Brian Daley wins the Parrot Cup

Last Sunday London Road subbuteo Club held another WASPA tournament in their usual room, the Parrot in Drury. Seven players were taking part and the tournament consistyed in a group format.

Brian Daley won all his games to claim the title while Richard Stock was runner-up. Cayne Matthews was third. Mark tilling took the fourth place, his best result in a WASPA tournament. Congratulations to all players!

Kegan van der Merwe shows good form in Season Opener

Saturday 23 February 2019, Pretoria, South Africa: 
The opening event on the 2019 Pretoria calendar attracted a small crowd of 5 players who battled it out for Copa del Apertura honours. Kegan van der Merwe started the day well and was looking to continue the good form shown during last weekend's Gauteng Champions League Qualification held in Johannesburg, but in Match 6 he suffered a setback by way of a 1-0 loss to PFC 2018 "Most Improved Player", Conway Julie. The tie of Round 1 action saw Jayden van der Merwe and Kegan play to an entertaining 1-1 draw and at the end of Round 1, the standings were Kegan (1st), Jayden (2nd) and Conway (3rd).
Conway then also accounted for another upset in Match 11, by defeating the 2018 Copa del Apertura defending champion Jayden van der Merwe by 1-0 and at that stage it appeared as though Conway had consolidated the 3rd position he was maintaining. Gary Downs had a tough start to the day, but an improved run during Round 2 saw Gary clinch 3rd place overall in Match 20 by way of a 1-0 win over Conway. Prior to that match, in Match 19, the title was decided when Kegan dispatched of Jayden by 1-0. This triumph marks Kegan's 7th WASPA title to date.
Too many draws and a lack of finishing saw Julian van der Merwe take the "wooden spoon" on the day.

Individual acknowledgements on the day :
"Goal Blitz" : went to Jayden van der Merwe ending the day as the top scorer.
"Moment of the Day" : went to Conway Julie for his Round 1 victory over Kegan, followed by a Round 2 victory over Jayden .
"Comeback Kid" : despite a poor start, Gary Downs fights back for 3rd place overall - beating Conway to that honour.

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://www.facebook.com/pages/PFC-SA/519566284755728

(report by Julian vd Merwe)

Rudy Hesty wins February tournament

The Farrer Park Flickers held their second WASPA tournament of the year on Friday, 22 February 2019 at their clubhouse, the Pek Kio Community Centre. Six flickers took part, five from the club (Rudy Hesty, Anas Rahamat, Michael Choong, Vikas Chandiramani, and Nic Tan) and one from the SG Lions Table Football Club (Ashley Tan).

They played a round robin format with 20-minute games. The matches were generally close with only one of the 15 matches having a goal difference of three or more. Club captain Rudy Hesty took the victory with 11 points from 3 wins and 2 draws.

Join the club for their next WASPA tournament on 15 March 2019; all are welcome to join in!

Final Standings:
1) Rudy Hesty 11 points
2) Ashley Tan 9 points
3) Michael Choong 7 points
4) Anas Rahamat 6 points
5) Vikas Chandiramani 4 points
6) Nic Tan 2 points

Short news from around Europe

In Greece two more events have been played in the last few days. Last Sunday the club of Panorama 1978 SC Thessaloniki held a tournament with 8 players. In the end of the day, Constantios Giapoutzis defeated Christos Agrios in the final (2-0) to claim the title. Stavros Giapoutzis and Ioannis Terzidis were the semi-finalists.

A bit earlier, the Roligans had their second event of the month and this time it was a "promotional event" with four players. Alexis Tzelatis finished on top of the round robin while Chris Kotrotsos was runner-up, Konstantinos Stefanis was 3rd and Stavros Mesonisanakis took the 4th place.

In Wales, the recent Knighton tournament had a good field of 6 players. Dan Nicholls took the honors after winning his five games.

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

In England, the Brock WASPA Challenge Cup was played in Bristol on February 15.
Gavin Gurney finished on toip of a group of 3 while Bernard O'Connor was runner-up and Taylor Randles took the third place.

In Italy, Firenze subbuteo Club had another good evening of play on Monday with 15 players competing. This time Luca Pini defeated Emanuele Cattani in the final while semi-finalists were Mirko Masini and Stefano Barducci.
Alessio Riccio won the consolation tournament after defeating Tiberio Becucci in the final.

Claude Cuschieri wins Ivan Bartolo Cup

In Malta, Attard Subbuteo Club played the "Hon. Ivan Bartolo MP Cup" last week-end. Another good event with 12 players taking part and in the end, Claude Cuschieri defeated local organizer Joseph M. Debono to win the trophy. Natalino Tanti won the game for the third place against Stanley Farrugia.

