All the goals, the stats, the stories & more - KO2 WC 2011

[Steve1977]

Well I can hardly believe a week has flown by quite so quickly but it's a week of rest I'v certainly been enjoying - and im sure Gaz and Si have too
It's been awesome seeing how lots of people had a fantastic time and it validates completely why we did it in the first place - for you guys who are keeping the dream alive.

Prologue
There's been many stories to tell at the World Cup but also plentiful from the months of organising! One such instance was when we asked the Hotel whether we could arrange a quick 30 minutes to test the audio equipment and projector...2 and a half hours later we were still going for it and the Hotel supervisor wondered when we were going to leave! Or the time we traipsed through Birmingham and every time we went into a Pub the teams on TV scored a goal.

The shame of it all!
Many things discussed...one of them the shirt of shame and on one brain storming session Gaz and Si found a cracking image of a player spread eagled on the floor...bang a KO2 player in there and hey presto! I jokingly suggested getting one that was deliberately too small but in the end we decided to go with one the player would be comfortable in - not realising the imitiable Wolf would hug the sides of it so superbly hehe
Come Friday the fucker hadnt even been delivered and I thought it would be upto a local shop round the corner to save the day, when suddenly, whilst on the phone to Gaz, the postman squeezed through the package that contained the SOS. Thank god!

Where's Noah's Ark?!
Thankfully on Friday the fears about the audio side of the world cup were allayed with a cheap adaptor from the local electrical shop and as we tested out the audio levels of the Saturday intro, the world cup 'feeling' cemented itself as familiar faces peeked their faces through the door.
One major worry was the fixture software in that I couldnt get the new version to work but Steve Camber sorted this one out and so it was to follow Gaz and Si to the evening venue. I was thankful I didnt have to direct people there as I didnt really know the way to be honest but then as we started the walk, Gaz had to run back to the Hotel and so there I was...leading a fantastic band of people in pouring rain, not knowing where the hell i was going!
It's been unusually mild this November in England and whilst it wasnt cold per se, it was f*cking wet! lol at Alkis's quip about evening meal meaning a long walk hehe and Steve Camber who upon seeing the restaurant next to the canal exclaimed it had flooded!

The food was wonderful, the food was plentiful...one of the nicest meals I'v had out. But it was superceded by the wonderful company...upon entering - and looking like I'd swam there - I said to Jorn we shoudl have got a Taxi with him hehe.

I'v just realised Im writing this review and havent even mentioned anything about the draw or the game aspect but you know what...it's as if the KO2 was secondary at times. Saying that though, I was thankful I managed to avoid Gaz and Si hehe.

The real deal
Saturday morning arrived and this was it. So many variables going on, what could go wrong, would anything go right. I was chatting to Gaz about the draw the night before asking if he was nervy when entering the fixtures - with the eyes of everyone upon him. Rob's work on the mic was elite and a few jokes settled my nerves at least hehe and as people rushed to their games Im glad people looked back to watch the opening intro...didnt realise at first though that Id turned the audio levels down ehhe but then they zoomed back up just as 'BIRMINGHAM' was up there on the big screen as the wc location. A very happy mistake to make and everything turned out great in the end.

The Score inputters
The score inputters did a wonderful job, I was unsure how my sister would be but really proud of her and Hannah on the Saturday. I knew they'd get along and so glad they did...entering the scores all day has the potential to be bone crunchingly boring...but they loved it! It was even worse on Saturday for Claire because the day was even more fraught with pitfals with people wanting their result put on ASAP but she was superb. As indeed was Cameron who thought he was on his jolly's but we roped him into some work hehe What's even more confusing is that everyone who did it enjoyed it! Probably more than us playing ko2 hehe.

Let the games begin!
As the day progressed Gaz really held it all together when a worrying trend started...the machines started packing up! wtf was going on? We joked that the electric tables could cause them all to malfunction lol!!! imagine that!
After the night before I didnt have any breakfast and didnt have any food until my tea at 6PM! By that time I managed to play some great games...

George Ka Steve E 1-5
Peter K Steve E 0-10
Steve E Thorsten B 4-3
Simon B Steve E 4-5
Steve E Mandhir S 4-2
Steve E Gianni T 6-6
Lorenzo L Steve E 1-7
Steve E George Ka 5-6
Steve E Peter K 6-0
Thorsten B Steve E 3-3
Steve E Simon B 6-2
Mandhir S Steve E 1-8
Gianni T Steve E 10-6
Steve E Lorenzo L 5-4

My games with Gianni were tough...that goes without saying. I managed to get a 6-6 draw which was benefitted by him having a player sent off in the second half, but I was pleased nonetheless against the champion elect. Normal service resumed in our second game but i was still pleased to have scored 6 goals again.
Whilst the goals were flowing in for these games, the games which I found the most taxing for scoring was against George! This was exlempified by his 1-0 victory on the Sunday - but more of that later... In the game which he won 5-6 he got through with seconds remaining and he scored a fine narrow angle goal, but as the ball hit the line the whistle went. George wasnt sure if it had counted but a glance at me with my head in my hands confirmed...he could hardly believe it. I was in disbelief but in a way I loved it. No other game comes close to this excitement and although i was on the receiving end, you can only just marvel at how captivating the game is. 5 Minutes each way and you still get excitement down to the last second.
Had a peculiar game against Sid in our first game where after a freak corner bug, I slotted home what I thought was my fourth goal but it didnt count...I said to to Sid to score and that didnt count either. The ref had gone home! Upon a restart, the game which was in the bag suddenly looked a different beast as Sid got two goals back. Some good games which brought back that feeling of KO2 passion evident from the Reading area. My second tournament was a KORA and with Sid and Waynie in the room you know you'r in the prescence of top quality people. I wont forget my first KORA - mostly for that first win but also that 'anything is possible' feeling whilst driving down. Ditto for Waynie's dungeon...or 'Waynies' f*cking cold dungeon' where we played in garage in the middle of winter with every Amiga coming off one extension lead hehehe. To hear that these guys may be making a comeback fills me with enthusiasm for the future

Over the weekend there wasnt any easy games. Although Lorenzo had joystick problems before the game we had some close ties. Our last one ended with me sneaking a 4-5 win. The two lorenzo's seem to be great at making joysticks...and you never know if they have any suprisies up their sleeve! lol
My game with Thorsten were once again the most entertaining for audio levels. This guy is a legend and every time I play him he's getting better. To be honest I expect him to be battling for the Silver Cup Final in his next world cup - maybe even edging into the gold groups perhaps? Our 3-3 draw felt like a defeat after I built up a 2-0 lead. In the return leg I got talking about 1966 and Thorst threw in a 'truth bomb' and changed the subject to South Africa 2010 - fuck that! get the game started! He went 1-0 up and then 2-0 up. Had we not had the earlier game I may have bottled it completely but those funny thoguht processes that go through your head gave me confidence. If Id lost a 2-0 goal lead then so would Thorsten and thankfully for myself, this happened.
Great to finally meet Peter K too, however any quips about Garlic Bread and Teletext Holidays were wide of the mark hehe but the fouls went! lol Another quality Germany guy who I hope to meet up again soon and fair play to his enthusiasm. Despite losing the first game heavily, he wanted to play the second one straight away. No nonsense!

