Jacob Balcos and Erik Hueltner proved beyond any doubt they are the World Champions during the WFT 2026 World Championships in New Orleans. Here's a ringside view of their performance and their amazing journey.
Become a Foosball Radio Patreon: Patreon.com/FoosballRadio
[00:00:01] The following is a presentation of Foosball Radio. It's FoosTalk Live. Are you talking to me? Compelling and lively banter. Are you going to talk to us? Talking Foosball. Foosball was how I measured my value as a man? You took that away! Players and fans, promoters and pros. Unedited and raw. Talk, talk, talk. Living in the moment. We have a lot of important things to talk about. All while practicing social distancing. Cool, we'll talk. No big whoop. Let's get this thing started.
[00:00:31] FoosTalk Live. Hi, this is Tom Robinson, and I want to personally thank our Patreon pillars for their support of Foosball Radio and FoosTalk Live. Here's to our newest Patreon. Jason Deans. Thanks to Randy Raposo. Thank you. Thomas Dyke. Mike Veidt.
[00:01:01] Rob Cutler. James Sparky Castillo. Carl Fleischer. Jay Thiel. Brian Schmid. Cameron Burrows. Jimmy Love. Dwayne Stewart. Judy Schober. And our friends from the 716 Buffalo Foosball Club. Thank you. Your support brings continued and expanding content from Foosball Radio as we cover the greatest sport on earth.
[00:01:31] Visit patreon.com forward slash foosball radio to find out how to become a Foosball Radio Patreon. Foos Talk Live is brought to you by Original Leonhardt. The Leonhardt Tournament Model is the most popular foosball table at the ITSF World Cup. Designed and handcrafted in Germany, order online and have it delivered to your door.
[00:01:54] Visit www.original-leonhardt-usa.com and use promo code FoosTalk to save 10% off your purchase price. Hey there, I'm Tom Robinson. Welcome to Twitch TV and, of course, YouTube. We're going to be doing this thing tonight and we're going to have some fun. I believe we've all recovered for the most part when it comes to being at the World Foosball Tour 2026 World Championships.
[00:02:24] It's only been a week or less. And I'm feeling okay. I didn't catch anything, but I got to check in with my constant companion here when it comes to talking about foosball. Of course, we've got to talk to a guy who really loves the game, which would be Randy Raposo. How are you feeling, Randy? What's going on? Nothing. Good. You're shaking your head. You're home. You're safe. Did you get sick? Tom, I'm always safe, first of all.
[00:02:53] Okay. All right. Second of all. No, no, man. You know, I high-fived everybody and just washed my hands and, yeah, it was good. Nice. Did you get sick? I actually didn't hear if anybody, I didn't hear anybody got sick, really. Okay. Good, good. I guess everybody, you know, they took care of their immune system before the tournament. Everybody took their vitamin C, I guess, right? That's pretty much, yeah.
[00:03:21] Yeah, but Worlds was great, man. The room was awesome. You know, Ryan and Iveta did a great job, the whole team. Man. I really feel like they learned from last year. And the balls were good. I feel like the balls held up fairly well. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, but the streaming, the team, the cameras, like Joe Hesslinger, his team, all that stuff. I mean, there was just, there was a bunch of cool stuff, man. I really, I just enjoyed the experience.
[00:03:51] If you weren't there, you definitely missed out. Oh, yeah. And then, of course, getting to watch these guys win open doubles was pretty awesome. Well, I mean, it's the piece de resistance. That's where it all comes together. And the crowd this time, first of all, I got to ask you, have you ever heard a crowd like that cheer as much as they did this last weekend? Nah.
[00:04:13] So, and I'm going to tell you, the Mario-Tony match, like I was sitting in the back with the guys doing the stream, and it was unbelievable. Like, you could feel the room kind of shaking when they were cheering as the match was happening. There was a lot of energy in that room, man. Especially all the finals, the women's singles, open singles final, a lot of energy, women's doubles, open doubles. I mean, it was great, man. They did a great job.
[00:04:43] It was super loud. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Definitely. They definitely stepped it up from last year. I walked in on the open singles match, and I just, I was stunned. Like, whoa, whoa, what's going on? Damn, this is loud. People are into it. We're having ourselves a time here. And it's exactly what we need. You know, when it comes to the phase in which we're going through for foosball, we're seeing this next level attendance.
[00:05:09] We're seeing this next level enthusiasm, and of course, it's all there for ESPN to gobble up and hopefully, you know, give us a nice special this next year in 2027. Yeah, we'll see. I mean, you know, again, I feel like the production value is going to be there for sure. Yep. You know, so it's just a matter of time. I mean, I really think foosball is kind of on, like, the cusp of something big. Yep. Hopefully, we can just kind of kick it over the edge and see what happens.
[00:05:38] Well, I got to tell you something right now. This particular episode is going to be loaded with understatement. Just saying. And I think, of course, our guests understand that, especially one of the greatest goalies of all time, Eric Heltner. Welcome, Eric. Hey, what's up? What's up, dude? So welcome back once again to Foos Talk Live.
[00:06:04] It's been a little while since you were on, but thanks for being here and congratulations on the victory. And, of course, right next to you on the screen here to the right, we have, well, this young phenom who really only started playing foosball, technically speaking, within the last time I had a head cold. That would be Jacob Balcos. Sorry, Jacob. I don't mean to compare my contraction of virus to your career. No, you've only been free.
[00:06:33] That sinus infection from 2021. Oh, that's me. That was brutal. That was brutal. I need the Jacob. Yeah. Oh. But Jacob Balcos is with us. Thank you. Again, congratulations, Jacob. Man, what a performance. Thanks, Tom. The two of you guys are just phenomenal to watch. So much fun, especially that fifth game of the Open. What the hell happened there?
[00:07:04] We don't see that very much. I mean, that's got to be. That's the greatest Game 5 performance. Yeah. Any World's final has to be. No question about it. And a lot of that has to do with your partner, Eric, who's, what was it, three from the back? Yes. Four. Three, four. Three, four. Wow. Now he's being modest. Okay. Three. Two good ones and one that dropped for him. It doesn't matter. They all count. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:07:33] That first one was a pull kick. I saw it. It was good. It was clean. And then that second one was a top wall slingshot. It was nice. You guys climbed all over him in that fifth game. It was nice. Yeah. It was pretty quick. I was expecting a timeout at that point. Did they call a timeout? They called one at 3-0 after. They did. 3-0. After Eric scored this far wall sling. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You got it. You got it. You got to walk away for a second. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow the roll here. What is going on?
