Tahlia Marvin / Sylvie Thouret
From the most isolated city in the world to the most stylish comes the diverse team of Tahlia Marvin and Sylvie Thouret.

Thouret, the Java Queen of Vodafone, with an accent that might well be strategically used to distract the discerning males in the tournament, and a left hand that should instill fear into all men, is confident that with her partner in crime and weeks of vicarious preparation as part of the Product Marketing Posse, she will hold the Mark Tanner Memorial Trophy victoriously in that left hand come January 03.

Marvin the Antipodean Pom, is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Capable of, as yet, undemonstrated skill with her own left hand, and despite battling a crippling, and potentially tournament threatening case of SASS or Short Attention Span Syndrome, Marvin is also confident that the Mark Tanner Trophy might well become a welcome addition to her silverware collection.

Shauna Byrne / Gary Meade
Having worked in the Canaries as a singer Gary had nothing to do on his breaks until a local bartender asked him for a game of foozball, he was crap but this lad who had been playing since childhood was amazing so he started to play every night on his breaks. Meade hadn't played in a year or two then Mountainview came about with its brand new top of the range foozball tables, he was hooked again . Meade now has the Finance trophy under his belt for the singles competetion, but winning the doubles also would be "a bit like wimbeldon to me".  So the terminator is back as promised.

Shauna started playing when she moved to mountain view, she took to it very quickly starting at the back at progressing to the forwards scoring some sensational goals with her own unpredictable style. She is rumoured to be the top female in the tournament but then that could be just a rumour.

Frank Collins / Ed Van der Hooterfunbags
A late entrant to the world of Fooz, Frank has only recently started to tap his frightening talent for Foozball. Prior to that, he took little or no exercise at all, following failed musical ambitions (country) and a brief stint in porn (videoing it, so no exercise there really). In his last job before moving into Fooz full time, Frank worked for a Pizza company delivering to consumers doors. Unfortunately his career in this line was hindered having hit an elderly lady for want of making a delivery quicker. It was a game of Foozball that had delayed him in the first place. However, it was the fluid and graceful movement of the small non speaking football player that he so craved anyway , and not that of "Leroy" with him he worked at close quarters (both in the Pizza and Porn industry - purely coincidence).   Frank's dream is to rise to the ranks of number 1 and win a Fooz major. Collins will present a tough challenge to all comers, with strong wrists from previous industries worked in.

Ed reigns from Holland, the land of beautiful windmills, dams, colourful tulips, drugs, filth and prostitution. He escaped to Ireland as a student, and in putting it all behind him simultaneously developed a love of Foozball that is matched only by his talent. We spoke to Ed about his feelings on the upcoming competition, and he let us in on some valuable insights: "Als het enthousiasme voor het tafelvoetbal aanslaat zoals wij, shmoking sphliff, een competitie  gaan opzetten" he roared in Dutch, clearly showing hijs "enthousiasme". Ed will be a serious contender if he can get over his terrible "grass smojking" problem. "Yeshh, thiss will be problem, perhaps", he told us. Sober, watch out!!

John Barron / Mark Tanner
With massively differing upbrings on opposite sides of the globe, John Barron and Mark Tanner have come together to form an infamous fooz partnership affectionately referred to as the beauty and the beast.  The finesse and elegance of Barron’s defensive artfulness is ideally complimented by Tanner’s unpredictability and brute up front.  Since their union less than 3-months ago, the two have been the source of great hysteria for their unlikely opposition with the two securing many titles, the most notable being the prestigious Columbia trophy.  With the introduction of professionalism into the fooz circuit, the two have reached new heights, and are still yet to loose a cent on the table.  Barron and Tanner look forward to breaking from their fooz clique and taking on the unknown...

Eion Hall / John Mitchell "The Terminalators"
Mitchell is one of the old school, started playing fooz in the back streets of Manchester as a schoolboy, and after a long spell on the continent where he perfected his now legendary sweeping role, he now finds himself as the mainstay of this partnership. Carrer highlights include the winner in a 10-9 defeat of the Tanner/Barron partnership, all the way from the Keeper ! Hall is new to the game having converted to fooz from Rugby Union, and it's not without cause that this giant of a man has been labelled the "Lomu of Fooz", bringing a dash of southern hemisphere flair to the team.  Not much is known about him execpt for one thing: his shots pack the punch of a cannonball, so watch out defenders everywhere, this is a take no prisoners player.