Mike Sgro takes February tournament in Toronto

Toronto Subbuteo club held their largest tournament ever with a good field of 8 players and the visit from 2 players of Hamilton Subbuteo Club.

There was a group stage with many close games and then quarter-finals, semis and a big final.

Mike Sgro had a difficult start, finishing in third position in the group but later defeated Richard Ruffolo in quarter-final, Brodyn Sexton in the semi-final and Peter Sexton (2-1) in the final to claim the title.

Great job again by our canadian friends who keep doing their best to revive the game in the country.

Martinog Bradley wins Winter Cup

Derry City TFC had a 2019 Winter Cup on Monday and it was played in a round robin league format.

Martinog Bradley finished top of the table to take the honours, with Donegal’s Brendan Rodgers coming in runner-up.

Good nights play and great to see Derry player Paul Boyle make a return.

Next event in Pretoria

Nico Marks winner in Hoogezand

In the Netherlands, the 5th edition of the "COBEX Top of Holland Tournament" had only 8 players taking part after organizers had to accept five late dropouts. Despite the sad news, it was a fair and enjoyable day with some good games for everyone and with the visit of local reporters from newspaper and television. You can watch the TV coverage at https://www.rtvnoord.nl/tv/programma/10250/Expeditie-Grunnen/aflevering/21882

The final of the tournament was a good game between Nico Marks and Jacob Bijlstra. Both players had won all their games before that so it was supposed to be a close game but in the end, Nico Marks took the honors after winning 2-0. Erwin Smit won the game for the 3th place against Ard Lukassen (3-2).

Good news also came from the fact there will be a national championship in the Netherlands on June 8. The event will take place in IJsselmuiden and details are available from subbuteonederland@gmail.com
Registrations are possible till June 1.

Giannis Bougiouris wins Mundial 1970 tournament

On Saturday 9/2/2019 Flaming Flickers SC had their 41st WASPA tournament with Mundial 1970 theme.

16 players competed for the trophy and the winner was Brazil of Giannis Bougiouris after a close final with England of Alekos Apatzis.

Congratulations to all for the great games in the WASPA spirit!

Paul Eyes wins Presidents Cup

Paul Eyes (BlackRose 1998 Roma) won the 2019 Presidents Cup in a Swiss Ladder style tournament that featured 9 players. Key results were a 0-0 between Eyes and Cranston, Eyes defeating Tillman 2-1, and Cranston defeating Tillman 3-2. With the title being decided on goal difference, a narrow 3-2 win by Cranston over an impressive Adolfo Colindres proved decisive.

Final standings:
1. Paul Eyes
2. Daniel Cranston
3. Michael Tillman
4. Andrew Zunino
5. Bryan Arnold
6. Sam Cohen
7. Grant Lilly
8. Adolfo Colindres
9. Claudio Santos

Nobody can stop Geoffrey Marain

The recent tournament of the Warcoing Ducks attracted 9 players on February 13 and as usual, it was a good evening for Geoffrey Marain who finished on top of the Swiss ladder with 4 wins. Matthias Averlant was runner-up with 9 points while Logan Carette, who had not played for a while, finished in third position. For most of the players taking part, the evening was more importantly a good way to prepare for the national interclubs day of February 16 in Temploux.

Final standings
1. Geoffrey Marain (AS Hennuyer) 12 points
2. Matthias Averlant (Templeuve) 9
3. Logan Carette (Templeuve) 7
4. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve) 7
5. Michaël Dupret (MT Tournai) 6
6. Arthur Clique (Templeuve) 6
7. Eric Caillaux (France/Templeuve) 4
8. Sébastien Sorge (France/Templeuve) 4
9. Benjamin Marain (Warcoing) 3

Fabrizio Coco wins in the Falcons'Nest

Fabrizio Coco claimed the second Northern Falcons WASPA of the year, with a nerve wracking victory by shots over clubmate Tony Credentino.

A healthy turnout of 12 players contested the event, with an early shock when Adrian Grunbach edged Eliot Kennedy 2-1.
Steve's propensity to hit the post with chipped shots saw him dip out in the 'group of death', while Eliot recovered to beat Jonty and qualify with Adrian G from their group.

Hermann Kruse and Adrian Elmer advanced from Group C, while very little separated eternal rivals Oli Ollnow and Torben Pfister before they both advanced.