[00:08:05] So here's a quick question for you, Jacob. And I have a feeling you'll be hearing this question a few times. When it comes to finding a goalie, I mean, a really great goalie, is it like trying on a pair of shoes? Because, like, you know. I mean, like, for me, at least, when I'm thinking of, like, I want to play with, a lot of the times, it's more, like, who I'm, like, good friends with and who I think I'll have, like, a good time with. Right. Right.
[00:08:33] And, I mean, it just, like, happens to be, like, that Eric, the best goalie in the world, happens to, like, have been one of my good, you know, closest, like, guys in foosball helping me come up since I was younger. He just happens to be my good buddy and the best goalie ever. And it's, I mean, before this, it was Terry Rue, for God's sake. I mean, there are, you know, how many people of your age can kind of pick and choose like this? I mean, I'm just wondering. Oh, it's great. It's great.
[00:09:02] Yeah. Very, very cool. Well, there aren't a lot of players his age that play at his level. So, I think that's a factor. But you guys played together for the first time. It was a Florida State a few years ago, right? Eric. Yeah, Eric was my first, the first master that I ever played with that ever, like, gave me a shot. It was, like, 2022 or 2023. I can't remember. Wisconsin State. And I was, like, an expert or amateur or whatever I was. And he told me if I made the Open Singles Final that he'd play Florida State with me. And then I somehow made it to the Open Singles Final.
[00:09:33] And I played with my first master at Florida State, which was Eric. Yeah. I remember. I was at that Florida State. Yeah. And then you guys, you guys have actually played a bunch together. But you've never won anything, right? This was your first win, correct? Mm-hmm. Crazy. Was it? Yeah, I guess. Yeah. We made a couple finals. Yeah. We got second in Florida. A couple finals and whatever else. Yeah. Second in Florida. You guys just got second in Florida. Yeah. We got second in Florida twice. Yeah. We got second in Florida once. Okay. Yeah. And didn't do anything at Vegas this year.
[00:10:02] Yeah. Yeah. But that's okay. Would you trade any of those for this? Right? For a second win? No, dude. This is a big one, right? It's all the one. So, this is the one that matters. Yeah. Yeah. It's all a warm-up. It's all a warm-up. Yeah. Wow. This has to be kind of, when you think about it, a little bit of a head game. What did you guys tell yourselves? As soon as you were done, you walked away from the table, you got a quiet moment. What was the first thing you guys did? Eric, you start. What was the first thing you did after the match?
[00:10:32] I ran upstairs, showered off a bunch of Miller Lite that was frosty coal, and changed and came back downstairs because I had to play designated. Oh, so you had another event. Wow. Yeah. Dang. And how'd you do in designated, by the way? Liz asked if I wanted to be done playing, and I said yes. So, we didn't play, and she was okay with that.
[00:11:00] And we, I think, forfeited our way all the way to, like, fifth. Dang. So, we did pretty good. I guess so, for not touching the rods. Jeez. That's, you know, by the way, just a quick aside. There were a couple of people that I met the next day on Monday who said that things were still going at, like, six in the morning. Is that true? Yeah, seven, I think. I think I watched the last match, and it was right around seven. Ooh.
[00:11:30] No, thank you. Just saying. Yeah, but that's kind of par for the course. Yeah, it's, they're running those events. It's rollerball and designated. They're kind of funsy end-of-the-weekend events. That's just kind of what happens. Sure. You know, you're going to be playing at seven in the morning. Yeah, as long, you can assume that's going to be the case. So, Jacob, how about you? As soon as you were done with the match, what did you do? What was your first thing? I mean, I called my dad right away. Yes.
[00:11:59] You know, he wasn't able to be at that one. So I gave him a call right as soon as I got, was able to grab my phone after being basically tackled and got beer all over me. Called him right away. He must be a proud papa right about now. He was happy about it, for sure. No question about it. Wow. Very, very cool, man. That whole feeling of just, we did it. It's, it's, uh, this is, this is the ultimate. Um, where to from here though?
[00:12:29] I mean, next year worlds. Mm-hmm. Next year worlds. When again. If Eric doesn't retire. Retire? Good Lord. It'd be a cool way to, it'd be a cool way to go out. I suppose. I suppose. I mean, he's building, he's kind of busy selling books, so I guess I get it. You know, whatever. That would be a tragedy for the sport. I'm still, I'm still playing. I'm too competitive to not. Yeah. So next year worlds.
[00:13:00] Next year worlds. There you go. There you go. So you, you guys, you guys were the one seed, uh, leading up to the final. You guys had a tough match before the final. Um, anybody else really kind of give you a hard time or was it really just like the, uh, this was a semi-final and then the final. I mean, I was, we were, I was talking to, we talked about it before you got in. Like we kind of, we made a couple matches that shouldn't have been so hard.
[00:13:28] We made it, we made it, we made it a little difficult on ourselves. We went five with Dewey and Marcus, didn't we? Yeah. We went, we, we never, we didn't three straight anyone. Yeah. But Dewey, I mean, he's, he plays me, I think, harder than anybody ever in life. Every time I play him. And Dewey at worlds too is, is different. He put me in a couple of years ago. Yeah. Dewey, Dewey's, I think Dewey's one of the most underrated masters. He's, he's solid.
[00:13:58] He's really solid. Yeah. I mean, we, we went up, we went up to O on them and we're up four, two in the third. It should have been three straight. And then they came back, brought us all the way to a fit. Oh, wow. Okay. No, they're fighters, but no, we, we didn't three straight anybody. We played McCrory and Thomas Rios. That was a tough four. Joel and Leo were a tough four. Yeah. Marcos were a tough five. And then. Brandon, was it Brandon and Brandon? Brandon and Brandon. Yeah. That was over time. And to be honest, I was more worried about that match than I was the finals.
[00:14:27] I was like in, in my head, the whole time I was like, yeah, if we get this one, like I'm, I'm much more confident in the finals against Tommy and Rob versus Brandon and Brandon, to be honest. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, Eric, you, you know, Tommy fairly well. So, you know, was there, and again, I don't know if you guys want to disclose this, but essentially what, like, what was the plan against those guys? I don't know. I mean, I'm, I'm comfortable playing Tommy. Yeah.
[00:14:56] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I kind of knew what his thought was going to be against me. So. Mm-hmm. I'd brag, I'd practice. I, I basically, I practice to play the Brandons and I practice to play Tommy kind of specifically. And the same goes kind of with Tony as well. Basically people who are fast. So people who are fast that have been giving me problems the last, I don't know, couple
[00:15:22] months, I specifically practice certain things to beat that. Hmm. Yeah. So, but playing Tommy and just being comfortable knowing Tommy and whatever, I, I would have, I was fine playing that team. The Brandons, I thought were going to be our, our tougher match. I got it. And then, and then, and then they're going overtime. Right. So, I mean, essentially it was a tougher match. Correct. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:15:49] I mean, when, when Tommy is, is grabbing every single loose ball on the table and, and you, you know, it's coming. I mean, what's, what's his percentage? Does he like to go push side more than pull? Is that, uh, seem to be the case? No, he's, his pull side's his stronger side. Is it really? Okay. Okay. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. He was, he was attacking that pull side. He really, he was going after that pull side.
