Cape Town City Challenge 2018

From left to right: Julian, Wayne, John, Clinton, Angus, Rafael, Nathan, Juandre, Zavick (Mike - missing from pic)

The Cape Town City Challenge took place on Sunday, 20th May at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. It was a highly enjoyable afternoon after a very slow and quiet start to the Subbuteo year down south!

With the support of visitor Julian from Pretoria Flickers Club, we used the Swiss system for the first time, with the 10 participants playing 6 rounds each. Final standings saw Wayne win his first WASPA event - which just shows what being a new father can do for you…

Other highlights included the presence of new players Juandre and Nathan, ‘new’ returnee to the game Zavick, and the first time that junior Rafael played with (and held his own against) the adults.

Final standings after the six rounds were as follows:

Wayne            6          5          0          1          7          15

John                6          4          1          1          7          13

Clinton            6          4          1          1          6          13

Angus             6          3          2          1          11        11

Rafael             6          3          0          3          -1         9

Julian              6          3          0          3          -2         9

Juandre          6          2          1          3          -6         7

Mike                6          2          0          4          -1         6

Zavick             6          1          1          4          -9         4

Nathan                        6          0          0          6          -12       0

Marcos Kapsabelis winner in Kallithea

20 players from various clubs competed in the recent WASPA tournament organized by the Flaming Flickers on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Marcos Kapsabelis (registered as a player of Italian squad Atletico Vibo) was in a great day and defeated Alekos Apatzis (2-0) in the final.

Vaggelis Giantais and Giorgos Kakavas reached the semi-finals.

WASPA standings of May 2018

Dear friends,
you will find in the attached files the monthly records of the WASPA circuit with the addition of 42 tournaments (37 regional, 1 old rules, 4 promotional).

Sorry for the delay but it has been very busy at work and compiling records takes more and more time! My apologies also for the late updates on the blog. Don't be surprised if some tournaments don't appear yet on the WASPA blog.

Youth in action in Australia

It is fantastic to have 1572 players in the rankings. 49 nations are involved and we have the first entry from Israel, which is great! We had a total of 455 individual entries, which means the average of players at tournaments was more than 10 players per event.

Here is a quick looks at some important facts:
- Greece had 6 regional tournaments with always a great turnout. Alekos Apatzis is for sure the player of the month and he's also on top of the season ranking for the first time;
- It was good to see the second tournament of Toronto Subbuteo club in Canada;
- South Africa had a good turnout at their three events with three different winners;
- Peter Alegi won the Grand Rapids tournament in Michigan, USA as a good rehearsal before the National held last week-end;
- Derry City had a fantastic event with 24 players but it's worth being mentioned organizers did a fantastic job by putting 50% of the first round players in a tournament for the title while the other 12 players competed in a great Plate tournament;
- In Firenze, Italy there was a great turnout of 21 with Serbia's Milan Knezevic as special guest;
- the White Star tournament in Harrow (England) had an amazing field of 18 players competing in Swiss system;
- we have been pleased to see a tournament in Hudson, Argentina;
- Australia deserves credit for continuing the great job with kids;
- Hungary had a good event on May 22, another rehearsal before the forthcoming WASPA world Cup;
- Top work being done in Bologna, Italy where Riccardo Marinucci accepted Leonidas Koutromanos's request to play the consolation events of the FISTF Major under WASPA banner. There were 2 categories with 36 and 25 players, which was amazing!

Training session in Budapest

WASPA World Cup in Budapest
Some more details about the WASPA world Cup in Budapest, Hungary (June 30 & July 1)
WASPA world cup Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/384370745330300/
Contact e-mail: budapestsubbuteo@gmail.com
Website: budapestsubbuteo@gmail.com

Templeuve International challenge
For those who are in Belgium this week-end, there will be an international WASPA tournament with players from Belgium, France, Northern Ireland and Ireland in Templeuve. Details here: https://templeuveunited.blogspot.com/p/templeuve-international-challenge-cup.html

International meeting in Singapore with guests from Australia and Hong Kong

A quick looks at the rankings:
- Geoffrey Marain (Belgium) is still on top of the ranking;
- Alekos Apatzis (Greece) is the new leader of the season ranking;
- Kye Arnold (England) is on top of the junior ranking;
- Belgium is the leader of the 2 rankings of nations;
- The Flaming Flickers SC (Greece) have almost 200 points lead in the top clubs ranking;
- Kent Invicta (England) is the number 1 Junior club.

Once again, thanks to all organizers and players for contributing to make the WASPA circuit always more attractive.

Please also make sure tournaments are announced a few days in advance. Please send your dates and tournament details to vincent.cop@rsca.com

WASPA action during the Greek championships

Well, you will find the details about the circuit in the attached files:
- the season results (PDF);
- the rankings and statistics (Excel).

Well, that's all for now. Please remember you only need 3 players to register your tournament. Don't be scared to join. It's free and tournament requests can be sent by e-mail to vincent.cop@rsca.com

Keep an eye on the WASPA blog at http://waspa-circuit.blogspot.com as there are updates almost every day.

