Fantastic finger football at 2022 South African Table Football Championships
European wins South African Subutteo championship's main event for second year running.
As a finger-flexing warm up to the global footballing spectacular, members of the South African Subbuteo family staged their own international showdown.
Over two days, ETS Subbuteo Club hosted the 2022 South African Table Football Championships on November 19 and 20. To add a little prestige to proceedings, the mainstays of the game in Gauteng were joined by a special guest from Subbuteo Saint Pauli, Germany’s Sven Schilling.
Multiple tournaments testing a wide variety of techniques kept the heat of competition flowing either side of breakfast and lunch. Saturday morning began with the ‘Old School’ tournament featuring the less predictable bowl shaped bases. A two-group round robin section separated the good from the better with Liam Chapman winning the Plate section after beating Fernando Rodrigues in the final.
Clifford Graaff and Ian Clarke earned places in the Old School Cup final with semi final wins over Jason Kennedy and Gary Downs, respectively. Graaff would need a 3-1 penalty flick-off to earn gold against a spirited Clarke. The afternoon session would a straight penalty flick off knockout competition and Graaff would again triumph, condemning Rodrigues to second final defeat of the day.
Sunday heralded the marquee events which began with the club championship team playoff where Johannesburg Eagles would face ETS Subbuteo Club for domestic honours. In five individual showdowns, two matches ended honours even with Eagles earning two wins to ETS’s one. Randburg-based Eagles will hold on to the giant winged trophy until the next edition in 2024.
The World Amateur Subbuteo Players Association (WASPA) tournament was the trophy each player had their hopes pinned on. After being drawn in the group of death, last years Cup finalist Sean Morgan would have settle for Plate gold beating fellow group of death outcast Graaff on penalty flicks. In the Cup section, Germany’s Sven Schilling eased past Rodrigues and Clarke scrapped past his determined Easterns teammate Gary Downs in their respective semi finals.
Clarke would carry his nations hopes and pride in the final against the visiting German. Clarke hassled and harried as best he could in order to keep pace as he and Schilling’s tight defence cancelled each other out. The final 15 minutes of an outstanding weekend of Subbutteo would be settled by a single goal as Schilling was able to get goalside in Clarke’s final quarter, chipping in his single goal for the 1-0 win.
Schilling is currently in the country on holiday and flew up from Cape Town for the event. Thanking his hosts for their hospitality, he said “I like the spirit here. Everyone has been welcoming and everyone is here to have fun. It is serious business this silly game,” laughed Schilling.
Proud of his compatriot’s showing, Downs, chairperson of The South African Table Football Association (Satfa), was happy with the improvement shown by all players since the 2021 edition. Reflecting on another successful tournament, Downs said, “Thank you to ETS and everyone who made the weekend a success. We continue to grow the game in South Africa and hope to continue on this outstanding trajectory”.
