Table football - South

I competed in this last weekend (but have only just found a news story on it.)

Shirley isn't the most salubrious part of Southampton but I have never seen so many boozers within two miles of one another, and the one we were in hosted an excellent event.

Article is below, link is (http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/display.var.1187105.0.tablefootballgiantsbattleit_out.php) for those wanting to get involved in future tournaments in the South ...

"There was plenty of blood, sweat and tears shed for the cause at a Southampton pub over the weekend as more than 60 players battled it out across the tables in the Southern England Table Football championships.

Players had come from far and wide to join in the tournament at the Griffin pub, Shirley.

Contestants were competing for a share of the £2,000 prize-money on offer. They included Canada's Kane Gabriel and Ireland's number one male and female players Norman Clooney and Louise Herring.

England's finest table football talent was headed by world number three, Wigan-based Rob Atha.

The Anglesea Road pub was packed to the rafters well before Saturday's lunch-time kick-off as players of all abilities, ranging from beginners to pro-masters playing across 12 specially drafted-in tables, filled the pub ahead of the start of the two-day tournament. And by the time the championships had reached half-time on Saturday night the 65 players who started the open singles tournament had been whittled down to 26 ahead of finals on Sunday.

On a tense day yesterday Herring claimed the first prize by beating Hannah Ramley to win the women's singles tournament.

advertisementDuo Rob Davy and Tom Burdett then beat James Harold and Stephen Lyle to land the rookie doubles prize.

And the full-time whistle was finally blown on a breathless weekend of action just after 10pm last night.

But only after pre-tournament favourite Atha landed the open singles title by beating a rookie player and then the open doubles title alongside partner Norman Clooney after defeating Joe Hamilton and Dave Bareham.

At the end of an exhausting weekend, organiser Phil Williams said: "It has been a really good weekend I am just glad it is over because I am knackered. It has been even better than I thought it would be and there was a really good turn out."

And Landlady Barbara Risk whose pub agreed to host the tournament and put £1,000 into the prize money kitty said: "It has been a really good weekend in the pub and really busy. We'd love to host something like this again."