Striiiiiiiiiiiiiike!
The first day was over! Had a mini panic when I realised Gaz had taken Hannah home before the Silver Cup draw...but then found out there wasnt meant to be a Silver Cup draw! But it brought parity with the Gold group. Whether you were up there with the elites or battling it out in the Silvers, everyone had the same route to their pathway for success. Perfecto!

After a busy day it was onto the Bowling alley and I was SHITE! lol at Durban who even got my the ramp... God knows where he got it from as I couldnt see it before. Also why cant you get a decent size bowling ball to use? Attempt after attempt went down the ramp...I was winning this battle! F*king the best one there at getting it down the line. Si's 'back in the room' line... I should be a demon at this, Im not bad on the Wii and thats like real life!
Then with the game drawing to a close, everyone at their peak and an atmosphere you could slice with a knife, I stepped up for my last go....and....got a strike! yes!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoyed a nice burger at the Bowlplex and great chatting with Gaz, Si, Helmut, Klaus, Gianni and Cornelius - then it was onto 'home' and a midnight tournament was next on the agenda!
Strolled into the room at 2AM and looked forward to a nice rest. Set my alarm for just after 7 and the TV to 7AM, nice and quiet to enable me to wake up gently....or so I thought!

More to follow

[Torchiador]

I cannot realize that one week is passed and there are still 51 long weeks ahead to be all
together again. To think about it is a torture.
Why to not organize a holiday all together, in the meanwhile?

Before to start, I would like to say THANKS to everyone of you who attended this world cup.
Thanks because you care about this group. Thanks also to those who would have loved to be part of
the party but they couldn’t. it was sad you weren’t there. We felt you with us though!
Thanks to the real warrior who fought in this week end, I don’t mean only those who made things
very hard for me, or better still, the ones who played for (or to avoid) the shoots of shame.
So I dedicate the Holy Shield to the shoots of shame’s warriors. Without guys like you, the KOA
wouldn’t be…. STILL HERE!

I made my trip without my usual parents and friends as, for the reason who you already know, they
couldn’t make it.
So my wingmen was the Two Lorenzos. I laughed from the first moment I joined them in Stazione
Centrale till the moment we said goodbye on Monday afternoon. I started to know better them the
last year in Duessendolf, I understood that they had my same sense of humour and the same love for
kick off in the last year our friendship grew up.
Flybe was our Flight company, probably the airplanes aren’t the most modern, but nothing to envy
to Ryanair or Easyjet. We arrived in Birmingham perfectly on time.
We reached the hotel by Taxi, (thanks Steve to arrange this! Much much appreciated!). Just the
time to see the room, and I was in the bar near the tournament room already chatting with friends!
I’m so happy all the times, even more glad to see new families with kids!! I was pleased to see also
few UK faces I didn’t see for long time, like Sid, Wayne, Simon and James bros.
I think that if Hydn is the KOA George Clooney, no less Sid is our George Michael!
Then of course I’ve been pleased to meet again all the old friends who I shared many week ends in
the last years, it is the 5th time I meet Robert in the last 14 months, 4 times with Frank and Thorsten
the 3rd time with I meet Alkis, Ektoras, George, Cornelius, Klaus. Guys, it is my Eighth world cup,
I’m getting older! In a couple of year I will get the double digit too!
There is something magic. I don’t know if you feel the same, but it is like the clock is stopped. I
mean, it is like we have been all together in the last 12 months. The confidence is the same.
This year I had the pleasure to know better the living legend Steve S. I didn’t know him so well, last
year we didn’t chat much, but this year I understood that he is a very fun guy, a natural born KOA.
Also Cameron is a nice guy too, hope to see him in the fight too next year!
I finally met Andy, I already saw him few years ago but our friendship grew online in the last year,
it has been a pleasure to know him in the flesh, he is even more funny!
After the draw we had 10 minutes for the meeting in the reception, before to go to the pub.
As usual I was the last one and the group was gone already, but Garry Rodolfo and Jorn was still
standing in the reception. Garry decide to go in foot and Rodolfo and Jorn offered to me a place on
the taxi (it was a 30 minutes walk) my painful back and the heavy rain suggested me that it was a
very good idea.
Mary looking at the pictures at the pub, watching Steve, Robert, Lorenzo and other said: “what was
that? Everybody with grease?” I answered: no, rain!
I think I was lucky: in the last years I went in UK many times, but this is the first one I see to rain.
The meal was really good, perhaps the music was a little high but I didn’t mind so much. At the and
Rodolfo and Jorn offered me the Taxi twice, unluckily I didn’t have chance to return the favour.
After that I went to sleep, really tired and really happy.
The breakfast was awesome, like the meals I had in hotel in the bar near our tournament room.
I think that the location was the best solution ever, in a mix of tournament room, bar, rooms. It was
everything perfect. Organizers didn’t left anything to the case, they provided also special prices at
the bar and in the end of Saturday night we had also a free drink!
I’d like to spend also a couple of words for the tournament room.
15 Amiga. Neither in Cologne we had so many amigas. Big screen, very comfortable chairs. Lot
desks empty to use for extra things.
Steve, Simon and Garry made a perfect job. I think that everyone there felt himself at home. Even
better!
In the morning I played few friendlies with Darth Lorenzo, Andy and Steve S. Steve in particular
trained me a lot, I played my first friendly with him ever, and I had the pleasure to get few goals
from him, I remember clearly a diagonal shot near the first post. ace!
The opening day ceremony was fantastic, the video was amazing (also the way the draw has been
presented was really nice, with such music and audio effects! ) Also the presentation of the
nations was a very great idea!
Now let the games BEGIN!
In day one I faced Peter K, who is a very nice fellow, he has something that he makes appear to me
as a old friend, probably he has got the KOA gene in his DNA, that’s probably means that we will
see him for long time!
With someone of my group mate I played directly twice, with other I played the two legs in 2
different moments.
I played Lorenzo then. Since he likes a lot Hollywood movies, I present him a Blue Ray version of
Ocean’s Eleven, then as he liked so much the series with George Clooney and Giulia Roberts, I
thought to give him great pleasure with Oceans’ Twelve. He enjoyed every minute of that.
I felt myself much religious so I tried to make some proselytism speaking about the Ten
Commandments, all my group mate seemed interested to save their Soul, but Sid who preferred to
not read entirely the Tables of the Law.
Being serious, I knew that in my group there were dangerous players, I knew Steve improved a lot.
Being a noPBD players, I knew I could have problems to stop him in some fast PB dribbling, as
there are differences to defend a PBD action and a noPBD action and all my usual opponents are
PBD players so I couldn’t train my defensive skills for that. Besides this one I didn’t know how
much solid kick off routine and goal kick routines he had so, I was curios and interested to play
with him. George beat me 5-7 in Athens just few months ago.
Also Lorenzo could be a threat as he played a lot with me this year and in many games he made me
suffer a lot.
So I knew everyone should not be underrated as opponents and I play at my best.
I played a solid kick off and I was really confident with my joystick.
In the firsts matches I conceded just one goal per game, the only one who performed better was Sid
who pushed to 3 in the while we had a nice chat, he is a very nice fellow. Welcome back mate!
In the meanwhile, Simon was doing very well.
I remember well the George’s lesson in Athens so I didn’t give him the room for his diagonal lob
and neither his diagonal chip and header goal, preventing his kick off routines vertical shallow lob
(a typical Greek Kick Off Routine) so my defence worked well this time. Also my attack didn’t
seem so bad, so he kept him behind in the score.
Playing Steve I had troubles as he played very well. He surprised me with a great ball control and
with a couple of kick off routines very difficult to prevent. also his path on the goal kick routines
were remarkable, my problems came due to his great finishing style, very accurate and much
different to my usual opponents, compared to the usual PBD approach to the box. With PBD, as the
ball runs slower in the box, you have a little more time to place your defenders and besides this one,
you can even steal the ball from behind the player who has the ball possession. With noPBD you
can’t steal the ball from behind because the ball is always in front of the player who is in
possession, never under or just behind the player, like happens to PBD players. As I’m used to say,
if Spyros plays and Gianluca played in NOPBD, it isn’t because they are masochist. Steve (but also
Garry) demonstrated that noPBD is still a very good and performing alternative.
It is nice to compare the two way to approach the box.
Steve in the box is very deadly, I remember very few mistakes. A solid attacker with a good
defence.
I think he deserved more than a draw in our 6-6 game. He played very well and he forced me to
make many fouls.
In the return game I played slightly better in attack, I found the Ten Commandments at the very last
second, just above the final whistle.
I played Simon after the lunch. We had a couple of fun game, he was different from the player I met
in Reading and I think he deserved much the 3rd place in our group. BTW his presentation for
Robert was the best ever.
Thorsten played with me without to show a particular passion. He was saving his batteries for more
approachable opponents. We chatted a lot then. Anyway I’m sure that the best Thorsten can do
great things. He beat Darth Lorenzo in Milan, just few months ago, this year had a great
achievement being 24th topping on Fredric and Lorenzo “the other one”. As said by John, I could
bet he will get the top 16, because a great love for something it is always rewarded.
But what happened in our group was just a part of the fun. In the other groups there was fantastic
challenges for all the tastes. So even if I had my laptop to start to write this tail, I actually used it
just few time to skype my parents and Mary: there were too many exciting matches to watch even 2
or 3 at the same time! I think it is the best part of the competition. To watch trilling games among
players. Matches which could decide the forth position, Matches that could decide the access to the
quarter finals, matches which gave a name for the Shoots of Shame, like the amazing match
between Thomas and Cornelius. BTW, I have got a great video about that, I think there is the whole
KOA spirit that I like so much. Basically it was a big screen game, a real challenge and a lot of
people was watching there supporting one or the other one. The real fight is every where, you can
smell it.

