Dozens of Blue Jays fans in the United Kingdom gathered to celebrate the team's 11-4 victory in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. The festivities took place in London, where members of the Blue Jays Fans UK group held a late-night watch party that lasted into the early morning hours.

The event kicked off at 1 a.m. local time and continued past 4 a.m. Steve Hunter, a Bournemouth resident and founder of the fan group, expressed his excitement about the gathering. "We had an absolute blast," he said. "You’re never quite sure who’s going to show up at that hour, but everyone who rocked up played their part. It was just great fun."

The watch party attracted both British and Canadian fans, who cheered on the Blue Jays during a thrilling nine-run sixth inning. Hunter recalled a moment when he was on the phone with a friend as Addison Barger hit a grand slam, bringing the score to 9-2. "I literally couldn’t hear her," he laughed. "It’s just so raucous and loud in there. Everybody was high and celebrating and standing on chairs and just enjoying watching the game together."

Hunter's passion for baseball began during a trip to Hamilton in 1994, when the Blue Jays were fresh off their second consecutive World Series title. "I think what I fell in love with was just the passion of the fans for the game," he said. However, upon returning to England, he faced challenges in following the team and connecting with other fans. "This was pre-internet, pre-TV coverage," he explained. "The only way I could find out how the team was doing was to go down to my local newsagent and look for an international paper, maybe USA Today, or something like that, just to read a little bit about what the Jays were doing."

In the early 2000s, Hunter started a small Facebook group that initially had just 13 members. Today, the group has expanded into a vibrant online community with nearly 4,000 followers on X, along with fans on Instagram and YouTube. "It’s about supporting the fandom here on this side of the pond and just connecting fans together so they can find a common space to talk about games and to do things like we did last night," Hunter said.

Looking ahead, Hunter mentioned that the group plans to host more watch parties as the World Series progresses, continuing to foster a sense of community among Blue Jays fans in the UK.