Fabrizio and Elion had convincing wins in their quarterfinals, while Tony edged Hermann 1-0. Oli Ollnow and Adrian G needed shots to decide their encounter, with Oli winning 2-0.

In the semis, Eliot battled hard and had a golden opportunity with seconds left on the clock to equalise against Fab, but fluffed his lines, and Fab burst forward to snatch a late second. In the other, Tony continued his stirling form with a 1-0 win against Oli.

The final was packed with drama. Tony scored early, and then had to battle against Fab's intense pressure. With just over a minute remaining, Fab got his equaliser, taking the match to shots.

The pressure remained, with both players taking their chances, before Fab scored with the last of his five to win 3-2.

Another great night at the Falcons' Nest!!!

Gareth Christie and Malcolm Lees winners in Glasgow

Gareth Christie Open winner

Malcolm Lees veterans champion

The Scottish Grand Prix took place last week-end in Glasgow and it was a success. Organizers did a great job hosting two WASPA tournaments for Open players and Veterans in the second part of the Individual contest. 12 Open players and 15 veterans took part. In the veterans the host club finished with 3 players in the semi-finals. It turned out to be an all Glasgow affair with the club's elder statesman Malcolm Lees edging out John Halpin in the final.

The final in the open category was contested by Scotland's Gareth Christie and England's Trevor schott. They had met earlier in the day where Trev came out on top. This time it was Gareth who came out on top.

Congrats to all players who took part.

Open semi-finals
Martinog Bradley - Gareth Christie 1-3
Stuart Walsh - Trevor Schott 0-3

Final
Gareth Christie - Trevor Schott 1*-1

Veterans semi-finals
Andy Boyer - Malcolm Lees 0-2
John Halpin - Tom Burns 1-0

Final
Malcolm Lees - John Halpin 3-2

Bob Fairbrother wins WASPA event in Devon

This competition was held at Bristol SFC HQ in South Devon and welcomed the entrants of Peter Brown, Adam Fraser and Tim Mourant to join Bob Fairbrother for some Retro frolics. A straight league – play each other twice format - meant it was a gruelling few hours as no player had a breather from the action part from lunch being served at the halfway mark – so perhaps not such a high tide mark on the arduous measure, after all!

With 11 seconds left on the clock in the last round of matches the prize was in Tim’s hands as he led the table with a point lead and need only draw to take the bottle of scotch home.  Fairbrother had other ideas as he procured a chance from a tight angle to take aim and fire into the top far corner – queue Aguero style Premiership winning celebrations!

A close competition and fought with great sportsmanship and endeavour.

Final standings:
1. Bob Fairbrother
2. Tim Mourant
3. Peter Brown
4. Adam Fraser

Subbuteo action in München

This week-end there was Subbuteo action in München, Germany. A great gathering with five players offered to all competitors the chance to play 8 games. After the home and away fixtures, Roland Popp (BSC Schwalbach) took the honors with 8 wins while Serbia's top player Milan Knezevic, who lives in Germany and now plays from DLF Gorizia from Italy was runner-up. Renato Parussini, also from Goirizia, took the third place. Maurizio Zironi, an Italian from the "Subbuteisti Modena", was fourth while German player Matthias Stechern gained experience in his WASPA debut.

The main goal of the day was to enjoy playing and to give a chance to play competitive games in a fair spirit without taking results too seriously. Hopefully such a tournament can boost interest for the WASPA circuit in Germany and more events will be held in the future.

A Table Soccer club in San Diego

There is a new club in California. The "San Diego Table Soccer Club" has now a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/646149129139884
The new club will have a tournament on March 3. Interested players can check the event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/588943458241219/

WASPA are very happy about the great news and we wish San Diego Table Soccer Club a great future!

Demetrios Rebis winner for the second time

Last Saturday, the club of Roligans held their second WASPA tournament. It was a single group of six players and in the end, Demetrios Rebis won his second tournament while Angelos Foutrakis was runner-up. Raphael Kalogerakos, Georgios Karachalios, Georgios Dimakeas and Marios Foteinopoulos were the other players taking part. Huge thanks to the Roligans club!

Rudy Hesty winner in Singapore

The second day of the TFAS League 2019 was held on 3 February, with 6 players playing a full round robin. Rudy Hesty was back on form, winning all of his games this time round.

