Athanasios Karamanis wins Roligans tournament

Greece had another successful months with several events held by different clubs. One of the events was held on October 18 in Ilioupoli. The Roligans attracted a great field of 12 players and the tournament was run in Swiss system. The Winner was Athanasios Karamanis, a member of the host club. Congratulations to all involved players.

The final table:

1. Athanasios Karamanis
2. Konstantinos Sochoritis
3. Aggelos Foutrakis
4. Nikolaos Prombonas
5. Giorgos Dimakeas
6. Stavros Mesonisanakis
7. Anasthasios Priftis
8. Chris Kotrotsos
9. Fotis Hondroudakis
10. Pavlos Malindretos
11. Ioulianos Prombonas
12. Panagiotis Skouros

England: wins for Daley, Lee and Goodman

Here is a brief summary of the latest news in England where the WASPA circuit is doing great. Of course activity will now be limited again due to the virus but the future looks promising.

East Lancashire Subbuteo Club

The East Lancashire vlub held a very first tournament under WASPA banner earlier this month. 10 players were taking part and Brian Daley defeated Chris Bedford in the final. Stephen Shaw and Lucasz Whittle made it to the semi-finals while Gavin Roper defeated John Lister in the Plate final.

Haverhill Rovers TFC

The third Haverhill Rovers tournament was another success with seven players competing in a league format. Alan Lee won his six games to win the tournament. The final standings of the evening were as follows:

1. Alan Lee
2. Elliot Bellefontaine
3. Joe Harrington
4. Jason Mitchell
5. David Payne
6. Gerry Harrington
7. Valter Baroncini

Worthing Fivestar

There was a small tournament in Brighton on October 13. Alan Lee finished on top of the tournament while Dave Croucher was runner-up and Ian Maskell was third.

Solent Subbuteo Club news

The club will be running a FISTF League alongside a Traditional Advanced Rules League fortnightly on a Wednesday evening. Contact Corey Martin for more information.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2759539824274495

Surrey Saracens SC

The recent Surrey Saracens tournament took place in Reigate and had a good turnout of 8 players. Simon Goodman defeated Alan Lee in the final. Ian Maskell and Dave Croucher reached the semis and Lee Fenton defeated Rob Cashman in the Plate final.

Manchester TFC

The club is preparing for a new venue announcement and looking at the end of November for our return night. COVID-19 is still spoiling matters but we will keep you updated. We are welcoming new and returning players, keep your eyes peeled for more news soon.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/ManchesterTableFootballClub

Transfer news

A few transfers have recently been confirmed in the WASPA circuit.

Chris Bedford (London Road) will now play for East Lancashire Subbuteo Club.
Nick Pearson (NETFA) will now play for London Road SC.
Ian Maskell (Worthing) will now play for Surrey Saracens SC.

Morgan captures Joburg Open

Sean Morgan (left) receives award from Clifford Graaff

Sunday the 25th of October saw the annual Joburg Open being played at Randburg AFC. The Joburg Open is the oldest Subbuteo Tournament in South Africa and Africa, with the first tournament being played in 2008.

This year's edition attracted a lot of interest with a total entries numbering 21.

The Boys Juniors got the ball rolling and saw a field of 8 local boys from Randburg FC and Transition FC divided into 2 groups of 4. Although goals were at a premium, Phumz Chabangu and Declan Wright qualified from Group A, along with Asanthi Ngobe and Sifiso Chauke. Penalty shoot-outs determined the semi finals with Asanthi and Phumz qualifying for a tense Boys Final. Asanthi held his nerve, and scored a marathon 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory to claim the Juniors Boys title.

8 players attended the tournament

The Ladies section, drew the biggest field ever field for a Ladis Subbuteo tournament in South Africa when 8 ladies flicked off to see who would rule the Ladies section. 

The format was a straight knock-out draw and the highlight was the absolute fun and good nature that prevailed through-out the knock-out stages. Jason Kennedy was roped in multiple times as the ladies loved to refer goal-line attempts to VAR. Once again, VAR was not popular although the results were accepted with the normal football chirps.

Nita Graaff qualified for the final against Noni Khumalo in a tight contested final that was only decided via a penalty shoot-out. Nita prevailed in a marathon penalty shoot-out which went to sudden-death and claim her maiden title against a gracious runner-up in Noni.

General consensus amongst all the Ladies were the enjoyment of the day and the fact that they would be back to grace the tables with their presence.

Five senior men contested a very tight and competitive Mens Open with Sean Morgan continuing his current unbeaten streak by easily qualifying for the final with a 100% record in the group stages. Angus Begg, displaying a great improvement, captured a well deserved second spot over Clifford and Jason, to set up a mouth watering final clash vs Sean.