After the group one, we had the first (and surely not the last) second draw for day two,
Being honest the things put in this way gave a day 1 situation in which your aim is just to get the
top 4, no matter the position, as there will be a complete random draw for day two. so day one draw
wasn’t so exciting. Of course things went different on the draw for day two.
I told to someone that if both Lorenzo and Andy would have been selected in the same group, it
would have been an hell for every one and some big names could risk a lot, starting from the first
seeds. Of course shit happens (hell! It happens always!!!) and they both were in a hell of group with
Alkis, Ektoras, Steve E, Oliver and George. Basically The Camberman was already starting the fire
for barbecue. That group was really an hell even to get the fourth was free climbing with a elephant
on your shoulders.
We went to play bowling then. The last time I played was Duesseldorf and I enjoyed a lot. This year
the group was really big, so much we had to split and we got even many lanes! I was pleased to
throw at least a strike and we discovered that there were many good players! I will post the
complete results soon, as I got the sheets of the games. The place was really nice and I was pleased
to stay with many of you BTW, sorry Alkis, I disappeared but the fear of cheese was too much!. I
was right with Helmut, Klaus, Thorsten, Frank Garry and Michael when we had the great news (we
had a TV near us) that finally Berlusconi left the chair. We all jumped for joy!

More to come!

[alkis21]

Thank you for the inside info on the organization Steve! At some point I would like either you or Frank to tell me what on earth went wrong with the Silver Cup knockouts, why were the wrong ones generated? I'm positive that the database Frank made was 100% correct as I tested it to the end.

Gianni, you are the master of metaphors!

I played Lorenzo then. Since he likes a lot Hollywood movies, I present him a Blue Ray version of
Ocean’s Eleven, then as he liked so much the series with George Clooney and Giulia Roberts, I
thought to give him great pleasure with Oceans’ Twelve. He enjoyed every minute of that.
I felt myself much religious so I tried to make some proselytism speaking about the Ten
Commandments, all my group mate seemed interested to save their Soul, but Sid who preferred to
not read entirely the Tables of the Law.

I can't stop laughing

Let's all hope that Gianni never watches '28 Days Later'.

So many reports this year and it's barely a week after the world cup! I'm so glad. Come on people, get your thoughts down while they're still fresh.

[Sid]

At some point I would like either you or Frank to tell me what on earth went wrong with the Silver Cup knockouts, why were the wrong ones generated? I'm positive that the database Frank made was 100% correct as I tested it to the end.

it was fate that I had to knock out Rodolfo! Don't anything about the silver cup games, we all went off the paper pre-printed instructions anyway.

[gdh82]

GREAT additions to our story compilation, Andy, Steve and Gianni. As a whole all of our accounts are like a KOA version of the film Vantage Point. We all attended the same event but we each have a slightly different angle and bring something new to the table.

@ Andy - I remember you saying how you enjoyed the big screen experience. Somehow I don't think it'll be your last.

@ Steve - I remember us both cheering down the phone when the postie arrived with the much anticipated SOS! Such perfect timing. Even if we did almost lose it again on the sunday!!!

@ Gianni - I'm not quite sure I see it myself but the George Michael comparision make me laugh!

[alkis21]

Rodolfo you lazy bastard, there are no C, I, K, N, P, U, V and Y in your alphabetical report. Did you really think no one would notice? Go back and fix this.

How did you manage to skip 'K' in a Kick Off 2 World Cup report?

[Rodolfo]

Rodolfo you lazy bastard, there are no C, I, K, N, P, U, V and Y in your alphabetical report. Did you really think no one would notice? Go back and fix this.

How did you manage to skip 'K' in a Kick Off 2 World Cup report?

I did not expect to find the spanish inquisition!

When I planned my report, at first I thought that I would have one paragraph per letter, but right from the beginning I realized that I needed several A and B while none of others. And in the end I decided that it was not about filling all letters with empty sentences, but about including only most of the aspects that really meant a lot to me.

