Announcing the $15K Liberty National 2006 Minnesota State “Foosball” Championships: Minneapolis Area Tournament Draws Top Table Soccer Players from Around the World

Enthusiasts and top athletes from around the world are already beginning to converge on the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to compete in an unusual, unique event: the $15,000 Liberty National Minnesota State Foosball Championships. To be held August 25-27 at Decoy’s Grill and Bar, 2143 4th Street, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, this event is expected to draw over 200 table soccer (a.k.a. "foosball") enthusiasts, including several members of the U.S. National Team.

Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN (PRWEB) August 17, 2006 -- Enthusiasts and top athletes from around the world are already beginning to converge on the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to compete in an unusual, unique event: the Minnesota State Foosball Championships. To be held August 25-27 at Decoy’s Grill and Bar, 2143 4th Street, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, this event is expected to draw over 200 table soccer (a.k.a. "foosball") enthusiasts, including several members of the U.S. National Team. The tournament will include categories for men and women from beginner to Master, and will additionally feature a pro clinic, a trick shot exhibition and a drawing for a free foosball table.

Now recognized as an International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) Pro Tour Series event, the annual Minnesota tournament has even been elevated to international tour status. This means the competition is likely to draw match ups between top American players such as USA #1-ranked Billy Pappas of Lowell, MA against fellow U.S. Team member, defending champion and local favorite Dave Gummeson, of Coon Rapids, MN. Women’s competition is likely to include some of the best in the world as well, including defending champion and current World Champion Stayce Fowler of Cedar Rapids, IA and past World Champion Moya Tielens of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Players at the Master levels will play not only for $15,000 in cash and prizes at the event, but also for qualifying points to compete at the ITSF World Series Masters Championships in St. Vincent, Italy this coming November. As a result, numerous Canadian and even United Kingdom National Team members are also expected to compete in the Minnesota tournament. And, with many top Masters playing exceptionally strong after the recent ITSF World Cup of Table Soccer held in Hamburg, Germany, matches are expected to be extremely intense!

The tournament is organized by Minnesota’s own Foosline.Com Promotions and is sanctioned by both the United States Table Soccer Federation and the ITSF. It is open to all spectators and there is no admission fee to enter the tournament area. Opening events begin at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 25th, with most finals occurring on Sunday the 27th. Players can register for events on site, and all competition will be on Brunswick’s Tornado Table Soccer™ tables.    

Sponsors of the event include Liberty National Mortgage, Decoy’s Grill and Bar, and Jack Daniel’s™ Tennesee Whiskey, while sponsors of the U.S. National Foosball Team are Nike™, Brunswick’s Tornado Table Soccer™, Bonzini™ USA, Tornello Enterprises, Foosball.com, Rod-lock.com and TTR MasterWraps.

Other ITSF 2006 World Tour events are scheduled for Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, United States (Las Vegas, Nevada; Austin, Texas), the UK and more. In fact, this year’s tour is the largest worldwide table soccer pro tour ever!!

For additional details about the event and the sport of table soccer, please see the following websites:

http://www.foosline.com/events/06_mnstate.pdf - Tournament Flier & Information
www.foosworld.com - Player Profiles & Regional Tournament Information
www.table-soccer.org - ITSF Website/International Rankings
www.ustsf.org - Official U.S. Table Soccer Federation Website
www.foosball.com - General Information about the Sport of Table Soccer

For more information, photos, or for an electronic version of this release, please contact:
Mury Johnson, Tournament Director, Tel: 1-651-731-2200, ext. 3101;
Larry Davis, Executive Director, USTSF, Tel: 1-563-580-9485;

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