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Two Pilsen student hockey teams took to the ice at the LogSpeed CZ Arena on Wednesday, October 30. Once teammates in the united team Akademici Plzeň, now rivals - students of the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Pilsen (LFP UK) and students of the University of West Bohemia (UWB/ZČU) split up for this evening as usual and faced each other in the famous Battle of Pilsen. UWB eventually defeated LFP UK 6:5.

The duel started after 7 pm, when the Czech national anthem was played by Zuzana Petrláková. Afterwards, the players and fans paid tribute to the recently deceased Rector Emeritus of UWB Josef Průš. Miroslav Lávička, the current rector of the university, wished the players good luck on the ice and the game could start. In the first few minutes the medics awarded the first goal to the University of West Bohemia. UWB later equalized and the fans were kept in suspense until the very end when the score was tied at 5:5. In the overtime UWB won by one goal.

During the game, LFP student Tereza humorously said, "After leading UWB for a while, I wanted to go to the opposing team's cauldron and cheer for the other team, but then we finally scored another goal, so I guess I'll stay here." Although the fans of the Faculty of Medicine were a minority at Wednesday's event compared to the fans of UWB, they were heard and seen all the more. The uniform white medical scrubs that most of them wore were eye-catching even outside the arena, when fans were moving around the city on foot or on public transport. Fans of the UWB team, on the other hand, could represent the school in blue university sweatshirts.

For example, Filip, a student at the University of West Bohemia, was at a university hockey game for the first time. Although he is not a hockey fan and does not enjoy this sport in general, he came to support his university and did not regret it. He liked the game itself and the atmosphere. Tomáš, another UWB student, added after the game: "It was absolutely crazy, extremely exciting. It was very emotional, very extreme, very emotional, very emotional. Of course, we're going to celebrate UWB´s victory somewhere else in the city."

The game was attended by the highest number of fans ever in university sports in Pilsen. Last year the organizers set the attendance at 3,054 spectators, this year 3,293 spectators gathered in the arena.

Miroslav Lávička, the rector of UWB, commented on the match: "Pilsen needs such events and it is great that we are a university city with two universities, which gives Pilsen a unique touch. UWB won for the third time in a row and I appreciate it very much and thank everyone who represents the University of West Bohemia." The rector added in exaggeration: "It was a given that we had to win, as the UWB (ZČU) already has it in its name - Z for devastating attack, Č for wizard in the gate and U for valiant defence."

"The game was enjoyed by both UWB and LFP UK fans. It's not just about hockey, we try to give the spectators something extra in the form of various competitions and a complementary programme throughout the evening," said Vilém Franěk, co-founder of the UWB Akademici and co-organiser of the Battle of Pilsen event.

This was the 11th year of this event. Until last night, UWB led 6:4 on the scoreboard. Now the score is 7-4. While in last year's 10th anniversary edition the alumni of both schools took to the ice alongside the students, this year the organizers returned to the proven model, i.e. that the schools were represented by their current students.

Winning teams of the Battle of Pilsen in the past years:
2013 UWB
2014 LFP
2015 UWB
2016 UWB
2017 UWB
2018 LFP
2019 LFP
2020 pause due to covid situation
2021 LFP
2022 UWB
2023 UWB
2024 UWB