The room was filled with tension as teams from all over Europe assembled to compete for the 2014 final of the Sappi Cup Table Football Tournament. Now in its fifth year, the tournament has become a firm tradition based on intense local competition, culminating in an exhilarating play-off in Brussels, hosted by Sappi Europe HQ. The tournament is for Sappi customers, printers and publishers and is clearly going from strength to strength.
The high-octane final was between Heinz Kiessling and Markus Eckert from Louis Hofmann Druck & Verlags GmbH & Co KG (Germany) and Miroslaw Golab and Michal Malas from Prym Drukarnia Offsetowa SC (Poland). The German team were the winners on the night, but they had to work hard to retain their title. Felipe Marques and Veton Vejseli from Vogt-Schild Druck AG (Switzerland) took third place.
Gilles Bloch, former Table Football World Champion for Belgium, coach and referee on the night kept a close eye on proceedings along with his two colleagues Daniel and Christophe to make sure that the International Table Soccer Federation rules were adhered to. “Table football is an excellent way to unite people of all ages and from all walks of life. Kids can play with their grannies! What is great about this tournament is the vibe, the competitive spirit and the camaraderie that it generates. It is great to be part of it!”
The prizes were certainly worth fighting for, with tickets for two winning teams and an individual player drawn in a lottery on the night to the UEFA Champions League Final in Lisbon next month. A truly memorable experience!
“What a great fifth anniversary for this tournament. We are truly delighted with the success of the event. Throughout the year we can see and feel the momentum building with local events run by our sales offices throughout Europe. The highlight is always the final in Brussels where all the qualifiers come together to test their skills against each other. For us, it’s a great way of uniting our end-customers; but we also love the excitement of the tournament, and the unique opportunity creates for friendly competition, social interaction and dialogue with our customers.” said Marco Eikelenboom, Director Marketing & Sales, Sappi Europe SA.
To find pictures of the teams and more information about the tournament, please visit our Sappi Cup website: www.sappi.com/sappicup
