Benji Batten wins Northern Phoenix tournament

Original post can be found on the Northern Phoenix Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/780610992079187

Another fun evening of WASPA competition was held on Tuesday the 26th March as what originally began as a field of 10 competitors (leading into the tournament) quickly dwindled down to 6 as players started dropping like flies due to a variety of reasons (injuries, transport etc.). At this point it should be noted that the nation's Table Football Ethics Department (TFED) has been commissioned to investigate the legitimacy of all these 'alleged' claims for non-attendance.

Nevertheless, our Games Logistics Manager (GLM) was able to quickly scramble and re-arrange the format of the event into a regular round robin. This saw every player compete against one another once (in a FAST-15 match) before the event transitioned into a single round final series (based on standings) to determine final placings. The final round also saw the games played in two 10 minute halves.

There was a great deal of action and excitement throughout the evening even though there was the customary littering of 0-0 score lines. Carl Young and Benji Batten played the game of the night in a thrilling 2-2 encounter (during the round robin phase) whilst the three competing Northern Phoenix players couldn’t be separated in any of their ‘intra-club’ matches.

The event was temporarily halted as a local magpie managed to get past security and into the playing arena, dodging broom sticks, cricket bats and stumps before safely managing to escape via one of the hastily opened windows.

In what we hope will be the first of many appearances, new boy George Theocharis put in an admirable shift learning a lot of new skills, tactics and rules along the way. There’s no doubt that all Melbourne Table Football Clubs will be fighting to gain his lucrative signature and bolster their club squads ahead of next year’s Asian Cup and Australian Grand Prix – Watch this Space!

In the Grand Final, Benji and Carl once again couldn’t be separated in normal time and the sudden death penalty shout-out saw the former take Title honours. It was a similar story in the Third Place Play-Off as Beth Eveleigh kept her cool to beat team-mate Christos in shots.

It was the Polish Predator in February, the Brighton Boy in March……..Who’ll take the honours in April?

Another enjoyable evening and needless to say.......

Michael Stolzenberg winner in Häuslingen

We are always pleased to see returning players to the circuit. On Friday a tournament was played in Häuslingen, Germany and seven players competed in a league format. It was nice to see Michael Stolzenberg taking the honors.

Special thanks to SC Berlin and Carsten Bock for organising the tournament under WASPA banner!

We hope to see more tournaments like this in Germany in the future.

Final table:

1. Michael Stolzenberg (Sparta Spreeathen 74/82) 18 points
2. Jens Röttjer (Sparta Spreeathen 74/82) 15
3. Michael Nixdorf (SC Berlin) 7
4. Nico Müller (SC Berlin) 7
5. Klaus Fritz (Sparta Spreeathen 74/82) 7
6. Carsten Bock (SC Berlin) 5
7. Ralf Offenborn (St. Pauli) 1

Results of Belgian tournaments in Antwerp, Templeuve and Bande

 More results from Belgium

If the WASPA circuit is really big in the UK, some nations continue to have regular WASPA events. Here is a brief summary of results of the last four events held in Belgium in March.

Antwerp, March 11, Host: SC Flanders. Swiss system.

1. David Wouters (SC Flanders)
2. Geert Leys (SC Flanders)
3. Johan Lourdon (SC Flanders)
4. Jos Ceulemans (SC Flanders)
5. Stéphane Lambert (Kent Invicta)

SC Flanders on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/479038732231303

Templeuve, March 15, Host: Templeuve United. Swiss system.

1. Matthias Averlant (AS Hennuyer)
2. Geoffrey Marain (AS Hennuyer)
3. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve)
4. Kenny De Schuyteneer (SC Eugies)
5. Fabien Limpens (Racing White Woluwé)
6. Sébastien Rochez (Templeuve)
7. Michaël Dupret (Magic Team Tournai)
8. Benjamin Marain (AS Hennuyer)
9. André Flémal (BX Subbuteo Club)
10. David Sardi de Letto (Wattrelos - France)
11. Didier Moons (Templeuve)
12. Pascal Flémal (BX Subbuteo Club)
13. Jordan Bonte (AS Hennuyer)
14. Sébastien Sorge (Wattrelos - France)
15. Anthony Meireaux (Templeuve)
16. Nicolas Voet (Wattrelos - France)
17. Thibaut Marville (Wattrelos - France)

Templeuve United on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TempleuveUnited and https://www.facebook.com/groups/25637672693

Bande, March 21, Host: Wamme SC. Swiss system.

