Knockout Cup (speedway) explained

Sport:	Speedway
Founded:	1929
Country:	United Kingdom

Knockout Cup (sometimes referred to as the KO Cup) is a type of British motorcycle speedway competition, examples of which have run annually since 1929.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Each tier of British Speedway has its own respective Knockout Cup. The current Knockout Cup competitions are the SGB Premiership Knockout Cup (tier one), the SGB Championship Knockout Cup (tier two) and the National League Knockout Cup (tier three).^[4]

The cups have been run in the past under the associated name of the League at the time. For example Elite League Knockout Cup when tier one was the Elite League, a Premier League Knockout Cup when tier two was the Premier League and so on.

Knockout Cups (chronological order)

Tier One

• National Trophy 1931–1964
• British League Knockout Cup 1965–1967
• British League Division One Knockout Cup 1968–1974
• British League Knockout Cup 1975–1994
• Premier League Knockout Cup 1995–1996
• Elite League Knockout Cup 1997–2012
• not held, 2012–2016
• SGB Premiership Knockout Cup 2017–2019
• not held, 2020–2022
• SGB Premiership Knockout Cup 2023

Tier Two

• National Trophy (provincial final) 1936–1937
• National Trophy (qualifying final) 1938–1956
• Provincial League KO Cup 1960–1964
• British League Division Two Knockout Cup 1968–1974
• New National League Knockout Cup 1975–1976
• National League Knockout Cup 1977–1990
• British League Division Two Knockout Cup 1991–1994
• Academy League Knockout Cup 1995
• Conference League Knockout Cup 1996
• Premier League Knockout Cup 1997–2016
• SGB Championship Knockout Cup 2017–present

Tier Three

• National Trophy (qualifying final) 1948–1952
• Conference League Knockout Cup 1998–2008
• National League Knockout Cup 2009–present

List of winners

width=50	Year	width=200	Tier one	width=50	Year	width=200	Tier two	width=50	Year	width=200	Tier three
			N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
			Southampton Saints		N/A
			Southampton Saints		N/A
					N/A
	Belle Vue Aces &<br>Wembley Lions*				N/A
			N/A		N/A
	Belle Vue Aces	1947			N/A
			Birmingham Brummies	1948	Southampton Saints
				1949	Hanley Potters
			Halifax Dukes	1950	Oxford Cheetahs
		1951	Norwich Stars		Exeter Falcons
					Plymouth Devils
	Wimbledon Dons		N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
					N/A
					N/A
1957	N/A		N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
		1960			N/A
					N/A
1962					N/A
					N/A
		1964			N/A
	West Ham Hammers		N/A		N/A
			N/A		N/A
	Coventry Bees		N/A		N/A
	Wimbledon Dons	1968	Canterbury Crusaders		N/A
1969	Wimbledon Dons	1969	Belle Vue Colts		N/A
	Wimbledon Dons	1970	Ipswich Witches		N/A
	Hackney Hawks	1971	Ipswich Witches		N/A
	Belle Vue Aces	1972	Crewe Kings		N/A
	Belle Vue Aces	1973	Boston Barracudas		N/A
1974	Sheffield Tigers	1974	Birmingham Brummies		N/A
1975	Belle Vue Aces	1975	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1976	Ipswich Witches	1976	Newcastle Diamonds		N/A
1977	King's Lynn Stars	1977	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1978	Ipswich Witches	1978	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1979	Cradley Heath Heathens	1979	Rye House Rockets		N/A
1980	Cradley Heath Heathens	1980	Berwick Bandits		N/A
1981	Ipswich Witches	1981	Edinburgh Monarchs		N/A
1982	Cradley Heath Heathens	1982	Newcastle Diamonds		N/A
1983	Cradley Heath Heathens	1983	Exeter Falcons		N/A
1984	Ipswich Witches	1984	Hackney Kestrels		N/A
1985	Oxford Cheetahs	1985	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1986	Oxford Cheetahs &<br>Cradley Heath Heathens*	1986	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1987	Cradley Heath Heathens	1987	Eastbourne Eagles		N/A
1988	Cradley Heath Heathens	1988	Hackney Kestrels		N/A
1989	Cradley Heath Heathens	1989	Berwick Bandits		N/A
1990	Reading Racers	1990	Poole Pirates		N/A
1991	Bradford Dukes	1991	Arena Essex Hammers		N/A
1992	Bradford Dukes	1992	Peterborough Panthers		N/A
1993	Bradford Dukes	1993	Glasgow Tigers		N/A
1994	Eastbourne Eagles	1994	Glasgow Tigers		N/A
1995		1995			N/A
1996					N/A
1997		1997	Edinburgh Monarchs		N/A
1998		1998	Reading Racers		St Austell Gulls
1999		1999	Edinburgh Monarchs		St Austell Gulls
2000		2000	Swindon Robins		Boston Barracudas
2001		2001	Hull Vikings		Somerset Rebels
2002		2002	Sheffield Tigers		Buxton Hitmen
2003		2003			Mildenhall Fen Tigers
2004		2004	Hull Vikings		Mildenhall Fen Tigers
2005		2005	King's Lynn Stars		Weymouth Wildcats
2006		2006	King's Lynn Stars		Scunthorpe Scorpions
2007		2007	King's Lynn Stars		Scunthorpe Scorpions
2008		2008	Somerset Rebels		Plymouth Devils
2009		2009	King's Lynn Stars		Bournemouth Buccaneers
2010		2010	Newcastle Diamonds		Buxton Hitmen
2011		2011	Newport Wasps		Mildenhall Fen Tigers
2012		2012	Newcastle Diamonds		Mildenhall Fen Tigers
2013	not held	2013			Dudley Heathens
2014	not held	2014			Dudley Heathens
2015	not held	2015			Eastbourne Eagles
2016	not held	2016			Eastbourne Eagles
2017		2017			Eastbourne Eagles
					Eastbourne Eagles
					Leicester Lion Cubs
					cancelled due to COVID-19
	not held^[5]		Poole Pirates^[6]		not held^[7]
	not held				Leicester Lion Cubs
					Mildenhall Fen Tigers
	tbc		tbc		not held

Shared title*^[8]

Most Tier One Knockout Cups

Name	Titles
Belle Vue Aces	14
Wimbledon Dons	11
Cradley Heath Heathens	8
Ipswich Witches	6
Poole Pirates	5
Bradford Dukes	5
Wembley Lions	5

Notes and References

1. Book: Cox . Richard William . Vamplew . Wray . Jarvie . Grant . 2000 . Encyclopedia of British Sport . ABC-CLIO . 364 . 9781851093441.
2. Book: Bott, Richard. The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. 1980. 100. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. 0-09-141751-1.
3. Web site: Knockout Cup Final history. Reader Exacteditions .com. 31 July 2021.
4. Web site: 2018 Knockout Cups. Speedway GB.
5. Web site: LOUIS EXCITED TO GET GOING AS 2021 PLANS CONFIRMED. Ipswich Witches. 21 June 2021.
6. Web site: Poole v Edinburgh - Cup Final 2nd Leg. Poole Speedway. 28 October 2021.
7. Web site: NDL changes explained. Speedway GB. 28 July 2021.
8. Web site: 1939 National Trophy. Speedway archive.