Chris 'Who' Harding wins the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship!

Report, photos and video from the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship in Hastings.

A packed house

When Crazy Golfers are not Crazy Golfing they can often be found lurking and loitering in the warmth of an Amusement Arcade.

In a tradition stretching back to 2010 minigolfers have enjoyed playing the game of Air Hockey and the 2013 championship promised lots of action and excitement. It certainly didn't disappoint.

With reigning and previous Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champions competing, including 2012 winner - Finnish Bruiser Pasty Aho - and the man/myth/legend Peter '5 Star' Jones returning to both Minigolf and Air Hockey action in Hastings.

With a densely packed, competitive and eager field of 30 athletes lined-up it was down to the very busy Buttons Committee to do the draw to see who would face-off in the contest to win the £1 sterling prize money, and most importantly the title of "Best Air Hockey Playing Crazy Golfer in Hastings at the End of October".

International Air Hockey action

After what seemed like hours of play, especially as the tournament was preceded by the Worlds Tat Challenge, the final came down to a battle between two English competitors as Martin Greenhead faced off with Chris Harding.

Video of the final.

Full results:

(All players ENG, unless otherwise stated)
First round
1. Jouni Valkjarvi (FIN) defeated Ruth Burke 7-1
2. Dave Donnelly (IRE) lost to Mark Wood 4-1
3. Ted McIver (SCO) beat James Rutherford 7-5
4. Chris Harding  whitewashed John Moore 7-0
5. Keith Kellard bested Marc Chapman 7-4
6. Scott Lancley defeated Daniel Cottam 7-4
7. Adam Kelly received a bye
8. Pasi Aho (FIN) beat Will Donnelly 5-0
9. Alex Exall defeated Chris Wood 6-4
10. Steve Sturdy received a bye
11. Matt Dodd beat Helen Dodd 6-4
12. Steve Lovell won against Brian Smith 6-5
13. Terry Exall bested Jonathan Mather 5-4
14. Paul Johnson Paul Johnson Johnson lost to Peter Jones 7-3
15. Neil Cottam beat Ollie Greenhead 6-4
16. Martin Greenhead won against Christian ‘Anthony Pope’ Fuchs (GER) 7-4

Second round
1. Mark Wood bested Jouni Valkjarvi 7-3
2. Ted McIver lost to Chris Harding 7-4
3. Keith Kellard defeated Scott Lancley 5-4
4. Adam Kelly lost to Pasi Aho 7-1
5. Alex Exall beat Steve Sturdy 7-3
6. Matt Dodd defeated Steve Lovell 6-4
7. Terry Exall won against Peter Jones 6-4
8. Martin Greenhead bested Neil Cottam 7-4

Quarter finals
1. Chris Harding beat Mark Wood
2. Keith Kellard won against Pasi Aho 7-3
3. Alex Exall defeated Matt Dodd 7-6
4. Terry Exall lost to Martin Greenhead 7-5

Semi finals
1. Chris Harding beat Keith Kellard 4-1
2. Martin Greenhead defeated Alex Exall 7-2

Grand final
- Chris Harding defeated Martin Greenhead 7-4

In the most thrilling and most controversial match former Worlds Champion Peter Jones faced Terry Exall.

Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones vs. Terry 'The Master Pucker' Exall in a fiery match-up

The match finished with a win to Exall, and utter disgust from Jones who threw his paddle across the table and into the path of Terry who recoiled in fear, only to be saved by the net!

In the immediate aftermath of the hot-blooded match Jones was heard to say the table robbed him of the win claiming "You can get better Air Hockey tables from Argos. The air flow on the table in that match was terrible."

Terry, ever gracious in victory, merely said at the the end of the competition "I didn't care about winning the whole thing, as long as I didn't lose to Peter Jones."

The event was a true one and is unlikely to be repeated.

Until next year that is when it'll take place at the same sort of time in the same place. Unless Peter Jones'ses'es behaviour has seen us all banned from the Old Town Buttons.

Until next time. Peace.

Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships Hall of Fame:

2013 Chris Harding (ENG)

2012 Pasi Aho (FIN)

2011 Peter Jones (WAL)

2010 Kevin Moseley (ENG)

World Adventure Air Hockey Hall of Fame:

2013 Pasi Aho (FIN/GER)

The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships Hall of Fame:

2010* Scott Lancley (ENG)

* Note: the Air Squash tables were removed soon after, meaning the tournament became a 'normal' Air Hockey event.

Related blog posts:

- Air Hockey blog posts

Report from the 2013 World £2 Tat Challenge in Hastings

Rookie Player Wins World Title on his Debut in Hastings!

As has become tradition, following the first day’s play of the World Crazy Golf Championships an open-call went out to all of the players to participate in the World £2 Tat Challenge.

For the second year in a row a total of 30-players heeded the call and headed over to the hallowed venue that is what Wembley is to football, Twickenham is to Rugby Union, The Crucible is to Snooker (and indeed what Hastings Seafront is to Crazy Golf) – the Old Town Amusement Arcade!

The winner and losers from the 2013 World £2 Tat Challenge

With players changing their £2 stake into 2 penny pence pieces the rules briefing was given by Messrs Lancley and Gottfried before the call to arms was given.

2013 also saw the Buttons Committee make a radical change to the rules – with a 20-minute time-limit imposed! This meant that the play would be even more fast paced than usual and that bit more risky for the more canny ratty competitors who will often wait until their opponents are out of tuppenny bits to make their move and clean-up.

Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley enforcing the rules

The frenetic competition took some of the newcomers by surprise and with some of the veterans sticking to tried and tested methods that weren’t quite right for the new format the results were very interesting indeed.

With time ticking down the players entered their scores with official referee Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried to record for the ages.

Taking an early tie in the clubhouse was the reigning and defending champion ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried on five bits, with the lead shared by debutees Chris Hillman and Helen Dodd, along with Tat Veteran Trevor Exall and second time competitor Chris Wood.

Fast-paced action from the ratters, tatters and sharks - Steve Sturdy looks particularly confused/angry at being robbed of a prize by the looks of it!

Former World Tat Challenge Champions Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson then scored seven pieces to scoop the lead.

This group was soon trumped by William Edwards who amassed a total of eight pieces. With a few players left to declare at the end of the twenty-minute contest the contestants awaited the result. Sly old fox Terry ‘Cockney Tel’ Exall approached the ref with quite a haul, but 2013 was not to be his year, as he had managed to score an impressive, but not quite good enough unlucky seven pieces of tat to tie for second place.

Lemony and Donkey Gringo count up the final rankings

That meant that the new and undisputed 2013 World £2 Tat Challenge Champion was William ‘Insert Nickname’ Edwards who was elated to be crowned champion, receive the entire bag of goodies and the respect of his fellow competitors.

The 2013 World £2 Tat Challenge Champion - William 'Sideshow Bob' Edwards

Over the weekend William scored a remarkably unique Grand Slam of victories – winning the World Title in the Tat Challenge and finishing last of all the competitors (that managed to finish the six qualifying rounds) in the World Crazy Golf Championships!

While a grand total of 91 pieces of tat was won by the 30 players, there were two-player who ‘did a Chappers-Smith’ and drew a blank – these were Christian ‘Anthony Pope’ Fuchs and Steve ‘Teen Wolf’ Lovell who remarked he “should of put his mask and wolf hands in the prize pot.”

Top international player was Finland’s Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho from Germany who scored three, just edging out Spain’s Núria Meléndez Orriols who recorded two. ‘The Fox’ Christian Fuchs got the international ‘bronze’ after scoring nil.

