Guildford Inferno took home the first Tchoukball UK trophy of the season, picking up the Domini Fox Memorial trophy. Guildford defeated new side Fareham Black 50-48 in the final.
Guildford player/coach Mack Hofberg said he was “chuffed” to win the tournament, adding: “It’s a team effort and although some players played more minutes than others we couldn’t have done it without the group as a whole.”
Both Guildford and Fareham had reached the semi-finals by winning their respective groups without dropping a point.
Guildford had been dominant in their group alongside Bury Saints, Tchoukball Normandie and Fareham Orange, with some impressive shooting from the partnership of Mack Hofberg and James Skilton but faced a tough test in the semi-final against Geneva Dragons.
Guildford led from the start and looked the stronger side, but struggled to break free from a strong Geneva defence.
Despite coming under increasing pressure Guildford held firm, led by some excellent defensive work from Eithne McCarthy. The Surrey side eventually winning 44-42.
For Fareham it was a similar tale of group-stage dominance, beating Portsmouth Ducks, Portsmouth Uni Pythons and Southampton Stags. In the semi-final they faced Bury Kings, who were pushed up to first position after Nyon Lakers were unable to fulfill the fixture.
Bury, made up of players from the club’s three teams, held on in the early part of the fixture, but led by the powerful shooting of Patrick Dennis Fareham pushed on to win by 12.
For the second year it was an all-British final, but after losing out in 2015 Guildford came through to pick up the first prize of the year.
The final order of the competition from first to last was as follows:
Guildford Inferno, Fareham Black, Geneva Dragons, Bury Kings, Bury Saints, Portsmouth Drakes, Guildford Ignite, Portsmouth Ducks, Nyon Lakers, Tchoukball Normandie, Portsmouth Uni Pythons, Fareham Green, Leeds Cosmos, Fareham Orange, Southampton Stags, Portsmouth Uni Pingus.