Fabio Fichera (Italy)

Rank:01

A sensational performance by Fabio, who appears to be in the best shape of his Kick Off 2 career. After comfortably winning the Italian Champs (with several very strong international guests) in May, he also won the World Cup with only one defeat in 21 matches. As he said himself in his winning speech, England suits him just fine as this is where he got both of his titles. His unique style of play with frequent tactic changes and all-around shooting and passing can rarely be matched, as proven by the ten (!) games where he scored double figures in Nottingham.   


Gianni Torchio (Italy)

Rank:02

The Pater Familias of the Kick Off Association, who leads almost every single statistical category worth leading, yet again finds himself in the right step of the podium. He seems to have no pity towards the poor workers who suffer in the mines in Mexico, who have been working overtime to satisfy the needs for his nine silver medals. Although he managed to put an end to his negative tradition against Thor by eliminating him in the quarter finals, his new headache answers to the name of Fabio, against whom he only had one win in five official matches in 2024.


Blazej Urbanek (Poland)

Rank:03

In the land of Robin Hood, Blazej did an admirable job of stealing ranking points from the rich, but for some reason did not fully grasp the concept of giving them back to the poor. If the world was surprised when George Kakaletris reached 6th place in 2009 while playing with keys, this year they were shocked to witness a performance not dissimilar to the one Dagh Nielsen had in his rookie year, by a Pole who favoured the same controller type. Especially when they heard that he was born two years after Kick Off 2 was released.


Andy Gregoris (England)

Rank:04

Second year in row in 4th place for Andy, who has made it to the semi-finals 9 times but only managed to win a medal in four of them. In fact, the 2015 World Champion was 4th in four out of his last five appearances. He had the fifth best attack of the competition, and he is now 6th in the world in total world cup points earned.  


Mario Fichera (Italy)

Rank:05

Another player who maintained his position, Mario was very close to missing the quarter finals but managed to go through thanks to an injury time equaliser against Alkis in the last game of the second round. He maintained his cool and won both close matches in the Playouts versus Alkis and Lorenzo.


Lorenzo Lozito (Italy)

Rank:06

The 2022 World Cup finalist has not managed to return to the semi-finals yet, but he has established himself among the elite. His defense often suffocates even the strongest of his opponents, and yet it failed him in the first quarter final against Blazej, where he conceded 10 goals for the first time since 2019.


Thor Egil Skaug (Norway)

Rank:07

Thor's annual position line chart continues to resemble the mountains that we used to draw as children, elevating to the heights of a gold medal only to drop out of the semi-finals the next year, before they return to Olympus again. He had the fourth best goal average of the competition.


Alkis Polyrakis (Greece) 

Rank:08

After three barren years of venturing in the 9-10 positions, Alkis survived his Round 2 group of death to return to the quarter finals, a feat thought impossible before the world cup began, as the top 8 seeded players seemed untouchable. Those who had thought him finished eventually succumbed to the acquired taste that is Alkis Polyrakis.


Christopher Durrans (Norway)

Rank:09

A very unlucky tournament for Chris, who drew the short straw and was eliminated in his Round 2 group after losing no less than three matches by a single goal, where at least one draw would have sufficed. He was the only player who conceded less than three goals per game, hence the best defense trophy he carried back home.


Frederic Giuliano (Belgium)

Rank:10

A definite improvement compared to his rookie year in Spain for Frederic, who is a frequent Online Kick Off 2 player and it showed. He qualified rather comfortably from a very strong Round 1 group, and gained a respectable place in the World's Top 10.


Lee Whiting (England)

Rank:11

After making to the quarter finals twice in 2018 and 2019, the reigning UK champion returned to a much more difficult competition and certainly left his mark. Particularly when he beat Blazej 7-5, one of the only three players in the competition who managed to draw blood from the Pole.


Steve Camber (England)

Rank:12

The man who leads the Kick Off 2 World Cups in competitions and matches played, Steve comfortably made it to the 2nd round as he always does. If Kick Off 2 was expressed as a function on a four dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, Steve at the moment he joined the KOA would be (0,0,0,0).


Jacob Kofoed (Sweden)

Rank:13

After missing the competitions in Athens and Torremolinos, Jacob gave an impressive performance in Nottingham. He was one of the three people who managed to beat Thor, and had several close results against other top players.


Alessandro Verrani (Italy)

Rank:14

Alessandro is one of the defining KOA players, and in Nottingham he managed to climb to the 9th place of the table of most points earned in a World Cup. He also finds himself in the top 10 of games played, wins, draws and goals scored.


Mark Williams (England)

Rank:15

After a relatively poor performance for his skills in Spain, Mark returned to the Top 16, mostly thanks to his decisive victory against Robert. He was outplayed there, and as a result only five players finished the world cup with a lower goal average than him.


