George Dimakeas wins Roligans Christmas Cup

The Roligans Ilioupolis club in Greece organized a Christmas tournament on December 26. Seven players participated and the tournament winner was decided by a four round Swiss system. Finaly the winner was the President of Roligans, George Dimakeas, Chris Kotrotsos was runner-up meand the third place was awarded to Dimitris Aggelou (Glyfada United Tsc) while Kostas Stefanis was fourth. Aggelou and Stefanis had the same number of points so the places were decided byt the points won by opponents of both players.

Christos Garagounis wins Northern Phoenix tournament

Northern Phoenix WASPA – Tuesday 17th December 2024

Christmas flavoured table football arrived in Preston last Tuesday night (17th December) as Northern Phoenix hosted the final WASPA event on the Victorian calendar for Season 2024.

A solid turnout of eight competitors attended the session and took part in a league format event with everyone playing seven FAST-15 matches.

Adam got the night off to the most intriguing of starts with a comfortable 3-0 win over Benji…….albeit without having to raise a finger (or sweat for that matter). It was a convincing and decisive result that set the tone for a night full of surprises.

Nathan, Kevin, Adam and Beth showed why they are such difficult opponents to beat, each securing either four or three draws on the night. Kevin’s game in particular displayed signs of significant improvement, securing a fifth place finish and scoring a number of fine goals along the way.

Although injury ruled Paul Mercer OUT, he was good enough to attend the event and orchestrate the Match Logistics. Like the composer of a major philharmonic orchestra, he made sure that there would be zero glitches or any unforeseen events that might jeopardise tournament proceedings.

The evening was also memorable for the return of Arjuna Hanafi to competitive table football. Although having been out of the scene for well over a year, it didn’t take long before he got into his stride, nailing both short-range and long-distance flicks (seemingly at will). Welcome back Arjuna and hoping you’ll be a more regular fixture at future table football events.

Going into the final round, the Northern Phoenix President held a narrow lead over ATFAs Financial Guru and so the spotlight turned to both Anthony Madiona and Kevin Grant (their respective opponents). Claims of possible match fixing could not be substantiated and in the end, it was a buzzer beating goal by Christos which pushed him over the line, seeing the Phoenix man take out the honours for the evening.

Special mention must go to the ‘Man in the White Van’ for travelling the entire length of Victoria in order to be able to just attend the event. Kevin started a four hour journey from Wodonga earlier that afternoon and arrived well on time for flick-off in what can only be described as a ‘Herculean’ effort of true dedication and commitment.

That’s exactly what makes the Victorian Subbuteo Community so Unique and Priceless…….It is such a unique collection of individuals from many diverse backgrounds who share a common passion.

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

Subbuteo was the Real Winner!

(PS: original post here)

Geoffrey Marain wins Christmas tournament in Templeuve

The Templeuve United club had a nice Christmas tournament last Friday with a good turnout of 19 players, which included 5 French players. The Belgian club is living hard days as the club premises should be totally destroyed and rebuild in 2025 and no new premises have been found to organize the weekly meetings. As for the tournament, it was nice to have 2 newcomers and players from 4 different clubs taking part even if 17 of the 19 players have been Templeuve players in past or present days.

Due to the age and level differences, three categories were organized. Ursule Dhont was the undefeated winner of the Junior section.

Among the 14 Open players, the 6 "elite" players competed in the "A category" and Geoffrey Marain, who played at his best level, was the big winner of the night. It was funny to have 4 players tied in second place with 2 wins, which made it was compulsory to use the goal difference to offer the title of runner-up to Sébastien Rochez.

In the "B category", Raphael Dhondt, who came back to the game a few months ago after after a break of more than 30 years, was on fire and won his four games to win the tournament.

As a conclusion, it was another fantastic evening of table football and another piece of evidence that the WASPA circuit in offers excellent games to the involved players.

Top 3 in the A category: Benjamin Marain-Geoffrey Marain-Sébastien Rochez

A category:
1. Geoffrey Marain (Hennuyer)
2. Sébastien Rochez (Stembert)
3. Benjamin Marain (Hennuyer)
4. Matthias Averlant (Hennuyer)
5. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve)
6. Michaël Dupret (Tournai)

Top 3 in the B category: Elodie Bertholet-Raphael Dhondt-Sébastien Sorge

B category:
1. Raphael Dhondt (Templeuve)
2. Elodie Bertholet (Hennuyer)
3. Sébastien Sorge (FRANCE/Wattrelos)
4. Franck Santer (FRANCE/Templeuve)
5. Eric Caillaux (FRANCE/Templeuve)
6. Jordan Bonte (Wattrelos)
7. Thibaut Marville (FRANCE/Wattrelos)
8. Jean-Michel Cordier (FRANCE/Wattrelos) 