Mention should be made of Brian Gilsenan, away Down Under recuperating from a long fooz season. The Cavan man, famed for his delicate touch in front of goal, will be missed by players and fans alike, and the game will be richer for his return in the New Year. We wish him all the best.

Killian O'Sullivan / Declan Walsh "The Plastic Paddy Rebels"
Having just being released from Portloaise Prison where O'Sullivan served a 6 year sentence for what can only be described as nationalistic activities, Killian has spent the last 6 months readjusting to life on the outside. While on the inside in order to pass the time, Killian spent time learning and cultivating his skills playing foozball. That was however until he went on a 40 day hunger strike as a protest against his removal to a cell with Big Black Dickie Dobson (a man to whom the game 'mummies and daddies' was the focal point of his very being). The hunger strike however left him short of the energy levels necessary to execute his foozballing potential. Since his release, he has been on his strict body building diet and pronounces himself 100% ready for the task ahead. In article with An Poblaicht, Killian stated "ever since I was a knee high to a grasshopper, this is all I have ever dreamed about. The foozballing championships represent my one last opportunity to excercise the ghosts of all those years on the run"

Having amassed a small fortune pimping half of Tyrone, Declan became disorientated with his comfortable lifestyle (villa in Ballygawley, yacht in Lough Neagh, outdoor swimming pool in Dungannon) and started a search for a life more challenging. Following successful attempts executing record breaking feats such as rowing a rubber dingy around the world and driving his car on two wheels for a 100 miles from Belfast to Bundoran while escaping through several RUC checkpoints, Declan finally found his vocation in life and it came in the form of little table with mini players held together by a metal pole up their anus. As a key player in defence, Declan is looking forward to emulating the memorable achievement of his great great grandfather Dessie Fursy Walsh who one the Foozballing championships of 1894 with only one arm and a speech impediment.

Jim McGowan / Fionan Murphy
"Although fencing, pottery and animal husbandry will always be my first loves, I must admit that I get a good buzz from foozball": Foozball is just one in a long line of pastel arts that Murphy has mastered during his long but uneventful life and, like everything else that he has ever turned his gentle hands to, he has only done so for one reason: To wit, the opportunities he hopes it will afford him to beat his fellow man or woman.

Jim McGowan is simply along for this ride, he would like to wish all of his opponents the very best for the holiday season.

 
Joe Wiltshire / Nigel  O'Shaughnessy (Shocks)
Wiltshire and Shocks have been described as the dark horses of the tournament.

Shane Kenny / Barry Gray
Shane 'Bursty' Kenny, joined the Liverpool youth academy at age 4 and was captaining the under 19's by the age of 6, after a training ground bust up with the then pool manager, Bursty was dropped from the team and descended into a world of booze and women. At age 12 he had the kidneys of a 92 yr old. A successful operation spared Bursty his life but he will never grace the football pitch again. Bursty turned fooz professional in July of 02 after 15 yrs of football wilderness. 

Barry was never very good at football because of his gangly legs, however dont be fooled, he's fiercly competitve and has an eye for a goal. Barry is known to intimidate his opposition with verbal abuse ("you c***suckers") and is better known in fooz circles as the 'phantom'. Barry is recognised as one of the all time fooz greats, and has played professionaly as far as field as France, Austria and Greece.

Richard Wheatley / Sean Crowley
Not a pair to be messed with, and regulars of the "singles" tournaments around town, both have a lot to prove.

How "Wheaters" adapts to a team game is anyone's guess. Will no doubt want to take the kick-outs, throw-ins, free-kicks, penalties...... Still reeling over a semi-final defeat in the Finance singles tournament, we have no doubt that if an embarrassing exit awaits, Sean will be the one to blame.

"Crawlers", in what is likely to be his last tournament in the red of Vfone, recently enjoyed being the Most Valuable Player at the Vfone soccer tournament. But, this is Fuzball, and success has not come easy to him on the fifth floor. He has refused to turn his back on a game which nearly led to him losing his car on more than one occasion. If he decides to open a book on the tournament, the dark days of brown envelopes, Grobbelaar, Fashanu & co. could be revisited. A return to Jack Daniels awaits no matter what the result.

Fergus "Bonecrusher" O'Meara / Keith "Barnstormin" BeriganF
Recently returned from a long break of about 15 years from fooz and some fooz rage counselling, O'Meara is beginning to show some of his old magic. He began playing in a Pub in West Hendon, London, called the "Welsh Harp", where spinning was as frowned upon as telling a prison warden that the gang of skinheads from D wing are bullying you. As of yet his famous overhead volley has not been seen, but with a crowd who knows.

A lot was expected of this young protegee after he became National Amateur Champion at the age of 6. He moved abroad with his family shortly after and became a semi- professional foosballer playing in the Scottish Highlands League. His promising career was cut short, however, when he blocked a fierce shot from one of his opponents. In doing so he broke his left thumb and was never the same player!

However,as many a female has stated, "there is still some magic in his young hands yet"!!.

Together with O'Meara, they should make a formidable team.

Judith Doherty / Mark Barry
This is Judith’s return to the foozball arena and a triumphant return it has been indeed. Having been forced into an early retirement by a freak injury caused by a stray foozball at the Perthshire under-12s county championship Judith turned to a career of alcoholism and lude, post traumatic behaviour. But lately she has cleaned up her act and is back – Big style! Watch out for this one-eyed, peg-legged power-house!

Mark "Bursty Junior" Barry has studied under the masters. Battling a debilitating addiction to Pac-man and all-night sessions of ‘Laverne & Shirley’ re-runs on TV, he dragged himself out of the rut he was in and found himself dazzling onlookers in the seedy foozhalls of Dublin’s inner city. A disciple of Baron von Fúzbál (creator and Master of the Mighty Plastic Men and a regular contributor to Pastries & Flans Monthly), he has honed his mighty skills of speed and accuracy and is now bringing the "Way of the Fooz" to Vodafone.

CONTESTANTS BEWARE! Mark’s ability to lull his opponent into a false sense of security with his fresh-air "dummy" shots and Judith’s propensity to occasionally hit the ball in the right direction make for a killer combination.

Richard Walsh, Kevin Casey "Supermacs - The Rivals"
Tasty and tempting fooz at Supermacs - The Rivals. Country cousins Kevin Casey and Richard Walsh live strangely parallel lives, coming from opposite ends of the same distant town - Ballinasloe, Co. Galway – nowadays, far from home, they find themselves sitting alongside each other but facing opposite directions in 1A, Mountainview. It’s far from mountains they were reared, but the thing that binds them now like curry to chips is their hometown devotion to East Galway haute cuisine, as provided by the original Supermacs.

When it comes to fooz, all ingredients are sourced locally as they make snack-box after snackbox out of rival contenders. Known for their vinegar wit off the field, Kevin and Richard know that when your back is to the wall on the pitch it takes 100% Pure Irish Beef to bite your way back through adversity. This pairing is known for its chefs specials, opponent-chomping tactics which are said to make Leeds look like weedy vegetarians by comparison. With enough defensive sauce and fooz-balling cheese to float an aircraft carrier, Richard and Kevin can almost certainly be counted on to be big (milk) shakes in the Cup, and large colas in the Plate.

Orla Hegarty / Steve Livingston
Orla spent several years as one of the world’s top exotic dancers but lost heart and gave it all up last year when her co-starring snake, Monty, was forced into early retirement after he went blind.

Steve is still chasing his childhood ambition of becoming a train driver, and has been living off IT in the meantime. He did once manage to simulate the feeling of being in a train-wreck by drinking solidly for 96 hours.

Both Orla and Steve are only novice foozballers, playing only for the past few weeks. They have both demonstrated menacing natural talent, however this tournament may have come too early in their fledgling careers for them to dominate as many expect they will in the coming years.

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