The previous tournament article had focus on the Draw Your Partner (often abbreviated DYP) format that is the mainstay event in domestic foosball today. A DYP offers a random format that is different every time and gives everyone a chance to win. I also spoke about the Amateur free entry tournament format. I believe this is an essential format giving new players a tournament environment with less pressure that is geared toward improvement. This is an important and essential stepping stone event for creating new tournament players out of recreational foosers. A schedule addresses the specific needs of the player base as a whole, encourages advancement, and builds new players. Make sure to read my related article http://foosballmonk.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-run-successful-local-foosball.html Here is an example of a calendar from 2003 Tulsa Foosball.
At this time I
had 16 foosball tables in place at the two Tulsa locations. There was a local
tournament player base of 80+ players and a recreational player base made up of
hundreds of recreational foosers. To be clear, a player base of this size in
Tulsa did not happen overnight. Tulsa was the first city outside of Dallas that
Tornado placed a table. This information comes from the creator of the Tornado
Bob Furr. We talked at length one year at the worlds. He had a foosball
newsletter with an article highlighting the expansion to Tulsa in the early
70's. Over the next decade, Tornado foosball took off in the sooner nation. By
the late 70's and 80's, there were multiple Foosball halls filled with 20-30
foosball tables and a jukebox. Every pool room, bar, and game room had
foosball, Tornadoes coated the town of Tulsa. The
1974 Nationals held in Tulsa
at the very cool Camelot hotel.
This was biggest tour event at the time, the equivalent of the World
Championships today just with a thousand or more people in attendance.
The American
entertainment scene was vastly different in the era before video games,
computers, the internet, and casino expansions. Pool rooms, bars, and game
rooms were numerous, successful, and filled with customers. There were
foosball tournaments littering the city. Multiple true foosball halls existed
in Tulsa, numerous locations with 20-30 plus glass top Tornadoes and a jukebox. Sometimes a
pinball machine or two would be pushed against the wall but no video games, big
screens with sports games, or pool tables. It was all about foosball and
EVERYONE played, even if just a little. This is when tournament variations like the
draw your partner and pick your partner were first invented and passed on
through the years.
Great
players like Kevin Keeter, Kenny Garwood, and Charlene Agnew ruled the local
foosball scene and toured the nation proudly representing Tulsa at the top
level of tournament play. The casual player base in America at that time may
have numbered well into the hundreds of thousands if not into the millions.
This was the height of foosball. These non-tournament players piled
quarters on the tables, fueled the massive gross revenue necessary to run a
proper vending business, and caused a demand for foosball that lasted until
video games began to enter the entertainment market. Technology would slowly
transform things in America. Internationally, foosball is gaining popularity.
The increasing global interest in foosball could cause a resurgence
domestically. Time will tell.
Enough foosball
history let us get back to the 2003 tournament calendar. Notice the Saturday
event was static, always the same every week. This was the cornerstone of the
schedule. The Friday tournament was usually equal in attendance but changed
each week. This offered the players variety and essential events important to
preparing players for regional events. The variety also gave players something
to talk about and plan for, building a “buzz”. The Friday and Saturday
tournament would average have around 50 people in attendance with 20-32 players
entering the event.
Two events
on the 2003 schedule are aimed at new players. The Monday night Free Entry Open
Handicap Singles and more importantly the Wednesday night free entry Rookie
DYP. Each location had a unique event aimed at encouraging new players in a no
risk free entry format with prize money. Entry fees were affordable, by
2003 standards, $3 for Rookie, $5 for Semi-Pro, and $6 for Pro/Master. Now in
2012, $5 is a better starting price point. Prize payouts were beefed up by the
cash added to the pot possibly due to the volume of business from the foosers.
Negotiating with the locations on matters like revenue division, prize payout
adds, and director pay will be the subject of a future article.
