The London Tournament
Next Held in Summer 2025
In June 2023, Roundshaw Playing Fields once again played host to a spectacular selection of teams from across the country to see the welcome return of one of the highlights of the British baseball calendar, the London Tournament.
The historic open-invitation tournament pitted entrants against each other in two separate knock-out brackets - one featuring teams from Britain's elite National Baseball League and Triple-A divisions, and the other with exceptional Double-A and Single-A talent - with games taking place over two days on Roundshaw's dedicated baseball fields.
In the upper bracket, the home-team Croydon Pirates defeated the East London Latin Boys with an 8-7 extra-innings walk-off win to take the title. Timo Ssali was the winning pitcher. Meanwhile, in the lower bracket, the Brighton Brewers saw off the Milton Keynes Cobras 8-0 in 4 innings, before poor weather halted play.
This stacked celebration of baseball also included a Home Run Derby with the winner taking home a fantastic Louisville Slugger bat courtesy of Comet Sports, as well as a youth-league mini tournament, food, beer, and music, and an open-air Ballpark Cinema after nightfall with a screening of Field of Dreams.
This event was made possible by the Croydon Pirates with assistance from the BBF, Sutton County Council, Donnelly Financial Advice, Comet Sports, T-Rex T-Ball, London Network for Pest Solutions, AV Entertainment, Guacamole's Tacos, and Stretch&Tents. Extra special thanks go to David Squires, whose photography captured the event, Sutton Mayor Colin Stears and the London Fire Brigade for their participation in the proceedings, and in particular to Mark Bonney and the Pirates Committee for their tireless efforts in bringing the whole event together.