[00:16:17] Um, he, he, he, he, he hit it. He hit it a bunch, but Eric made good adjustments. You know, it was, um, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was, you know, it almost, it almost seemed like you let them have a couple just to take them away. So, and again, I don't know. It just, I'm just standing there watching, having a good time. So I, I don't, I don't know. I'm not in the final. I'm just watching the final. So, but I know, uh, nationals, Jacob, um, they beat you guys, right?
[00:16:46] You and Brandon, you know, going into this, uh, I, I think, I think Rob blocked you pretty, pretty good at nationals. Like what was the, what was the plan shooting on him this time? Well, um, so I was prepared for the shake defense that he gave me at nationals that like blocked me pretty well. And that was a big reason why they beat us in nationals. Um, and he didn't, he didn't really do that shake defense.
[00:17:11] He did it maybe on a couple of possessions, but even then the whole time it was, it was a different type of defense that I had never seen with them. But, um, going into the match, um, I had a couple of people tell me and like give me good advice and like just thinking to myself, I'm like, Rob knows, you know, I like the pull side, pull sides by stronger side, just to be honest. And so my mindset going into game one was to attack the push side. And I think I scored four push sides or three push sides that game one.
[00:17:42] And it's always nice having people in your corner, like Brandon, like is, he knows me, he knows like how I think and Eric too, they know how I think and like what I like to do and stuff like that. So it's nice to have them in my ear being able to tell me, uh, certain things to do or certain things to try when I'm struggling. That's a really good question. Actually, uh, whose voice is loudest in your, in your, uh, in your head when you're in the middle of something intense like that? Like who's helping me the most? Yeah.
[00:18:10] Like you're the, the, the thing that you're reminding yourself of something you heard from somebody who typically who is the loudest voice? Oh, I mean, it's kind of just honestly myself. I, I, I, you know, I, I motive, like the way I get motivated for some reason is like, like, uh, by being hard on myself. And that's another, that's another reason why I like to play with like Eric so much. And like certain people is because like to fire me up, it's not like giving me motivation and telling me like, Oh, I'm so good.
[00:18:39] It's like telling me how bad I am or how stupid I'm doing. Like for some reason it just, it just works better. It just works better. Is, is my, as my dad, is my dad your coach? Like what is happening right now? We've, we've heard about Randy's dad. He's, uh, he's a nice guy. He's a nice guy. Yeah. I mean, most people like him, but yeah. Anyway. Yeah. No, we, we've heard the story a few times.
[00:19:06] Uh, Mike green, of course, uh, who played with Johnny Horton for, for quite a few matches back in the day. He said when Johnny was, uh, was off his game, he'd pull him aside and call him an asshole. And, uh, that, that got him going. That got him started. You get him all teed off. And then, uh, then he took it out on the other team. So exactly. There you have it. Calibration, calibration word. Okay.
[00:19:31] But, uh, no, it's, it's always interesting to see, uh, when in the middle of a match, when things are going really, I mean, just you're, you're having to bear down. You really, you really, uh, uh, have to work harder. Um, Eric, what, what, uh, what do you do? What, what's your secret? Well, I don't know if it's secret, but what, what do you do to, to, uh, pull yourself out of a funk? Let's say, if you feel like you're getting beat up. Yeah.
[00:19:57] For me, usually if I'm getting, I don't know, someone's, if someone's on me as far as shooting, it's usually can be remedied by either slowing down. Usually it's slowing down because people shoot at my guys. So usually it's slowing it down. And that all I really need is a block or two to kind of get back in a groove. I can look at, I even re rewatch in the, uh, the final, I can look at my defense on camera
[00:20:24] and I could tell, you know, when I'm going to get scored on or not, you know, so it's like, I got to get back and then I'll see the next time, you know, it might look the same. I'll get scored on again. The next time also now here, it's something different trying to, you know, I recognize it pretty quick, but mainly it's usually slowing down. So how important are, are, uh, watching game videos?
[00:20:52] Uh, Jacob, do you, do you watch your yourself on game videos? Well, I, I do, but like being honest and I'll, I'll try, I'll, I'll sit down and I'll turn on a match and I'll be like, okay, I'm going to see what, what I did or how I lost, or I'm going to see what was working and what wasn't working, but I'll, I'll sit down and watch a match and I'll, I'll just watch it to watch. Like a lot of the times I'm not even, not even watching film to, to really break it down. I'm just watching to watch. Sure. Yeah.
[00:21:21] Bray lived the moments. Uh, what we see in real time, of course, in, in, in your own mind, your own, uh, psyche when you're playing is probably slowed down quite a bit. Would that be correct? Oh, sorry. What was that? So if you're, you know, when you're in a moment, the, especially when it comes to those crucial moments, uh, times seems to disappear or slow down. You have that experience? Oh yeah. I mean, uh, in, in big matches, a lot of times, like in the, in the world's final, it's, uh,
[00:21:50] a big thing to like tune out, not really tune out, but you know, just, just get into that flow state where it's like, I'm, I'm only really focused on, on the match rather than, you know, with the crowd, what the people have to say, what the other VIP section has to say is just kind of focusing on, on the match and nothing else. Mm-hmm. That's a factor now. Um, when has there been a VIP section? Is that something relatively new to, uh, to the finals? Yeah. That was the first time it's ever, it's ever been done this year.
[00:22:19] Wow. That's, that's gotta be, uh, at least a challenge for some. Um, now these people are sitting basically on the, on the floor, uh, near the tables. Uh, and can you choose who you want sitting there? Yeah. Yeah. So they, they said we could get 10 people. So me and Eric both chose a few. Nice. Very cool. Well, it's good to have the, good to have the, uh, the, the moral support, but of course the opposing team can do the same thing.
[00:22:47] Um, what is the status when it comes to those two groups of people? Can they get rowdy? My fist fight? Absolutely. Yeah. Um, you were talking about that earlier too. Ryan like allowed, uh, or he sent like a text to all the masters or something like that. And it was like, he, he was basically letting most stuff go for the VIP sections. Like they could talk during the match and during balls and stuff. Wow. Wow. Uh, so I wonder if this is ever to get, get to, uh, get to a fever pitch.
[00:23:17] If there's going to be somebody throwing down, you know, it's like, well, you know, come on, come on. I mean, that, uh, the passion runs high. No question about it. Well, I mean, you're playing for a lot of money too. Oh, you know, that I feel like that's, that's kind of a factor. So, you know, he, he texted all the masters, but he didn't, he didn't text the officials. So it was kind of, he didn't, he didn't. Yeah. We should have probably sent that to everybody.