The K mistake, on the other hand, is pretty obvious

[Torchiador]

Rodolfo you lazy bastard, there are no C, I, K, N, P, U, V and Y in your alphabetical report. Did you really think no one would notice? Go back and fix this.

How did you manage to skip 'K' in a Kick Off 2 World Cup report?

I did not expect to find the spanish inquisition!

When I planned my report, at first I thought that I would have one paragraph per letter, but right from the beginning I realized that I needed several A and B while none of others. And in the end I decided that it was not about filling all letters with empty sentences, but about including only most of the aspects that really meant a lot to me.

The K mistake, on the other hand, is pretty obvious

[Freshmaker]

The 2011 KO2WC – My Story

And I thought I didn't need to do any more loooong travels for the WC. How wrong can I be? My trip kinda started monday 7th November, going to work for the nightshift. I got home next morning, and managed an impressive 3 hours of sleep. Tuesday night I left home for my last nightshift ever, bringing my suitcase. Spent the night at work, fighting with one of the young girls living there, as she was totally pissed that I was quitting there. Damndest shit. You can't imagine how happy I was, when I left that place at 6 am, heading for the airport; totally tired after 2 days with 4 hours of sleep (I managed to sneak in 1 hour between 5 am and 6 am), completely knackered after taking punches, kicks and bites for halft the night, with this girl screaming in my ears. Sweet when you're not allowed to knock 'em out...
Anyhow, got to the airport, had 1,5 hours of waiting time (trying haaaaaard to keep my eyes open, to not loose the plane). Got another 1 hour of shuteye on the plane, and finally arrived at Birmingham airport at 9.55 am. The brochure said I'd be met at the airport by the shuttle-bus (Durban Fun-bus (tm)), but he totally ruined my stay with being late. This would be just the beginning of unlucky drives from and to Birmingham airport.

Mark showed up just about 20 mins after my arrival, and I could really feel the WC-weekend starting. Pure quality from the moment we shook hands. Oh, the joy. I stayed 2 days at Mark's, leaving time for a daytrip to Jorvik (York) and some viking-heritage. A beautiful town, with quite some scenery. During the 2 days I also used the opportunity to overtake Mark's kids. All your children are belonging to us!!! It was pure quality getting to meet Marks lovely wife Mel again as well, for the first time since Cologne 6 years ago. She's just as sweet still, and both she and Mark (and their kids) did their best to make me feel welcome. And boy, did it work. Cheers buddy!!! I hope I get to return the favor

When going to bed on wednesday night, I made a quick count, and came to that I'd been sleeping for a total of 5 hours since I got up 60 hours before, on monday moring... Was I tired? Naaaaah...

Come friday we got on the train to Birmingham, and the WC-shakes really started to set in. When checking in at the hotel (kudos guys, it was perfecto), we met our first KOA-member, and in a matter of hours they just started pouring in the door. Oh, the joy It was 3 years since my last WC, but it felt more like it had just been a couple of weeks. So many friendly faces, so many good memories, and the lovely feeling of knowing there's more to come. Rooming next door to Andy would proove smart, as he dove right in to giving good tips on how the Trapfix had changed the game. Thanks buddy!
Btw, I vote for a Cyprus World Cup. Soon

Silly me, I had to go to a store to get an adapter for my electical appliances, and I totally went by the first shop (3 mins to walk), so ended up walking about 25 mins in each direction. This meant that there was NO way I could do the walk to the restaurant. Lucky It was pissing down outside, so I shared a cab with Rod and the brokeback Gianni. We got there totally dry, and I loooooved looking at all the wet swimmers turing up, ready for food.

The food was awesome, and it was enjoyable, even though I think maybe the music was a bit too loud to make it possible to talk properly between us. But it was pure joy none the less.

Friday came to a rather early end, giving me my first day one experience in a world cup NOT hosting a monster hangover. I really felt it would do me good. And the day started very good, getting to meet a man who's really given me many hours of fun, the way cool Steve Screech and his way cool son Camelot. Played some friendlies with the Screech, and I got some sort of confidense from winning most, loosing none of our games. This soon would proove invain though, as my day one just showed me I need my friday night binge to start the WC off properly. I played crap most of the day, loosing matches that I felt I should've won. I was a bit down in the dumps, after just finishing 7th in my group, but in the end it didn't matter anyway. I was never close to the gold group. and there was no bronze group. So I qualified easily for the silver group, wich should give me a good sunday. My only enjoyable match during the entire saturday was my 2nd match vs Rob, where I KO-lobbed him from the start, and almost made a 2nd lob right away, as he fumbled his KO. In the end, he won 2-1, but it was still fun.
Also, my friendlies with Steve S was cool, with his son standing behind him telling his that «Comeon dad, you've made this game. The least you can do is to not make a complete fool of yourselves».

The bowling was a total bummer. I just kept on fucking up, scoring only the one strike and a couple of spares. Too many gutterballs, to bad ball-control. Just like my KO2...
When the bowling was done, I went a quick trip to the mens room, and thought most people had done upstairs to play pool. Was a bit gutted to find that most people had left, but still ended up having a great time with those left. Played some pool with Mark and the Screeches, and I kept on playing crap.
Afterwards Mark and I went back to the hotel, aiming for the next door casino. On our way, we encountered Germans (tm) in a proper workers-pub. Peter S, Jorg and Thomas. Fun was picking up. After a while Peter K and Freddy Alkisbeater turned up as well. In the end all of us went to the Casino, and it was great fun. I started with £ 7 Mark gave me (of his winnings last night), and soon was up to more than double that. In the end I mooved over to Blackjack, and played quite well. Came out about £ 25 up. Jorg was another story; he had a stack of chips in front of him, almost big enough to hide behind. Good going Jorg!!! Peter K borrowed a 20 from me, and in the end he gave it back and reborrowed 3 times. LOL!!! He came out in the green in the end, giving me my 20 back, and still having money himself. Mark was another story. As was Peter S.

Sunday prooved oh, so much better. Had some very enjoyable matches. Some of the best was my first match, and chat, with James Bu. Quality dude, big fun. We ended up 5-5, ang given the way the game was played, it could perfectly well end up the other way around.

Next up was Thorsten. He was up 3-1, with me having a player sent off with a red card. Then I foul him inside his own 5 yard box, getting my second red. As the freekick's taken, Thorsten can't seem to get the ball cleared, and I just hammer away on my joystick button, getting the ball, and scoring for 3-2. We had a match again. Then, in the dying seconds, I'm in lob-distance, and with the games final touch of the ball, I lob it in for 3-3!!! Suddenly, I felt I was back at playing the game I love. Of course, I guess Thorsten won't agree, as he was shouting/swearing loudly, hammering his joystick in the table. Oh, the joy!!!

