The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 210 Quarterfinals

Three days after the on-site registration, Roman and the man with the afro knocked on Moriarty's door one morning.

"Bang bang bang!"

Roman pounded on the door, shouting, "Sir, sir! The match schedule is out!"

With a "whoosh," Moriarty pulled the door open from the inside, revealing himself wearing a navy blue nightgown, calmly looking at his teammates.

"Are you guys always this energetic?"

Roman chuckled sheepishly, "Excited, mostly excited, we went out for our morning exercise."

Moriarty shook his head and let them in.

At Hogwarts, he was the first one up in the entire Slytherin house, but this is Hyprose, a world-class stage.

Unlike the peace and tranquility of Hogwarts, this place is a melting pot of all sorts of people, and it is rife with all kinds of sinful deeds in the shadows.

If you have nothing to do, don't wander around aimlessly; staying in the hotel is the safest option.

However, Roman and Afro are both experienced veterans, so it's unlikely they'll let their guard down.

"sit."

Moriarty pointed to the leather sofa in the luxury suite. Roman and the man with the afro sat down, but only touched the edge of the sofa. They stared intently at Moriarty with bloodshot eyes.

Clearly, they were getting a little too excited.

Moriarty asked with amusement, "Now I'm a little curious, who is our opponent in the first match? Someone who can make you laugh so much you forget your physical fatigue."

"You'd never guess!" the man with the afro shouted, waving his arms. "The moment I saw that team's name, I couldn't wait to play!"

"Just a week ago, we had a little spat with that team! Yes, a little spat."

Roman smiled and said, but looking at his ill-intentioned expression, it was impossible to associate it with "minor friction".

"A week ago? Okay, I've got it." Moriarty nodded. Fate can be incredibly boring sometimes, but... the French team?

That's quite interesting.

It's just that we've run into each other on a narrow road.

The man with the afro confirmed Moriarty's suspicions, stating unequivocally, "Guys, I dare say Peruv is up to no good—he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and he's coming up with some weird and wonderful ways to beat us!"

"Yes, yes, Peru..." Roman chimed in, but was interrupted by Moriarty raising his hand.

"Let's put the French team issue aside for now. I'll hold a pre-match meeting this afternoon, and we'll discuss it in detail then."

Moriarty said briefly, then his tone changed, "Now, bring me the schedule!"

As a team captain, you need to have a long-term vision.

France is only our opponent in the round of 16; they cannot stop us from winning the championship. Therefore, I need to formulate plans and tactics for the upcoming matches.

Got it, my good teammate?

Roman hurriedly pulled a piece of white parchment from his pocket, on which a form was drawn, and handed it to Moriarty.

"Very good." Moriarty took the schedule and looked down at it carefully.

"Captain, is there anything else we need to do?"

Without looking up, Moriarty replied, "Don't you understand? Now, go back to your rooms, take a hot bath, wrap yourself in blankets, and get a good night's sleep!"

"Oh, okay." Roman and the other man hurriedly left.

Watching their retreating figures, Moriarty shook his head. The more he learned about professional Quidditch, the more he couldn't help but complain.

The competition format is modeled after professional competitions in the Muggle world, and it appears to be comprehensive and meticulous.

However, on a tactical level, the Quidditch players made almost no contribution.

The most obvious example is that there are very few coaches in Quidditch!

Even if there are, they are either team managers who are also coaches, or referees who are also coaches, or like the four Hogwarts house teams, where the team captain is also the coach.

There is no supply without demand.

The reason for the scarcity of coaches in the market is ultimately that players and teams do not have a demand for them.

They focused more attention on the flying broomsticks and the ball chasers.

A team with a strong ball chaser is a strong team.

A team becomes a strong team simply by changing its broomsticks.

This view is extremely common nowadays, and Roman and the afro-haired player's reaction reflects the behavior of most players today.

Defeat your opponent and advance to the quarterfinals.