1. Noah Janssens (Wamme SC)
2. Thomas Janssens (Wamme SC)
3. Jean Grosdent (Wamme SC)
4. Maxim Grosdent (Wamme SC)
5. Noah Dirick (Wamme SC)
6. Vincent Dirick (Wamme SC)

Wamme Subbuteo Club on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/180520979012248

Templeuve, March 24, Host: Templeuve United. Swiss system.

1. Geoffrey Marain (AS Hennuyer)
2. Sébastien Rochez (Templeuve)
3. Michaël Dupret (Magic Team Tournai)
4. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve)
5. Frank Lannoy (SC Temploux)
6. Kenny De Schuyteneer (SC Eugies)
7. Benjamin Marain (AS Hennuyer)
8. Sébastien Sorge (Wattrelos - France)
9. Marc Sceraert (SC Eugies)
10. Xavier Outters (SC Eugies)
11. Olivier Bodelle (Wattrelos - France)
12. Didier Das (SC Eugies)
13. Nicolas Voet (Wattrelos - France)

Vicenç Prats wins fourth stage of Circuit Català in Breda

The fourth tournament of the "23-24 Circuit Català" was played last week-end by 29 players. This is a new record for the circuit and organizers can be really proud of it!

Three new players Alfred Laporta, Roger Ribè  and Dani Prieto were taking part and Vicenç Prats was the winner this time after a great match against Ferran Coll decided in a penalty shoot-out.

Results can be found in the following link.

Congratulations to the players and organizers for a great day of Subbuteo table football.

Home Victory for Beggs in Ballymena

Kenny Beggs won the 2nd Round of the Irish Circuit in his home-town of Ballymena with a 2-1 Final victory over Dublin's Mark Farrell. Barry Spence and Martinog Bradley reached the semi-finals. Andy Fitzpatrick beat Italian, Mario Frittelli, with a golden-goal in the Plate Final and Eliott Fitzpatrick was best Junior. Thanks to all 20 players who attended and made it a special day and to Ballymena Golf Club for the excellent venue. More information and photos on www.nitfa.org.uk

Tournament winner Kenny Beggs (right)

Plate champion Andy Fitzpatrick

Marking Flick March WASPA tournament

Saturday, March 16, 2024
FitDistrict Training Studio, Bella Vista

The Falcons came, they saw, they conquered. On what was, results wise, not to be a great day for Western Sydney Subbuteo, it was the three visitors from Northern Falcons - Adrian G, Louie and Steve - who would take the honours, though nothing was quite straightforward with no player being able to completely dominate.

There was much excitement as Phil joined for his first ever tournament, bringing along his old lightweight Bradford City team for their first run out since a curry and beer evening back in his homeland in 1989. He was given a quick brush up on 21st century rule developments and thrown in at the deep end against Louie, suffering a 2-0 defeat but making a great fist of it for his first game in 35 years. Ray went ahead with a superb goal on the run against Adrian E, but was pegged back by a reciprocal, on the run, goal. Neither could find a winner, though Ray's 'keeper was named figure of the match. Adrian G used his experience to ease to a 2-0 victory over Tim, while Steve finished with the same result against Hipfingerz' Geoff.

In a very tight set of Round 2 fixtures, Louis beat Adrian E for the second time in succession, winning with a goal that was so surprising to both players that neither could quite figure out what had happened, except that the ball was in the back of the net! Geoff led for much of his game against Ray, only for Ray to find an equaliser with another goal on the run with the final flick of the match. Tim took a 1-0 win against Phil, which Phil was counting as a moral victory, the first of many moral victories he will win as a 'new' player! Adrian G continued his march to the top of the table with a 1-0 victory over Steve.

The Round 3 top-of-the-table clash between Adrian G and Louie lived up to expectations, with both players cancelling each other out and unable to bother the scoreboard attendants. Adrian E took an early lead over Geoff and game managed the rest of the match to finish with the win. But the action was all happening in the Ray vs Phil clash. Within 30 seconds there was uproar as Phil felt he had scored his first goal of the day, only to be denied by Ray and his controversial insistence on correctly applying the rules of the game. Ray then went ahead and was looking to ease to a comfortable victory, only for Phil to keep coming back at him, scoring an equalising 2nd goal in the final minute of play to record both his first competitive goals and his first competitive points.

Adrian E needed a victory over Adrian G in the final round to have any hope of winning the tournament, but could not find a way through in a very even, end to end match in which both players had their chances but in which neither could stamp their authority. Likewise, Steve could leapfrog his Louie with a victory over his son but, in the end, had to settle for a 1-1 draw, Louie holding on to his place at the top of the table. Geoff picked up his first win of the day with a victory over Phil, while Ray finished the day with his undefeated record in tact, courtesy of his fourth successive draw, this time against Tim. Talk about an accommodating host!!

