More good new from Malaysia

On December 31, we had very positive news from Malaysia. The Managing Director, Mr Jamie Kong, told us the local group of players in Kuala Lumpur has now six stadiums for the old and new players. Here are some pictures of the recent exhibition held at the Hamleys store with the help of Mr Edwin Wong of Imagine Games!

Mr Edwin Wong from Imagine Games

Jibril with the World Cup

Updated WASPA Handbook

A new version of the WASPA handbook can be downloaded here. The new version has an undate in the ranking of nation and more importantly a new section about the tournaments with double status (FISTF Satellite/WASPA regional tournament). Enjoy the reading!

Daniel McCormick wins the Kent Invicta Christmas Cup

Daniel McCormick won the 2013 Kent Invicta Xmas Cup after defeating Terry Arnold 2-1 in the final. The England Under 12’s player was unbeaten on the day and came back from 0-1 down to win the trophy with 2 second half goals. Hot Favourite, Welsh star Adrian Davies, came 3rd losing 0-1 in a close game with Terry in the Semis whilst Daniel saw off his older brother and England Under 15’s Captain, James McCormick, 3-2 in a thrilling game. Other notable placings saw England Junior hotshot Kye Arnold come in 5th and rising star Ashton Whitelock making up the top 6!

Plate Winner – Josh Humphreys

Open Winner – Daniel McCormick

17 players for the first tournament in Sambreville

The first tournament organised in Sambreville/Auvelais took place on sunday with 17 players taking part in swiss system. There were many good games and many close games but in the end, the two top favorites (Geoffrey Marain and Jos Ceulemans) could not win the tournament. Vincent Coppenolle took the honors after winning four games (including against Marain) and a draw in the last session against Jos Ceulemans. Here is the final ranking.
1. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve United) - 13 pts
2. Jos Ceulemans (SC Anfield Hoppers Zürich) - 11
3. Geoffrey Marain (SC Eugies) - 10
4. Johnny Beaufays (SC Flanders) - 10
5. Fabrice Guyaux (SC Flanders) - 10
6. Vincent Guyaux (SC Flanders) - 9
7. Greg Spilmont (SCAF Quévy) - 9
8. Ralf Grégoire (SC Eugies) - 8
9. Renald Deloose (Templeuve United) - 7
10. Emile Beaufays (SC Flanders) - 7
11. Alain Flament (SCAF Quévy) - 7
12. Jason Delattre (Templeuve United) - 6
13. Pol Serwy (Brussels SC) - 6
14. Matthias Averlant (Templeuve United) - 6
15. John Verfaillie (Templeuve United) - 4
16. Dany Timmerman (SC Auvelais) - 4
17. Laly Ramos (Templeuve United) - 3

Ceulemans and Coppenolle before the last session

The group picture

Trophies (bottles as usual in Belgium) presented by organizer Vincent Guyaux

Calendar update

The calendar of events is updated several times a week. You will find hereunder an update of the list of fixtures.

For any tournament request, drop a line to Vincent.cop@rsca.com

For details about the tournaments, please check the page "forthcoming events" on top of the blog.

We really hope 2014 will bring more subbuteo fans together and hopefully WASPA will manage to reach new countries (Malaysia, Argentina, Norway, Brazil,...) and come back in countries where the level of activity is low (Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Wales,...). At least we know Switzerland and the Netherlands will host their first WASPA tournaments in 2014, which is great news!

We also hope to have the first tournaments with double status (FISTF Satellite & WASPA regional) in 2014 as a sign of good cooperation with FISTF.

2013

December 27: tournament organized by Kent Invicta TFC in Gillingham (England)
December 27: tournament in Donegal (Ireland) with the advanced rules
December 27: tournament in Melbourne (Australia)
December 29: tournament in Auvelais (Belgium)
December 30: tournament in Sheffield (England)

