final lasted 20 minutes and was watched by all the players in the tournament. After a short time, Bulle’s team, who played a strong offensive throughout the tournament, took the lead. Many goals were scored quickly and after 15 minutes it was already 5:2 for InterpoloHalle. Brice Josh and Emmet were unable to score and ultimately lost the final 3:6
Zsofie, who was one of the main organizers of the tournament, had this to say about the weekend: „Thank you all for making this tournament so lovely, humble, fun and full of support. I still feel touched by the moment before the speech when I saw all your happy tired faces, so much love and happiness. I’m happy that we achieved a safe space for players to experience reffing and learning all weekend. Also that 41 different people were nominated as best mentor. What an amazing thing it says about our community. Thank you all, thank you my Bristol Bike Polo family, without you this would have never happened.“
Sunday was streamed by DownOver on YouTube and can be watched!
Winners History:
2024: Cathal, Niels, Bulle, Levin
2023: Adam, Kat, Jono, Josh
2019: Josh, Claire, Matt
2018: Emmet, Alejandro, Max
2017: Bernard, David, Rob
2014: Adam, Emmet, Rupert
2013: Jono, Josh, Woods
2012: Lee, Josh, Woods
2011: Adam, Jono, Ryan