Also notice
that the weekend the 2003 Texas State Foosball Championship was held I
scheduled a vanilla five dollar draw. The $5 draw tournament is just a
placeholder event that keeps non-touring players and the host tournament
location happy. The $25,000 Texas State Foosball tournament is only 4-5 hrs
away, making it a perfect road trip for Tulsa players. I worked at the Texas
tournament for many years assisting David Radack and Steve Murray with running
the tournament software and calling events. I promoted the Texas tournament by
keeping Texas State flyers stocked, placing the event on the Tulsa calendar,
and by encouraging players to attend through word of mouth. In turn, promoters
and players in Texas were more likely to attend the regional events I held in
Tulsa. This healthy cross promotion was good for everyone in the region.
The various
events, divisional play, and foosball tournament variations helped spice up a
Tulsa calendar filled with 26 tournaments in a 31 day month. HMP stands for
house matches the pot. For example, if 18 players entered the $5 draw then $90
were be added to the $90 received in entry fees. Signups always started 30
minutes before the event began. This was because most foosers showed up in the last 10
minutes. Enforcing time standards is important to a successful tournament and
players need boundaries to make this happen. Give adequate time for everyone to
make it to the location and into the tournament groove. I did allow call in
entries as long as people were within 10 minutes of showing up after start
time. If someone burned me or caused undo drama I would just no longer take call
in's from them on a case by case basis. This allowed me to be flexible
enough to maximize turnouts but firm enough to maintain proper time management.
Only a sparse few player bases remain in America that can sustain 6
tournaments a week. A small player base would suffer under such a busy
schedule. Attendance would be spread too thin. Generally it is better for new
or smaller player bases to have only 1 open tournament night a week. This
concentrates the players into one tournament night providing the biggest
possible turnout.
Many locations are now running two events on one day to maximize the
foos action. One example is the Denver metro area of Colorado. Here it is
common for Open Singles to start at 6:00 and a DYP to follow up at 8:30 PM. Having
two events allows players to get more foosball bang action into one single
night, an important thing to players with busy work and family schedules.
Adding one of the following tournament variations to a local weekly draw every
week or even once a month can boost attendance, shake up routine formats, and
help to create a buzz.
Here is a summary of the tournament
variants listed on the calendar.
Open Free Entry Handicap Singles
This
tournament was for the new players and seasoned competitors looking for a
challenge. This event filled the tables on a night that are typically slow in the
bar business. Attendance normally ranged between 7-12 players. Recreational
players and spectators would bolster event attendance to 15-20 people.
The event was 3/5 games in the winners bracket and 2/3 in the losers
bracket. The handicap was based on difference in rank. A pro would give 1 point
to a semi-pro, 2 points to a rookie, and 3 points to a beginner. The player
giving up the handicap would receive an equal number of starting 5 bar
possessions, called drops. So a Pro playing a beginner would spot the player 3
points and receive the first 3 drops. This handicap system fairly leveled
the playing field and allowed for more upsets. The entry fee was free and $35
cash paid out to the field. $20 for first $10 for second, and $5 for third.
Pick Your Partner DYP
The Pick
Your Partner DYP is a twist on the Open Draw your partner. This was one of the
most popular tournament variants next to Open Doubles. The fashion in which a
PYP is drawn up allows for randomization while folding in a helping of player's
choice. The first person is drawn out at random and is given the first choice
to pick from the players signed up for the tournament. The player decides and
both players are crossed off of the sign up list. The second random person is drawn
and chooses from the remaining players signed up for the tournament. This
process continues until there are only two players remaining who are
automatically paired up. The last team out gains a bonus handicap of 1 full
point spot per game with the opposing team getting the drop.