Players of the Junior category

Junior category:
1. Ursule Dhondt (Templeuve)
2. Louka Demeuldre (Hennuyer)
3. Sumaï Kabeya (Templeuve)
4. Mathis Verhelst (Templeuve)
5. Gabin Deman (Templeuve) 

Christmas tournament in Singapore

A ridiculously fun Singapore Xmas tournament went down at Kebun Bahru CC. Eight cool cats showed up, with the top dog from each group making it to the final showdown. Rudy crushed it in Group A with max points, while Group B was a hot mess. Sham was spreading Xmas cheer by handing Edin a surprise win, which allowed Bernard to sneak into the final despite KW's best efforts to take him down.

The final match between Rudy and Bernard was a chill affair compared to their last F.I.S.T.F showdown. In the end, Rudy scored a gorgeous near-post goal, securing his title as Xmas champion 2025. Hohoho! Merry Xmas and Happy holidays to all!

Latest results from Edinburgh

December saw the last WASPA to be held at The Cramond Inn before it closes its doors for the final time. 6 players took part in 2 leagues and then playoffs to determine the final standings. The "group of death" saw Dave "the Defence" Allen shore up his bid for his first Edinburgh crown by topping the group, with Peter Morrison placing above Andy Kent on Goal Difference.

In the other group, a difficult 1 - 0 win for Marco Bevilacqua over Bruce Henderson was enough to secure top spot with youth prospect Arthur Kent continuing to improve and closing the gap to the adults. 

In the battle of the Kents, dad Andy triumphed over Arthur 2 - 1 on shots. 

The 3rd / 4th playoff saw Peter Morrison show his experience, closing out a 2 - 0 win over Bruce, whilst Marco defeated Dave 2 - 0 in the Grand Final after some more than interesting goalkeeping, meaning Marco retained the Cramond Cup for the 4th year running. 

Edinburgh Subbuteo will be back in the new year, hopefully bigger and better, as we look for a new venue to continue growing the club and hosting larger events.

Home win for Giorgos Zangylos

The latest tournament in Cyprus was held on Sunday with five players taking and this time only Cypriots were playing. Players were dropped into a group so that everyone had four games. Giorgos Zangylos (Famagusta TFC) was unbeaten but shared points in two of his games, which was enough to win his first tournament of the season. Congratulations!

1.  Giorgos Zangylos (Famagusta TFC)
2.  Petros Kosmas (Famagusta TFC)
3.  Marcos Kalopsidiotis (Salamis Famagusta TFC)
4.  Giorgos Stylianou (Famagusta TFC)
5.  Marios Nikolaou (Phoenis Famagusta TFC)

Carlos Flores winner in La Cave

One of the most amazing WASPA tournaments took place on December 13, 2024 in the famous Stembert premises called "La Cave". The three tables in the location had special guests for a very nice evening as table football legend Carlos Flores from Spain was paying a visit to his Stembert friends along with Barcelona's Arturo Martinez, also a former FISTF veterans champion! Host pascal Scheen had other Belgian superstars in the area as Daniel Scheen and Christophe Dheur but also Tiburones's jean-Michel Cuenca were taking part. Every player had 5 games and in the end, there was no surprise as Carlos Flores won his five games to win the tournament. This was the second appearance of Carlos Flores in a WASPA tournament, 5 years after a first victory in Alicante, Spain. Daniel Scheen was runner-up while Christophe Dheur was third. Thanks to Pascal Scheen for organising things very properly and to all players for their great contribution to give credit to Subbuteo table football and to the WASPA circuit!

December 2024: latest results from Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands

The WASPA circuit never stops as we keep on receiving results from many different countries. Here is a summary of results collected from several plces in Australia, the Netherlands and South Africa. Thanks to all local organizers who continue to host WASPA events.

Melbourne (Australia), December 3 2024, home and away fixtures

1. Benji Batten (Melbourne TFC)
2. Nathan Urbaniak (Melbourne TFC)
3. Beth Eveleigh (Northern Phoenix)
4. George Theocharis (Northern Phoenix)

Gouda (the Netherlands), December 4 2024, league format

1. Marco de Bruin (Dutch Legends)
2. René Bolte (Dutch Legends)
3. Fabrizio Cavazza  (DLF Gorizia)
4. Xavier Aret (Dutch Legends)
5. Richard Oranje (Dutch Legends)

