Dave Colett wins in Lincoln

The WASPA promotional tournament of the Lincoln Flickers had a real success this Sunday with a good turnout of 9. Dave Colett took the honors while Jeremy Boothman was runner-up and John Devaney ended in third position. The event was also a good opportunity to celebrate John Devaney's birthday.

Two great events in Rochefort

Friday night players

80 WASPA games have been play
ed this week-end during the FISTF Open week-end in Rochefort. The main event was just amazing with almost 100 players and 12 teams taking part but some extra events were played as well. On Friday night, organizers decided to have a WASPA tournament for players coming in advance to play some extra games and get used to the tables. After the four sessions of the Swiss system, only Philippe Roufosse managed to finish with 12 points. The player of SC Verviers Herve was therefore the final winner. To be noted the national champion (Rémy Huynh) and the national cup winner (Justin Leroy) were taking part but they lost their chances to win the event when they tied in the third session.

Corentin Wauthy vs Michaël Hallin

On Saturday, organizers hosted another WASPA tournament for players out in the first round of the Open, veterans and U19 sections. 22 players were taking part and local player Corentin Wauthy, who is a good U19 player, took the honors. He tied in a game with Michaël Hallin (SC Temploux) who was finally runner-up of the event.

It was a fantastic experience for WASPA to be included in a great tournament with a very high level of play and it was nice to have Greek and French players taking part.

Hervé Fino from Alsace (France) vs André Boltz

To be noted that three French players living in the far East of their country were playing their very first WASPA event and will try to set up their own club to try to have some connecions with Swiss neighbors from Basel in the near future.

Standings of the Friday night tournament (Swiss system - 4 games each):
1. Philippe Roufosse (BEL/SC Verviers Herve) GA: 7- Points: 12
2. Rémy Huynh (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 8- Points: 10
3. Rémy Lours (FRA/FTC Caen) GA: 8- Points: 9
4. Geoffrey Marain (BEL/Flickers Milano) GA: 5- Points: 9
5. Martin Antoine (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 4- Points: 9
6. Justin Leroy (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 4- Points: 7
7. Rémy Honet (BEL/JSC Rochefort) GA: 4- Points: 6
8. Vincent Coppenolle (BEL/Templeuve United) GA: 4- Points: 6
9. Florian Giaux (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 2- Points: 6
10. Loris Léonard (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -3- Points: 6
11. Jean-Michel Cuenca (BEL/SC Verviers Herve) GA: 3- Points: 5
12. Raphaël Pommier (FRA/FTC Caen) GA: 1- Points: 4
13. Bryan Cabu (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -5- Points: 4
14. Basile Magermans (BEL/JSC Rochefort) GA: -5- Points: 4
15. Benjamin Flamme (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -8- Points: 3
16. Bryan Anciaux (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -5- Points: 2
17. Martin Valentin (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -10- Points: 1
18. Mike Bolle (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -14- Points: 0

Players from SC Seraing: Bruno Timpano vs Ahmed Choukri

Greek player Serefiem Kontos vs Jean-Michel Cuenca

Standings of the Saturday event played as a consolation tournament of the FISTF Open (Swiss system - 4 games each):
1. Corentin Wauthy (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 10- Points: 10
2. Michaël Hallin (BEL/SC Temploux) GA: 7- Points: 10
3. Bruno Timpano (BEL/SC Seraing) GA: 6- Points: 9
4. Spyros Katsoulas (GRE/Athinaikos CS) GA: 4- Points: 9
5. Serafiem Kontos (GRE/Athinaikos CS) GA: 6- Points: 8
6. Ralf Grégoire (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: 7- Points: 7
7. Eric Lienhardt (FRA/FTC Issy) GA: 4- Points: 7
8. Jean-Michel Cuenca (BEL/SC Verviers Herve) GA: 3- Points: 6
9. Paul Naszalyi (FRA/FTC Issy) GA: 2- Points: 6
10. Richard Boulanger (BEL/SC Eugies) GA: 2- Points: 6
11. Ahmed Choukri (BEL/SC Seraing) GA: -1- Points: 6
12. Benjamin Flamme (BEL/Rochefort TS) GA: -5- Points: 6
13. Antonio Timpano (BEL/SC Seraing) GA: 3- Points: 5
14. Quentin Van Glabeke (BEL/SC Eugies) GA: 2- Points: 5
15. Olivier Van Glabeke (BEL/SC Eugies) GA: -4- Points: 5
16. Kevin Zingle (BEL/SC Temploux) GA: -2- Points: 4
17. Dany Timmerman (BEL/Etoile Sarthoise VdS) GA: -3- Points: 4
18. Jérome Deffolin (FRA/-) GA: -4- Points: 4
19. Clovis Boesch (FRA/-) GA: -10- Points: 3
20. Hervé Fino (FRA/-) GA: -6- Points: 1
21. André Boltz (BEL/SC Eugies) GA: -7- Points: 1
22. Brian Sobcow (BEL/SC Temploux) GA: -14- Points: 0

