The European Quizzing Championships (EQC) are an annual multi-disciplinary quiz event, in which representatives from various countries compete as individuals, teams (clubs and national teams) and pairs. The last championships took place in Bruges, Belgium 4-6 November 2011. As most of the top players of the world are Europeans, the EQC are almost on par with the WQC.
The playing environment differs drastically, though, as the EQC is played in one place only, in English only (WQC is played in the language of each country) and has several competitions with more than one player (pairs, national teams - for four players, and clubs - also four players).
The 2010 event attracted media attention from BBC Radio Derby [1] and is to be the subject also of a BBC Radio 4 documentary (due out in 2011) presented by the comedian, and quiz enthusiast, Paul Sinha.[2] The 2006 event in Paris was also the subject of a well received Channel 4 documentary 'Quizzers' by the director Paul Whittaker, shown in the UK as part of the series 'New Shoots'.[3][4]
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Won in its first three years by Brit Kevin Ashman, Belgian Nico Pattyn [5] upset all the locals in 2007 in Blackpool, to become the first Belgian to win the trophy. Ashman rebounded to win in 2008 and 2009 to make it five out of six.[6]
| Year | Venue | Winner | Runner Up | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ghent, Belgium | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Nico Pattyn (Bel) | Pat Gibson (Ire) |
| 2005 | Tallinn, Estonia | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Indrek Salis (Est) | Pat Gibson (Ire) |
| 2006 | Paris, France | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Mark Bytheway (Eng) | Lieven Van den Brande (Bel) |
| 2007 | Blackpool, England | Nico Pattyn (Bel) | Lieven Van den Brande (Bel) | Pat Gibson (Ire) |
| 2008 | Oslo, Norway | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Pat Gibson (Ire) | Olav Bjortomt (Eng) |
| 2009 | Dordrecht, Netherlands | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Olav Bjortomt (Eng) | Pat Gibson (Ire) |
| 2010 | Derby, England | Olav Bjortomt (Eng) | Tero Kalliolevo (Fin) | Pat Gibson (Ire) |
| 2011 | Bruges, Belgium | Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Pat Gibson (Ire) | Olav Bjortomt (Eng) |
Introduced in 2005, Belgian and English pairs have dominated this event.
| Year | Venue | Winners | Runners Up | Third Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tallinn, Estonia | Dr Ian Bayley & Pat Gibson (Eng) | Marnix Baes & Bart Permentier (Bel) | Nico Pattyn & Paul Arts (Bel) | |
| 2006 | Paris, France | Paul Arts & Marc Van Springel (Bel) | Mark Bytheway & Kevin Ashman (Eng) | Keith Andrew & Sean O'Neill (Eng/Wal) | |
| 2007 | Blackpool, England | Erik Derycke & Tom Trogh (Bel) | Albert November & Ronny Swiggers (Bel) AND Jussi Suvanto & Tero Kalliolevo (Fin) |
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| 2008 | Oslo, Norway | Albert November & Ronny Swiggers (Bel) | David Stainer & Olav Bjortomt (Eng) | Mark Bytheway & Kevin Ashman (Eng) | |
| 2009 | Dordrecht, Netherlands | David Stainer & Olav Bjortomt (Eng) | Ian Bayley & Pat Gibson (Eng/Ire) | Mark Bytheway & Kevin Ashman (Eng) | |
| 2010 | Derby, England | Kevin Ashman & Pat Gibson (Eng/Ire) | Tero Kalliolevo + Jussi Suvanto (Fin) | David Stainer & Olav Bjortomt (Eng) | |
| 2011 | Bruges, Belgium | Kevin Ashman & Pat Gibson (Eng/Ire) | Erik Derycke & Tom Trogh (Bel) | David Stainer & Olav Bjortomt (Eng) |
The English and Belgian teams have contested every final, with the result standing at three all as of 2009. The foursome of Kevin Ashman, Mark Bytheway, Pat Gibson and Olav Bjortomt failed to retain the title in 2008 in Oslo, the winning Belgian team composed of Ronny Swiggers, Nico Pattyn, Erik Derycke, and Tom Trogh, but rebounded in 2009.
| Year | Venue | Winner | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ghent, Belgium | England | Belgium |
| 2005 | Tallinn, Estonia | Belgium | England |
| 2006 | Paris, France | Belgium | England |
| 2007 | Blackpool, England | England | Belgium |
| 2008 | Oslo, Norway | Belgium | England |
| 2009 | Dordrecht, Netherlands | England | Belgium |
| 2010 | Derby, England | England | Belgium |
| 2011 | Bruges, Belgium | Finland | Norway |
After the first two years the event has been dominated by two British teams. Milhous Warriors (2006 line-up Kevin Ashman, Mark Bytheway, Tim Westcott, Sean O'Neill) who won in Paris in 2006. Broken Hearts (Olav Bjortomt, Ian Bayley, Mark Grant, David Stainer) made it three straight 2007-2009, then it was Milhous again with Pat Gibson replacing the late Mark Bytheway.
| Year | Venue | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ghent, Belgium | Martine Van Camp | Belgium |
| 2005 | Tallinn, Estonia | Duubel | Estonia |
| 2006 | Paris, France | Milhous Warriors | England |
| 2007 | Blackpool, England | Broken Hearts | England |
| 2008 | Oslo, Norway | Broken Hearts | England |
| 2009 | Dordrecht, Netherlands | Broken Hearts | England |
| 2010 | Derby, England | Milhous Warriors | England |
| 2011 | Bruges, Belgium | Broken Hearts | England |