"KRUM GETS THE SNITCH - BUT IRELAND WINS - good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"
-- Ludo Bagman, match commentator, probably realizing he owes the Weasley twins a substantial amount of money (GF8)
The Quidditch World Cup 1994 final game is brutal and so fast-paced that Ludo Bagman’s commentary can barely keep up. The Bulgarian National Team’s young Seeker, Viktor Krum, uses his excellent flying skills to catch the Snitch, doing so despite his team being down more than 150 in order to avoid further humiliation at the hands of the far superior Irish National Team (GF8).
Through omnioculars, Harry Potter watches the match from the stadium’s top box with Hermione Granger, the Weasleys (except for Mrs. Weasley), Winky, the Malfoys, and various important guests. The veela, Bulgaria’s mascots, captivate Harry and the other wizards. But the subsequent display from Ireland’s leprechauns does not fail to impress either.
The veela sing and dance and the flying, lantern-carrying leprechauns make formations in the air, and both their antics escalate as the games goes on. The veela prove to be particularly distracting to the referee, Hassan Mostafa, first compelling him to try to impress them and later causing his broomstick to catch fire (GF8).
The players’ performance suggests good judgment on the part of Ron and others who best like Krum among the players but favor Ireland between the teams. The Irish team – especially the Chasers – work seamlessly together, but Krum is a remarkable flyer, successfully employing the Wronski Feint and then completing essentially the same maneuver again to actually catch the Snitch. Both times, Ireland’s Seeker, Aidan Lynch, crashes into the ground (GF8).
That night, Death Eaters raid the campsite and are driven away when the Dark Mark is cast into the night sky (GF9).
Timeline Notes
The date given here for the Quidditch World Cup final is derived from the actual calendar for August, 1994. Therefore it's not canon, but a reasonable assumption of when these events took place based on canon.
As for the time, we know that the match started after dark. The sun set at 8:16 pm on Dartmoor on that date in 1994. The fans didn't start making their way to the stadium through the woods until it was dark, so that was probably around 8:45. Assuming that it would take at least an hour or two for all those people to walk to their places in the stands, we can assume that it was at least 10 pm before the match started.
We are not told exactly how long the match lasted, but from the descriptions it seems likely that it was at least two hours. So just for the sake of argument, here's a reasonable timeline of events:
8:16 pm August 25 - sun sets
8:45 pm August 25 - fans begin walking to the stadium
10:00 pm August 25 - the match begins
12:00 midnight - the match ends
1:00 am August 26 - Harry and company return to their tent and begin talking over the match
2:00 am August 26 - the kids go to bed (I think this is optimistic ... I'd guess that it's closer to 3 am)
3:00 am August 25 - the riot begins
Commentary
Notes
Ron and Hermione's attitudes regarding Viktor Krum during the World Cup are very different than the feelings they each have about him a few months later. At the World Cup, Hermione is indifferent to the Krum hype that Ron is certainly a part of. But once Hermione gets to know Krum during the Triwizard Tournament, she warms up to him - and that causes Ron to resent him. --BB
Before the match, when Ludo Bagman is taking bets, Fred and George wager that Krum will catch the Snitch, but Ireland will win. It seems to surprise - even shock - most when this actually happens, but the twins were confident enough in the outcome to have put all their money on it (GF7, GF8).
When the beautiful veela transform into vile bird-like creatures, Mr. Weasley tell his sons and Harry that this is why they "should never go for looks alone." He likely says this more or less in jest, but it is interesting in light of Fleur Delacour and Bill's relationship - and Mrs. Weasley's feelings about it. Because Fleur is beautiful and a quarter veela, Mrs. Weasley assumes Fleur is superficial and will have no interest in Bill after he is maimed by Fenrir Greyback. Fleur's unchanged love for Bill proves Mrs. Weasley wrong on both counts and indicates that Fleur is not one to "go for looks alone" (HBP29). --BB
Viktor Krum, who chose to catch the Snitch and end the match in a time and manner of his choosing. Compare this to Harry's feelings upon learning about Horcruxes for the first time: His perspective is that even if you are condemned to death, you still have a choice in that you can conduct yourself with your head held high or you can go on emotionally fighting a losing battle (HBP23). --BB
Related images:
Lexicon timeline of Quidditch
Lexicon list of World Quidditch teams
From the Web
Writing by J K Rowling on Imgur (Daily Prophet coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, originally from Pottermore):
Harry Potter Wiki: Quidditch World Cup
WizardingWorld.com (Pottermore) features:
Pensieve (Comments)
Tags: athletes celebrations competitions/competitors excitement flight important international match Quidditch history sports teams tournaments