Rank Player Country Tat Won

1 William Edwards ENG 8

2 Paul Johnson ENG 7

2 Terry Exall ENG 7

4 Richard Gottfried ENG 5

4 Trevor Exall ENG 5

4 Chris Wood ENG 5

4 Chris Hillman ENG 5

4 Helen Dodd ENG 5

9 Adam Kelly ENG 4

9 Keith Kellard ENG 4

11 Pasi Aho FIN 3

11 Steve Sturdy ENG 3

11 Kate Kelly ENG 3

11 John Moore ENG 3

11 Matt Dodd ENG 3

11 Ollie Greenhead ENG 3

11 Ruth Burke ENG 3

18 Will Donnelly ENG 2

18 Martin Greenhead ENG 2

18 Mark Wood ENG 2

18 Elizabeth Edwards ENG 2

18 Núria Meléndez Orriols SPA 2

23 Marc Chapman ENG 1

23 Steve Gow ENG 1

23 Brian Smith ENG 1

23 Gillian Edwards ENG 1

23 Neil Cottam ENG 1

23 Daniel Cottam ENG 1

29 Christian Fuchs GER 0

29 Steve Lovell  ENG 0

£2 Tat Challenge Hall of Fame:

#1 - Paul Johnson - 9 pieces of Tat (World Title)

#2 - Richard Gottfried - 10 pieces of Tat

#3 - Alan Norman - 6 pieces of Tat +1

#4 - Polly - 11 pieces of Tat (World Title)

#5 - James Rutherford - 40 pieces of Tat

#6 - Richard Gottfried - 23 pieces of Tat (World Title)

#7 - Richard Gottfried and Mike Small - a tie with 32 pieces of Tat each

#8 - William Edwards - 8 pieces of Tat (World Title)

£2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit Ranking List:

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit Ranking List

Related Blog Posts:

- 2013 World Adventure Tat and Air Hockey Challenges!

- Report and Results from the off-course Shenanigan Competitions in Hastings

- Tat Challenge blog posts

Not Winning at The Buttons in Bournemouth

While down in Bournemouth earlier this summer Emily and I headed to the amusement arcades on the seafront with our friend and Minigolf rival Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas.

In the pier amusements we spotted a great looking bumble bee prize in one of the Prize Every Time grabbers and it would of made a great gift for another friend and Minigolf rival (and sometime blogger) Oliver ‘Oflo12’ Florence.

The players look at the buttons bee

However, while playing the £2 machine I jiffed it and grabbed an orange thing that made a squeaky noise.

Jiffed, robbed, diddled, fiddled and daddled

I was not best pleased.

The incorrect toy was sold for 20 pence on a car boot stall last week.

Related blog posts:

- Seth Thomas

- Oliver Florence

- The Buttons

- Amusement Arcades

- Bournemouth

2013 World Adventure Tat and Air Hockey Challenges!

Report from the off-course shenanigans in Hastings.

When in the Miniature Golf mecca that is Hastings, East Sussex it is almost guaranteed that after a hard days practice or competition on the seafront courses you'll find a bunch* of Crazy Golfers spending their time in one of the amusement arcades (or 'The Buttons' as a wise man once termed them, Christian Fuchs wasn't it). 

Pasi 'Bruiser' Aho was keen to get in some early practice

At the 2013 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament it was no different as sixteen Minigolfers adventured into the Old Town Buttons for the 2013 World Adventure £2 Tat Challenge and Air Hockey Championships!

New Buttons Committee Member Johnny Waffles

With a truly international field competitors from Great Britain faced Swedes, a Finn who resides in Germany and an Englishman from the United Arab Emirates lined up for the seventh ranking Tat Challenge tournament.

Sweden's Bjorn Dinau approaches the field of play

With a number of debutees in the tourney it was left to new Buttons Committee member John 'YI' Moore to gather the players ready for the big event and also explain the rules of the contest, with some help from Richard Gottfried.

Thrilling action

In a truly enthralling contest there were a number of players racking up a nice haul of tat, while others fared less well, including veteran players including Emily Gottfried and Will Donnelly.

Will Donnelly had a bad day at the office

A shocking result came from former Worlds number one player James Rutherford who limped out of the contest with a meagre two bits of tat.

