Expectations were high as a Newcastle (Too Many Pies) horde of four teams made their way to Mixed Indoor Regionals; a tournament in which they made up a quarter of the teams, threatening the Northern region with their sheer depth of players.
Pies 1 made light work of their group on Saturday although, they were taught a valuable lesson on how ferocious Pies beginners are when Pies 4 threatened to cause an early upset.
Pies 2 had a strong group stage with an important win against Manchester 2 but struggled against Durham 1’s clinical offence.
Pies 3 placed third in their group on goal difference with a well fought draw against Northumbria 1 giving them a promising start to the weekend. Saturday came to a close with power pools to decide seeding for Sunday.
Pies 3 killed their power pool, finishing 2nd and climbing to 12th seed, utilising a fast handler weave offence that many teams struggled to keep up with.
"Pies had a strong group stage with an important win against Manchester 2 but struggled against Durham 1's clinical offence."
Pies 1 and 2 met in the same power pool and put on an inspiring display of Ultimate before Pies 2 proceeded to defeat Lancaster 1 to propel them into 6th seed and a chance at qualifying for Division 2 Nationals.
Pies 1 destroyed Durham 1 12-4 to take 2nd seed, edging ever closer to Division 1 Nationals qualification.
After being one of the only teams partying on Saturday, Sunday started with Pies 3 edging ahead of Pies 2 in the early minutes of a nail-biting showdown and nearly causing a huge upset.
Pies 4 exhibited some impressively fluid offence while putting strong score lines against teams with years more experience throughout Sunday.
They ended the weekend on a high and left many other teams scared of their extraordinary level of skill.
Pies have an incredible future ahead of them with these players leading the way. Pies 3 ended the weekend by defeating Liverpool 2 and finishing above most second teams at the tournament. They controlled the middle bracket with their intense defence and stunning handler play.
"The final saw Pies 1 facing Manchester 1 and both teams approached the match with an unbeaten record"
Pies 1 gave themselves a tough semi-final by conceding three points to Liverpool 1 early in the game however, by bringing absolute defensive fire for the remainder of the game, they turned it around and progressed to the final with an 11-9 win.
The final saw Pies 1 facing Manchester 1 and both teams approached the match with an unbeaten record. Pies 1 promised to leave everything on the pitch and so they did, tearing around the pitch on offence, putting their bodies on the line on defence and reigning superior with technically perfect throws.
A huge Pies side-line gave the encouragement and hype to help them become Regional champions and claim the top Division 1 Nationals spot. Pies 2 outclassed UCLan 1 with clinical offence and earned their place in the Division 2 play-off.
Northumbria 1 fought hard and took the lead in the middle of the qualification match but Pies 2 stayed cool and utilised their fierce defence to take the game, 5th place and the first ever Division 2 Nationals spot for a Northern second team.
Get rekd Northern Region and bring on Nationals!