July 3, 2011: Snorlax, the Dragon Slayers is the first official tournament team from Belgium. It’s a mix of the most addicted lax players from the different Belgian clubs, and some foreign mercenaries. Last weekend in Switzerlans, it was an all-Belgian line-up though. Our Belgian team travelled a long way to play their first tournament: Bern open. The goal in Snorlax, is to have fun, to make new friends and to party! If they win or lose, it doesn’t matter as long as they had a great time! The expectations for Bern were not that high obviously. Winning 1 match and don’t end up last, was the target.

Their first match on Saturday was against Karslruhe Storm, a decent German team that ended up 4th in the Bundesliga West this season. Against all odds Snorlax won that game 3-1, without even playing really well. Second game was against Swiss team: Fribourg Skunks, that was just a mix of Swiss players from different clubs. The opponent was just too good in that game and Snorlax lost 5-1. Third game was against Olten Saints, a 2nd division Swiss team. Snorlax drew 2-2, but deserved more. Although they already surpassed expectations at that moment, disappointment was great after that game. Bern Titans were up next. Snorlax surprised friend and foe and beat the hometeam cleanly with 5-2. With that result it was almost certain they would play the semi-finals. Last game on Saturday was against big favourite 2nd hand Lacrosse. The level was high and the Swiss tournament team only narrowly won (4-2). The Dragon Slayers had a great lacrosse day and they celebrated it greatly! They were the last team standing at the bar that night!

On Sunday there was still one group game left. Due to the withdrawal of Fribourg Skunks, Snorlax would end up 3rd or 4th, no matter the result of the last match. It was a difficult match early in the morning, and that resulted in a 3-5 loss against Basel Spartans, currently 3rd in the Swiss League. Snorlax ended the group in 4th and had to face the nr 1 ranked team in the semi’s: 2nd hand Lacrosse. The level of that match was very high, and Snorlax put down a superb team performance. 2nd hand could just not stand the pressure and suffered a big 5-1 defeat! Snorlax reached the final in their first tournament, and while they were there, they didn’t want to settle for silver. The final was again against Basel Spartans, who just beat them that morning. This was a completely different match though, Snorlax took control over the match and didn’t give Basel any chance. A solid 3-0 victory secured the win, and the first title for this new Belgian team! The future looks bright!

In the end of July they will travel to Essen for the Glück Auf Cup, everybody’s curious if they could surprise again!

Good Luck!

Jan Van Cauwenberge