Kologne dethrone Essen in close contest



27-09-2021
Caiman Wickitts


Essen lose third Grand Slam this year in 420-250 defeat. Fans and pundits debate whether this loss marks the end of Essen's era of dominance



With his team leading 270-250 in a closely fought contest, Kologne seeker, Kebbel Weiß, outclassed Essen's seeker, Harry Potter (aka Hans Geister), in a race to the snitch to take the match and the championship.

The win at Hallefried's Augustinius Reich stadium after 3 h 59m of play, marks the first time any team apart from Essen has taken two Grand Slams in one season in the last 25 years. Earlier in April, Kologne had recaptured their home title, the Cologne Cup.

Kologne fans were ecstatic at their team's performance, which saw it move up past Thuringen to take the World number 2 ranking. Expectations will run high that the Rhineland club can seriously challenge Essen next year.

The defeat has left Essen Dragons with only 3 Grand Slams - Hamburg, Paris and Berlin - this year, the first time the dominant club has held less than four Grand Slams in a calendar year. In June, Ajaccio Arecia took the coveted Alstraase Open crown.

Essen seeker, Harry Potter, later complained of feeling out of sorts at the press conference, "I have had healing issues, the left foot isn't quite the same since [the strain suffered in training], the healing has been slow with the symbiotes refusing to do their bit or maintain growth energy."

St Mungo's Healer, Grunin Dwyst, said Potter was referring to a new Healing method that uses tiny magical Dugworts to rebuild tissue after an injury. The Dugworts are found naturally inside the human body, with which they are symbiotic, but when placed on injured skin they penetrate into the body to cause a healing effect. However, sometimes the dugworts refuse to act, and simply sap the person's energy by diffusing into the blood.

Kologne's seeker, Weiß, who celebrated the win with his colleagues late into Sunday night, shrugged when asked if he had faced an unfit Potter.

"I don't know if he had an issue, he seemed as fast as ever in the air. The news is a surprise, so I hope he makes a full recovery."

Quidditch analyst, Kullin Skopjé, suggested that Potter had seemed "slightly slower than usual. He usually accelerates really fast when the snitch is sighted, leaving the opposing seeker floundering, but we didn't see that burst of speed on Sunday. Maybe there was an issue and the team did not want to announce it in advance."

Potter fans will hope that their hero recovers soon. While the Number 1 ranking is safe this year, Essen have the Hamburg Open title to defend early next year, and healing complications could cast a cloud the new Quidditch season.