They defeated their quarterfinal opponents and advanced to the semifinals...

And so on.

The players focused all their energy on their current opponents, neglecting the opponents they would face after advancing to the next round.

Just like in the last World Cup, the British team was caught completely off guard by Maxi in the quarterfinals, with no preparation whatsoever.

With Moriarty in charge this time, he wouldn't allow that to happen, and he carefully reviewed the schedule.

The Round of 16, also known as the quarterfinals, consists of eight matches, starting on the first Wednesday of February and ending in late March.

There was a week-long break between each two games.

The quarterfinals, also known as the semifinals, consist of four matches, starting on the first Tuesday of April and ending in mid-May.

There is a two-week break between each two games.

The semi-finals, also known as the 4-to-2 round, will begin in June and end at the end of July.

The final match will be held in August, as has been the case for all previous World Cup finals.

At that time, magic schools all over the world were on holiday, and students could come to watch the competition.

The first quarter-final match of the year is between Great Britain and France!

There are about two weeks until the start of the competition!

Moriarty sensed something unusual. Not long ago, the British Ministry of Magic and the French Ministry of Magic had a huge argument that had even reached the International Wizarding Association!

The Canadian Ministry of Magic and the World Cup officials couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet they still dared to put the British and French teams together in a match?

Wow, you're keeping up with current events, aren't you?

Moriarty smiled knowingly, concluding from this incident that this World Cup was rife with corruption, which suited his taste perfectly.

As the mastermind behind the scenes, it's perfectly normal for one conspiracy to swallow another.

What? You're saying it's a case of double-crossing?

No, no, no, how could the mastermind behind it all be a case of double-crossing?

Moriarty walked to his desk and sat down. Given the World Cup schedule, he needed to write a letter to Flint Sr. and Foley Sr.

"...The amount of corruption in this World Cup may exceed the total amount of corruption in all previous World Cups combined!"

To the best of my knowledge, the Canadian Ministry of Magic, myself, and the Magical Congress of the United States have reached an agreement regarding the competition. This is the result of political maneuvering.

Judging from the schedule, the Canadian Ministry of Magic also colluded with the World Cup organizers, and it cannot be ruled out that they jointly operated betting platforms!

Regarding the gambling issue, I need to remind you that if you don't have enough funds, you can go back to Slytherin Castle, find Luke, and use the funds in the underground vault as you wish.

Also, Ludo is someone we can utilize and cooperate with; you can decide the specifics yourself…”

After writing the letter, Moriarty wrote another letter to Lilith, urging her to resolve the contract dispute with the Lightwheel Corporation as soon as possible.

Then he took out the schedule again, which was clearly written on it.

Canada vs. Mexico!

USA vs. Australia!

Scotland vs. Poland!

Germany vs. Peru!

Brazil vs. Japan!

Transylvania vs. Norway

Bulgaria vs. Turkey!

Moriarty closed his eyes, summoned the Alchemy Matrix, and simulated the quarterfinal match results in his mind.

"With the protection of a political consensus between the Canadian and American teams, their advancement is a foregone conclusion."

Turkey is a weak team, and Bulgaria will have no problem advancing.

The other teams are evenly matched and difficult to predict.

However, I always had a feeling that the Japanese team would beat the Brazilian team and climb to a very high position.

As for the French team? Hmph…”

Moriarty locked himself in his room all morning and at noon, which worried Roman and other players.

At 3 p.m., Moriarty came out of the room and immediately called the players for a meeting!

The World Cup organizers not only provided each team with a luxury suite, but also a conference room, training ground, broom repair room, and more.

In the spacious and bright conference room, after all 11 players, including the starters and substitutes, had arrived, Moriarty walked in with a serious expression.

He tapped the table and said, "Starting from the quarterfinals, Roman and I will switch positions."

Roman went back to his old position as Seeker, and I became the Chaser!

(End of this chapter)