2005 News Archive

December 14th
Taggart takes top spot

Showing no - or at least not many - signs of rust after a break of over a year, Jamie Taggart has qualified for the PTSL Holiday League's "Meisterrunde" playoff round in first place, with a 1-0 win over Mark Oberg.

November 21st
PTSL to resume play

After a gap of over a year, the PTSL is to resume play soon! Mark Oberg, Ian Roy, Sloth, Jamie Taggart and newcomer Ben Reese will start up the league and compete for the title.

Only one previous winner remains from the three short PTSL seasons, and that is state #2 Ian Roy. The 2005 Holiday League starts play November 22nd.

November 20th
Mike wins Michigan Cup

It was the lowest attendance for a Michigan Cup but Muskegon's Mike Ewer and Ian Roy didn't mind. The two top players in Michigan each carried a 125-minute clean sheet through the tournament, Mike winning the title on a 2-0 score in the tie-breaking shootout.

The event saw the first ever competitive action for Ben Reese and Seth Billings, both from Grand Rapids. Ben has been introduced to the game at Peninsular Technologies and could well be involved in the rebirth of the PTSL. His friend Seth had never seen the game before Saturday, but scored two goals in two wins in the group stage, and won the 3rd place playoff against Ben for a very successful first day's play. Seth brings some natural ability and adds a knowledge of soccer and the strategy of a chess player.

August 20th
Summer Cup win for Mike

Summer's a bad time for tournaments. MiSTFA decided today to cancel attempts to run ASA tournaments in the summer months as the event postponed from July failed to attract more than 3 potential players. Amanda sat out and Mike and Ian played a best of three playoff for the title. Both players were rusty but it was Mike who won the event, with two 2-0 scores.

April 20th
Walker Brothers in harmony

Zach Walker lifted two trophies on his first ever trip to Michigan, defeating his brother Chris in the final of the Michigan Masters (FISTF Satellite) 6-1 and following that up with a 2-0 win in the MiSTFA Challenge Cup (ASA Open).

A team of four from Minnesota Subbuteo League made the 10-hour drive to Muskegon for this double bill.

In the Satellite, Zach Walker stormed away with the title scoring 26 goals in 5 games, allowing just one against, from his brother in the final. Chris had also kept 4 clean sheets before the final, edging Michigan's Mike Ewer 1-0 in the group and fellow Minnesotan Brandon Barnes in the semi-final.

Despite their dominance in reaching the final, the MSL did not have it all their own way.

Dave Scherr was held to a 0-0 draw by Michigan junior Tyler Meldrum in the final group game, needing to beat Mike Ewer's 3-0 score over his pupil to edge him out of the semis.

In ASA-ranked consolation play, Ewer beat Barnes 2-1 for 3rd place and Ian Roy, disappointed at his 0-2 loss to Barnes in the group, turned it around and defeated Scherr 1-0 to lift the consolation trophy.

Ewer and Barnes carried their 3rd place playoff result into the qualifying round of the MiSTFA Challenge Cup. Ewer continued his good work against the Minnesotans with a 2-0 win over Scherr in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile Roy was holding Chris Walker to a 1-1 draw, but lost the shootout 2-4. It was the only goal scored on Chris all tournament - if you exclude the 8 his brother put past him...

A fantastic day's play at the Muskegon YMCA. Michigan Subbuteo was put on the map.

March 20th
Minnesota quartet add punch to GLC weekend

The Minnesota Subbuteo League announced that all four of its active members will be making the 10-hour trip to Muskegon next month for the Great Lakes Cup weekend.

National finalist Zach Walker will be joined by his brother Chris, Dave Scherr and Brandon Barnes. MiSTFA's Mike Ewer and Mark Oberg have memories of playing against the Minnesotans, from the Chicago Classic in 2003. Mark beat Dave for 5th place to exact some Michigan revenge for Mike's 0-1 loss in the group stage. Mike went on to beat Brandon in the consolation semi-final with a shootout win after their game went through overtime goalless.

With the prospect of a team from Toronto and at least two from Michigan, we have ourselves a team tournament! We also have over a dozen registered players for the FISTF Satellite event with the possibility of almost 20.

Our goal is to get a team from Toronto and St Louis. Then we will have a great turnout! Mike Benkart from Pittsburgh has also registered.

February 22nd
Mike quits as ASA webmaster

MiSTFA founder Mike Ewer has quit as Director of Communications of the American Subbuteo Association. In a brief statement he said the ASA and himself had fundamental differences in the concept of web presence. He will concentrate on promoting MiSTFA and can begin developing other web projects.

February 8th
Laketon Lions release new retro kit

Their Detroit namesakes in the NFL wear retro gear every Thanksgiving Day. The Laketon Lions will wear a 60s version of the Dukla Prague away kit every game as part of the changeover to Pitchsurfer equipment.

The retro design has been commissioned as homage to the 80s song by Liverpudlian band Half Man Half Biscuit. "All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit" has a strong Subbuteo theme, however there has never been a Dukla Prague kit released in Subbuteo stock.

The 60s version was requested by Lions owner Mike Ewer as it was the period in which Subbuteo started to come to prominence and entered the lifestyles of every young football fan.

An artist's rendition of the new kit can be seen here.

February 4th
PitchSurfer trial successful!

The Argentine company Flickmaster stormed onto the market recently with their new table soccer equipment. The PitchSurfer bases particularly interested MiSTFA as they seemed to be very similar in playability to the Hasbro Solids and Parodis.

We tried out a set of bases. They are the same width as the Subbuteo stock bases, but a lot more shallow, just 5.5mm high. They have a slight curve between the "Flat" and the "rise" of the base. The strike edge is slightly bevelled to offer a soft touch.

The figures glide very well without polish. We did not test them with a proper application of polish or lubricant as they were only here on trial. Their speed across the pitch in addition to their relative light weight (compared to say the Stefan Corda Raptors we tested last year) makes them great for a fast player. Despite their light weight they are still heavier and sturdier than standard Subbuteo equipment, so are much more stable and shots pack a greater punch.

Curling is fairly simple if you already have the technique from using the newer Subbuteo bases. Chipping is a breeze. One chip shot seemed to lift up to almost twice the height of the crossbar before dropping into the side netting. The lower strike edge allows for much more lift with less power.

Ian Roy and Tim Thomas helped Mike Ewer test the figures. All of us were in agreement. They are definitely value for money. A set of 11 from a wide range of colours are available from Paul Eyes' Subbuteo USA for just $26. Add some Stefan Corda 2K4 figures and you are ready to paint your own team for around $30.

January 10th
Ian Roy wins his first ASA tournament

Ian Roy won his first ASA trophy with a 2-1 win over Mike Ewer in the final of the Lake Effect Trophy.

He bounced back from the shock of the tournament, a 1-2 loss to the rapidly improving Tae-Sup Shin in the group stage, to snap Mike's 32- game unbeaten streak against Michigan players. It was only his fourth win against his rival in 19 meetings.

Tim Thomas, newly moved in to Ferris State University this week, celebrated with a lengthy shootout win over Tae-Sup Shin to take the Mary Jane trophy back to his dorm. It took 11 shots each to break the deadlock of a 1-1 overtime result.

The three player U-19 event was won by Tyler Meldrum, who beat Tae- Sup Shin in the final, again in a shootout.

Tae deserved a trophy after his group win against Ian, but unfortunately ended up empty handed.

The unofficial Ladies event was won by Amanda Ewer, who beat Stefanie Gerdom 1-0 in the playoff.

It was an historic day for Michigan Subbuteo: Eight open players was the most Michigan players ever at one ASA event, and it was the first time any category play was organized in Michigan.

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