The FA Cup for Domenico Giglio

This friday the club of Catanzaro was holding a WASPA tournament with the old rules under the theme of the FA Cup. Domenico Giglio (Aston Villa) finished on top of a group of 6 while Alessandro Corigliano (Tottenham) was runner-up. Well done!

Sydney Junior WASPA Tournament

Imojjen and Lucas, the grand-finalists

The Subbuteo Parramatta club proudly hosted ATFA’s first ever stand-alone junior tournament during the recent school holidays, with results going towards the players’ WASPA ranking points. A small but dedicated bunch turned up at the Subbuteo Parramatta clubhouse bright and early on Monday morning to spend a few hours having fun over the Subbuteo pitches. Lucas brought along a couple of mates, brothers Jakob and Thomas, who spent the first round watching how to play and picking up the rules. Imojjen and Daniel played out a scoreless draw while Æowyn scored an excitedly celebrated winner in her clash with Lucas. The two new boys got their first taste of playing in the second round of group games. Both showed they had picked up the basics very well. Their respective opponents, Daniel and Lucas both came away with wins, but the margins were small with neither Jakob nor Thomas looking out of place. In the final group games, Imojjen slipped one goal past a quickly learning Thomas, while Æowyn and Jakob played out a goalless draw. So Daniel came out on top via a superior goal difference in Group One, while Æowyn topped the Group Two table.

Setting up for the opening round

In the first semi-final, Lucas slipped a goal past Daniel to take the match, while the two sisters, Imojjen and Æowyn, picked up their rivalry but couldn’t be separated, even after extra-time. A shoot-out was called for, with both girls bursting with nerves. Hugs were given between each shot but it was Imojjen who prevailed in the end. Which means the two group winners were consigned to the 3rd/4th play-off and the two group runners-up were headed to the final, demonstrating the closeness in quality between all the players.

Thomas and Jakob faced each other in the minor placing play-off where big brother Jakob scored his first competitive goal to take a 1-0 victory. In the 3rd/4th play-off, Daniel snuck a solitary goal past Æowyn with a quick manoeuvre that left Æowyn unable to get her hand on her ‘keeper in time. And so to the grand final. Imojjen was playing one of her best games ever and crafted a deserved lead midway through the first half. From here the game was a tense affair, with neither player being able to get on top. Imojjen looked to be heading to the title but this also lead to nerves kicking in. With just over 60 seconds left on the clock, Lucas shot his equaliser into the back of Imojjen’s net. With neither player able to find a quick winner, the game went to extra time. Again, neither player could find a way through for a decisive goal, so shots were called. Lucas took an early lead with his second shot, but Imojjen kept in touch after this. With a chance to draw level with her fourth shot, nerves really kicked in and Imojjen managed an incredible feat – her flicking finger doing an amazing dance around the figure and connecting directly with the ball, sending it off sideways! Lucas’ 5th shot was saved by Imojjen, but he held a 2-1 lead, meaning Imojjen needed to score her 5th to send it to sudden death. In spite of a good shot on target, Lucas’ ‘keeper was able to keep the ball out and he jumped off in celebration of his triumph, Imojjen having lost her second consecutive tournament grand-final shoot-out.