Several ladies played their first Subbuteo tournament

The Joburg Open Final did not disappoint, as Sean and Angus dished up a great spectacle, highlighting the reason for the longevity of our great game. Angus was quick on the attack, however Sean's precise defending kept Angus at bay. Sean then pounced on a mistake by Angus in the midfield to set up his customary wide break and the resultant top corner shot could not be stopped by Angus. Angus then through everything into attack, however just before the final whistle, Sean caught Angus with a counter-attack and a precise through ball saw Sean score his second goal and insure that he captures this years Johannesburg Open title. Sean was also the winner of the inaugural tournament way back in 2008. 

Congratulations must go to all the entrants, as fair play and enjoyment, the club ethos of the Johannesburg Table Football Club aka The Eagles was evident throughout the entire tournament and Subbuteo was the ultimate winner in the end!

(Report by Clifford Graaff)

Subbuteo is back in California

Mike vs Sam

The southern members of the NorCal Subbuteo Club held the first WASPA tournament in San Luis Obispo County in California. With Covid-19 precautions in place, a restricted 3-member tournament took place on Saturday Oct 17.

Congratulations to Sam Omiotek for winning the tournament, defeating Mike Jercich 2-0, in Mike’s first ever competition.

Players in Sonoma

Also this week-end, in the effort to make the NorCal Subbuteo Club reborn after lockdown, players decided to play locally and to avoid big club gatherings for the moment. Here are a couple pictures from the first gathering of the 3 Sonoma County members. Prior to COVID, distance and juggling with everybody's schedules have been a difficult part in finding common dates to play. Club members are hoping that the opportunity to play locally will increase their chances to play more often and come back stronger as a club when the time allows. NCSC is still here and is more excited to play than ever!

Giuseppe Tardiota and Ross McNulty winners in Australia

The six competitors in Brisbane

 Australia had two tournaments played under WASPA banner in October.

In Brisbane, six players competed in a group format. Gerry Vickers finished on top and qualified for the final but in the end, Gerry from New Zealand couldn't beat local hero Giuseppe Tardiota who won the decisive game (1-0) thanks to a goal in the sudden death. Gus Gillespie was 3rd, Gareth Whalley 4th, Wayne Miller 5th and Kevin Halliday 6th.

The Perth guys also had a tournament this week-end and the event consisted in a league format with 7 players. Ross McNulty was undefeated and won the tournament with 4 wins and 2 draws. The final standings of the tournament were as follows:

1. Ross McNulty
2. Alan Kimber
3. Brian Pearson
4. Noel Mani
5. Hugh Best
6. Chris Thorn
7. Adam Taylor

Thanks to the clubs of Perth and Brisbane for the great events. The next tournaments will be held on November 8 in Brisbane and on November 15 at the Perth club house (22 Titchborne st Cockburn). New players always welcome.

Jason Pisani wins WASPA event in Bormla

Top 4 of the tournament : Aquilina - Pisani - Tabone - Camilleri

The maltese club of Bormla was back in action this week-end and their tournament played under WASPA banner had a great turnout of 16 players. The event was organized with the help of MSTFA and St george band club. Jason Pisani defeated Charles Aquilina in the final (2-1) while Jean Carl Tabone and Mauro Camilleri reached the semi-finals.

Before the final

Thanks to the Bormla club for a great event.

To be noted there will be another tournament in Malta next month as the Attard club will hold a WASPA event on November 8. Details from Mario Fleri Soler at hattardsc@gmail.com

Simon Stewart does it again in Sankt Pauli

Six players attended the October WASPA at the Millerntor Stadion, home of Subbuteo Sankt Pauli. Sven Schilling and Simon Stewart had risen in the rankings to #15 and #16 respectively but they could  expect strong a strong challenge from a former champion in Marius as well as Fred. 

Simon took the honours with a strong performance on the night triumphing over both Marius and then Sven 2-0, before drawing with Fred 0-0 and rounding off the night with a 1-0 win against Andre. Sven was 2nd winning his three other games against Fred, Ralf and Marius. Fred finished 3rd, 1 point ahead of Marius in 4th. 

We’re hoping to return to competitive action again next month with another WASPA, but our club nights continue every Tuesday with everyone welcome. 

Final table

1.  Simon Stewart   5-0   10 P.
2.  Sven Schilling   6-2    9 P.
3.  Fred Elesbao   3-2    7 P.
4.  Marius Willhaus   4-4    6 P.
5.  Andre Lange   1-5    1 P.
6.  Ralf Offenborn   0-6    1 P.

A busy period for the Roligans

Despite the hard times the players are living, the Roligans guys had a busy month of September with two tournaments run under WASPA banner but also the FISTF Major (September 12-13) played by 46 players in various categories.

Players at the Regional tournament

On September 27, the club organize a WASPA regional tournament with 9 players. The event was played in Swiss system and Evangelos Kotrotsos took the honors while Demetrios Rebis was runner-up. Chris Kotrotsos was 3rd and Georgios Dimakeas took the 4th place.