Johannesburg (South Africa), December 7 2024, home and away fixtures

1. Ian Clarke (Easterns TFC)
2. Gary Downs (Easterns TFC)
3. Craig Smith (Easterns TFC)
4. Rui Dos Santos (Easterns TFC)

Perth (Australia), December 8 2024, league format

1. Ross McNulty (Subbuteo Perth)
2. Brian Pearson (Subbuteo Perth)
3. Hugh Best (Sports TFC of Western Australia)
4. Chris Thorn (Subbuteo Perth)
5. Noel Mani (Subbuteo Perth)
6. Ron Byrne (Subbuteo Perth)

November 2024: Results of WASPA tournaments in England

12 WASPA tournaments have been held under WASPA banner in England last month. We are excited to see the Dudley-Kingswinford club back in action and the Stourbridge club running a third WASPA event, which opens the doors of the conference League. The guys in surrey had a successful FISTF Satellite and played their Consolation tournament under WASPA banner, which gave an extra incitive to play. In Solent, the monthly event had a Junior section for the first time, which is fantastic. We see growing numbers at White Notley Subbuteo club and the North Shields guys now rung great events in Swiss system. A special notice finally to congratulate Samantha Levy for reaching the semi-finals of the latest Chasers tournament.

(PS: We are always happy when organizers send us a few lines and at least one picture about their tournament so that we can publish more stories)

Surrey, November 3 2024 -> Consolation tournament of the FISTF Satellite

Last 16 round: Terry Arnold - David Hunter 1-2 ; Nigel Morgan - Rob Fitch 1-2 ; Gary Gladwell - Richard Myers 2-0 ; Michele Claydon - Gerry Harrington 0-1 ; Lee Fenton - Alex Fenton 3-1 ; David Cope - Simon Bodily 1-3 ; David Hunter - Rob Fitch 0-2 ; Chris Burford - Mark West 3-0

Quarter-finals: Tony Banks - Connor Gregory 2-4 ; Lee Fenton - Simon Bodily 0-4 ; Gary Gladwell - Gerry Harrington 0-1 ; Chris Burford - Rob Fitch 0-4

Semi-finals: Rob Fitch - Simon Bodily 1-4 ; Gerry Harrington - Connor Gregory 0-5

Final: Simon Bodily - Connor Gregory 1*-1

Haverhill, November 5 2024 -> Group format

1. Martin Hodds (Yorkshire)
2. Joe Harrington (Haverhill)
3. Mike Williams (Haverhill)
4. Martin Bellefontaine (WAL/London TFC)
5. Rob Fitch (Stanway)
6. Francesca Bellefontaine (London TFC)
7. Peter Holmes (Haverhill)
8. Daniel Vensyk (London TFC) 

Solent, November 6 2024 -> Swiss system

1. Malcolm Jamieson (SCO/Solent)
2. Jason Christopher (Solent)
3. Connor Gregory (Solent)
4. Steve Smith (Solent)
5. Jerry Lovegrove (Solent)
6. Chris Burford (Andover)
7. Tony Martin (Solent)
8. Dave Hunter (Solent)
9. Nigel Morgan (Solent)
10. Dave Skelton (Solent)
11. Tim Hill (Solent) 

Junior tournament:

1. Reggie Cramer (Solent)
2. Mason Lloyd (Solent)
3. Jayden Bishop (Solent) 

Braintree, November 11 2024 -> Swiss system

1. Rob Fitch (Stanway)
2. Mark Francis (Chasers)
3. Daniel Vensyk (London TFC)
4. David McCartney (White Notley)
5. Nico Brannigan (White Notley)
6. Francesca Bellefontaine (London TFC)
7. Rob Ellis (White Notley)
8. Ciaran Brannigan (White Notley) 

Pedmore, November 13 2024 -> groups and knock-out games

Semi-finals: Ian Aggett - Mick Hammonds 1-2sd ; Chris Short - Steve Wonnacott 5-0

Final: Mick Hammonds - Chris Short 1-2

Leicester, November 6 2024 -> Swiss system

1. Ian Aggett (Milton Keynes)
2. Graham Harwood (Pedmore)
3. John Cooper (Milton Keynes)
4. Richard Roper (Pedmore)
5. Trevor Arthur (Leicester)
6. Sean Wenlock (Leicester)
7. Paul Taylor (Leicester)
8. Jay Williams (Leicester)

Stourbridge, November 21 2024 -> Swiss system

1. Richard Roper (Pedmore)
2. Andy Pountney (Pedmore)
3. Arthur Collins (Stourbridge)
4. Matthew Powell (Stourbridge)
5. Matthew Reynolds (Stourbridge)
6. Sam Taylor (Pedmore)
7. Carl Taylor (Stourbridge)
8. Neil Walker (Stourbridge)