Action in Seraing in Belgium

Please invite your friends to join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/waspasubbuteo/
We also have a WASPA page here: https://www.facebook.com/WASPA-World-Amateur-Subbuteo-Players-Association-231789816834700/

Keep in mind WASPA is also looking for partners. If you know any company ready to support us (we don’t ask for money but we want some win-win agreements so that we can promote each other), don't hesitate to contact me at vincent.cop@rsca.com

Ideas to develop the WASPA circuit, to get new clubs/nations involved or to make things more attractive are always welcome. We stay at your disposal for more info.

Yours sincerely,
Vincent Coppenolle

Bevin Reed wins the 2018 PFC Challenge Cup!

Saturday 19 May 2018, Pretoria, South Africa:
The 6th edition of the Challenge Cup was again played under the theme of "Cup Final Day" where we played out the finals of various domestic & continental cups. We were gauranteed a "Cup Final" in each round of play ! The event attracted a field of 10 entries which included a return to the tables for Adam Murray, who last competed in December 2017!
The team allocations as follows:
Neilon Waterson (Chelsea) - Sherwin Reed (Man Utd)
Conway Julie (Barcelona) - Imtiaz Ahmed (Sevilla)
Adam Murray (Maritzburg Utd) - Jayden vd Merwe (Free State Stars)
Gary Downs (Liverpool) - Bevin Reed (Real Madrid)
Chessray Jooste (Juventus) - Kegan vd Merwe (AC Milan)
Points allocation as follows : 2 points per win, 1 point a draw. However, for "Cup Finals" the losing finalist earned 1 bonus point if the final was decided on penalty shots! If a "Cup Final" was decided in regulation time, the victor was awarded the bonus point - thus making a final potentially worth 3 points on the day !

The first "Cup Final" saw Chessray Jooste (Juventus) triumph by 2-1 on penalty shots over Kegan vd Merwe (Milan) - with Kegan earning the bonus point (BP).
The Round 2 final also ended 0-0, whereafter Conway Julie (Barcelona) beat Imtiaz Ahmed (Sevilla) by 3-1 on shots - with Imtiaz getting the BP.
Actually, by the end of Round 2 action, Conway found himself in 2nd position overall - as he had also recorded a 1-0 victory in his Round 1 match !
Round 3 had a bonus of two scheduled "Cup Finals" - firstly, Jayden vd Merwe (FS Stars) comfortably dispatched of Adam Murray (Maritzburg Utd) by 3-0 on penalty shots. Then, Bevin Reed (Real Madrid) beat Gary Downs (Liverpool) by 2-0 to be the only winner of his final in regulation time. Round 4 action then produced a few highlights - firstly, against the odds, Conway beat Gary by 1-0 for Conway to take an impressive and well earned 4th place overall!
The drama then continued as Jayden beat Bevin by 1-0 to tie Bevin at the top of the standings and force the event into a play-off final match!
But before that final play-off match, the last "Cup Final" had still to be decided - we were treated to an exciting 0-0 draw between Neilon Waterson (Chelsea) and Sherwin Reed (Man Utd). Then….more drama as Neilon stunned Sherwin by taking the final by 3-2 on penalty shots!
Then back to the main event and the matter of a play-off match between Jayden & Bevin. As expected, a tense affair unfolded with neither player giving in - so no surprise at the end of a 0-0 stalemate. Bevin then triumphed by 3-2 on penalty shots against a normally lethal Jayden when it comes to penalty shots !
This triumph marks Bevin's 12th WASPA title to date! A bitter but harsh end to Jayden's day as he ended the day as technically speaking the only undefeated player and as the only player who did not concede on the day! On the other hand, Bevin's "goal blitz" on the day was probably rewarded with the ultimate prize - the 2018 PFC Challenge Cup Champion !

As always, a big thank you to all who attended to make the day a great success.

The PFC website & facebook page will be updated shortly with photo's & news content at :
http://pfctest.leaguerepublic.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PFC-SA/519566284755728

(report by Julian vd Merwe)

Second title for Mike Sgro

In the recent second tournament of Toronto Subbuteo Club, Mike Sgro managed to take the honors after defeating Richard Ruffolo in the final. This is already Mike's second WASPA title and another move forward to replace Canada on the international scene.

Final standings of the group stage:
1. Richard Ruffolo
2. Mike Sgro
3. Mike Chieffallo
4. Chris Moreira
5. Mike Devey

Semi-finals:
Mike Sgro - Mike Chieffallo 1-0
Chris Moreira - Richard Ruffolo 1-2

Final:
Richard Ruffolo - Mike Sgro 0-3

Makis Koulosousas wins the Gagarin Cup

On Saturday, May 12, 12 subbuteo players from various clubs attended the 2nd Gagarin Cup, a tournament held in Kallithea. This event was organized by OSC Kallitheas Flame in the memory of Zacharias Pitihoutis, Greek National and Panathinaikos Athens player who passed away last May. He was the uncle of local club player Giorgos Pitihoutis and a member of the Panathinaikos Athens team that took the Greek Champions title in 1963 undefeated. He was a great player and a great personality that was loved by supporters of all teams. His nickname was "Gagarin" after the Russian astronaut because he was jumping too high for the headers and reminded the astronauts space jumps. The tournament was played with lightweight subbuteo equipment and the old rules and players followed the teams of the 1963 Greek Championship.