Even a double fire approach from James 'Ruthers' Rutherford was not enough to help him this time

Young gun Adam 'AK47' Kelly was heading for last place, but by tactically not declaring his score of zero until he'd done a bit of ratting enabled him to move up the leaderboard to lucky seventh.

Newcomer Craig Small is watched by veteran competitors Richard Gottfried and Adam Kelly

With a strong score of 32 (second only in the all-time list to James Rutherford's massive score of 40 in 2012) Richard Gottfried declared.

A smug Richard Gottfried on course for the win?

With Mike Small, Craig Small, John Moore and Torgny Kjellstrom the final players left with any two-pees in the contest it looked like the win was all but secured.

A mighty haul is shown to adjudicator John Moore

However, in an extraordinary debut from the Dubai-based player Mike Small managed to keep on winning tat and replenish his tuppenny bit ammo stockpile. With the crowd gathering and excitement building Small eventually ran out of money and his big haul counted.

The crowd are in awe of Mike Small's tatting

Astonishingly he also scored 32!

The crowd waiting to see the (tup)pennies and tat fall...

Deciding against a play-off, or even the traditional argument decider of Rock Paper Scissors the players agreed that the contest would be a draw.

Here are your winners - Mike Small (l), big bag of tat (m) and Richard Gottfried (r)

Each competitor in the event was allowed to choose one piece of tat as a memento from the 151 pieces the group had won, before the big bag of it was given away to other players in the arcade who had been watching in equal measures of amazement and confusion as the group of players had been in action!

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit has been updated following the contest and now sees 54 players from seven countries ranked!

The next Tat Challenge takes places in Hastings in October and will be the WORLDS title match!

World Adventure Air Hockey 2013

In the World Adventure Air Hockey contest fourteen players faced-off to take the crown. With Sweden's Filiph Svensson and Torgny Kjellstrom receiving byes in the first round the results were:

- Chris Wood lost to Will Donnelly 5-6

- Ruthers beat Mark Wood 5-4

- Big Al Moore lost to Peter Eisenschmitt 2-7

- Pastie Aho beat Craig Small 7-1

- Mike Small beat AK47 3-2

- Paulli lost to Bjorn 6-7

In the quarter finals:

- Filiph bested Will D 7-4

- Ruthers beat Peter E 4-4

- Pasi defeated Mike Small 6-1

- Bjorn beat Torgny 7-3

In the semi finals:

- Filiph beat Ruthers 6-5

- Pasi beat Bjorn 3-2

Pasi and Filiph in Air Hockey action

In the grand final Pasi (the reigning World Crazy Air Hockey Champion) was bested by Filiph 4-3. Watch the video of the final moments of the match-up.

* Not sure what the collective term is for a group of Crazy Golfers is. Suggestions on a Postcard 

Related Blog Posts:

- Report and Results from the off-course Shenanigan Competitions in Hastings

- Tat Challenge blog posts

- Air Hockey blog posts

Not Playing the Buttons at Southend's Amusements

Finding a playable, unwinnable, 2p machine at 'the Buttons' in Southend.

As a big fan of seasides and amusement arcades I had a fun trip to Southend-on-Sea on Saturday. At one of the Amusement Arcades Emily and I spotted that one of the 2p pusher machines was working, but had no money in it!? 

The unwinnable 2p pusher in the Southend Arcade

Oddly, somebody must of played it as there were a few tuppences in the machine! As a veteran ratter and tatter (and 2012 Worlds Tat Challenge Champion) I know better...

Not playing the Buttons

I also spotted a fruit machine based on my favourite comic of all time that managed to rob me of 70p.

A Viz Fruit Machine in an Amusement Arcade in Southend on Sea

Related Blog Posts:

- Amusement Arcades

- Southend-on-Sea

- Tat Challenges

Report from the 2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open in Hastings

James Rutherford rockets to victory in the first £2 Tat Challenge of the year!

James 'The Man' Rutherford with the magnificent haul of treasures from the contest

On Friday 12th of October a group of Crazy Minigolfers headed to the Old Town Amusement Arcade for a £2 Tat Challenge Contest.