With Louie and Adrian G finishing level on 8 points, and, having drawn their game against each other, it came down to Power Ranking points to determine the winner. Adrian G came out on top courtesy of having picked up his results against stronger opponents, overall, across the afternoon. The 1-2 Falcons finish was then reinforced by Steve's 3rd place finish, leaving the Western Sydney Subbuteo players, along with Geoff from Hipfingerz, to fill out the rest of the final table.

Another hugely enjoyable few hours of Subbuteo, highlighted by an excited new player keen to return again. Huge congratulations to Adrian G on his victory. It will now be up to the Western Sydney players to lift their game and reclaim their homeground advantage in next month's tournament! 

(Story by Adrian Elmer)

Original post: https://sites.google.com/view/westernsydneysubbuteo/tournaments?0#h.wqccv2a3u4zs

Marco Bevilacqua wins March Edinburgh tournament

Monday's March WASPA event in Edinburgh saw 6 players take part in a league table. There were some familiar faces as well as a few new ones to the WASPA tour, which saw Marco Bevilacqua come out on top. Fantastic progress is being made by all the new players and it's really exciting times for Subbuteo in Edinburgh. Thanks again to all who took part, and of course a huge thanks to The Chanter for hosting us. We'll see you again on April 15th!

Final standings:

1. Marco Bevilacqua 13 points
2. Bruce Henderson 10
3. Peter Morrison 9
4. Andy Kent 7
5. Paul McFadyen 3
6. Lee McMenemy 0

Link to Subbuteo in Edinburgh: https://www.facebook.com/SubbuteoEdinburgh

Noah Janssens and Pascal Scheen winners in Belgium

Players in Stembert

 Two small WASPA tournaments have been held last week-end in belgium.

Action in Nassogne

On Saturday, 5 players met in Nassogne and competed in a league format. After the 4 games, three played shared the first place with 3 wins and a loss. Sessions of shots decided the winner and Noah Janssens was the big winner of the day with Pascal Scheen being runner-up.

On Sunday, 5 players also met in "La Cave", Stembert. This time Pascal Scheen was the winner with lucas Père taking the 2nd spot and Noah Dirick being third.

Noah Dirick and Mélina Scheen

More importantly fair-play was there during both days and subbuteo was the real winner.

There will be more action in Belgium with tournament in Templeuve on March 15 and March 24. Interested players can contact Vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Andrea Lessona wins Generali's Cup

We are always pleased to receive results from Italy and this week-end, we were happy to see the first tournament held by the TSC 69ers this season in Borgo vercelli. Six players competed in the first edition of the "Generali's Cup". Andrea Lessona defeated Riccardo Bruno (3-0) in the final. Other players taking part were Andrea Gennari (3), Ferdinando Marino  (4), Alessandro Foti (5) and Piero Marino (6).

Congratulations to Andrea for being organizer and winner of the tournament!

TSC 69ers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSC69ERS

WASPA rankings of February 2024 are out!

Dear Subbuteo friends,

PDF file (results)

Excel file (rankings)

Jason Christopher receiving trophy from Gary Gladwell after
the third round of the English Old Rules circuit

the WASPA rankings of February 2024 are out after we added 33 regional tournaments, 5 old rules tournaments, 1 promotional tournament, 1 National Cup and 1 test-macth in the records.

Hipfingerz's tournament in Sydney and first WASPA win for Louis Dettre

WASPA events have been played in England, Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Northern Ireland, Greece and France soo it's great to have 12 countries holding events in the same month. Welcome to the club of ALC Wattrelos-Subbuteo Lille Métropole (France) as the newest organizer.

Great success for the first tournament in the North of France, organized by the club of Wattrelos

Special thanks to Alan Lee and the English Subbuteo Association for the amazing job to promote the game. The ESA held a National Cup in close cooperation with WASPA but also held stages of the national old rules circuit, which was a great success. Many English clubs hold regular WASPA tournaments and have full support of their national association, which is a source of inspiration for other nations.

Of course some other nations have been very supportive in the last few years but there is so much to be done to make people understand that WASPA tournaments exist to promote the game and to develop things that it's so frustrating to see some national boards refusing any kind of cooperation.

Players at the latest Derry tournament, in Northern Ireland

Having a quick look at rankings, we see Jason Christopher is still number 1 in the overall individual table but Kevin Cordell is now very close to the first spot. Kevin Cordell is also a strong leader in the season ranking while Samuele Bignardi is still the number 1 junior player.