Finals standings (points and GD)
1. Rudy -> 15 / 14
2. Anas -> 12 / 9
3. Bernard -> 7 /
4. Vikas -> 7 / 2
5. Rizal -> 1 / -15
6. Isaac -> 1 / -16

Another good tournament in the Flanders

Last Monday the SC Flanders club had a good tournament with 9 players taking part and many close games. The Flemish players had the visit of three players from Templeuve United. Until the last seconds of the last session, everything was still possible. With a last second goal against Jos Ceulemans, Vincent Coppenolle was the lucky winner of the tournament with 10 points in four games while Frank Lannoy, who defeated Matthias Averlant in the last minute, was runner-up with 9 points. Geert Leys took the third place. Further in the table, Jos Ceulemans, Matthias Averlant, Willy De Bandt, Johan Lourdon, Filip Van Hulle and Jordan Bonte were the other players taking part.

There will be more action in the next few days in Belgium with events in the Agenda in Warcoing (Feb 13), Templeuve (Feb 22), Vresse (Feb 23) and again in Templeuve (March 1), the day before the FISTF Major of Frameries. The next SC Flanders tournaments will be held in Hofstade on March 11, April 1, May 6 and June

WASPA monthly records of January 2019

Dear all, you will find in the attached files the updates records of the WASPA circuit after the tournaments held in January.

WASPA ranking - January 19
WASPA Season results 2018-2019

We have added 28 events in the records (26 regional, 1 promo, 1 old rules) + some records of the NETFA mini-leagues and from the Dutch league.

First event held int he premises of the Roligans in Greece

Welcome to the Roligans (Greece) in the group of WASPA organizers. We hope they will host more tournaments in the future.

We are also glad to see the first tournament of the season took place in California last week.

Having a quick look on the WASPA season after 5 months, it's sometimes hard to understand why some nations are not involved. We have already seen WASPA tournaments in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, England, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, the United States of America and Wales.

A good day of play for the Western Flickers in Australia

Among the nations who held tournaments in the past, we have no news from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.

We are aware that there will be at least events in Germany (2 in the agenda for sure) and Hungary (1 in the agenda) but I'm curious to know why the other nations don't run WASPA tournaments. Is there a reason in particular or is it just a lack of interest for the game in general? Is there something against WASPA or just a lack of organizers? Is it a problem of communication or just different priorities from national associations? Just trying to understand... Your feedback on how to develop the circuit is more than welcome!

Action at Attard SC in Malta

In the rankings, there is no major change but Alekos Apatzis from Greece is now number 3.

If some juniors (born in 2002 or later) don't appear in the ranking, it means we don't have their birthdates so please send your feedback.

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.

A good turnout for the London Road tournament in Wales

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

Test-match and tournament in Cyprus

Cyprus was in the spotlight this week-end with two very different WASPA happenings taking place on the island.

Massimo winner of the test-match

On Friday local organizer Giorgos Zangylos had the chance to host the first WASPA test-match of the season against Italy's Massimo Dalprà. Massimo lives in Bucharest, Romania and travels a lot for business. The Italian won the series 1-2 (scores were 2-0, 0-1, 0-3) and it was a special game as both players had already played a test-match together in May 2017, which Zangylos won. This is also a great way to remind everyone that test-matches are a great way to create links between players when there are not enough players to organize a tournament.

The final

On Saturday, the 5th tournament of the season took place in Limassol. There was a very good field of 13 players taking part with some new faces compared to the previous events. This time it was Marios Nikolaou (Phoenix) who took the honors after defeating Giorgos Zangylos (Famagusta) in the final. Marcos Kalopsidiotis (Salamis) and Demetris Bekos (Erimi) reached the semi-finals. In 5 events 24 different players have already competed in the domestic circuit, which proves the good health of the game in Cyprus.

Geoffrey Marain takes January tournament

Michaël Dupret and Geoffrey Marain

Last Friday the Templeuve club held a WASPA tournament with 8 players taking part. Because of the bad weather some people couldn't make it but it was a good evening with several close games and a few visitors having a look at the games. Geoffrey Marain (AS Hennuyer) was the winner of the night and it was no surprise even if he struggled to beat Matthias Averlant (3-2). Michaël Dupret took the second spot of the evening, confirming he's doing well after his recent trip in Japan to play the FISTF Open of Yokohama where he reached the final.

As for the other news from Belgium, the Warcoing tournament on Wednesday was postponed to February 13 because of the snow falls. Only 5 players could make it and had a great training session. The Templeuve club has scheduled tournament on February 22 and March 1 (the day before the FISTF Major of frameries, which means players attending the Major can come and practice on Friday night).

The other forthcoming events in Belgium will be played in Hofstade-Zemst on February 4 and Vresse on Febrary 23.