The players were in town to practice ahead of that weekend’s 12th annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament, but due to the adverse weather conditions an executive decision was made to head to The Buttons for a Tat Challenge.

'Action' from the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open

Arriving just in Hastings just in time James ‘Mr James’ Rutherford joined the gang to play in the first Tat Challenge of the 2012 season. The competition would act as a warm-up for the 2012 World £2 Tat Challenge that is now a part an unofficial part of the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships weekend.

John 'Thighs' Moore with his winnings

Heading into the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Mr Rutherford’ Rutherford declared that he would win the contest. His opponents scoffed at this remark, little knowing that he had spent the previous weekend in Hastings ‘mapping the buttons’!

Owen Johnson didn't quite hit the jackpot with his two bits o' tat

Michael ‘The Champ’ Smith and John Moore ‘John’ made their debuts in a £2 Tat Challenge and after a quick briefing on the rules were let loose with their pots of two penny pence pieces.

'The Man They Call Johnson' Paul Johnson with his three bits of tat

The contest was an all-England clash with the field also including the inaugural Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Champion Mr Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson, Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried, Owen ‘Don’t call me Irwin’ Johnson and the Tat Challenge Order of Merit Number One ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried.

'Squire' Richard Gottfried seems pleased with his 13 pieces of tat, including the Chappers Action Figure

With a new array of prizes on offer in the 2p pushers the avid tatters were in their element trying to win as big a haul as possible and take the prize of ‘all the tat’. However a clear lead was built up early on by ‘The Rocket’ James Rutherford who managed to somehow keep his pot of 2ps constantly full and his pockets filling up with Thumb Wrestling characters as his prize.

Michael 'Zero' Smith leaves the £2 Tat Challenge empty handed

Prior to the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open the largest winning score had been 11 pieces of tat by Polly at the 2012 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge, with other victories totalling 10, 9 and 7 pieces of tat won. In fact in the first three Tat Challenges the total tat won by all competitors was 36, 31 and 39 pieces. These figures were blown out of the water as James ‘Ruth’ Rutherford won 40 pieces all by himself!!!

The nearest challenger and still a way off Ruthers’ lead was Richard ‘Second Best’ Gottfried with 13 pieces. John ‘YI’ Moore and Emily ‘Lemons’ Gottfried tied for third-place with five pieces apiece and had no money left for a play-off. Paul ‘The Johnson’ Johnson managed to win 3 bits, while Owen ‘Irwin’ Johnson didn’t hit the jackpot with only a couple of pieces. In last spot was Michael ‘No Tat’ Smith with zero pieces of tat. Rather reminiscent of his minigolf team-mate, rival and fellow tatter Marc ‘Chappers’ Chapman’s debut at the 2010 Worlds when he also came away with nothing for his £2 stake. On a related Marc ‘The Force’ Note, one of the prizes won appeared to be a life-like action figure of the renowned Minigolfer and Tat Challenger!



The Marc 'The Force' Chapman Action Figure alongside what appears to be the San Marino Goalkeeper



2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open - 12/10/12

Rank Player Country Tat Won
1 James Rutherford ENG 40
2 Richard Gottfried ENG 13
3 John Moore ENG 5
3 Emily Gottfried  ENG 5
5 Paul Johnson ENG 3
6 Owen Johnson ENG 2
7 Michael Smith ENG 0

With his massive haul of tat the pressure will surely be on all of the other competitors to up their game at the next £2 Tat Challenge! 40 pieces with £2 of 2ps is an extraordinary amount to win, whether this record will be beaten remains to be seen.

James '40' Rutherford with his bag o' tat

Following the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford has moved up to the top spot, with ‘Squire’ dropping down to number two. Emily moves up from 8th place to join Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman in tied third place.