From there I easily lost 5-0 to Rod (I AM gonna learn how to defent that goal and it's buildup dude!!!), but it didn't matter, 'cause I didn't expect any win there. Next up was Jorg. A player I fear. He's been Rod's arch enemy for the Silver cup, and seems very solid. Totally out of the blue I'm up 5-1 at half time!!! Of course, Jorg came back with not 1, but 3 quick goals, but I managed to get the sixt behind his Fisher, and time ran out. Phew, the first game to give me some feeling of nerve, angst and the will to actually win! Wow. Then I played Graham S, a truly nice bloke. Wolf is also a very friendly and funny person. We played 3 games in total during the 2 days, and I enjoyed them very much. A quality KOA-member Playing Peter K also proved to be pure joy. Such a cool dude, funny, entertaining, and just pure quality.
For my last match I had Lorenzo L, and even though I was safely through in the top 4, I wanted to secure my 2nd place in the group, as that would make me play Steve Screech for my first match in the playouts. If I won or drew, I would keep that placing, if Lorenzo won he'd overtake me. If I won though, he would be out, left in 5th place, if we drew, he'd be up at 3rd. For both of us, it was an important match. This also proved to be the first match of the entire weekend, really giving me that pure competetive feeling. I really wanted to win, and it really was a close match. In the end, I managed to stay ahead of Lorenzo the entire match, finally getting a 3-2 win. Yeah!

This meant that next up would be the destroyer of the bald norwegian. But considering how I'm not confident with any of the other guys going through in his group, I was happy. Our match was really competetive, but in the end it was a comfortable victory. Nice lobbing you dude

Next up came Sid, who'd beaten Rod in their first knock-out. We had a really close match, with Sid lobbing in the eaqualizer in the last second, making is to through extra-time. In the end I scraped through, but damn...
Jorg waited in the final, but before we could play, there was a bit of commotion, and then my joystick fucked up, so I had to change. I don't know if this made me loose it, but I totally felt out of my game again, and Jorg pulled through and won a fair Silver Cup. Kudos to you dude!!!

After that, it was all about the big screen games, then going for TGI-fridays (the best restaurant-experience of the weekend) and finally a last trip to the casino with Peter K. A nice night, even though I lost, but ended up at break-even, so I defo had my fun.

Monday morning, gave me and Alkis the joy of being ripped of by a pirate taxi-driver, but we got ourselves to the airport, and while Alkis got stuck, my plane left on time, and I was home early.

I missed the entire KOA at once, but it was pure quality coming home to the wife with my medal and a suitcase filled with lovely Ovaltine.

Some names mentioned, many not, but all of you make these experiences very special. All hail the KOA!!!

[Freshmaker]

Oh, and for future reference: Rob's out as the man on the mic. That job's totally owned by Simon Bu from now on!!!

[Torchiador]