An excellent morning of fun for all involved with a few new players introduced enthusiastically to the great game. A big thanks to Geoff from the Hipfingerz club for making the trip out and helping with officiating. Hopefully we will see the junior scene continue to grow!

(Original report here: http://subbuteoaustralia.com/?p=2452)

Ugo Custo wins the Champion's League

Last friday the Italian club of Catanzaro was holding a WASPA tournament with the old rules. Nine players competed under the theme of the Champion's League. Ugo Custo (Ajax) was the final winner after defeating Alessandro Corigliano (Monaco) in the final. Antonio Marullo was 3rd and Andrea Pagano was 4th.

Bevin Reed wins the 2016 Pretoria Open

Saturday 23 April 2016, Pretoria, South Africa 
The event was originally scheduled to take place at the premises of Aerosud Aviation's Innovation & Training Centre in Centurion, but due to the entry of only 8 particpants from Pretoria an 11th hour decision was made to move the event to the homebase of Pretoria Flickers Club in Pretoria. The 8 participants were placed in two groups of four, where the higher ranked players competed for the Pretoria Open prize and the lower ranked players competed in the Plate Section. The latter group also included Subbuteo debutant Webster Morris. We were treated to a feast of goals on the day, as we witnessed 36 goals scored over the 21 scheduled fixtures!
Round 1 matches once again pitted pre-tournament rivals Bevin Reed & Jayden vd Merwe, with Bevin again taking the honours by way of a 1-0 victory, thanks to a fiercely struck shot into Jayden's right hand top corner of the goal! In the Plate Section, all players were level on 1 point each after Round 1 matches produced two 0-0 results. Round 2 of the Plate Section then produced the big upset of the day as newcomer Neilon Waterson defeated Adam Murray by 1-0! Round 3 of the Open Section produced a 5 goal thriller which ended Jayden vd Merwe 2 v 3 Chessray Jooste - a result which certainly dampened Jayden's aspirations on the day!
To ensure all players got to play 5 matches on the day, Rounds 4 & 5 were decided by random draw with match-ups "across the two sections". As was expected, Kegan vd Merwe was setting the pace in the Plate Section - he secured the prize as Plate Winner in Round 4, when he had to come from behind to win 2-1 against Julian vd Merwe. Certainly a well deserved and morale boosting achievement for Kegan on the day!
Match 20 saw Kegan vd Merwe go down by 1-0 to Chessray Jooste - the result inflicted Kegan's only loss of the day, but the result was what Chessray needed to tie Bevin on 9 points overall and force the Open Section into a Final Play-Off match. In the final, Chessray relied on his attacking play (which was sound throughout the day) but Bevin's defence held firm. Bevin then struck with a swift counter attack down the right flank, moving the play to the centre to strike with a fierce low shot to win the match 1-0 and take the honours of 2016 Pretoria Open Champion! The triumph for Bevin Reed marks the capture of his 5th WASPA title to date - congratulations to Bevin for reaching this milestone!
Thanks to all for attending and making the day a success once again !!

Standings - Open Section
Bevin Reed
Chessray Jooste
Jayden van der Merwe
Julian van der Merwe

Standings - Plate Section
Kegan van der Merwe
Adam Murray
Nielon Waterson
Webster Morris

The PFC website & facebook page will be updated shortly with photo's & news content at :
http://pfctest.leaguerepublic.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PFC-SA/519566284755728

(Report by Julian vd Merwe)

Sonoma Circuit WASPA event

Round one of the Sonoma County Subbuteo Circuit was played out on Sunday at Fundemonium Hobby Store in Rohnert Park, California. Four players participated, including young Kieran Vahle making his first Nor Cal Subbuteo appearance and showing his dad has taught him a thing or two! Good fun for all on the day, and an added bonus of a few drop-ins who remembered Subbuteo from their childhood days in England and Scotland and came by to check out the action. Hope to see you all again for Sonoma County Circuit Round Two!