Vasilis Kafiris (Greece)

Rank:16

Vasilis played very well in the first round of the competition, where his five wins helped him qualify for the first time since 2007. Although he suffered his biggest defeat in more than 500 KOA matches in the hands of Gianni (1-13), he should be content with his performance.


Steve Baker (England)

Rank:17

A step back in Steve's rapidly improving Kick Off 2 career, who started in 33rd place in 2018 and found himself in 10th position last year, but one sweetened by the Silver Cup trophy. He had to fight his way through the Aegean Sea for it, first losing to George Kakaletris, then beating Ektoras to top his Sunday group, before he bested Ilker in an epic final.


Ilker Canvarol (Turkey)

Rank:18

Another student of the ersatz Kick Off 2 that is its online version, Ilker would easily be named the revelation of the year had it not been for Blazej. It took him some time to get used to all eyes being on him during the Silver Cup final, but he almost came back from trailing 0-4. We just know he will aim higher next year.


Ektoras Kapsoulis (Greece)

Rank:19

Ektoras was one of the favourites to make it to the Silver Cup final after being eliminated from the first round, but he lost the decisive match against Steve Baker. He had the 6th best goal average of the competition.


Paolo Sotgiu (Italy)

Rank:20

A very good World Cup for Paolo as well, who managed to beat Ilker but could not make it to the top of his Sunday group because he dropped points against the last two players: Bruno and Mick. He had the fourth best attack out of the Silver Cup players.


George Kakaletris (Greece)

Rank:21

George had some excellent results on Sunday, when he defeated Steve Baker, Robert and Frank. However, a shocking defeat to Mandhir dropped him to the third place in his group.


George Mexis (Greece)

Rank:22

Another newcomer, George became the 18th Greek to join a Kick Off 2 World Cup and displayed a respectable performance. He had some good results against experienced players and showed promise for a more competent future.


Frank Fuhrmann (Germany)

Rank:23

Frank underperformed in the 22nd Kick Off 2 World Cup, losing to players he'd normally expect to beat. He climbed to the 16th place of the most points earned in a World Cup table.


Ian Kay (England)

Rank:24

Looking at Ian's games, I see several draws and close defeats, where one goal could have shifted his destiny in the competition towards a different direction. Draws against players such as Robert and Rodolfo, and he ended up finishing higher than both of them.


Robert Swift (England)

Rank:25

The organizer of the 2024 Kick Off 2 World Cup was close to qualifying to the next round, especially after beating Alessandro, but a draw against the last player of the group Ian cost him. He is in the Top 10 of most competition matches and goals.


Rodolfo Martin (Spain)

Rank:26

The veteran who has won four Silver Cups found himself positioned far from the 17th place this year, as the continued stream of online players increases the competition's difficulty. Only Steve Camber and Gianni have played in more World Cups than him.


Jorn Flagtvedt (Norway)

Rank:27

With the exception of Ian, Jorn did not beat any of the players who finished above him, and therefore his final position seems fair. He is in the Top 10 of most matches played in World Cups.


Kostas Kakaletris (Greece)

Rank:28

Another player who uses a keyboard controller in Kick Off 2 World Cups, Kostas traditionally has difficulty scoring. This year was no exception, as he had the second lowest goal average in Nottingham.


James Lockerbie (England)

Rank:29

Some of the things that happened during the year when James last played in a Kick Off 2 World Cup: I purchased goods by paying in drachmas. Lifehouse released 'Hanging by a Moment'. The World Trade Center was still in existence. Even his last KOA game was in 2009, therefore he was understandably rusty.


Mandhir Sidhu (England)

Rank:30

Although Mandhir has more than 600 KOA matches, he hadn't competed in a tournament since 2013. A victory against George Kakaletris was his top achievement in Nottingham.


Mark Bishop (England)

Rank:31

Another English player who used to play very frequently but came back from a long absence, Mark's last tournament dated back to 2008. He found himself in the Game of Shame, but his skills returned during the crucial moment.


Mark Vella (England)

Rank:32

Mark had some nightmare moments in this competition, such as the 1-19 defeat to Fabio. He will however remember his win against Paolo.


Bruno Carricaburu (France)

Rank:33

The 5th French player to compete in a Kick Off 2 World Cup, Bruno gave a spectacularly uneven performance: A first round with 4 wins that could have landed him to the Top 16, and a second round where he would lose to Mark Bishop but also beat Rodolfo. He had the second best defense in the competition.


Taner Goren (Turkey)

Rank:34

Taner wore the time-honoured badge of masculinity that is the Shirt of Shame with pride. He never let a weekend full of defeats falter his smile.


Mick Creevy (England)

Rank:35

Seeing Mick in last place - even due to the bad luck of being in the 9-player group, and therefore unfairly below Taner- is certainly a surprise. But I read somewhere that the Mick shall inherit the earth, so he should be OK.