British Championship (ice hockey)

The British Championship is the most prestigious ice hockey cup competition in the United Kingdom, and also the longest established ice hockey competition.
The competition is effectively the play offs to determine the British champions for the season. They are held after the regular season whereby the positions in the league ladder determine play off slots.
There were three instances of an early championship; the first was in the 1929-30 British Ice Hockey season which was the inaugural season of organised league ice hockey in Britain. The championship was won by London Lions when known as the Patton Cup. The second edition the following season was abandoned after Manchester and Glasgow couldn't agree on dates for their semi-final tie. The winner was to have met the English Club champions London Lions in the final. The third instance took place during the 1959–60 British National League season.
From 1966 it became an annual event when known as the Icy Smith Cup and then after 1982 it had several sponsors and names including the Heineken Championship and latterly as the Sekonda Playoff Championship. Some contests were only recognised as representing the Championship retroactively. At present, the Championship is called the Twinings Tea Cup. 
In its current format, the eight highest placed teams in the Elite Ice Hockey League contest quarter finals, the winners going on to semi finals and then the deciding one-leg final.
==Champions==
Season	Winner 	Runner-up
1930 	London Lions (1) 	Glasgow Mohawks
1960 	Brighton Tigers (1) 	Nottingham Panthers
1966 	Murrayfield Racers (1) 	Durham Hornets
1967 	Glasgow Dynamos (1) 	Murrayfield Racers
1968 	Paisley Mohawks (1) 	Durham Wasps
1969 	Murrayfield Racers (2) 	Glasgow Dynamos
1970 	Murrayfield Racers (3) 	Glasgow Dynamos
1971 	Murrayfield Racers (4) 	Durham Wasps
1972 	Murrayfield Racers (5) 	Fife Flyers
1973 	Whitley Warriors (1) 	Murrayfield Racers
1974 	Whitley Warriors (2) 	Streatham Redskins
1975 	Murrayfield Racers (6) 	Streatham Redskins
1976 	Ayr Bruins (1) 	Streatham Redskins
1977 	Fife Flyers (1) 	Southampton Vikings
1978 	Fife Flyers (2) 	Southampton Vikings
1979 	Murrayfield Racers (7) 	Streatham Redskins
1980 	Murrayfield Racers (8) 	Solihull Barons
1981 	Murrayfield Racers (9) 	Streatham Redskins
1982 	Dundee Rockets (1) 	Streatham Redskins
1983 	Dundee Rockets (2) 	Durham Wasps
1984 	Dundee Rockets (3) 	Murrayfield Racers
1985 	Fife Flyers (3) 	Murrayfield Racers
1986 	Murrayfield Racers (10)	Dundee Rockets
1987 	Durham Wasps (1) 	Murrayfield Racers
1988 	Durham Wasps (2) 	Fife Flyers
1989 	Nottingham Panthers (1)	Ayr Bruins
1990 	Cardiff Devils (1) 	Murrayfield Racers
1991 	Durham Wasps (3) 	Peterborough Pirates
1992 	Durham Wasps (4) 	Nottingham Panthers
1993 	Cardiff Devils (2) 	Humberside Seahawks
1994 	Cardiff Devils (3) 	Sheffield Steelers
1995 	Sheffield Steelers (1) 	Murrayfield Racers
1996 	Sheffield Steelers (2) 	Nottingham Panthers
1997 	Sheffield Steelers (3) 	Nottingham Panthers
1998 	Ayr Scottish Eagles (1)	Cardiff Devils
1999 	Cardiff Devils (4) 	Nottingham Panthers
2000 	London Knights (1) 	Newcastle Riverkings
2001 	Sheffield Steelers (4) 	London Knights
2002 	Sheffield Steelers (5) 	Manchester Storm
2003 	Belfast Giants (1) 	London Knights
2004 	Sheffield Steelers (6) 	Nottingham Panthers
2005 	Coventry Blaze (1) 	Nottingham Panthers
2006 	Newcastle Vipers (1) 	Sheffield Steelers
2007 	Nottingham Panthers (2)	Cardiff Devils
2008 	Sheffield Steelers (7) 	Coventry Blaze
2009 	Sheffield Steelers (8) 	Nottingham Panthers
2010 	Belfast Giants (2) 	Cardiff Devils
2011 	Nottingham Panthers (3)	Cardiff Devils
2012 	Nottingham Panthers (4)	Cardiff Devils
2013 	Nottingham Panthers (5)	Belfast Giants
2014 	Sheffield Steelers (9) 	Belfast Giants
2015 	Coventry Blaze (2) 	Sheffield Steelers
2016 	Nottingham Panthers (6)	Coventry Blaze
2017 	Sheffield Steelers (10)	Cardiff Devils
2018 	Cardiff Devils (5) 	Sheffield Steelers
2019 	Cardiff Devils (6) 	Belfast Giants
== References ==
Category:Ice hockey competitions in the United Kingdom
Category:Ice hockey tournaments in Europe