2014

January 6: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
January 10: tournament in Zürich (Switzerland)
January 12: tournament with the old rules in Ascoli (Italy)
January 15: tournament with the old rules (ETF) in Genova (Italy)
January 15: tournament in Fiumicino (Italy) by TSC Black Rose '98
January 18: Colorado Cup in Denver (USA)
January 19: tournament in Penrith (Australia)
January 19: tournament in Arbroath (Scotland)
January 25: tournament in Grand Rapids, MI (USA) called "2014 Lake Effect Trophy"
January 29: tournament of the WASPA Lazio League in Rome (Italy)
February 3: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
February 5: tournament in Fiumicino (Italy) by TSC Black Rose '98
February 19: tournament with the old rules (ETF) in Genova (Italy)
February 26: tournament of the WASPA Lazio League in Rome (Italy)
March 3: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
March 19: tournament with the old rules (ETF) in Genova (Italy)
March 22: Promotional tournaùment in Comines (Belgium)
April 7: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
April 16: tournament with the old rules (ETF) in Genova (Italy)
April 30: tournament of the WASPA Lazio League in Rome (Italy)
May 5: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
May 10: tournament called "COBEX/Top of Holland-tournament" at the Woldwijck Centre in Hoogezand (Netherlands)
May 15: tournament with the old rules (ETF) in Genova (Italy)
May 28: tournament of the WASPA Lazio League in Rome (Italy)
June 2: tournament in Hofstade-Zemst (Belgium) organized by SC Flanders
June 25: tournament of the WASPA Lazio League in Rome (Italy)

...and many more to be added soon!

Fabrizio Fedele wins in Manoppello

The club of Arabona in Italy organized a nice tournament with 23 players on december 14 & 15. The event took place in Manopello and players were dropped in four groups. In the end, there were not many surprises. Fabrizio Fedele beat Luca Ciabattoni (4-1) in the final. Ciabattoni won against Andrea Di Vincenzo in the semi-final while Gaetano Monticelli we the other semi-finalist. Congratulations to all the players involved.

Marcos Kalopsioditis wins in Limassol

There was a superb field of 15 players competing in the tournament organized in Limassol by Giorgos Zangylos and his friends. Representative from the 3 Limassol clubs (Salamis Famagusta, Phoenix Famagusta and Famagusta TFC) were present and there were many surprises in the group stage when Kostas Kalopsidiotis and Giorgos Zangylos finished second of their respective groups. Both players later won their barrage games and later qualified for the semi-finals. Kostas Kalopsidiotis lost to his brother Marcos Kalopsidiotis while Giorgos Zangylos beat Pambos Zorbis. In the final, it was very close and the game ended on a draw (1-1) but Marcos Kalopsidiotis finally beat Giorgos Zangylos in the shots to claim the title. Well done Cyprus for another great tournament.

The final between Kalopsioditis and Zangylos

George Ebejer dominates the Attard tournament

Attard Subbuteo Club organized a tournament on December 7 with 16 players taking part. After the group stage, players competed in the quarter-finals of the event. The last  players decided to postpone their games and semi-finals and finals were played on December 21 with George Ebejer beating Daniele Spadaro while Keith Zahra lost to Hector Scerri. In the final, it was very close but George Ebejer managed to make it by beating Hector Scerri (3-2) while Daniele Spadaro beat Keith Zahra in the game for the third place (1-0). Well done to Attard SC for another good tournament and to all competitors for great games.

The final 4 of the tournament

First WASPA tournament in Ringgold, Georgia

John Coyle took the points title in the Chattanooga Subbuteo League's second annual Ho Ho Heavyweight Tournament held in Ringgold, Georgia (USA). It is a non ASA sanctioned event as all heavyweight teams are used along with original Subbuteo keepers. Simon Neil was second, Tom Shirley third and David Qualls fourth.

First tournament with ETF rules at SS Lazio Roma

The Lazio “Super Subbuteo” party took place this week in the premises of SS Lazio in Rome (Italy). This was the first time a tournament was played with the ETF rules under WASPA banner in the club of Lazio. 12 players competed in the main tournament of the Open category. After the group stage (3 groups of 4), 8 players quaqlified for the knock-out round. The semi-finals were very close and were decided on shots! Patrizio Lazzaretti beat GianMarco Del Brocco while Matteo Del Brocco beat Gianluca Morelli. In the final, Lazzaretti won by a single goal! Luca Paolino won the tournament for the 5th place while Cristian Lazzaretti won the consolation group for the 9th place. Every player played six games and everyone had a very good evening. Well done Lazio!

Old subbuteo at his best

Patrizio Lazzaretti was the tournament winner!

WASPA back in Chile

There was a tournament again on saturday in Valdivia with four players competing in a group stage. Ignacio López (axa Juventus) was the final winner with three wins while Suzanne Hodgkinson (aka Republic of Ireland) finished second, Alejandro Claude (aka Holland 1974) was third and Laura López (aka Aztexts, USA) end in the fourth place. "We will try for the next time to have more competitors, because we will continue with lot of enthusiasm organising competitions", reported Ignacio López at the end of a great day of play.