[00:23:43] Cause I knew about, I knew about that going in that it was kind of like, well, it's going to be anything goes. So, but that stuff doesn't, I don't know. I, I honestly, I don't hear it when I'm playing. Like I, I don't notice the crowd or hear what they're saying. I'll hear every, you know, every now and again, I'll hear something, but I don't really pay attention to it. Trying to just not let stuff rag in on me. Well, it seems like, you know, like when you're playing a, like a local DYP and a,
[00:24:13] you know, let's say if it's in a club, maybe a, uh, uh, I don't know, pub or perhaps a pool hall, this kind of thing. There's usually all kinds of noise going on when you're trying to focus on a foosball game. And, you know, it seems to be at least some of us anyway, have been raised in those situations where, you know, some, some chick is screaming at her boyfriend in the background, whatever. Oh, it's, it's worse than that. Yeah. There's, there's a, there's a place here. I'll go play a local before a tournament just for that specific reason.
[00:24:41] They do karaoke and there's this one girl, I'm not going to say her name. She's not a fooser, but everybody knows her, but she sings the same three songs and they're all off pitch. They're all off time. Oh, and I want to, I want to, I want to throw something at her, but it's, it's hard to focus when she's singing. These boots are made for walking and, uh, and, and, and it's off everything. The timing's off. She can't sing. She's drunk. It's awful. And it's loud.
[00:25:10] Oh, not necessarily in that order, but yeah. Oh, no, it's bad. It's so bad, but it really helps you. It helps you focus. It definitely helps you focus. Yeah. We played, uh, our locals in Milwaukee at one point and they had karaoke the same night that we had our local going on right next to you. Good stuff. So bad. That's yeah. Especially if it's off, off, uh, off key, off pitch. That's yeah. That's no fun. None.
[00:25:39] Um, I've only had that happen once actually. I think it was in New Hampshire at the, uh, uh, the Chinese food place where they used to hold some tournaments. Oh yeah. They had a karaoke thing going on there. And yeah, it was, it was like, man, it was like somebody was being strangled in the back of the room. Like what, what is going on? But I mean, Chinese music is kind of weird. Well, yeah, there's that. Were they singing Chinese music? Were they singing in Mandarin? No, it was, it was, you know, contemporary hits or whatever they were singing, but, uh,
[00:26:07] just, just ripping it apart, just tearing it down. Like, man. In a Chinese restaurant? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Chinese restaurant, bar, club, whatever you want to call it. It was just a kind of an odd place. I mean, the food was halfway decent and, but you couldn't get the smell out of your clothes when you left. So there's always that, but it's worth it to play foosball. That's all I'm saying. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Well. Depends who you ask. Sure. Yeah.
[00:26:36] So overall guys, uh, and again, we'll go with Eric first, but overall, as far as the world foosball tour and the format that's currently, uh, being utilized when it comes to flights and, uh, just the, just the atmosphere, what are you, what are your thoughts? What, uh, you know, feel free to be honest here. What are your thoughts about, uh, the way things are currently? Um, the flight format, I guess, wouldn't be my first pick.
[00:27:04] I don't hate it when it was like it was this year when you have, you know, flight A and B and then into eliminations when they were having flight A on one day and then flight B the next day. And then eliminations that it's like qualified yesterday at, you know, five o'clock and now I'm playing at 5 PM over here the next day, you know, so that, but that seems to be fixed.
[00:27:31] Personally, I'd rather have double elimination, double elimination than the ITSF format, then probably the flight format. Then I don't know. Championship. Everything else. Yeah. Championship, which is, which is. Championships. I'm not a fan of. Yeah. That seems to be, uh, uh, pushed to the back of the bus now. So that's cool. Uh, Jacob, how about yourself? What, uh, what about the, the, just the format and of course the, the, uh, the whole thing, the, uh, the, the tournament itself, how do you feel about it? Yeah, I'm, I'm literally the exact same.
[00:28:00] I, I didn't really like flight. I mean, I, I mean, I hate flight, but I don't really like flight when it's flight A and flight B one day. And then the eliminations the next day, just cause I feel like I would get into like a, you know, a zone. And for example, if I was getting ready for singles, I'd get into that singles. Zone mindset, play three matches, be cold for the next day and then play a tough first round. Um, yeah. In my first round. So I, I think they did good. And I really liked how it was this year when it was, uh, flight A, flight B and then the elimination same day.
[00:28:30] Same day. Yes. Yeah. Yep. I'm also the same. I, I think I like double elimination the best, but, uh, I'm definitely flight. I'm, I'm not mad at it at all. If it's like this, how it was at worlds. Well, I think the, the, the, the great players, including people like Sprademan, uh, have always done well with, uh, with double elimination, you know, that opportunity to come back through the loser's bracket and, uh, and to really, you know, um, obviously turn it on that way.
[00:28:59] Um, I don't know. They're, they're the only disadvantage to double elimination, I guess, is just the, the amount of time it takes. Is that true? Yeah. I mean, I think that's kind of just why I had to go because it would just take too long. Like the open doubles final would have been at 3am or something if it was double elimination, you know? Right. Right. Exactly. Jeez. Well, uh, no, I'm just curious when it comes to, uh, this, this year, uh, when it comes to
[00:29:26] next year, what do you want to see different, uh, besides the format? What, uh, what would you guys like to see, uh, change anything? I don't know. I think actually, I mean, when you even look from 25 to how it was this year, it's improved quite a bit. I mean, I don't know what, what Ryan really has planned going forward, but it's definitely a lot better than it was, uh, a couple of years ago.
[00:29:53] So the format, I mean, whatever format he's got to run, we're all going to still be there and play anyway. But ideally if, I mean, this is the format that he probably has to use. So it works. It's fine. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm the same. I don't, I mean, I don't really, I don't really think of anything that he can do better. I mean, it's, it seems like it's only going up from here where it has been. Yeah. And, uh, he's doing a good job. No, the, uh, go ahead. I'd like to see him go.
[00:30:23] I'd like to see him go back to foos in the ball through the hole. Ooh, there you go. I can't even do it. I can't even do it consistently. It wouldn't affect, it wouldn't affect me at all. Me either. It changes everything though. A lot of these young guys have never had to do it. They'd have to learn how to do it. Right. I can't even imagine on a four, four ball having to serve. That's what I mean, dude. Four, four ball. See somebody. Great to the other teams. Straight to the other team. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can't do that. I can't do it.