Players at the promotional tournament

Earlier in the month, the Roligans also had a WASPA promotional tournament with 9 players also. The winner was the club president Georgios dimakeas while Tasis Priftis. Evangelos Kotrotsos and Georgios Pitichoutis took the places 3 and 4.

Regional tournament table:

1. Evangelos Kotrotsos (u15)
2. Dimitrios Rebis
3. Christos Kotrotsos
4. Dimakeas Georgios
5. Stavros Messonisanakis
6. Prombonas Ioulianos
7. Foutrakis Angelos
8. Chondroudakis Fotis
9. Panagiotis Skouros (u12)

Promotional tournament table:

1. Georgios Dimakeas
2. Anastasios Priftis
3. Evangelos Kotrotsos (u15)
4. Georgios Pitichoutis
5. Kostantinos Sochoritis
6. AngelosFoutrakis
7. Nikolaos Prombonas
8. Christos Kotrotsos
9. Ioulianos Prombonas 

Number 30 for Ceulemans

After a long break of seven month, the WASPA circuit was back last Monday in Belgium. The SC Flanders club held a very first tournament in the new premises of the club in Antwerp. The new location didn't help to get a strong field of players as only five players showed up. Jos Ceulemans won his 30th WASPA title while geert Leys was runner-up and Davis Wouters was third. Unfortunately it's very hard to know if more WASPA events will be held in the near future in Belgium due to the new restrictions.

Howard Christie wins in Canada

Howard Christie wins the first CanadaFlicks Cup in seven months! The tournament held by the Toronto SC guys took place on September 26th.

Howard defeated Mike Sgro in the final. 5 flickers from ontario were taking part!

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped to keep this long-overdue event safe and fun.

WASPA standings in the end of September

Dear all, here are the new WASPA records as per September 2020.

Season 20-21(results file)

Ranking file

We have started a new season and we are aware it's really complicated to have fair rankings and standings but it's important to keep the circuit running as it's a sign of hope for the players/clubs/organizers who are waiting for better days.

Players at the Stanway Rovers tournament in England

Even if it's a complicated period, we have had tournaments in South Africa, Greece, Italy, Singapore, the US, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Wales, Scotland, Australia and England in September. Thanks to the organizers for making this happen!

The WASPA circuit is back at the Jurong club in Singapore

Rankings are changing a lot. Brian Daley is still number 1 in the overall ranking but the season leader is Alan Lee from England. Alan has done a great job to motivate clubs to organize tournaments in England and hopefully there will be a strong future for the game in England and in the UK in general even if there are restrictions nowadays, which means there will be less tournaments in October.

Players in Brisbane, Australia

Evangelos Kotrotsos from Greece is the new junior number 1. Please note this season juniors are players born in 2004 or later. If you don't see the names of some of your young players in the ranking, don't hesitate to drop me a line. i just need the correct birthdates to include more players.

The rankings of nations are also changing as Belgium has not organized any tournament for 7 months now due to the covid restrictions. Greece is the new leader in the ranking by places while England is the leader in the ranking by points.

Young players in Johannesburg, South Africa

The rankings of clubs start from scratch in the beginning of the season. In the "top clubs" sections, the Roligans (Greece) are the first leaders but London Road Subbuteo Club and the Flaming Flickers SC are very close. Only 11 clubs have scored points in September so there will be a strong evolution in the next few months. In the WASPA Development League, 14 of the 37 involved clubs have score points. Worthing Fivestar from England is the surprising first leader but Johannesburg TFC and Cardiff TFC are also very close. London Road Subbuteo Club is still the solid leader in the Junior ranking.

Important notice: there is no new handbook for this season yet but there will be a new file soon. I would like to create a discussion group to see how the handbook can be improved. Your ideas are welcome and if you want to be part of the discussion group, just let me know.

We remain at your disposal for any information regarding the circuit. Your ideas to improve the WASPA circuit are also more than welcome.

Action in the premises of Subbuteo Sankt Pauli in Germany

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.

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 or vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Have a great week and a great new season.

Vincent Coppenolle

Great success for the Lions Zante

While the records of September are almost finished, we have received great news from Greece where the Lions Zante organized their second WASPA tournament this Sunday. 16 players were present including representatives of the Roligans and Achaioi TSC.

Top 3 of the day: Foutrakis (3), Sotiropoulos (1) and Dimakeas (2)

There was a group stage and a knock-out round. In the end Manolis Sotiropoulos (Achaioi) defeated Giorgos Dimakeas (Roligans) in the final while semi-finalists were Aggelos Foutrakis (Roligans) and Christos Kalandrias (Lions Zante).

Congratuations to the organizers for a great show and thanks to the visitors from other clubs for making this event very special!