Suzanne (Ireland) and Alejandro (Holland) having a close game

29 players at the Templeuve promotional tournament

The Templeuve United club in Belgium had a promotional tournament during the club's national tournament on saturday. The WASPA section had an amazing field of 29 players including some new names. In the final, Fabian Limpens (SC Charleroi) beat Vincent Guyaux (SC Flanders) to claim the title. Renald Deloose and Patrick Peltier lost in the semis.

Vincent Guyaux, Fabian Limpens, Patrick Peltier and Renald Deloose

Sliders Tour 2014 coming up!

A superb circuit of tournaments coming up in England in 2014. Don't miss it!

Enrico Guidi... then all the others!

On December 18, the Table Soccer Club Black Rose ’98 Roma (www.blackrose98roma.com and www.blackrose98roma.blogspot.it) organized the “Seventh Round” of the “WASPA Black League” at the “Black Rose Training Center” located in Fiumicino (Rome), Via delle Lampare, 5.

It was a very nice evening tournament. Nineteen competitors attended the 2013 Christmas tournament. They were representative of four Italian subbuteo associations (SC Fiamme Azzurre RM, SS Lazio TFC, SC Subbito Gol Ferrara and TSC Black Rose ’98 Roma) and played under Swiss system so that everyone could play five matches.

At the end of the fifth round Enrico Guidi collected 15 points. Five consecutive winning matchse: we are trying to find the player that can stop this subbuteo machine.

Very interesting the competition for the second place. Three playes ended the group at 9 points so it was necessary to examine the value opponent to determine the right podium composition. So, at the second place we find a great Marco De Berardinis (value opponents: 38), followed at the third place by Andrea Capelli (value opponents: 37). Fourth place for Gabrile Silveri (value opponents: 32). Good tournament also for Giovanni Frascarelli, Giuseppe Ferro and Francesco Bressi: 8 points for all of them.

At the end of the tournament all the players were entertained by the classic photo and for the traditional greeting exchange around a Christmas cake and a good “Chinotto” (the best “Black” drink for our associates…).

In the months to come TSC Black Rose ’98 Roma will organize other WASPA tournaments looking at the different needs (materials and rules) of FISTF and Subbuteo players.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the participants and all Subbuteo Players!

(report by TSC Black Rose '98 Roma)

The first WASPA gathering in Greece

The "Flaming Flickers Subbuteo Club" in Greece had their very first tournament on thursday evening with 7 players taking part. Young and older players (from 11 to 49) had fun in their premises at the restaurant "Maracana Grill" in Kallithéa, near Athens. In the final, Giannis Metaxas beat Stavros Kandianopoulos in shots after a nice final (1-1). Congratulations to the Flaming Flickers for being the first WASPA organizers in Greece!

Merry Christmas everyone!

First title for Marco Bonciani in Firenze

The third WASPA tournament in Firenze was played on monday with 16 players taking part. It was a nicce evening with a group stage and then the knock-out stage. The organizers made sure everyone would play as many games as possible. In the final, Marco Bonciani beat Luca Pini (2-0) to claim the title. Simone Faraoni and Sergio Robertiello reached the semis. Giammarco Riccioni won the tournament for the 9th place and Tiberio Becucci won the final for the 13th place. Well done to everyone!

Bonciani, Faraoni, Pini and Robertiello

Farrell wins the Celbridge Open

6 players attended the 2013 Celbridge Open on Sunday last. One notable entrant was the return of ex-Irish champion Mick O'Brien, who had some creditable results. The event was played in 2 halves with league being the first round for the morning and giving each player 5 matches. After lunch, the top 4 players went into a final playoff group and played each other twice.

Mark Farrell won the event from John Moore in second place. This was the first tournament of the Irish circuit for 2013/14.

Mark Farrell is the tournament winner

The Lisbon Cup for Sérgio Ramos

The "Lisbon Cup" (Taça de Lisboa) took place last saturday with 24 players taking part in two categories. 19 players competed in the Open section with some very high level games in the knock-out stage. In the end, Sérgio Ramos beat Ruben Português to win the title (2-0) while Nuno Noronha and Bruno Valente were the semi-finalists. Ricardo José won the consolation tournament while João Nunes was the U15 champion. Congratulations to the Lisbon players for such great tournaments. The Lisbon area has hosted four WASPA tournaments since the beginning of the season with an average of more than 20 players per event. Well done.

Sérgio Ramos, Open champion

Gareth Christie wins in Arbroath

Tayside players gathered in Arbroath tonight to play in their WASPA Event number 2. Gareth Christie was the eventual winner with a crucial 1-0 win over Steve Bennett, this was a vital win for Gareth as he had drawn 2-2 with Scott Fleming.

Final Placing:
Gareth Christie 10 pts +6
Steve Bennett 9 pts +18
Scott Fleming 7 pts -4
David Baxter 3 pts -13
Colin Matthew 0 pts -9

Here is Gareth in action tonight with a festive flavour in a Dundee United Santa hat!

Zangylos did the job again

Last month tournament in Cyprus had been postponed to December 14 and this time the event could be played without problem with 11 players taking part. After the group stage, there was no surprise before the semi-finals. At the stage, Giorgos Zangylos beat Markos Kalopsioditis on sudden death (3-2) while Kostas Kalopsioditis beat Giorgos Stylianou (2-0). Zangylos beat Kostas Kalopsioditis in the final (2-0) to claim the title. Well done!

Christmas tournament in Genova

The Christmas tournament of STSC Levante in Genova (Italy) had a fantastic tournament of 24 players last wednesday. The event was played with the old rules and players were dropped in eight groups with a knock-out stage to follow. Luca Turbino was the winner of the evening after beating Federico Solari in the final (1-0). Andrea Barbieri and Mauro Cremona were the semi-finalists.

Enrico Guidi wins but the Surprise is... Fulvio Lorusso

On November 27, the Table Soccer Club Black Rose ’98 Roma (www.blackrose98roma.com) organized the “Sixth Round” of the “WASPA Black League” at the “Black Rose Training Center” located in Fiumicino (Rome), Via delle Lampare, 5.

It was a very nice evening tournament. Sixteen competitors representating four Italian subbuteo associations played under Swiss system so that everyone could play five games. We saw the debut of four players in the WASPA tournaments: William Dotto (SC Serenissima Mestre), Carmine Napolitano (SC Fiamme Azzurre RM), Niki Napolitano (SC Fiamme Azzurre RM), Amerigo Scatamacchia (SC Libertas Roma). 

At the end of the fifth round Enrico Guidi have collected 13 points, followed by an extraordinary Fulvio Lorusso at 12, very near to his first winning tournament. At the third place ended Amerigo Scatamacchia (10 points). Two players have collected 9 points: William Dotto (from Venice) and Andrea Strazza. The value opponents was in favour of William (49 against 31).

A midnight snack have closed a friendship and harmony evening around Subbuteo Tables.

In the months to come TSC Black Rose ’98 Roma will organize other WASPA tournaments looking at the different needs (materials and rules) of F.I.S.T.F. and Subbuteo players.
Thanks to all the participants.
See you soon!

Next TSC Black Rose ’98 Roma WASPA appointments:
December 18, 2013
January 15, 2014
February 5, 2014

(Report by the host club)

Jos Ceulemans did it again

Nine players attended the 4th tournament organized by SC Flanders this season. As usual, the event was played in the premises of the club in Hofstade-Zemst and games were played in swiss system. Jos Ceulemans was clearly the best player. He won three games and tied with Bart Van de Vliet. It was enough to win his third tournament in a row. Geert Leys as second, Bart Van de Vliet was third and Johan Lourdon was fourth.

Top 3 of the evening!

Flaming Flickers: a new club in Greece

The first meeting of the new Greek Subbuteo club "the Flaming Flickers" took place this Sunday, December 8. A group of friends of all ages decided to revive their childhood passion and they quicky made things happen. A mix of experienced and new players and their offsprings are ready to set Athens of flames flicking wise. Their home is the Brazilian restaurant Maracana Grill, so who could have thought of a better place for the Flaming Flickers? The clubs was formed just few days before the relaunch of the official Subbuteo game in Greece. With the upcoming World Cup in Brazil there would not be a better sign of times for the Flaming Flickers.

First tournament in Catanzaro

The very first tournament of Subbuteo Club Catanzaro in the south of Italy took place on saturday with 8 players taking part. After many close games, Andrea Pagano beat Gianluca Pagano on shots to in the trophy. It is Andrea's second WASPA tatle after his victory in Lamézia Terme last month. Good luck to the ne club of Catanzaro for the future!