Dudley-Kingswinford, November 21 2024 -> group format

1. Derek Air (SCO/Dudley-Kingswinford)
2. Campbell Air (SCO/Dudley-Kingswinford)
3. Andy Lane (Dudley-Kingswinford)

Chesterfield, November 24 2024 -> groups and knock-out games

Semi-finals: Ian Aggett - Colin Fletcher 3-0
Jason Christopher - Jeremy Boothman 3-1
Final: Ian Aggett - Jason Christopher 6-1

Plate final: Brian Kinrade - Nick Pearson 0-1

Milton Keynes, November 25 2024 -> groups and knock-out finals

Final: Damian Mayes - Ian Aggett 0-1
Final 3-4: Martin Holmes - Mark Green 0-3
Final 5-6: Martin Hill - Graham Farmer 1-0
Final 7-8: Greg Lickorish - Dave McCallum 3-2sd

Dagenham, November 27 2024 -> groups and knock-out games

Semi-finals: Martin Bellefontaine - Mark West 2-0 ; Samantha Levy - Adam Jackson 0-2

Final: Martin Bellefontaine - Adam Jackson 1-0

North Shields, November 29 2024 -> Swiss system

1. Ben Staples (Yorkshire)
2. Jeff Parsons (Darlington)
3. Tom Heslop (North Shields)
4. Mike Parnaby (NETFA)
5. Chris Kaberry (North Shields)
6. Nigel Lamond (North Shields)
7. Nick Pearson (Yorkshire)
8. Dan Johnson (North Shields) 

WASPA rankings of November 2024 are out!

Dear Subbuteo friends,

December 5 is the International Volunteer Day.

Thanks to all volunteers who give time and energy for the good of Subbuteo table football.

The Hannover guys held the first tournament in Germany this season

December 5 is also the right time to publish the updated WASPA rankings.

WASPA results (PDF file)

WASPA rankings (Excel file)

A good group of players in Tralee, Ireland

Ian Clarke won the South African championship

Players in Templeuve, Belgium

WASPA test-match between Giorgos Zangylos (Cyrus) and Cezar Stoilescu (Romania)

November has been an amazing month with 35 regional tournaments, a national cup (in South Africa), a tournament played with the old rules and a promotional event. There was also a WASPA test-match played in Cyprus.

In the last few weeks, we have seen a growing interest in the ranking of clubs as this is a good way to prove the good health of the most active clubs. No surprise as English clubs dominate the "Top Clubs" and "Development League" sections but there are also interesting moves in the Conference League as 8 clubs have scored their first points in November for a total of 27 clubs involved now.

Welcome to "Stourbridge Casual SC", the newest club involved in the ranking.

We are also happy to see several organizers having WASPA games during their FISTF week-ends! This is a great way to prove FISTF and WASPA can work together!

Well, no need to say more, enjoy the different files and don't hesitate to send your results, reports and pictures ;-)

Thanks in advance!

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA organizer, vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com  

Ferran Coll new leader in the Catalan Circuit

Barcelona's Ferran Coll won the second tournament of the Catalan Circuit last Sunday in Breda. The tournament victory also offers him the lead in the Catalan Circuit. Ferran Coll was semi-finalist in the first tournament and this toime, he defeated Alfred Laporta in the final. Alfred Laporta has a very successful rise back to the top since he started playing again in March.

Ferran Coll

21 players attended the tournament but in the last minute, organizers had to accept Vicenç Prats's dropout while Alex Araujo, winner of the first tournament, was also absent.

Toni Rosa

Despite the two major absences, the level of the tournament was high. Toni Rosa (Iluro) won the consolation tournament after defeating Jordi Geronès (Barcelona FT) in the final. To be nothd Joan Fontcuberta (Manrese) was attending his first tournament, proving the Catalan Circuit helps to recruit new players.

The final

The 3rd stage of the Catalan Circuit will take place on February 2, 2025 in Mataro and will be organized by the club of AS Iluro Futbol Taula.

Samuele Bignardi winner in Genova

The Italian players of "Club Rebels Genova" held their latest WASPA tournament last week-end with 10 players taking part. Only juniors were involved and after the group stage (2 groups of 5 players), Samuele Bignardi took the best against Alberto Capoferri in the final. "The kids are getting better than older players, which seems to prove we are doing a good job", explained local organizer Luca Bignardi. Congratulations!

Final: Samuele Bignardi - Alberto Capoferri 2-1
Final 3-4: Filippo Careddu - Filippo Sottili 4-2
Final 5-6: Davide Uva - Davide Balito 0-2
Final 7-8: Andrea Bolioli - Teo Peretti 1-0
Final 9-10: Celeste Caroleo - Simone Pennati 0-2

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/SubbuteoClubRebels