Gianni Torchio (Italy) Rank:01

Seven consecutive world cup medals, six world cup finals, three world cup titles, so far ahead everyone else in the World Rankings it's ridiculous. To play against Gianni is to allow him to walk brazenly into places of your heart that you had kept as holy ground, where no one else was ever permitted to stand. He treads on the few small shoots that cling to life in that stony soil. Winner of the top scorer award with an 8.37 GPG average, he also had the best goal difference and second best defense.

Alkis Polyrakis (Greece) Rank:02

The little Kick Off player that could, Alkis' eternal efforts to get to another final paid off. To do that he had to score more than ever, and as a result he was the second scorer of the competition with a 7.07 GPG average. He was also second in goal difference and third in defense. For yet another year though he was no match for Gianni's superior skills as he lost to him more easily than ever.

Andy Gregoris (England) Rank:03

Andy was without a doubt the rookie of the year. In his first world cup and having been in only two KOA tournaments in the past, the Cypriot with a British passport beat one traditional KOA force after another while engaging into some impressive comebacks along the way. He lost the semi-final in the final seconds in the kind of matchup that people remember for years. Fourth attacker of the world cup.

Lorenzo Ceselli (Italy) Rank:04

For reasons that we may never know, it turns out that this gentleman has been fooling the KOA for years by impersonating someone named Tommaso with average Kick Off skills. His secret identity is revealed and now we all know that Lorenzo is an excellent player whose super power is the goal that has come to be known as 'Jawohl'. 6th defense and 6th attack of the competition.

Robert Swift (England) Rank:05

Robert appears to rely on his defensive skills more and more every year, and apparently it's paying off. 5th place is career high for him, and the 3.10 defensive average is one of his best in years and the 5th of the tournament. Although he was behind his compatriots in the first two rounds, he prevailed against Jon and Garry in the 5-8 playouts.

Garry Currier (England) Rank:06

2006 seems so long ago for Garry, although very few people improve their skills so considerably over the course of only five years. In the Rickmansworth world cup, Garry finished 40th with a 1.90F-4.25A goals record. This year he was 6th with 3.93F-3.10A (4th defense in the competition). This 34 places leap puts him in the 4th place of the greatest improvement ever pantheon.

Jon Greenway (England) Rank:07

Maybe people expected more from Jon in Birmingham after he won his third UK champs. He was looking good until the quarter finals, but a bad second leg versus Andy cost him. Some people urged the English players to travel abroad more often in their final speeches, perhaps they had him in mind among others.

Steve Ellesmore (England) Rank:08

A fantastic performance by Steve, who perhaps deserved something more than 8th place. Many people every year get but one shock result that ruins their entire world cup, and for him it was a weird 0-1 loss to George that pushed him to the 4th place of his Round 2 group and into the hands of Gianni in the quarter finals. He still gave the Italian a very hard time, a feat not many people can claim.

Oliver Stender (Germany) Rank:09

Although Oliver looked capable of reaching another quarter final, his Round 2 performance did not get him there as he could not repeat the good results he pulled against Andy and Lorenzo on Saturday. Always a clinical finisher, his impressive and unconventional attacking schemes gave him the third offense of the tournament.

Ektoras Kapsoulis (Greece) Rank:10

A step back for Ektoras after his bronze medal in Düsseldorf, he also was a victim of the surprises of the competition Lorenzo and Andy. He actually took the lead by 3-1 in the crucial game against the latter, but the victory that would have given him the second place in the group did not come as the English came back to win it 3-5 and leave him 5th and out of the quarter finals.

George Kakaletris (Greece) Rank:11

Two defeats to Simon Butt and one more to Thorsten sent George to the harder Day 2 group, from where he could not escape. Although his performance was below expectations, he will remember beating Steve Ellesmore twice in three games.

Frank Fuhrmann (Germany) Rank:12

Frank had his ups and downs in Birmingham. He looked quite good in Round 1, missing the first place in his group on details. He couldn't continue equally well on Sunday as most close games resulted to either a draw or a close defeat for him.

Simon King (England) Rank:13

When Simon won the Best Defense trophy the year before, some people perhaps thought that it was because he had played in the Silver Cup. Nobody can claim that he had easy opponents in Birmingham, and yet by conceding only 2.59 GPG the trophy was his again. It was his offense that seemed to betray him on Sunday as he scored less than anyone in his group.

Michael Malli (Austria) Rank:14

It was a common secret that Michael had improved his skills since the last world cup, but still not many people expected him to go from the Bronze Cup to the World Cup round so fast. He stood his ground against almost every opponent, including Gianni against whom he drew 6-6!

Simon Butt (England) Rank:15

Simon was one of the initial KOA players, and yet this was only his second world cup. Having competed in but one tournament in the past couple of years, the 2011 UK Champs where he ended up 7th out of 10, in theory he had to be rusty and yet he made it to the Top 16 rather comfortably.

Steve Camber (England) Rank:16

Not one of Steve's good world cups, as after two exceptionally good competitions in Voitsberg and Düsseldorf he settled for his lowest final position ever. His defense was not as reliable as it usually is, as the 3.93 goals per he conceded per game was his second worse average in the 11 world cups he's been in.