Anniversary tournament in Perth, Australia

We also notice a few clubs have scored their first points in the club tables and we are happy to see "Northern Line Flickers TFC" appearing in the Conference league. The club from Auckland, New Zealand has held 3 WASPA events and is a new entry in the table.

Visit of Germany's Nico Müller in London

I stay at your disposal for questions about the WASPA circuit.

Please keep the address vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com for sending tournament results!

Keep on flicking!

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA Organizer

Milan Knezevic winner in Switzerland, organizer in Germany

At the back: Peter Erb, Matthias Stechern, Milan Knezevic, Renato Parussini, Luigi & Giuseppe Zaccheria & Alessandro Indelli. In front: John Imbrogiano, Nicola Mariconda, Roman Bernhardsgrütter, Martin Wiesmann.

The winning trio: John (2), Milan (1), Renato (3)

On March 2nd, the Linth Sliders Subbuteo Club organised the 1st SWISS-CUP 2024 in Eschenbach. Once again 12 players registered, 6 of them were coming from Munich, which was appreciated by organizers.

It was another super tournament with many great games which was always under the patronage of fair-play, fun and friendship.

Group A was won by Milan Knezevic (SER) from Baden-Baden ahead of John Imbrogiano (SUI), Martin Stechern (GER), Martin Wiesmann (SUI), Nicola Mariconda (ITA) and Giuseppe Zaccheria (ITA).

Group B was won by Peter Erb (SUI) ahead of Renato Parussini (ITA), Fabio Domenico (SUI), Alessandro Indelli (ITA), Roman Bernhardsgrütter (SUI) and Luigi Zaccheria (ITA). Group B was won by Peter Erb (SUI) ahead of Renato Parussini (ITA), Fabio Domenico (SUI), Alessandro Indelli (ITA), Roman Bernhardsgrütter (SUI) and Luigi Zaccheria (ITA).

In the semi-finals, Milan won 3-1 against Renato and John 3-2 against Peter. Milan Knezevic won the SWISS-CUP again, beating John Imbrogiano 2-1. Renato Parussini came third ahead of Peter Erb.

Final standings:

1. Milan Knezevic (SER/GCT DLF Gorizia)
2. John Imbrogiano (SUI/subbuteo.ch)
3. Renato Parussini (ITA/Pinco Devils TS)
4. Peter Erb (SUI/subbuteo.ch)
5. Alessandro Indelli (ITA/-)
6. Martin Wiesmann (SUI/subbuteo.ch)
7. Matthias Stechern (GER/GCT DLF Gorizia)
8. Fabio Domenico (SUI/-)
9. Roman Bernhardsgrütter (SUI/Linth Sliders SC)
10. Nicola Mariconda (ITA/Subbuteo Club Höpfigheim)
11. Luigi Zaccheria (ITA/-)
12. Giuseppe Zaccheria (ITA/-)

Players in Baden-Baden

One week earlier, Milan Knezevic had organized a small tournament in Baden-Baden with 6 players competing in a league format. After howe and away games, Pietro Di Pietrantonio was the winner.

Final table:

1. Pietro Di Pietrantonio (ITA) - 30 points
2. Eric Lienhardt (FRA) - 24
3. Milan Knezevic (SER) - 11
4. Janus Gersie (GER) - 9
5. Peter Erb (SUI) - 8
6. John Imborgiano (SUI) - 4

Louie Dettre wins first WASPA tournament

Monday night was a throwback to the "good old days" when pitches were a challenge, as the Hipfingerz hosted players from all of the Sydney clubs. One of the Xworks pitches had a "wardrobe malfunction" leading to some interesting rolls and bends!

But Louie Dettre handled the conditions better than anyone, taking his very first table football event, with impressive wins against Steve (3-1) and Adrian Elmer (1-0) before sealing the deal with a 1-1 draw with Geoff.

Great to see Adrian Elmer (WSS), Kostas Barbaris (Sydney TFC) and Steve and Louie (Northern Falcons) joining the Hipfingerz and family!!

Adrian, Louie, Geoff and Kostas got off to winning starts, and then Louie grabbed a hold on the tournament when he beat Adrian, and Geoff and Kostas drew.

Geoff's chance of victory evaporated when Louie took the lead in their clash, with Geoff only equalising with a minute to go. Adrian's win over Kostas put him into second place.

Another thoroughly enjoyable night at the Captain Cook, with Greg's family joining him and getting into the small sided game!

Hipfingerz Subbuteo Table Football Club link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1063342333730453