A couple
side notes for Tournament Directors. The tournament director should not coach
players. You cannot control what the players do but the tournament director
must stay neutral. When someone was unfamiliar with the players I would point
out the difference in entry fees. As in the higher the entry fee the higher the
rank. This is common sense and not coercion. When writing the names down
on the bracket the teams must be seeded in the order they are drawn. The
first team decided is placed in the #1 spot at the top bracket and the second
team in the #2 spot at the bottom of the bracket. Never take for granted who
someone will pick. I have seen the best player in the state go 4th pick because
other players decided to take their usual partner, friend, or spouse.
Hawaii 5-0, Goalie's Delight
This event
is drawn up exactly like a standard draw your partner. There are two
differences in play with this variant. The first difference is that if a team
wins any game 5 points to nothing then they win the match, hence the name
Hawaii 5-0. The name comes from the popular cop TV show of the same name.
Someone would always say "Book'em Dan-O" after a 5-0 victory. The
second rule variation is Goalie's delight. If the goalie scores the point, then
the goalie is rewarded by getting to start off play of the next ball; in effect
stealing the foos from the opposing team, in a make it take it fashion. This
variation allowed for incredible upsets, comebacks, and scoring streaks.
Open Doubles and Open Singles
These two
formats are invaluable for a veteran player base with multiple Pro and Master players.
Open Doubles and Open Singles not only simulates the top level of play but also
decides who are the baddest players in town. Aspiring players gained from
playing against the best in a more intense tournament situation. Dominant
Experts who have grown cocky after upsetting top tier players in a random draw
format are usually humbled by a quality Open team. The synergy gained from
quality players with great team chemistry cannot be measured. This type of
tournament is essential to player bases preparing for doubles in tour events.
Steel sharpens steel and this format is all about beating the best and being
the best.
Open Events are 3/5 games in the winners, 2/3
games in the losers.The bracket should be seeded according to the governing
points system; this is done to minimize the random luck factor and maximize the
intensity of play. It is not necessary to seed every team. It was common to
seed only the teams with a pro player or higher. Just write the seeded teams
down in the proper positions and draw the non-pro teams into the bracket.
It is
essential to award bonuses or incentives for lower ranked players. Experts
should be enticed by competition but a reward for a great finish is just
good business. Paying out to one or two spots past the number of Pro teams accomplishes this. A highest placing Amateur team bonus is a noteworthy
achievement in an event with long shot odds of victory. A small amount of cash
equal to double the rookie entry fee or free entries into an upcoming event are
adequate amateur bonuses. Free entry fee for beginners adds teams to the event and
allows new players the chance to compete against the best without donating
entry fees.
For nearly 3 years, Trad Powell and Scott Nobles dominated this event in
Tulsa. If a team did upset them in the winner’s bracket, they would come back
through the losers bracket with a vengeance to double dip for the win. When
then #1 player in the world, Tommy Adkisson would come into town from Oklahoma
City with a partner. often Sam Dill or Chuck Pistol. The two teams would
sometimes decide to split any winnings before the tournament then play solely for
bragging rights. Scott blocked Tommy well and Trad had one of the few 5 bars
that could equal Tommy. Watching and playing these and other great teams at a local level
was invaluable to our player base and raised the bar for everyone. Semi-Pro Doubles was not as daunting after battling Pro-Masters week after week.
The Open Draw Your Partner format is a popular and versatile format that
has become over-used in the local tournament scene. The Open DYP format is
designed to give everyone a chance to win and have fun, regardless of skill
level, but the format does not encourage the best teams in the area to play
against each other at the highest level of play. Events like Open Doubles and
Singles are important to a scene in preparation for regional and tour events. Fun
events like Hawaii 5-0, Goalie’s Delight and Pick Your Partner shake things up
randomly but offer more than the standard Draw Your Partner. The Amateur only
Draw Your Partner tournament added to any weekly schedule. This is a tournament
that offers a place for new players to compete and aspiring players to learn. I
hope everyone enjoyed this blog article. Please share this article and tell
your foosers, tournament directors, and fans of table soccer to follow www.foosballmonk.blogspot.com . Until next time, FOOS ON!!
