
Date: November 2 & 3, 2013
Place: Voitsberg, Austria
The
Voitsberg boys joined the KOA in 2007, when they
attended the world cup in Rome. The seed of Kick Off
was still dormant in them yet, but susceptible to
water and gentle cultivation. Two years later, they
offered to host the competition in their town. It
was a glorious event, perfect in every way and held
in the city hall, no less. So naturally, when
Michael Fuchs declared that they wanted to do it
again, everyone was very excited with the prospect.
This time he did not have that much help from his
friends, and not as many guests either, but that
didn't make the competition any less enjoyable for
those who made the trip. Kick Off 2 invites us not
only to share its brilliance, but also to live in
the moment, where we are neither proceeding from nor
moving toward, where the enchantment of the past and
future cannot distract us, where a freedom from
practical desire and a cessation of our usual
ceaseless action allows us to recognize the truth of
our existence, the reality of our world and purpose.
Many people expected a very predictable tournament,
one that would end with Gianni Torchio easily
prevailing. As it turned out, we witnessed the most
surprising event in the history of world cups,
mainly -but not exclusively- because of Andy
Gregoris managing to disqualify the #1 ranked player
in the world in the quarter finals, and newcomer
Christopher Durrans being exceptionally strong. In
the end, it was Alkis Polyrakis who reclaimed his
title 12 whole years after that first competition in
Dartford, after he beat Andy in one of the closest
finals ever. Steve Camber won the bronze medal, and
Gianni had to settle for 5th place, as well as the
awards for top scorer, best defense and Lifetime
Achievement.
It is important to be noted that the maker of this
awesome game, Dino Dini, honored us with his
presence once again... and took the Shirt of Shame
back home with him!

Unlike previous years, this time the
players were not divided into groups. Everyone played everyone once, with the
final positions determining the groups of the second day. The last four players
competed for the first time in an official 2-against-2 preliminary match. Peter
and Dino lost to Michael and Michele 4-2, so they played each other in the
Shootout of Shame, where the German won 8-5.

The players were put into four groups,
depending on their Round 1 performance. The top two positions of each group
qualified to the quarter finals, while the ones who finished third played in the
Silver Cup semi finals and the rest competed in classification matches.




Goals in the finals (Click to enlarge):

