For many years, the Kening Striid tournament in the Netherlands has demonstrated a high level of organization, technical equipment, and an entertainment program. All teams seek to participate in this HMB event. This year 23 teams from Russia, the Netherlands, France, Ukraine, UK, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland came to fight for the steel crown of the tournament.
The battles took place in 2 mass nominations. So, here were the 5 by 5 mugs among men and women and 12 by 12. The number of fighters is different, and the success of the audience is the same. Visitors to the Imaginarium festival and the tournament that has become a traditional part of it, warmly and passionately supported the fighters.
Tournament results in all categories:
5 vs 5 men
1st place: “Bear Paw” (Russia)
2nd place: “Partizan” (Russia)
3rd place: “Western Tower” (Russia)
5 vs 5 women
1st place: “Katyusha” (Russia)
2nd place: “Blood Griffins” (Germany-Denmark)
3rd place: “Sword of Cygnus” (Great Britain)
12 vs 12 men
1st place: “Bern”
2nd place: “Friendship”
3rd place: ”Order of St. George”
12 vs 12 women
1st place: “Jalousie”
2nd place: “Vultur”
The most valuable male fighter among men is Roman Baranas (Partizan team).
The most valuable female fighter is Lillis Nelson Meeh (“Morning Stars” team).
In addition, the White Company from the UK got an invitation to the final tournament of the Buhurt League season “Buhurt Prime” in Monaco as the best local team according to the results of the Buhurt Masters tournament in the Western European Conference. But we will talk about it more detailed later.
It is worth noting that in general the tournament went smoothly, the timing was completed, each team fought many times, which is always a plus for the fighters. And most importantly, the Kening Striid tournament came to an end without serious injuries of the fighters.
However, there is an important aspect of the tournament, which we would like to disclose in more detail! The innovations of the “Kening Striid” are even put in the title, because they deserve the special attention. Despite the fact that the name of our kind of sport has a reference to the Middle Ages, nevertheless it tries to keep up with today’s time. So, one of the requirements put forward to the participants by the organizers was the mandatory presence of a belt worn over a team surcoat. Before the tournament began, a special chip was attached to the belts, which as like an electronic passport of a fighter. The chips helped identify the fighter during the exit to the lists, for live broadcasting and also for the convenience of entering new data about the fighter. In general, such a system has proven to be reliable and convenient.
Callum Walker, a commentator on the tournament’s English speaking broadcasting, noted that thanks to the chips, it was easier for viewers to track how many fighters of each team are left on the lists, to find out the exact composition of team members thanks to the information and photos of the fighter contained in the chip.
Artem Vasilev, brand manager of the Buhurt League also noted that such a system has proved to be excellent:
“I liked the chip system that identifies the fighters. At the entrance to the lis there was a man who scanned the chips and it was immediately clear who the chip belongs to. It’s like a fighter’s passport, only more convenient. It seems to me that we need to use this system further. I think this is a great solution for HMB sports”
It is remarkable that progress does not stand still and even better that this progress fits so organically into the Historical Medieval Battles, bringing it closer to the viewer.