[00:30:49] Well, as far as the format, like this year, I think the reason the finals, especially on Sunday night played out so late, like they, I even heard Ryan say like they were going to prioritize women's doubles and open doubles. And they really did. But some of the matches just ran really long. Yeah. So, and that's why the finals ended up playing late. But I definitely agree with you guys as far as like doing the flights in consecutive, like in consecutive order and then doing the elimination. It makes a huge difference.
[00:31:16] I mean, they, they never, never in the history of, of tournament foosball, as long as I've been involved, have they started an event, an open doubles event on the same day and ended it on the same day. And tell me if I'm wrong, but. ITSF Texas. Yeah. That's right. That's. Yeah. I've never been to one of those, but I mean, I understand those they're, they're a little different in the format, but. Right. And, and I mean, that's, that's, that's pretty new, right, Eric?
[00:31:46] I mean, that's the only event that's going on. That's correct. That's the only way that they can do that. And just the, with not having 8 billion, uh, you know, different events. Conflicts. Yeah. They're not going to get that many people to them. So you have kind of a smaller amount of people and there's no other events going on. So that's why they could do it. To me, that's honestly, I think that's the only event that's going on.
[00:32:12] It's the absolute best, but it doesn't cater to, uh, really U.S. foosball business model, I guess you could say. Yeah. Or having the most, most people possible playing events. Yeah. You know? Yeah. That's, uh, kind of the philosophy. And, you know, understandably there, there's, uh, there's the money factor. You know, we have to, uh, of course now we've got sponsors. Go figure. And, uh, some pretty, pretty darn good sponsors, no doubt.
[00:32:38] Now I've got to ask you guys the question because you had, uh, both of you had t-shirts, uh, that you sold, uh, advertising on. Uh, first of all, Jacob, how did that work out for you? Would you sell all the spots in your, on your, uh, jersey? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I thought that was a really cool thing. Uh, you know, people can support me as well as getting their, their logos and their brands. Yeah. A little bit of publicity. Hopefully if I, if I can do good in any events, but I thought it was a good little thing that they did. Yeah.
[00:33:08] Very, very cool. And it's, I mean, it's an extra, a few bucks in your pocket, no less. Um, Eric, how about yourself? How do you feel about the sponsor thing? Do you sell out on your, your t-shirt? That wasn't, no, I didn't have that. Oh. That was only for, uh, uh, what do you call it? Little kids. Oh, I see. Top 10. Top 10. Top 10. Top 10 combined. Top 10. Oh, my bad. Okay. Well, I thought. Open doubles world champ was not in the top 10 last year.
[00:33:37] Well, I mean, he's only the best goalie in the business. I think I was number three in doubles or four in doubles, but no single points, so I get a great dog. Interesting. Well, eventually I'm sure that'll change, right? That'll have to, uh, we'll have to adjust for that. No, it should be the same. I would imagine. Okay. All right. He just has to start. He's just going for a singles world title next year. No. No interest. I figured out, I figured out what I can do. Okay.
[00:34:07] I'm just going to kind of keep doing this. There you go. Yeah. Well, the, the, the payday, I mean, the, um, the cash, they had it kind of piled up there on the, on the, on the end of the, uh, of the, uh, the viewpoint of the, of the arena. And we kept seeing camera shots of this stack of money. Now, what was the denomination? What was it like? 10s? 20s? What do they, what do they have there? What was it? That was a bunch of ones. A ones? That was 20,000 singles. 20,000 singles. Oh.
[00:34:36] A stripper's dream, Tom. Um, what do you do with 10,000 singles? I mean, that's, do you carry it on the plane? I mean, what? You leave it there and you tell them to sell you. Exactly. Yeah. I was going to say, uh, if you're, you're, you're going through TSA with a stack of 10,000 ones, there's going to be kind of like, uh, excuse me, but, um, yeah. Where did you sell your drugs? You know, what's, what's going on here?
[00:35:06] Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha. But have a seat in this room over here while we talk to you. Exactly. Exactly. Hey, it looks great for the camera though. I mean, man, there's a, Eric, there's a shot of you in, in, uh, one of the, one of the pages of, uh, of Facebook with, uh, at the end of the championships, holding up these two bricks of, of, of cash. It's like, damn, look at that. Yeah. Those photos are nice. That's what they're sick. So how much does 10,000? They got some good ones.
[00:35:35] Those, I think those, uh, what you call it? I think the plastic wrapped ones, I think those were like four grand each or something like that. Oh, got it. Okay. So separately, separately wrapped, but that stack. A lot of ones. Yeah. A lot of ones. That's a lot of ones, man. A lot of ones. But, uh, hey, you know, you never have to worry about, uh, tipping your waitress ever again. But, uh, hey, um, I gotta say though, it's, uh, it's, it's exciting. I know the money is certainly part of it.
[00:36:03] How much is, how much of that is important to you too? Uh, Jacob, how much is, how important is the money for you? I mean, you know, you know, I'm a broke college student, so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's pretty, it was a pretty nice, pretty nice, successful weekend. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I mean, uh, the world title is pretty cool, you know? No, I'm just kidding. The world title is the best part, of course, but the 10 grand, I'll never complain. There you go. Eric, how about yourself? Same.
[00:36:32] I mean, yeah, money's, the money's cool and I like that it pays what it pays. Uh, I don't know. World title is what was important. That's it. That's the thing. Yeah. Yeah. You'd be playing just as hard just for the title, for sure. Uh, that's, uh, truly. And you guys, I love those, those hats, the world champion hats. Those are, those are awesome. Yeah. They're, they're pretty nice. It's got the little, uh, 2026 OD on the side of it. They're pretty, they're pretty, they're pretty nice hats. There's, there's only a couple of those available, I take it. And you got them both.
[00:37:02] So, um, wow. I, you know, I, one of the things that's remarkable about the, the location where we play, it of course was the, the Hyatt Regency, just a huge place. And, uh, and it seemed like there was quite a distance, uh, to go, you know, when you go back to your room. Uh, in fact, um, I, I've heard of at least one or two people, uh, that were back in their room briefly and got called up to a match suddenly. And they only had six minutes to get from their room to the, to the, to the, uh, tournament.
[00:37:32] Um, do you guys have any of that issue at all? Did you have any, uh, any problems with that? I mean, nothing can be worse than Vegas in my opinion. Vegas is, Vegas is bad. They won, uh, the one Kalahari we played at, you just couldn't do that. It was just too far away. Right. You know, the place, the place was just huge, you know, and you had to walk the whole thing to get there. So, yeah, but, uh, yeah, nothing's as bad as Vegas. I didn't think it's, it never really crossed my mind.
[00:38:02] Yeah. Me neither. Cool. Yeah. I think the elevator system at the Hyatt Regency was pretty, pretty nifty. It seemed to work out pretty well. You don't have to wait for very long. Where is the Westgate? You could be standing there for 15 minutes waiting for the damn elevator. So yeah, that's a pretty, uh, pretty interesting. No, uh, in New Orleans, did you guys get out? Did you out and hang out in the city? No. I walked two doors down to a seafood place. Yeah.
[00:38:27] No, we went, uh, we ended up going over to Caesars and gambled a little bit before we got on a flight and we took off. But other than that, no. I've seen, I've seen New Orleans before. I'm good. Jacob, how about you? I know. I didn't really get out, uh, too much on the bourbon or anything like that. Yeah. I mean, Bourbon Street is okay. It's a, it's, it's pretty touristy. There's a lot going on, you know, especially when it's a holiday weekend like that, there's a lot going on.
[00:38:57] But, you know, you've been there once, you've been there twice, whatever. That's good. You know, um, there's a, I got the inside track by the way. Uh, it's called Frenchman Street. Great. And so that's where the, the actual locals in New Orleans go to see music. And, and man, that was a great, a great piece of advice. Uh, Tony Toco, in fact, of the, from the restaurant. Tony. Yeah. Yeah. He turned me on to that. And man, there was some amazing music. I don't know how much you guys are into that, but it's, it just, to me, it made the trip.
[00:39:27] It was just, uh, so cool. But, uh, New Orleans, man, it's a, it's a scene. And so, uh, let's take a poll here. Uh, Randy, New Orleans for 2027. Yes or no? Um, I hope so. Okay. It's five hours for me. The hotel's nice. Um, I mean, you know, the venue's great. The room is good size. I mean, everything about it's nice. Where would they go? What, what's the option? Yeah. Good question.
[00:39:57] Oh, I mean. Beach, Lexington. A hundred percent. Dang straight. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I mean, it's, it's, it's been working. Just keep doing, if it ain't broke. So yeah, I'm, I'm good with that. Yeah. Yeah. Eric, where, where, what would, what would you prefer as far as, uh, you know, cities? Oh, I mean, I'm fine with it. Where would I pick? I don't know. Here. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have to go anywhere. Home. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:40:27] Birmingham. Birmingham, Alabama. Let's go. Oh man. And Jacob, what do you think of, uh, cities like New Orleans? Do you think that's a good place for the venue? Oh yeah. I mean, I like it. You know, it's a great hotel. I think the fact that it's in New Orleans is going to get a few more people in. I mean, it's, it's two hours away from where I am right now. So I can't complain. Yeah. No doubt about it. Man. Wow. So, uh, let's talk about the ladies. We haven't talked about the ladies at all.
[00:40:55] I think that they're, you know, inappropriate. So inappropriate. Well, come on, come on. Why would you say it was inappropriate? Foosball. Oh. Oh, foosball. Not the ladies in New Orleans. Oh yeah. The final, the final, the, yeah. So think about it. The, nobody who won last year, won this year, except the mix. The mix final. That was it. So, I mean, Tony obviously won his like 18th singles final, but we had new, new winners
[00:41:22] in every event outside of mix and singles. I mean, you know, Linda Lee is, is fierce. She's just, just, uh, she's full of surprises. She's got such a solid game and of course she's got, you know, Hannah back in her up. I mean, that's, that's a really tough combo, even for somebody like Isabel and Sullivan. I mean that, come on. That, that was a really big battle. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Are you, were you guys surprised at all of the, of the outcome?
[00:41:53] I mean, we saw Sully and Isabel win last year and then Hannah and Linda won nationals this year. So I think it was going to be pretty 50, 50 in my head. Yeah. That's a coin flip. And all those, I don't know. The scene, I don't know if I've ever watched a women's final that wasn't basically like that. Hmm. You know, it could go, it could go either way, but it's always, you know, I don't know, hard fought match, whatever, I guess you want to call it.
[00:42:23] It's always close. Like you never see a women team blow out another woman team. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Now what, I, I, I slipped my mind, but I was wondering what, uh, what was the, the first prize for, uh, for women's doubles? What, what was that, uh, where did it come out? It was, uh, $2.50 in a table. Yeah. Yeah. $2, $250 in a table. It might've been $3.50 a table. Yeah. Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Hmm.
[00:42:53] So basically 2,500 bucks each, something like that, which. Yeah. I mean, I guess it's better than it has been. Yeah. Okay. Wow. Um, me personally, I'm, I mean, I'm just throwing, throwing stuff here, but I, I think maybe that, that should come up a little bit. Just. I don't know. Maybe. Well, I mean, uh, I think a couple of years ago was like 600 bucks or something or 800 bucks for first. Okay. Yeah. It was, it was something like that. It was something that was pretty low. Hmm.
[00:43:23] Yeah. To me, it's like the type of thing where it definitely could go up and like, that would be a great thing, but it's definitely gone up a lot from what it has been. And that's the important part. Right. Right. So they're, they're working on it. So it is, it is coming up. Oh yeah. All right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, like Isabel, Isabel won a table for women's angles. They gave away a lot of tables this year. Most of the events gave away tables, got tables. So, um, I mean that, that was, that was a great final.
[00:43:50] I feel like, I feel like Sully, Sully just couldn't get it going on her three rod this weekend for some reason. Yeah. You know, and that, and that was kind of a, that was kind of a fact. I mean, in the doubles final, she shot the ball fairly well, but, um, that was, I think that was the main difference. I was actually kind of wondering why they didn't switch because Isabel, Isabel was playing good foosball. I mean, they both played great. They all played great, but it's just, you know, these teams, they all know each other so well.
[00:44:18] It's like, you know, what are you going to do? What are you going to do? It's, uh, you know, Hannah and of course, uh, Sully and Hannah's blocking Sully. Sully. And as long as you're aware of that, you can get in front of their shot. And I think that's what, what Hannah does for sure. Well, well, think about the women's singles final.
[00:44:48] Sullivan scored, I think three goals off her three rod, but none of them were set. They were all pickups. Like Isabel, Isabel essentially shut her three rod down and she was still in the match. It was five, four, five, four. And then she won the third game. Like if she had scored one goal off her three rod, it might've changed the whole match. Right. So, um, just things like that to keep in mind. I mean, she was in the match the whole time, but it kind of, it was almost like she was playing from behind.
[00:45:15] If she just, if she would have scored one goal, one goal off her three rod, like one push or maybe switch to her pull, who knows? But I mean, Isabel, Isabel played great. You know, she won her first singles or her first world, world championship. And then, um, Linda, Linda and Hannah just, they were just tough, man. That's, that's just a tough team for anybody. Not even like women's doubles. That's just a, that's just a tough team.
[00:45:39] So yeah, just, just, uh, yeah, not never going to give up, uh, you know, to the very, very end. And that's the spirit they both have for sure. They're so intensive, intensive competitive, um, which is what this is all about, man. I got to say this, uh, this, it just seemed like this, uh, this, this particular event went so quickly. Um, like, uh, I landed, arrived, set up the stuff and then it was over. Like, damn, what just happened?
[00:46:07] Um, but, but a lot of fun, I gotta say for sure. Really good times. And, uh, great to, great to hang out with, uh, with folks once again, of course, that's, that's one of the biggest parts of being in a, at a foosball tournament. So let's talk about 2027. What's, uh, what's the, what's on the agenda? Eric, what do you, what do you have planned? What, where are you going to go next? I don't know. No plans. I got to go to Wisconsin to play with Paul and worlds to play with this kid and everything
[00:46:37] else. We'll see. Okay. Got it. So just kind of take it as it comes. Um, so I'm quick, I'm just a quick question for you, Erica, when it comes to being the top goalie in America, you probably have a laundry list of people saying, Hey dude, would you, would you consider playing, you know, uh, my goal for me? I mean, this must happen on a regular basis. Just give me an idea. How often do you hear that? Never, never, never. Come on.
[00:47:04] No, I got a couple of people that I play with and that's usually kind of it. Gotcha. Interesting. Okay. Jacob, how about you? What's up for 2027? What's, uh, what's on the agenda? Oh, I'm kind of, to be honest, the same, like I'll probably able to play as much as I have been in like this year in the past couple of years, but I got TKO with Terry worlds there, but I'm kind of getting into more of the, the important years of, of school.
[00:47:30] So I'm not too sure what my schedule and availability is going to look like next year, but I mean, I hope to hit at least all the majors and you're a full schedule at school currently. Yeah. Yeah. What's your, what's your area of study by the way? Uh, radiology. Oh, that's right. Yeah. I think you had, you had mentioned that before. Um, yeah. So the medical field yet again, I mean, how many of the foosball players that are at the top of the field are for some reason in that, uh, that echelon? Go figure.
[00:47:59] Uh, Blake Robertson, Sullivan Rue, Terry Rue. I mean, seems to be a thing. Sure. Yeah. I mean, you'll always have a job. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Right. Yeah. What, uh, what part of the world do you think you want to settle in there? Uh, Jake, Jacob, do you think you want to be, uh, in, in the South for the most part or where do you want to go? Uh, you know, I'm not too sure, you know, anything can happen in these next few years.
[00:48:27] So there's not really no telling to be honest yet. Hmm. Hard to say. Yeah. Yeah. Especially when you've got a, such a great scene nearby when it comes to playing foosball. That's, uh, that's, that's gotta be a, a, a big factor in deciding. Uh, yeah. I mean, it's definitely nice now, but, uh, I don't know if that's going to play the biggest factor in, in where I end up after school, but I mean, it, it'll definitely be nice to, to have a scene wherever I go. Right.
[00:48:55] It sounds like Jacob's gone through media training. Doesn't it sound like, like all the answers are just, they're so well practiced. They're such good answers. He is polished. I have to say. Yeah. I have to say. Very well polished. Good, good answers, buddy. All good answers. Lots of words, no real answers. Correct. Yeah. Sorry. That sounds a lot like politics to me. I'm just saying, you know, maybe, maybe. Hey, well polished. That's what they do with media training.
[00:49:24] Maybe there's a Senate race going on here. We don't know about yet. I'm just saying. Professional, professional, professional athletes, Tom, you should know this. They go through media training. So. That's true. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Maybe they should do that for podcast hosts too. I don't know. Just saying. Uh, I'm not doing it. Oh, man. Well, first of all, guys, this, this is incredible. And, and congratulations. This is such an incredible victory.
[00:49:52] And man, we just love watching you play. Absolutely. Appreciate it. Thanks guys. It's a, we're going to see it happen again. I have a funny feeling. Just, just saying. Uh, and, and hopefully, you know, with this, this, uh, now here's the thing. You've got the, the greatest combos of all time. You got, uh, of course, McMillan and Gummison, uh, Fureen Wiswell, uh, Spraydeman and Maris. Are you guys going to go down as one of those, one of those, uh, pairs of foosball players?
[00:50:22] You know, hopefully. It'd be nice. Why not? There you go. World title is a good start. There it is. Yep. Absolutely. Uh, and we'll go from there. Um, anything you guys want to mention about your, your experience? Anything that, uh, that, uh, of note that you thought, hmm, here's something I didn't expect. Anything surprising? Eric, you go first. No, not really. But this is about what I expected going into it.
[00:50:51] And it was kind of the result that I expected coming out. There you go. There you go. That's what happens when you're the one seed, Tom. It just is what it is. It just is what it is. And the odds makers are saying it's even money. What can I tell you? You know? Hey, it just is what it is. And Jacob, how about yourself? But, uh, what surprised you? Anything? No, I mean, I'm kind of, kind of the same way. That's what I expected. That's what I hoped for. And it's what happened. So.
[00:51:19] Is there visualization involved here? What's going on with this? I mean, definitely for me. I mean, I was, I was going into the weekend and the months before thinking, you know, this is my, this is, this is my year where I can really make a good run and win this thing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm also, I'm also curious when you were first coming up, when you first got into this, uh, what, uh, just post COVID, correct? When you first started playing really? Yeah. 2021.
[00:51:48] Did you visualize this, uh, this event being, being number one in the, in the, the world championships? No, probably not. I mean, um, like growing up and stuff, I, I guess the goal was always to, to, to hit master. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But, uh, I hit that and I guess world worlds was the next goal. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, ultimately, you know, that's the road, but, um, now along the way, you know, was
[00:52:17] there ever a point where you said, screw this? I'm out. I'm done. This is, this is not for me. Any, any, any doubts along the way like that? Uh, yeah, there was, there was a time when, I mean, I was just kind of getting like, uh, bored, I guess. Okay. It was like, I would rather spend my time, you know, doing, doing stuff with my friends and, you know, have like living life outside of foosball more was more important to me than to foosball.
[00:52:43] But at the end of the day, I got through it and foosball is always going to be here. Nice. Nice. We're happy to hear that by the way, because, uh, we always worry and we've seen it here in our own scene, you know, with, uh, with Sammy Dijon, he doesn't like to be called Sammy. Sorry. Sam Dijon. Uh, there was a point of, you know, it is, uh, his teens, 15, 16. We thought, well, we're going to lose this guy because he's, uh, he's got other things going on. He's got other interests. He likes to play baseball, et cetera.
[00:53:10] But no, I think he's, uh, he's going to stick around a little longer than we, we expected. So we're, we're happy for that. And we're, we're happy that you're sticking around as well. Uh, do you remember those days when you used to play Sam and you guys would go back and forth when it, especially when it came to pro singles? Oh yeah. Yeah. Sam was like, uh, when I was in pros and competing in pros, Sam was always like right there and like my, uh, I guess pro rival. And I was him and Ken mostly. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Can Dale.