Coming back to the tournament things, after day one was finished and all the numbers were projected on the screen, I noticed quickly a couple of things:
In all the four groups there was a big gap between the 4th and the 5th position. for the records, this is the line between the gold group and the silver group. In some way it is like the are 2 different speeds. I hope to see this gap closer in the future.
In the other groups I noticed the incredible performance the organizer Simon K, topping his group even in front of such a great player like Jon. Frank did well confirming his second seed.
In the group A there was much room in the battle for the fourth position. Michael got it and he was the first Austrian player to get the top 16. Also Garry performed very well. It seems that this organizer syndrome worked up side down this year!
What was strange in the group was to see a “1” in the 3rd column watching the Alkis’ row: someone reset his counter on English soil. Fredric!
Alkis topped the group with an impressive attack and defence averages though.
Basically nobody was in rush for the perfect world cup (to not concede a single point to opponents). Just me and Simon were still in the rash for no loss streak.
Also Steve performed well, getting the 3rd position, anyway it seemed his defence didn’t work as expected. Among the all players who was fighting for the 4th place, Mark was the only one to stay in touch with that, he missed it just for a couple of wheels behind Michael
The group A was the most exciting for sure and many times I was behind in my games per hour AVG because of them, I was there to watch their games.
Of course I was curious to see how Andy and Lorenzo would have performed with such great and experienced players they had in their group I couldn’t miss such great games among them!
I think that Rodolfo has been really unlucky to find both the new guy in town.
It was incredible to see Andy and Lorenzo topping the group and I was really glad for them.
Behind them two goal machines like Oliver and Ektoras. I watched many of the games in group A.
I can say that I have no doubts: kick off is the best computer game ever. Probably some people could think that it isn’t real soccer. True. But it is real challenge. Is the perfect game for a challenge. Because it is like a real sport, but also like a chess game.
You have to be fast, to be focused, to be precise, to be strong with your mind, be determinate, to be strategic. Also the experience to have competed in many tournament, no doubts it has a significant weight in the challenge.
They all played a great kick off and to stay behind them was exciting (watching the screen, just to avoid double meanings!).
What happened in day two was even more exciting.
Eight players of the calibre of Alkis, Steve, Oliver, Ektoras, Lorenzo, Andy, Evil and George to fight for 4 places. Diabolic and amazing.
In my group the UK group (5 out of 8 players) I have been lucky because 6 of 7 of the players wasn’t in my group on day one, so apart Simon B I could met different faces.
Looking at the names, I though I couldn’t miss the quarter finals, surely worth opponents, but I thought to have my good chances to do something good.
Of course Jon was a real threat as our records speaks clear: he is my dangerous UK opponent with an enviable record against me.
I remember him clearly. In our last 2 match he took 4 points out of 6. I remember in particular our last challenge: I never suffer such a comeback in official games neither in friendlies. Never.
I was leading 6-1 and he was able to make an impossible come back. Usually when I lead 6-1 my opponent can start a barbecue or go to make shopping. No chances to catch me. Well, Jon caught me and we drew 8-8 so I actually knew how strong he really is. I knew how deadly are his attack from the left wing and I remembered very well his kick off routine to make his special diagonal lob.
The first game of the Sunday was with him.
I was already warm thanks to Steve who played with me few games and gave me some very good advise like: “Destroy!” I actually didn’t want to delude the Lord of Kick Off in any way, so I did my best.
The game started more or less like in our last challenge and I scored basically every action I attempted. Anyway at every moment I wasn’t thinking that I was leading, I was playing as I had to come back of 5 goals, like it happens often against that Demon of Mario. so I continued to force. On the other side Jon wasn’t there just watching and of course he scored. 3 of his specials. So I realized I had to be more focused on that action playing to stop that particular area of the pitch. Luckily my defence worked better and my attack was even better.
Surely the final result doesn’t respect the real powers on the pitch.
More ore less KO2 works like Table Tennis. If 2 high same level players compete, many times they have close fight till the end, but some other times happen that one wins easily, even 11-2. It is natural. Sometimes one plays perfect and the other one under performs. This time I had an easy win. Next time I’m sure I will suffer a lot as usual, because he is a great and worth champion.
Robert is still waiting his revenge for our famous Milan game where I was losing by one in extra time and I won the game though. Probably that wasn’t still the right day for him, anyway he doesn’t stop to improve. The moment he will become a real threat in the opponent box score, he will be a complete player with a real potential to aim very high in every competition. This 5th position is also prize to his devotion to the KOA, even from Dubai he joined Athens, the UK champs, world cups.
Frank played frank with me. He is one of the Talents of the KOA, he is digging in the deep knowledge of the game. Every time I saw him, he has something to teach me. I really like his special approach to the box in a way very different from the usual, I like also his noPBD finishing style. Damn, who many ways to score there are in this bloody game??!?! It is impossible to stop learning, every day there is something new. And we are speaking about a game 21 years old.
Being frank, Frank was solid his defence, he missed few attempt in my box, if he would have took the whole booty, nobody would have cried shame. He was disqualified from the quarterfinal due to a great performance of Robert and Garry, while the qualification of Jon was quite expected.
Interesting to notice that if Garry wouldn’t have beat Jon, Garry would be qualified the same and Jon would have qualified as first of the group and I would have been second. With a complete different road to world cup.
I faced Garry many times in the last years, watching him to attack and defend, I understood he is now a good all around player. Probably against me he paid to much for the emotion. But I saw already playing with other players that he had solid routines and a very high rate average in the box.
On the other side I played a very good game leaving very little room on the pitch.
With Simon K it was the 4th time we played together. In 4 games he scored just one goal. as he is the back to back best defender of the world cup, I start to think the prefer to defend rather than to attack!
Against Simon B we had an amazing game. I dragged in the victory at the last second! I think Simon is a really fun guy, I like his rivalry with Robert. As said somewhere, I’ve got a nice video, before to post it I want to show them in advance as I wouldn’t like there is something unrepeatable inside that!
In the last game of the group I played with Michael. Like Simon, he played an amazing game, we drew 6-6. It was fun, he was surprised, at the same way I was surprised to see him so down in the standing of our group.
At that moment I still haven’t took a break and I didn’t eat anything to not waste time.
In the other groups things were incredible. Please, look at every single score of every single match. An unbelievable battle. A Royal Rumble. The quarter final was decided at the very last match and everything was possible.
Andy kicked out Ektoras at the very last game getting the 3rd position, with the same point as Lorenzo (second!!!) who topped Andy by goal difference, reverting their personal standing of day one. Alkis won the group, not an easy task at all, he left on the pitch 5 points and his war wounds were still bleeding.
The last obstacle between me and my 7th Big Screen appearance in a raw was Steve.
We played the day before and I knew who dangerous he was.
I don’t remember correctly the sequence of the goals but he surely was leading game one.
I played very rude committing many fouls. Being honest I felt myself sorry about that because I’m not used to foul my opponents. And on the other side he was a real English gentlemen on the pitch.
Probably I played to much with those bloodthirsty butchers of the Lorenzos lately, and somehow they infected me!
He played very well and he had a couple of minutes in which seemed in Doom’s berserk mode.
We had a couple of very close matches. At the end I was really happy about my performance because Steve played a great kick off against me. Heat off, to make me sweat and swear till the final whistle.
Then Finally I had a long break and I had a good meal. In that bar the atmosphere was fantastic. I don’t know how much I like to see KOA guys entering exiting the bar, someone else to eat, to drink in those moments of calm between the battles, to share the table with some of you, one before, one later. Well, it is priceless.
A pity to see part of the group to leave early, I stopped their taxi to say them goodbye!
Anyway the next year I’ll do my best to close airports, train stations and motorways till the end of the world cup.
Lorenzo, beating Garry twice ensured the Big Screen as well. Incredible to think the last year he was watching the other Lorenzo playing for the silver cup and now he was among the bigs.
I saw him so happy that he was walking 10 centimetres over the floor. He couldn’t believe it!
Andy having a convincing performance against the UK Champion Jon, proved again (if necessary) to be a real champion. In Major League Baseball there is a nice achievement: Rookie of the Year. Surely he deserved it. Last year, the rookie of the year Buster Posey drove the San Francisco Giants to their first World Champion Title since very long time. Andy, as Buster Posey had all the cards in order to do the same for the UK team.
Alkis was the fourth semi-finalist. Beating Robert (who stroke his 3rd quarter final in his career performing his best performance ever in the following minutes) ensured the Big Screen.
I played again with my personal trainer Steve Screech and he gave me some more wise advice about the deep secrets he only knows about the game:” Trash ‘em!”
So, after the Robert’s presentation, it was the turn to face Lorenzo in the semi final.
I knew he was a real threat for me, as he knows me deeply, besides to be one of the best defenders who I know, in the last months he improved strongly his ball control that gave him the room to get the angles to deliver his deadly weapon. Damned the day I taught him the ways of the Jawohl goal! I didn’t finish neither to insert the names in the menu that he was leading already!
He played very well. Tension gave some bad jokes to both of us, I was playing good, simply Lorenzo was playing better and at the end of the first half he was leading. Even down by two I wasn’t afraid, I knew I had still many arguments to bring the conversation on.
After my come back Lorenzo scored the goal that I judge as the best goal of the big screen games. Fantastic goal and deserved draw. I think I had the merit to save the draw finally defending one of his shoots when my goalkeeper was already chatting with the photographers.
After that game Mary called me thinking I was angry or afraid to comfort me, the true was that I was happy! Really happy! Because I was happy for Lorenzo, but I was happy also for Alkis and Andy. I felt that I really didn’t mind to get the final, if Lorenzo would have deserved more. Because all the long nights he passed together, the same was for Andy, because is a great champion and a fun guy. Besides to have a fantastic game style. And the same was for Alkis a dear friend, a great world champion, a big piece of the KOA itself, and above all, his path to get back the Holy Shield was really long, it was the right year to claim it back. So after the first semi final, knowing I would have tried to play at my best, I knew that it would have been an happy ending though.
Lorenzo now, isn’t still believing he drew a game on the big screen.
The other semi final game one was even riveting. And unbelievable match between 532 vs 424, the experience vs audacity, Defence Vs attack. Those two amazing players gave life to one of the most exciting fight I had the pleasure to attend. There was everything inside that match, everything.
Andy won 8-5 but it was clear that the return match wouldn’t be an healthy walk at the sea side with Alkis ready to try an hard come back.
Anyway at that point a world cup final with the online arch rivals Lorenzo and Andy wasn’t just a dream.
In the return match, probably thanks to the fact I wasn’t anxious about the final result, I was really calm, it was like a Friday night friendly.
I started to attack strongly, facing him just right on his powerful side: the challenge in midfield. I went first on the most of the balls and the first goal I scored was a clear sign that was very calm and focused. Playing so fast I forced Lorenzo to make some errors in to build his standard actions. This dominance was translated in a lead of 3 goals at the end of the first half. I know that in ko2 a lead of 3 is basically nothing as 3 goals could be scored in one minute. I scored again but Lorenzo seemed to be out of energy. At least Lorenzo cancelled the zero, scoring a deserved goal. Final. Again.
In the return game Alkis started to push like a demon, Andy seemed really afraid and I saw him to commit the biggest error that a player like him can commit in a game: he tried to defend the advantage DEFENDING. Trying to pass the ball to his Fisher, Alkis stole the ball and he scored the 3-0 that equalized the double match. That goal in my opinion was the key of the semi final. Alkis understood in that moment that Andy was afraid and he felt he could attack him face to face. The name of the second finalist wasn’t still decide. What happen later was one of the most exciting battle seen in the KOA. It seemed the movie Rocky, with both the boxer punching with closed eyes.
Alkis won the battle, but I guess the war is just started.
Compliments to Alkis to believe that it was possible, trying to win till the end. Compliments to Andy because it is just the beginning. I’m sure that the next time he will attack like a tank. Because in Kick Off there is just one way to defend a result: to attack like there is no tomorrow.
Andy deserved the 3rd place over Lorenzo, winning also the direct competition between them winning 2 and drawing 2.
I can understand how happy was Alkis after that victory, it remembered me Cologne, when in the semi final I beat Klaus in extra time in an amazing and exhausting game. I remember I faced Gianluca that I was already happy for the impossible performance and basically with flattered battery.
More or less it was the same situation in this final. Alkis gave all himself to beat an incredible opponent, arriving to the Guardian of the Holy Shield, the last boss of the final level, with just one live.
Basically I found the net every time I put a foot in the box, Alkis gave me little resistance and I closed the first half with a score that gave me a good cushion to play calm, fast and calm.
Of course I didn’t stop to attack to the hell as I know those Greeks Divinity never die.
After the first leg I felt there was some possibility to bring back home the Holy Shield.
The second leg more or less was like the first, my defence and offence worked quite good so I had no problem to keep Alkis at the distance.
Like I said about Jon, I do think that what we saw in this final doesn’t respect the real weight of the players. I don’t believe there are 6 goals per games between us.
Anyway the course is over now. For the first time the Holy Shield is come back to an ex world champion. To do this I had to lose 3 Finals. So, don’t worry Alkis, just another Final to lose and finally you will find the way!
The presentation and final ceremony was great. also the speeches where nice and fun.
The Sunday pub was really nice and I spent a very nice evening. The calm after the war is so nice, chatting about kick off. I remember we were speaking about best tactic to use to defend. With Robert I was defending my opinion about 424. joking as I do I said:” this is the opinion of the best defender of the world cup!” Due to my bullshits, the trophy has been rightly cancelled 2 days later
After the sad moment of goodbyes I went to sleep.
The following day I had time to salute Frank, Alkis and “the cool” Jorn.
Thanks to Steve we took a taxi for airport and we arrived at home perfectly on time.
Thanks again to Steve, Garry and Simon, the ladies who helped, every one who was part of organization directly or indirectly and thanks to anyone of you who shared this fantastic week end with me.
See you next year “In Milan”.