Jorg Panhorst (Germany) Rank:17

The winner of the Silver Cup is always a happy man, and this year the honor belonged to one of the most experienced world cup competitors, Jorg. Although he finished 4th in his Silver Cup group, he found the strength to overcome the obstacles of Klaus, Wayne and Jorn, all by a single goal, and return the title to Germany after 8 years.

Jorn Flagtvedt (Norway) Rank:18

Another underdog who made it to the Silver Cup final, Jorn was behind Cornelius and Klaus in Round 1, as well as Rodolfo in the Silver Cup group yet he did well in the knockouts. Although he beat Jorg 6-4 in the group stage, he couldn't repeat the performance so he lost his second Silver Cup final after 2005.

Wayne Lam (Hong Kong) Rank:19

Perhaps revenge was on Wayne's mind while playing against Jorg in yet another Silver Cup semi-final after the dramatic one in Rome. Whether that was the case or not, unfortunately for him the outcome was the same. Along with Rodolfo, he was the only one among the players who did not make it to the World Cup round to score more than 4 goals per game, and this was his best placement ever.

Mandhir Sidhu (England) Rank:20

I could be wrong, but I think that Mandhir exceeded expectations in Birmingham. Plenty of good results but the best one of all was defeating the Silver Cup master Rodolfo in the quarter final.

Rodolfo Martin (Spain) Rank:21

In the 10 World Cups he's played in, Rodolfo has earned the reputation of rarely losing to players who are below or at his level. This rare skill that gave him three Silver Cup trophies in the past abandoned him in the crucial match against Mandhir so he was did not manage to reach a 5th consecutive final. He had the greatest goal average among the Silver Cup competitors.

Klaus Lederer (Austria) Rank:22

A year ago, Klaus came very close to making it to the Top 16. In Birmingham he was one of the favorites for the Silver Cup title after staying undefeated in the groups stage, but Jorg had a different opinion. He had the best defense among the players of the Silver Cup.

Steve Screech (England) Rank:23

It seems that it will take some time for Steve to remember his Kick Off skills, but he's slowly getting there. Perhaps he should consider joining some more tournaments other than World Cups. In any case, his presence in our humble gatherings is always a pleasure for everyone.

Thorsten Butschke (Germany) Rank:24

Thorsten's 24th place is the highest he's ever achieved, and it certifies his continuing improvement over the years. Along with Sandro Torchio, he is the player who has displayed the greatest improvement in placement as he was 63rd in 2005. He leads the KOA in games/month in the last year, which should be a big hint for what example everyone must follow.

Lorenzo Lozito (Italy) Rank:25

Contrary to the tradition that wants Italian players to improve greatly every year, Lorenzo -the 2010 Silver Cup winner- was far from his good self in Birmingham. A victory against Simon Butt was the best moment of a competition he will otherwise want to forget fast.

Frederic Baum (Germany) Rank:26

Out of the World Cup round and 10 places lower than the year before, and yet Frederic had every reason to be smiling. He became the first German ever to beat Alkis in 40 matches, and the first player ever to beat him on English soil after 92 matches!

Graham Sutton (England) Rank:27

After overcoming the inevitable cultural shock on Saturday, Graham had some good results and actually came very close to making it to the Silver Cup quarter finals. It was a draw against Wolf that cost him his place there.

Peter Klimaschefski (Germany) Rank:28

Peter joined the KOA a year ago in the Düsseldorf World Cup and after a good performance in Oldenburg he decided to return for another one. He seemed to save his best games for Lorenzo Lozito, against whom he had two wins and a draw in three matches.

Cornelius Henze (Germany) Rank:29

After a very good first round, Cornelius appeared to run out of strength on Sunday. At times a very good defender who kept great players such as Jon, Simon King and Robert at low scores.

Peter Sommer (Germany) Rank:30

A draw against Michael was Peter's best result in Birmingham. He also did well to win three matches and stay clear of the danger zone on Sunday.

James Butt (England) Rank:31

Simon's younger brother appeared to have trouble scoring in most games, but a great exception to this rule was an epic 7-8 loss to Oliver. A 5-5 against Jorn was an excellent result too.

Mark Williams (England) Rank:32

A weird performance by Mark who played amazingly up to a point and then all of a sudden ran out of fuel. Too many draws and close defeats for him, but I'm sure he will remember this weekend for the well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award.

Helmut Hausmann (Austria) Rank:33

Looking at his results, I can't shake the feeling that Helmut deserved to be higher in this World Cup. But you do need a bit of luck to get a break, and with 5 losses by a single goal and 1 draw in 7 Silver Cup group stage games, he did not have any.

Thomas Niekamp (Germany) Rank:34

Thomas scored less and conceded more than everyone in this competition. However, Lady Luck was on his side during the Shootout of Shame so he got to keep his own shirt in the end.

Wolf Heyer (Germany) Rank:35

Wolf is not among the people who seek continuous improvement in Kick Off 2, nor is he among the ones who let defeat disappoint them. This is the second Shirt of Shame he earned, and he wore it as proudly as the first one.