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit as at 12/10/12

£2 Tat Challenge Hall of Fame:

#1 - Paul Johnson - 9 pieces of Tat

#2 - Richard Gottfried - 10 pieces of Tat

#3 - Alan Norman - 6 pieces of Tat +1

#4 - Polly - 11 pieces of Tat

#5 - James Rutherford - 40 pieces of Tat

Related Blog Posts:
- 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings
- £2 Tat Challenges at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - May 2011
- 'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - October 2010

Arcade Games at Star City – Air Hockey, Pool & Ping Pong

Following the first minigolf event of the BMGA Tour season at the Star City Open in Birmingham on Sunday 22nd January, a group of players headed to the amusement arcade attached to the Bowling Alley in the Star City Complex for an Air Hockey Tourney.

Among the competitors in action at the Las Vegas of the West Midlands were reigning Worlds Air Hockey Champion Peter ‘The Puckmaster’ Jones, James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford, Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried & Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

The first game to be played was on the closest table to the door and after a draw of sorts was organised by Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried play commenced with a match-up between perennial Air Hockey loser, ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried, and the Welsh Worlds Air Hockey champ and side-tournament specialist Peter ‘The Dragon’ Jones.

Peter Jones (far side) faces-off against Richard Gottfried in the longest match ever!

Unbeknownst to the players the match would create something of a record result, as the machine was a bit broken! The final result saw 31 goals scored as the match seemed to be never ending. Normally the first player who scores 7 goals is the winner and the machine keeps the puck from being returned. However in the battle between Gottfried & Jones, Richard managed to get the upset win, with a slim victory of 16-15.

With the match going on for so long Richard retired from the rest of the contest due to exhaustion and went to have a nice sit down. This meant that Peter ‘The Crazy Aced Assassin’ Jones was back in the contest and would face Seth ‘Tooting’ Thomas in the ‘first’ round.

Before that contest could take place a new table needed to be found for the match between Ruthers and The Machine. Play then commenced after Ollie had put a deposit down for half an hour’s play on the Ping Pong table. In the Air Hockey match Ollie took control and defeated Ruthers 7-5 meaning The Machine would head to the final to face either Thomas or Jones. The defeated Ruthers consoled himself by heading to the Table Tennis table to take on and beat all-comers (except Seth, who was just too good). One notable result was the ‘Squire’ (ranked 50th alongside Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd in the 2010 World Series of Pong) coming out of retirement for one more match. He was swiftly beaten 11-6 by Ruthers.

Ping Ponger Ruthers awaiting new challengers

In the highly anticipated match-up between Worlds Champ Peter ‘Toy Truck’ Jones and the sporting polymath that is Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas the result was an unexpected win to Thomas, who managed to take down the champ and win 7-3 to line up a contest against The Machine in the Grand Final.

The Machine warms-up for the Air Hockey final with a bit of Table Tennis

Having seen the photos of the Air Hockey matches online, and on being told he had wrongly assumed that Peter 'Indoor League' Jones had been dishing out lessons, Finnish player Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho commented “He's just giving you that false feeling of confidence and will strike back when it matters.”

With the first Air Hockey table used in the competition set to ‘Long Play’ the players couldn’t imagine that the event would befall some other controversy, but that is exactly what happened in the big final match-up. With Seth Thomas easing to a 6-2 lead against Oliver Florence what happened next could of been taken straight from a round of ‘What happened next?’ on TV game show A Question of Sport. As Ollie hit a goal to bring his score up to 3 goals, the puck got stuck in the goal mouth and couldn’t be retrieved, nor did it register on the scoreboard!

Seth Thomas and Oliver Florence face-off in the Air Hockey Final

Luckily Emily ‘I’ll get #TheMan’ Gottfried was on hand and went and got the man to come and have a look at the machine (the table, not Ollie). With much wrenching and fiddling the technician was unable to get the puck out, so instead turned off the table and gave the players their pound back.

Pucking Hell! The Air Hockey Puck gets stuck in the goal

This caused a dilemma as the result of the match was still undecided. To decide the ultimate winner of the Star City Air Hockey Contest, Seth and Ollie decided to play one game of Ping Pong as a decider!