[r.cross]

Another story:

Biggest Pre-WC let down of mine was (once again) caused by my boss (and friend), the bastard
simply couldn’t understand the significance of 2011’s major KO-event and decided to pack 50% of this year’s photovoltaic installations into October-November. Just mentioned that as a little excuse for sleepwalking around the tournament venue and leaving out most of this year’s late night activities.

Flights were pleasant as was the Taxi ride with Cornelius who I thanked for saving Christmas. Tried to get some Friday afternoon sleep but was too excited to meet and play you guys. Good draw, I considered my group as doable, at least for Silver Cup qualification. Good British weather in the evening, great for food at the after draw venue. They put something in my soup tough, don’t remember ever to have been so stuffed before. Had to leave my profiteroles for Peter, even had problems to finish my Guinness! Should have gone to bed but preferred having some friendlies at Andy’s room. What a nice guy and a hell of a player. Beautiful style. Managed to recover while playing Durban and Cornelius.

Didn’t get much sleep during the night either, still too excited. English breakfast is fine but not suitable to get a clear mind quickly. So I lost my first friendlies against Klaus and Peter but managed a 5-5 draw against the Spanish champ and finally had a win against Waynie. (Congrats to little Waynie btw.)

Kick Off Day One in alphabetical order:

Me vs Alkis (1:9 and 1:12)
Well, erm, what can I say? I could say that those games where going in his direction right from the start, could say that he caught me after lunch with more blood in my belly than in my brain, could say that I didn’t want to stay in his way for claiming the top defense trophy (congrats Simon ) but as a matter of fact the Greek tank run over me without leaving not the slightest room to react. Subquest ‘Do not concede any double figures’ not achieved…
Slowly but surely I’m becoming tired of being your bitch Alkis. Next year I’ll take a week of before the tournament and I’ll have a triple Italian Espresso before we play. The guy responsible for Ussain Bolt’s running shoes agreed on designing a joystick for me. Attending a KOrrorist camp held buy some Danish math professor next October. Thanks for the signed picture, already glued it onto my bathroom mirror. Cut out Steve Screech just to make sure I don’t unintentionally trash the wrong person in Milan…

Me vs Freddy (7:4 and 5:2)
I enjoyed playing Freddy a lot, not just because I won those games, but also because there is no ‘lockout’ in his gameplay. Managed to annoy him by massive use of BLC, or ‘fu**in border cross shit’ as he calls it. Think I scored more than half of my WC BLC’s against him. Found that ‘Wolverine’ is a very appropriate forums nick for him.

Me vs Garry (4:2 and 3:5)
A great player. Knew that he was superior but hoped to be able to steal some points as I considered him in ‘hitting distance’. Managed to do so in our first matchup, planned to repeat that in the second game but his defensive skills (that man trains with the best defender in the world!) didn’t give me the chance to. He doesn’t shoot a lot, but when he does it’s red alert.

Me vs Graham (3:3 and 3:1)
Nice meeting a player I haven’t met before. Very tough games against him. I seriously wonder why he didn’t finish higher, maybe because just like me, he seems to have a strong passion for brewed stuff.

Me vs Mark (4:2 and 2:2)
His KO power surprised me, I think I was lucky stealing 4 points from him. I underestimated him, mainly because our Voitsberg encounter was very close, back then I lost by a single goal. But back then I knew exactly one way of scoring and considered trapping a bug spoiling my gameplay. There’s something in his game that makes him a dangerous opponent, wouldn’t want to play him when fully practiced.

Me vs Peter (3:3 and 10:0)
As long as he doesn’t get annoyed Peter is a tough opponent. He constantly took the lead in our first game and I felt lucky to have at least managed a draw. Second game went in my direction from the start and with every goal a piece of his resistance vanished. So funny having Wolf in the back heavily supporting me. The draw against me was Peter’s first (and last) point on day one, you’re welcome my friend.

Me vs Steve (C) (1:3 and 4:5)
Another superior player I was hoping to steal some points from. I would have had the chance because ‘the force’ in his distant shots has been weak in those Birmingham days. Unfortunately he had to score ‘some proper goals’ then, and because he also knows about proper defending there was no way of outscoring him. However, as he never leaves out the WC, I might get another chance.

Me vs Wayne (5:2 and 7:3)
The first game against Waynie was my favourite day one encounter. I started by substituting Barker for Barret and just a minute later I had to substitute him due to an injury! With Harper as the referee Waynie started a ruthless hunt for my players without much care of the ball. I was completely overwhelmed by that strange situation, busy with dodging his slides, couldn’t score and was 2:0 down at half time. Luck returned at the start of the second half as Harper unexpectedly went for the red card for Waynie’s Barber forcing him to use offensive formations. Therefore I finally managed to turn around the game. Second game was much easier, and much more common.


Checked the tables and found out that I had qualified for the Top16!! In other words: Subquest ‘qualify for Silver Cup’ not achieved. It was nice having people congratulating me on my improved gameplay but the Top16 were something I clearly didn’t feel I belong to. I needed beer.

Got beer at the bowling plaza. I ended up in a group with Klaus, Helmut the brothers Bu and Sid, but didn’t realize that we’re not bowling against each other for half the round. I secretly had to laugh because of Klaus’ funny bowling style, yet he had two impressive strikes while I luckily managed one spare. Got some good bowling tips from Sid concerning ball weight but wasn’t able to implement them to my game. The Bu’s bowling tips where much easier to understand , something like ‘use aftertouch’ or ‘don’t lob!!!’.

Had to invite Ektoras for a game of shufflepuck when he told me he didn’t knew the game. I was hoping to be able to finally trash the friendly Greek in something as it probably will never happen in KO2. I did not succeed. In the mean time most people disappeared, found some of them when George, Ektoras and me where going for a sandwich at Subways. My first ever Subway sandwich btw.


I slept much better that night and after another English breakfast I started the day with some FIENDlies with Thorsten. Funny games, but I was crap most of the time. Couldn’t score and knew that was going to be deadly considering the bunch of players I was facing.

Kick Off Day Two, group matches (order as played):

Me vs. Robert (0:4)
My ability to score did not return as I was hoping. In fact I was hopelessly chanceless in that game considered the fact that I thought I could have had at least a small chance before the first whistle. Only few chances on my side and I spoiled them all with perfectionism. Deserved win for Robert.

Me vs. Garry (2:5)
The next game where I was hoping for points, the next game where I was far from getting one. Garry was superior the whole game, I still couldn’t score and still had only few chances. Out of despair I even tried my only KO Lob in that tournament, but it didn’t work either. At that point I thought it was likely to finish the group phase without a single point.

Me vs. Simon Bu (5:5)
Simon is the perfect example how a nice and incredibly funny person (still have to laugh because of his introduction of Robert at the awards ceremony) can quickly turn into the ultimate bastard once you have to play Kick Off with him. Nasty Style, a lot of lockout, a lot of lobs and some killer KO routines. Slugfest at its best and I could swear I discovered some new grey hairs on my head when I visited the toilet afterwards. I had my point but I had to fight hard for it.

Me vs. Jon (2:7)
Deserved win for Jon who was simply the better player. Yet I spoiled quite some chances because I unintentionally switched of my PBD mode, probably when going to lockout during the game. I realized that only a minute before the end, and Jon even offered to replay the game. Man, I was down by five goals, would never have won that, but Kudos for the nice offer. Thanks to Steve for showing me how to reactivate the PBD in the new KO2CV.

Me vs. Simon K (4:1)
I caught Simon in the perfect moment, right after his 0:3 against Garry being ultimately annoyed. He told me about so many shots on Garry’s goal without a single one scored. Little did he know that the same thing would happen in our upcoming battle. He had at least three times more shots than me, but they simply didn’t want to go in. It’s part of Simon’s style to try many shots in situations where I’d prefer trying to get a better shooting position, but still he was extremely unlucky. Yet I didn’t care too much celebrating my four points.

Me vs. Frank (4:4)
My favorite group battle of day two. ‘You know I have to win this’ where his words when sitting down next to me. He took a quick lead but I equalized almost immediately and with every second after that the game became tenser and tenser. When I finally scored the 4:3 with only a minute to go Frank’s joystick suddenly got wings. I felt a strange but enjoyable form of pride. Of course he equalized right before the final whistle but considered I am Austrian and he’s the German champ and Kick Off is at least distantly football related the draw felt like a little miracle to me. 5 points!

Me vs. Gianni (6:6)
Sometimes the impossible is possible. I started with a lobby Kick Off routine that I had imported from Ektoras’ repertoire and immediately scored. After some infight in front of my goal I somehow pushed the ball to Barber on the left and scored a diagonal lob. More infight in front of my goal, pushed the ball to Curtis waiting on the right, tried a horizontal cross for a header but Curtis had different plans and decided to score directly. After two minutes I was 3:0 up! Against many superior players I probably would have become a little nervous now smelling the chance for victory but not against Gianni. I expected hell to break loose every moment and stayed extremely calm. I could hear the first Italian swearing shortly before the break and found my opponent switching to lockout right after that. Felt some pride. Can’t tell much of the rest of the game, the only thing I remember is Gianni heading the ball on the post followed by more swearing seconds before the final whistle. 6 points!


A victory and three draws where way more than I had expected against such quality opponents, I had to have another beer. Enjoyed a lot watching some games of other players, nearly forgot that there was more games to be played.


Kick Off Day Two, knockout matches (order as played):

Me vs. George (3:5 and 3:2)
I knew he was better but I knew that the impossible was possible. Yet he won the first game deservedly with two goals up. ‘You’ll win the next one, but just by a single goal’ he predicted and interestingly he was right. Still I was proud I could add another Greek player to my ‘at least beaten once’ list.

Me vs. Simon Bu (1:3 and 5:2)
No, not again I thought when I realized I had to play Simon again. After the first game I didn’t believe that there was something left to win for me, he was simply too effective in ruining everything I was trying. But I had an excellent (and lucky) start in the second game taking a good lead in the first two minutes. The final score was settled with several minutes to go but both of us were so busy destroying each others game that there was no time for scoring more.

Me vs. Simon K (3:3 and 2:3)
A tense slugfest, good games at the end of my tournament action. I think Simon played a little better and deservedly won, even if the score was very close in the end. Both of us were tired and I think that both have been happy when the tension was over. I celebrated with tense friendlies against Andy and Ektoras.


Been looking forward to the big screen games, and was not disappointed, especially the semis where very exciting. Nice ‘beer to table’ service and beautiful award ceremony. I was thrilled for Gianni doing the triple, but I would have been thrilled for the others as well. Keep playing guys, great cinema. Good collective KOA effort to push the Screech-O-Mobile in running mode, I wouldn’t see our failure as a sign we’re getting old. The Friday’s Burger later was probably the best I have ever had. Good beer as well, even if Klaus thought differently about it. No Casino for me, time for my bed. Had a pleasant journey back, especially because I could share part of the trip with Peter, Thorsten and Cornelius.

I could spent another 1000 words now to praise the organization and hospitality of the Birmingham boys, but as others have already written that would just bore you for sure. (Maybe I bored you already?) I mean everybody could see it was a perfect event. Maybe I should state out the beautifully designed medals, finally a medal where I don’t have to explain to everybody that I’m not a football player.

[gdh82]

Enjoyed those latest chapters fellas.

@ Jorn - good to hear of your route to the Silver Cup final - who'd have predicted that!

Usually when I lead 6-1 my opponent can start a barbecue

Me vs. Gianni (6:6)
Sometimes the impossible is possible.

I remember you telling me about this in the bar. Amazing!