[00:53:41] I mean, that dude used to give it to me every weekend, bro. Oh, that dude used to just toss me around in pro singles. Uh, is that, is that why, is that why you got them deported, bro? Is that why? Bro. Yeah. You called him in. It was the only way to start winning pro singles. Hey, whatever it takes. You know what I'm saying? Ken disappeared. Ken disappeared and you took off, bro. It's crazy. There's a pattern, you know. Yeah.
[00:54:10] We miss you, Ken Dale. We miss you, buddy. Yeah. Yeah. We do miss him, Murat. That's for sure. We, we've had some pretty interesting conversations on Mike, uh, Ken and I, and, uh, he's out there. We got into visualization, pretty heavy duty with him. He, uh, he, he really, uh, he has a, he's a big believer of that stuff. So, but, uh, anybody else we want to talk about tonight? Um, I got to say, gotta give a shout out to Mike and Tony. Mike and Tony. Nice.
[00:54:40] What's up gang? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Those guys, uh, the, of course, uh, we got to get those guys on, on air sometime soon. Uh, Tony Spiderman since he's been back has been difficult to nail down, but we'll get them. We'll get them on the air one of these days for sure. But, uh, yeah, looking forward to that. Um, Randy, what do you, what do you got for me? You want to, you want to, you want to wrap this thing or what? Nah, I mean, um, thanks for coming on guys. Obviously great run. Congratulations on your, on your title.
[00:55:10] Huge achievement. Obviously, uh, proud of both of you. And it was great to, great to watch. And, uh, you know, I'm thankful I, I could be a part of it. So, uh, yeah. Looking forward to seeing you guys out losing. Jacob, uh, looking forward to seeing you in Louisiana, buddy. And, uh, thanks for coming on. Yeah, Randy. Yeah. Thanks guys. Thanks for having us. And thanks for the congrats. Absolutely. Appreciate it. Yeah. Eric, it's, uh, it's great to, it's great, great to have you back again.
[00:55:36] Uh, how are things going with, uh, with, uh, your full-time job when it comes to, uh, being the, uh, the author? Uh, I put out a book about two weeks ago and I got another one coming out in maybe three weeks or so. Man. Good night. Good night. He's like Stephen King of foosball for God's sake. What is up with that? I'm just saying. My, I can't, my brain, I, dude. Wow. Yeah. You must go, you must, you must got a lot going on up there, buddy. That's all I'm saying. Think of a different way to kill somebody.
[00:56:06] That's all you got to do. I can, I can think of like, I got like four different ways. If you can turn that into something. I was going to say, Randy's got some inspiration for you. He's got some, uh, some, some clues for sure. I guarantee you he's written about every way I can think of killing somebody. So. Wow. Well, uh, guys, again, thanks so much for being with us. It's always a blast to talk to you both and, uh, we see, we'll see on the road. I'm sure. I know for, uh, for Foos Talk Live, Foosball Radio will be at the Great Lakes Classic coming
[00:56:36] up, uh, can't make it to Louisiana state, although that, that would be something we'd like to do soon, but I'm sure we'll see you in, in 2027 at the very least. Cool. For sure. Yep. All right. Well, once again, Eric Helter and Jacob Balkos, world champions for 2026 at the, uh, World Foosball Tour World Championship in New Orleans. Uh, congratulations once again. Thanks guys. All right. And, uh, stick around now.
[00:57:06] Now we've got coming your way next. We have, uh, Foos Talk Live's Tournament Beats. Thanks for tuning in. Time now for the Foos Talk Live Tournament Beats brought to you in part by foosgadgets.com. Using technology to create a better foosball experience. And by Boise Foosworks. High fidelity refurbished foosballs. Professional foosball is a game of precision. A matter of accuracy. Consistency. Boise Foosworks presents the high fidelity refurbished foosball.
[00:57:36] Meeting the highest tornado ball standards, high fidelity foosballs are soft, quiet, with a true roll, and good durability. Exchange your balls for the high fidelity foosball at the best price with a money back guarantee. Contact Mike Veidt on Facebook Messenger or look for him at your next tour stop. Boise Foosworks. Saving the planet one ball at a time.
[00:58:00] Since 2019, Foos Gadgets has used innovative ideas to build foosball training tools and accessories. Their goal is to make your foosball practice more fun and effective. Hey, Foosers. The Foos Gadgets Speed Bridge is a great tool for all of you practice-aholics out there like I am. From the Foos Gadgets Speed Bridge to the Tornado Gold Guard to the Gold Guard Plus. Visit the site for a great selection and pricing. Foos Gadgets.com using technology to create a better foosball experience.
[00:58:31] Foosball tournaments are everywhere. Foos Talk Live proudly presents a weekly update of events near you with the Foos Talk Live Tournament Beat. Here's what's up. Get ready for the fourth annual U-Bird Championships of Foosball. Great Lakes Classic Warm-Up Saturday, October 3rd at River Rock Lanes, Ishpeming, Michigan.
[00:58:54] The John Sniper Jellison Memorial Foosball Tournament is being held Saturday, October 3rd at Eddie's Tavern, San Antonio, Texas. Here comes the 2026 Great Lakes Classic Regional Championship. October 15th through the 18th at the Doubletree Inn by Hilton, Grand Rapids, Michigan. OKC Foos Presents. The OKC Halloween Open Foosball Championship 2026.
[00:59:22] October 30th through November 1st. Mr. Seas. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The North Carolina State Championships. Scheduled for November 26th through the 29th. More details soon to be released. It's the 20th annual 2026 Louisiana State Championships, December 3rd through the 6th at the Holiday Inn, Metairie, Louisiana.
[00:59:45] Looking ahead to 2027, the World Foosball Tour presents the tour kickoff, February 4th through the 7th. Location details coming soon. The World Foosball Tour presents the 2027 Hall of Fame Classic, April 7th through the 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada. More exciting details soon to come. Each week, we do our best to give you the most up-to-date listing of foosball tournaments near you.
[01:00:12] If you have an event you'd like to add, send us all the details at foosballradio at gmail.com. Tune in every week for the Foos Talk Live Tournament Beat. The Foos Talk Live Tournament Beats is brought to you in part by foosgadgets.com. Using technology to create a better foosball experience. And by Boise Foos Works, high-fidelity refurbished foosball. Foos Talk Live is a product of Foosball Radio.
[01:00:42] With gratitude, we recognize our Foosball Radio Patreons. Our Foos Talk Live sponsor, original-leonhart-usa.com. Tune in again next week for another episode of Foos Talk Live. In the meantime, we'll see you at Foosin'.