Second WASPA title for Sean Tidy

The Tucson Subbuteo Soccer Club Summer tournament was held at BlackRock Brewers brewery on June 23rd in Tucson, Arizona. Six players attended so we split into two groups, seeded with the first and second place player from our Spring league. After a match against each other player in the group the group stage standings were:

Group A
1. Sean Tidy
2. Trevor Kvaran
3. Ed Bertschy

Group B
1. James Wyss
2. Chuck Damon
3. Ed Bertschy

Sean Tidy later won his semi and final to claim his second WASPA title.

Semi-Finals
Sean Tidy 2:0 Chuck Damon
James Wyss 0:1 Trevor Kvaran

Consolation
James Wyss 0:1 Chuck Damon

Final
Sean Tidy 2:0 Trevor Kvaran

Mick Hammonds wins the Parrot Cup

London Road Subbuteo Club held the Parrot Cup on June 24 and it was good to see a turnout of 14 players from England, Wales and the Isle of Man's Brian Kinrade.

There was a group stage, then quarter-finals and more knock-out games till the final while other players were allowed to play the Plate tournament.

Mick Hammonds from the Wolverhampton club defeated Richard Stock in the final to claim the title. Brian Daley and Dan Nicholls were stopped in the semis. Dave Kelly won the Plate tournament.

Congratulations to Cayne and his friends for doig a great work of promotion and for being one of the most active clubs on the WASPA scene. Well done for attracting some old and new faces at tournaments. That's the way to go!

Mathéo Grégoire winner in Bande

Last week the club of Wamme was holding another tournament in their premises with 6 players taking part.

There were many close games during the Swiss system but in the end Mathéo Grégoire (Rochefort TS) proved to be in a great day as he won his four games.

Jean Grosdent (Wamme) was runner-up with 9 points while Pascal Droeven (Semois) had 6.

Aurore Grosdent, Henri Grosdent and Philippe Thys were also taking part.

Congratulations to Mathéo!

The first tournament in Portland

Portland Table Soccer Club held their first tournament last week-end with Jonathan Smith of the Boise USL club coming as a special guest. There were 8 players taking part and the round robin ended as follows:
Jonathan D Smith 21
Simon Gawlik 13
Mark Prinzmetal 11
Matthew Crittenden 10
Dan Morgan 8
Randy Kilwag 5 (*)
Kellen Christensen 5
Josh Geyer 3
(*) Tiebreaker between Randy and Kellen went to GA.

First and second place played for the Rocky Martin Memorial Portland Cup. Jonathan beat Simon 4-0 while coaching him heavily. You can draw your own inferences from the fact that PTSC's top finisher was 10 years old. "It was so much fun! I'm exhausted, but it was so much fun! Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make it possible. Special thanks to Jonathan D Smith for traveling here from Idaho to represent BUSL and show our humble club the ropes. Thanks again to The Portland Game Store for once again being a gracious host", commented local organizer Randy Kilwag.

Fabrizio Coco winner in a new location

Last week 8 players attended the Sydney TFC WASPA tournament. Fabrizio Coco defeated Tony Credentino in the final to win the trophy. Hermann Kruse and Daniele Lombardi made it to the semi-finals. There was a special guest as Adrian Connolly from the Western Flickers club (Melbourne) was taking part. It was another good night of games at the club's new home, Associazione Napoletana in Leichhardt, NSW.

Geert Leys winner in the Flanders

Last Monday Belgium was in a party day not only because the national football team won their opening game against Panama at the FIFA world cup but also because there was Subbuteo action in Hofstade-Zemst. Because of the football game, there was a smaller field than expected with 6 entries but there were many good games. Geert Leys finished on top of the Swiss system with 10 points while Frank Lannoy was runner-up with 9 points and Jos Ceulemans (7) took the third place. Stéphane Lambert, Johan Lourdon and Willy de Bandt were also taking part. Congratulations Geert!

Richard Stock wins in Knighton

Knighton TFC was holding another WASPA tournament last Friday and the club had the visit of Richard Stock.

Richard also finished on top of a group of 6 to claim the title (with 4 wins and a draw) while Dan Nicholls was runner-up.

Final standings:
1. Richard Stock
2. Dan Nicholls
3. Danny Bird
4. Tom Taylor
5. Rory Gittoes
6. Kenny Evans

Lincoln Flickers World Cup

Andy Boyer wins Lincoln Flickers’ World Cup with PANAMA. There was no need to play a final as Boyer beat both semi-final opponents; Jez Boothman on shots after a 3-3 thriller – Boothman down 1-3 came back and almost snatched the Golden Goal. Likewise A Garbutt found himself down 0-2 and despite getting a goal back couldn’t get the equaliser.  This meant there was no need to play a final which ended in a goalless roll with Panama beating Costa Rica on shots 3-2.
Jez Boothman’s Morocco beat A Garbutt’s Spain 2-0 in the Third Place Play-Off Final – 2-0 at half time, Spain through caution to the wind but could not get the breakthrough.
It was disappointing to only have 4 participants which might be blamed on Father’s Day. Despite the low numbers it was an enjoyable day. Group games were done on dice roll to decide the last 16 then each player had 4 teams to take forward. Clinton Simpson played well scoring a few goals, his highlight the 2-2 last 16 match between Japan and England (Jez Boothman) eventually losing a tight shoot-out 2-3.

PANAMA’s run to the title:
Group (automated dice roll)
Belgium 3:4 Panama
England 1:1 Panama
Panama 3:2 Tunisia
PANAMA top group, England second

Last 16
Panama 4:1 Columbia (vs C Simpson)

Quarter Finals
Serbia 0:0 Panama (0-2 shots vs A Garbutt)

Semi-finals
Morocco 3:3 Panama (1-2 shots vs J Boothman)

Final
Panama 0:0 Costa Rica (3-2 shots automated) – Costa Rica second in their group to Serbia beating Germany, England and Spain on the way to the final

A great week-end of Subbuteo in Templeuve

The players on Saturday

Last week-end the Templeuve United club in Belgium was hosting a special week-end during the visit of Northern Ireland's Craig Stewart. Craig was visiting Belgium to visit the Flanders Field and the War Museum but also wanted to meet Belgian players to gain experience. Despite a few late problems in the hall regarding material, it was a good week-end for all.

The players on Friday

On Friday evening, the tournament of neighboring club "SC Warcoing Ducks" had a good field of 10 players and with no surprise Geoffrey Marain took the honors after the four sessions in Swiss system. Matthias Averlant was a good runner-up while Stéphane Lambert took the third place.

Stéphane Lambert - Geoffrey Marain - Matthias Averlant

Final standings for Friday night:
1. Geoffrey Marain
2. Matthias Averlant
3. Stéphane Lambert
4t. Vincent Coppenolle
4t. Eric Caillaux
6. Jérôme Cyganek
7t. Benjamin Marain
7t. Craig Stewart
7t. Frédéric Cyganek
10. Philippe Thys

On Saturday there was a stronger field of 20 players and organizers decided to have two categories. In the main event, Steffen Despretz (AS Hennuyer) was the surprising winner after winning the decisive game against Jos Ceulemans in the last session. Ceulemans had previously beaten Geoffrey Marain who took the third place with 9 points in four games.

Jos Ceulemans and Steffen Despretz

Final standings for Saturday (Category A):
1. Steffen Despretz
2. Jos Ceulemans
3. Geoffrey Marain
4. Yves Peremans
5. Frank Lannoy
6. Geert Leys
7t. Steven Delfosse
7t. Benoit Lagneau
9. Vincent Coppenolle
10. Matthias Averlant
11. Corentin Boltz
12. Eric Caillaux

Decisive game between Craig Stewart and Franck Santer

In Category B, everything was decided in the last session. Franck Santer won the tournament after beating Craig Stewart in the final game. This is the very first time Franck wins a Subbuteo tournament.

Franck Santer and André Boltz

Final standings for Saturday (Category B):
1. Franck Santer
2. André Boltz
3. Craig Stewart
4. Philippe Thys
5. Julien Hourez
6. Benjamin Marain
7. Arthur Clique
8. Héléna Marain

The SC Flanders team had the help of Frank Lannoy

Finally, there was also a team event with four teams taking part. SC Flanders won their three games to win the title while AS Hennuyer was runner-up, Templeuve was third and the "Team WASPA" took the 4th place.

It was a great time for all (almost everybody had 7 games on Saturday) and there are plans to make it something better next season if more players are interested to attend.

Huge thanks to all players taking part for a great moment together.

Benny Ng wins Northern Phoenix tournament

Northern Phoenix Waspa No.4
Friday 15th June 2018

The fourth Northern Phoenix Waspa took place on Friday the 15th June, 2018.
In total, a modest gathering of six competitors made the trip to the club rooms of Darebin United (Apollo) Soccer Club to compete for WASPA honours. The format trialled at the event was that of a league style with every competitor playing each other once. At the end of competition, the top two would play off in a standalone Grand Final. What made each 20 minute contest interesting was that there would be no half-time breaks – essentially testing one’s endurance and powers of concentration to remain focussed for such a long duration.

The competition throughout the evening was very close and only two matches (out of a total of sixteen) exceeded a two goal final margin. There were 31 goals scored in total and only four games ended in a draw. Going into the last round, any one of four players were in the running for a finals berth but eventually, it was Benny Ng and Adrian Connelly who proved successful. In a closely fought contest, goals either side of half time say Benny Ng claim the title.

The ‘Super 20’ format itself proved very successful and allowed games to flow quite smoothly during the course of the night, eliminating the need for half time breaks and subsequently allowing event organisers to accurately programme the evening’s schedule. It is a format that I suggest all clubs trial at some stage – it really does make for the running of a seamless event. A thanks of gratitude needs to go out to the following participants for making the evening possible. Beth Eveleigh did a great job arranging the venue, Paul Mercer for preparing the software that makes running tournaments such a breeze and Kevin Grant for providing the logistical support pertaining to table transportation.
Great fun was had by all and thanks to all the competitors for making the effort to attend.

Players: Beth Eveleigh, Kevin Grant, Christos Garagounis, Benny Ng, Adrian Connelly and Paul Mercer.

Link: Original report

Pasquale Carrassi winner again in Javea

On June 9 the club of Marina Citerior held the sixth edition of the MontGoal tournament in Javea, Spain. Six players took part to the event and there were good news as two new players were joining the tournament. Both were coming from Alicante, Frederic and David Sala. Organizers were happy to welcome them here in Javea, making the effort to travel and play with the local group.

Firstly a mini-league was played, including five rounds and 15 matches and then semi-finals and finals, for a total of 20 matches. It was quite an intense morning indeed and an entertaining one for sure. The winner was Pasquale Carrassi after a very good and disputed final against David Mc Aulay who played a great match.

Pasquale now reached is third victory in the tournament and won the Peter Adolph Cup once again, but just temporarily, as the trophy will be definitely assigned only to the winner of five different editions.

Mauro Camilleri winner in Attard

Last week Attard Subbuteo club held another WASPA tournament with 12 players taking part. There were several good players attending and Mauro Camilleri defeated Tristan Fenech in the final to claim the trophy. Joseph Agius and Walter Attard made it to the semi-finals. There will be another WASPA tournament in Attard on July 15.

Daniel Cranston is 2018 Pennsylvania Open Champion

Paul Eyes and Daniel Cranston

Bryan Arnold and Grant Lilly

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Open was played in Avondale, PA. Andrew Zunino was the host of the tournament and 8 players were competing.

The group stage had 2 groups of 4 players. the top 2 form each group later competed in another group to decide the 2018 Pennsylvania Open Champion. Paul Eyes and Andrew Zunino qualified in group A while Daniel Cranston and Matthew Steinmuller finished on top of group B.

The Pennsylvania Open group had some great games but in the end Daniel Cranston won the group after winning his decisive game against runner-up Paul Eyes (2-0). The Keystone Cup saw other good games and Bryan Arnold finished on top of the group with 7 points after a tie against Adolfo Colindres.

A good day was had by all. Huge thanks to Andrew for organizing the event under WASPA banner!

Final standings:
1. Daniel Cranston (2018 Pennsylvania Open Champion)
2. Paul Eyes
3. Andrew Zunino
4. Matthew Steinmuller
5. Bryan Arnold (2018 Keystone Cup Champion)
6. Grant Lilly
7. Adolfo Colindres
8. Mason Lilly

Martinog Bradley winner in Derry

Martinog Bradley wins the ‘Here Comes the Summer Cup 2018’ in Derry, Northern Ireland following a thrilling final against Simon Stewart. A 1-1 draw and a sudden death shoot out saw Bradley win 5-4. Craig Stewart lifted the plate with a 1-0 win over James McGillian. Craig will be playing in Templeuve, Belgium next Saturday along with players from France and Belgium. 8 players attended the ‘Here Comes the Summer Cup 2018’.

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