Makis Koulosousas defeated Alekos Apatzis in the final to claim the victory!

(Report with the help of Panos Panagiotides)

Fabrizio Coco wins the AGFA Cup!

AGFA Cup, a tournament that stretches back into antiquity. Well, to 1977 really! This latest edition was one of the smallest, but still it was great to have some flicks and great to have the kids event as well. Oliver dominated the junior event, though Jonas and Moritz pushed him all the way -- their 0-0 draw being a critical result.

In the seniors, Eliot dropped two vital points to Steve, but in reality lost the crucial match 1-0 to Fabrizio who took the title. Tony Credentino continues to improve, and surprisingly, the 'WASPA King' - Hermann, did not fire on the day. Thanks to all players, and to GoodGames for being our hosts.

(Report by Steve Dettre)

Open standings:
1. Fabrizio Coco
2. Eliot Kennedy
3. Tony Credentino
4. Steve Dettre
5. Oli Ollnow
6. Hermann Kruse

Junior standings:
1. Oli Ollnow
2. Jonas Hahn
3. Moritz Hahn
4. Phanna Engelhardt
5. Hermine Ollnow

Two titles for Danny Bird

Danny against Tom

Knighton TFC is continuing to work to develop local activities. In May the club had two tournaments under WASPA banner and Danny Bird firstly won the Regional tournament after finishing on top of a group of 5 while he later won the Promotional event with 6 players competing in Swiss system.

Knighton Regional event:
1. Danny Bird
2. Dan Nicholls
3. Tom Taylor
4. Kenny Evans
5. Rory Gittoes

Knighton Promotional event:
1. Danny Bird
2. Dan Nicholls
3. Tom Taylor
4. Matt Booth
5. Rory Gittoes
6. Kenny Evans

Great WASPA games in Bologna

During the FISTF Major of Bologna, Leonidas Koutromanos asked permission to Riccardo Marinucci to play the consolation games under WASPA banner. Riccardo accepted and we are very thankful because the two events attracted 36 Open players and 25 Veterans. For WASPA this was a huge opportunity to have many Italians in the records but also the first time Israël was in the records thanks to the presence of Emanuele Funaro.

The Open category was full of great games. In the final, Théo Modeste from France defeated Italy's Pierluigi Signoretti in the final while Rémy Lours and Augusto Vagnoni reached the semis. In the veterans, a former world champion took the honors as Gianfranco Calonico defeated Greek player Panagiotis Haratsis in the final of a very international tournament. Austria's David Busch and Leonidas Koutromanos from Greece reached the final 4.

Once again thanks to Leonidas for organizing things and to Riccardo Marinucci for having a successful tournament and for proving once again FISTF and WASPA can work together for the good of the game.

(Picture from Facebook by Davide Grilli)

Retro tournament in Melbourne

Last Saturday, we held our annual Retro Table football tournament at our Western HQ Barnstoneworth United Junior Football Club.

It was a WASPA (World Amateur Subbuteo Players Association) event with everyone allowed to use only 70s / 80s Subbuteo lightweight figures. Our chief logistics officer Kevin Grant even managed to resource a few old school Subbuteo pitches and plastic goals that you had to hold down as you keep !

There was a good turnout of 8 players in both the Open - including Luke Radziminski from MTFC - and Junior categories. Many of whom had never played with old equipment (and probably after the day, very thankful they won’t need to use it for another 12 months!)

The aim of the day was to have loads of fun and it was definitely a BIG tick for that objective ! Our usual laughter and banter was in abundance, with the added jokes and cries of mock frustration when the old figures tripped up for the umpteenth time.

The “oldies” had a distinct advantage with their prior Subbuteo experience which accounted for some minor upsets and odd score lines. Noticeably, Kevin Grant - who was in his element with his 80s Admiral-kitted England team - finishing above seeded player Luke in his group and scoring goals at will.

However, the winners and finalists still had a familiar look to it. The Briffa boys fought out another Junior final with Harrison coming out on top this time. In the Open final, club president Benny edged out Simon Briffa in a close contest. Special credit to Kevin and the ever-improving junior Charlotte Wright for finishing 3rd in their categories.

Well done all and thanks for attending another fantastic event !

Next up, we’re back to the modern game with a very special event ... The World Cup festival of Table football !! ... where we’ll be having back-to-back tournaments hosted by Western Flickers TFC and Northern Phoenix TFC !

GO PELICANS !!!

(Original report from the club's Facebook page)