Sunday's scores and circuit results as follows:
Peter Vahle 2 – 0 Vincent Vidal
Conan Mullen 3 – 0 Kieran Vahle
Kieran Vahle 2 – 0 Vincent Vidal
Conan Mullen 1 – 0 Peter Vahle
Vincent Vidal 0 – 3 Conan Mullen
Peter Vahle 1 – 0 Conan Mullen
Vincent Vidal 1 – 2 Peter Vahle

Points on the day:
Conan Mullen 9 pts (GD +6)
Peter Vahle 9 pts (GD +3)
Kieran Vahle 3 pts (GD -1)
Vincent Vidal 0 pts (GD -8)

Sonoma County Circuit points after one round:
Conan Mullen 20
Peter Vahle 19
Kieran Vahle 18
Vincent Vidal 17

Thanks to all who participated or just came by to say hello!

Christian Filippella's super week-end in California

Two major competitions were held in Newbury Park, southern California over the week-end of April 16th/17th 2016. Players attended from as far and wide as Florida, Maryland, Minnesota and Colorado as well as the top players from southern California as well.

Zach vs Christian in the Sunday final

On Saturday the FISTF Satellite competition was won convincingly by Christian Filippella with an extraordinary 7-0 defeat of Paul Eyes in the Final. Up to that point Paul had played well in qualifying and the semi-final versus Mike Tillman, but he had no answer to Christian’s accuracy and impeccable shooting. Christian was a top player in Italy until retiring in 2001 and was recently discovered living in Hollywood, and has re-ignited his passion for Subbuteo, and it looks like that is going to be to the great benefit of USA Subbuteo and the ASA.

On Sunday the American Subbuteo Association held its own California Open Cup competition, and the tournament field was strengthened further by the presence of seven-times USA champion Zach Walker. The match that everyone wanted to see occurred in the final between Christian Filippella and Zach. After Christian took the lead, Zach fought back to equalize in an even first half, but in the second half, gradual and intense pressure wore down Zach’s defence and Christian scored twice in the last four minutes to win the match 3-1. Zach created chances and came very close however. It was a tremendous match to finish a brilliant week-end of Subbuteo competition.

(Report by Paul O'Donovan Rossa)

Brisbane Subbuteo Club April Competition

4 Players turned up for our April Competition. Our first without founder member Giuseppe who was on holiday in his native Italy.

The format was a straight out league, with each player playing each other twice. Last months winner Gus got off to a flyer with a 3-0 win over Rik, whilst Andrew Bennet beat Andy Ridgen 2-0. The next round saw Rik not only get 3 points but put 4 goals past Andrew B, which would turn out to be costly for the Ipswich flicker. Gus continued his dominance with a 4-0 win over Andy. The next round  brought about a large heap of levelling, Andrew B comfortably bringing Gus’s winning streak to a crashing 4-1 end. Rik kept himself in contention with a 4-2 victory over Andy. So at the halfway stage, Gus led Rik and Andrew by goal difference alone, each player on 6 points.

The return fixture of Rik and Gus saw Rik take a deserved lead. However, Gus brought his goal scoring mojo and remarkably finished 4-1 to the good, as much to Gus’s surprise as Rik’s. Andrew B beat Andy R by one goal to get to 9 points.  The penultimate round saw Andrew B get his revenge for Rik’s earlier 4-1 defeat with a 4-1 defeat of his own. Gus had to step things up to beat a stubborn Andy who was beginning to find some form, and narrowly won 2-0. This left Andrew and Gus on 12 points each heading into the final fixtures. A draw would be enough for Gus to retain the trophy, but having lost to Andrew 4-1 already, it seemed a big ask. It was a tense match as neither player wanted to give anything away. The nerves were showing, and eventually Gus made the breakthrough. Andrew fought back with intensity and was rewarded with the equaliser.  In the end, Gus’s defence held out and 1-1 was the final score handing the trophy to Gus by way of a superior goal difference. The other game saw Andy get his first points beating Rik 3-1.

It was certainly a day for goals, 46 in total of which many were quite spectacular, and from all the players. Who’d have thought you could have so much fun with a bunch of kids who refuse to grow up……

(Report by the organizers)

A national cup for Marco Zucchi

This week-end Marco Zucchi won the Czech Subbuteo Cup 3-1 in the final against Radoslav Cajnik. The tournament attracted a small turnout of five players but shows again that Czech Republic is alive in the international subbuteo circuit.