The result of the Air Hockey Tournament is decided on a Ping Pong Table

In the end there seemed to be only one possible result as Seth took an early and commanding lead, as he had done on the Air Hockey, and finished the match by smashing in a result of 11-2 and leaving The Machine with the runner-up spot.

Following the final of the Air Pong competition Seth declared that “the fun isn’t over if I’ve still got money left” and proceeded to challenge players to games of Pool. First up was Richard who, apart from the break and potting one ball, spent the game speaking with Peter 'PJ#2' Jones on the sidelines.

Richard Gottfried enjoys a nice sit down on his way to a Pool defeat at the hands of Seth Thomas

With the Hurricane Simulator ‘Out of Order’ a doubles Pool match was proposed, with the line-up of England (Ollie & Seth) to take on the ‘Wales’ team of Peter and Richard. England won.

And that wrapped up the fun and games at The Buttons of Star City. For a change no Laser Tag was played. The next big arcade event will no doubt be a £2 Tat Challenge at the amusement arcades of Worthing, West Sussex in April.

Links:
- 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings
- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

Las Vegas on Canvey Island

On our way back from Southend-on-Sea we made a revisit to Canvey Island where we found another Las Vegas Amusement Arcade.

Richard outside the Las Vegas Casino in Canvey Island. He won one token from the 2p pusher

Related blog posts:
- Little Las Vegas in Wallingford
- Skeg-Vegas!
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour #248 Hunstanton (Vegas Amusement Arcade) - Crazy Golf
- BIG Buttons in Liverpool
- 10 Minutes in Canvey Island
- List of courses visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex
- Canvey Island

Check out other Blog Posts about 'Las Vegas'.

2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings

Results of the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships 2011

In addition to the Worlds £2 Tat Challenge taking place at The Buttons on Saturday 29th October 2011, the venue also saw the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships take place amongst a group of twelve Crazy Golfers, with a new champion guaranteed to be crowned following a no-show by 2010 Champ Kevin 'AWOL' Moseley!

In a thrilling final Wales' Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones defeated England's Phil Exall 7-3 to take the title he's waited a whole year to get his hands on.

Photo: The 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champion - Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones

Full Results of the 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships

In round one results:
- Seth Thomas defeated Jam Trubridge 2-1
- Keith Kellard beat Chris Harding 4-3
- Pasi Aho (FIN) lost to Phil Exall 6-7
- Richard Gottfried and Alex Exall drew 4-4 - the match was decided by a best-of-three game of Rock Paper Scissors which Alex won 2-1
- Marc Chapman beat Scott Lancley 6-1
- Peter Jones, Denis Exall and Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson all received 'byes'

In round two results:
- Seth Thomas lost to Peter Jones 4-7 (with one minute to go)
- Keith Kellard bested Denis Exall 7-3
- Phil Exall beat Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson 7-5
- Alex Exall defeated Marc Chapman 6-3

In the first semi-final:
- Keith Kellard lost to Peter Jones 3-4

In the second semi-final:
- Alex Exall lost to Phil Exall 6-7

The final saw last year's defeated finalist Peter Jones facing-off against Phil Exall to decide the ultimate champion at the event, with Peter Jones coming out the winner with a 7-3 victory, with a minute still remaining on the clock!

Photo: Phil Exall versus Peter Jones in the final

You can watch the closing stages of the match here:



Photos from the event:

Photo: Father versus son as Phil Exall battles Alex Exall as the crowd looks on

Photo: Alex Exall versus Richard Gottfried in a rematch from 2010. Alex would once again get the better of Richard

Photo: Phil Exall squares off against International campaigner Pasi Aho of Finland, by way of Germany

Photo: Marc Chapman takes on rival and Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion Scott Lancley

Photo: Seth Thomas plays Peter Jones

Photo: Seth Thomas continues to play Peter Jones

Photo: Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson' Johnson and Phil Exall have a meeting of the paddles at the half-way line

Photo: Denis Exall faces-off against Keith 'Puck Boy' Kellard

Links:
- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships