WASPA rankings of June 2026 - Monthly report

WASPA rankings as per June 2026 are now available. We added 31 regional tournaments, 2 tournaments playe with old rules and 1 promotional tournament in the records!

The tournament in Karlsruhe, Germany was certainly
one of the most excising WASPA events in June

PDF file with results: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K2fk4r1tDOPA4d6e955tUpPIWrgBLcz0/view?usp=sharing

Excel file with rankings and statistics: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRpNBAOkhiBRK2ssZnlAFbC5awNhzC57Myu5X8zocdyAKCM6K6KU65LxS_lnp2WVw/pub?output=xlsx

A few interesting patterns emerge.

Fred Elesbao won the Derry WASPA tournament, which was also
the consolation tournament of the Northern Ireland Grand Prix (FISTF tournament)

Recent tournament activity

1. The UK remains the centre of WASPA activity

• The largest concentration of regional tournaments was in England, with events spread across numerous clubs and regions.
• Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland also contributed regularly.
• The English circuit is notable not only for the number of events but also for the depth of competition, with several different clubs producing winners.

Players at the latest Perth tournament in Australia

2. Strong international spread Beyond the UK, there was significant activity in:

• Belgium
• Italy
• Australia
• South Africa
• New Zealand
• Netherlands
• Malta
• Austria, Germany, France, and Switzerland

This shows that WASPA remains a genuinely international circuit, even if many tournaments are club-based and local in nature.

3. Special formats remain healthy

• Old Rules 352 (Norfolk) was won by Adam Nekrews (England).
• Old Rules 353 (Solent) was won by Jason Christopher (England).
• Promotional Tournament 212 (Lamezia, Italy) was won by Francesco Pujia (Italy).

These events illustrate two different strengths of the circuit:

• Old Rules events help preserve the heritage of the game.
• Promotional events help bring in new players and develop local scenes.

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Nations organising tournaments

Finchampstaed SC is one of the emerging clubs in England

The most active organisers during this period were:

Nation	Observation
England	By far the busiest organiser, hosting a large share of regional events.
Italy	Frequent organiser of both regular and promotional events.
Belgium	Consistently active with well-established clubs.
Australia	Remarkably regular programme despite geographical distance.
Ireland/Northern Ireland	Strong local circuits and cross-border participation.
South Africa	Smaller calendar but very consistent activity.
New Zealand	Continues to support a stable tournament scene.

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Nations producing winners

A clear link exists between activity and success.

England

• Produced the largest number of tournament winners.
• Names such as Jason Christopher, Adam Nekrews, Richard Roper, Malcolm Jamieson, and others feature prominently.
• English clubs benefit from frequent competitive opportunities.

Italy

• Strong winners in both regional and special-format events.
• Players such as Francesco Pujia, Marco Perotti, and Simone Perotti continued to achieve success.

Belgium

• Belgian players were very competitive and regularly reached finals and podium places.
• Organisers and players are often the same core community, helping maintain a strong local scene.

Australia

• Players such as Giuseppe Tardiota and Alan Kimber collected multiple victories.
• Australia may be geographically isolated, but its competitive level is very high.

Irish circuit tournaments are always great events

Netherlands, Ireland, Malta, South Africa and New Zealand

• Each produced regular winners within their domestic circuits.
• Their success shows that strong local communities can thrive without large player pools.

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Romania: a growing local scene with strong domestic participation

Tournament 4289 was held in Bucharest on 15 June 2026, organised by Subbuteo Bucharest. The event was a completely Romanian affair, with the top four places occupied by Romanian players: Massimo DalPrà, Cezar Stoilescu, Bogdan Panait and Ciprian Necula.

Small turnout but great games in Bucharest

This is noteworthy because earlier in the season Bucharest events were often won by visiting players from Italy, England or Cyprus. In June, however, Romanian players occupied the entire podium, suggesting that the local player base is becoming increasingly self-sufficient and competitive. 

Finland: a rare example of international competition

Tournament 4290 took place in Helsinki on 16 June 2026, organised by Hesu PJK. Unlike many WASPA tournaments that are largely domestic, this event produced an interesting international podium:

• Winner: Eliot Kennedy (Australia)
• Runner-up: Teemu Sihvola (Finland)
• Semi-finalists: Robert Green (Australia) and Kari Hakkarainen (Finland)

International friendship at the latest tournament in Helsinki

The Helsinki event therefore became one of the more international tournaments of the month, with Australian and Finnish players sharing the top four places. It also highlights Finland's continuing role in WASPA through its long-established player base and dedicated clubs. The season results include a separate Finnish Rules national championship, showing that Finland maintains its own strong traditions alongside standard WASPA events.

What these events add to the June story

If England dominated the calendar by volume, Finland and Romania added diversity:

• Romania showed the strength of a developing national scene, with local players filling all podium positions.
• Finland hosted one of the month's most international regional events, bringing together leading Finnish and Australian players.
• Together they demonstrate that WASPA's activity is not confined to the traditional powerhouses such as England, Italy, Belgium and Australia; smaller national circuits are also capable of producing competitive and interesting tournaments.

Overall conclusion

Players in H'Attard, Malta

The last few months highlight a healthy balance between concentration and diversity:

• England remains the dominant force in both organisation and victories.
• Italy, Belgium, and Australia form a strong second tier of activity and success.
• Ireland, the Netherlands, Malta, South Africa, and New Zealand continue to punch above their weight relative to their size.
• The promotional and old-rules tournaments demonstrate that WASPA is supporting both growth and tradition at the same time.

The most striking feature is probably how many different countries are still regularly hosting and winning tournaments, showing that the WASPA network remains globally connected despite being driven largely by local clubs.