The ninth annual Halloween Foosball Tournament is only 40 days away, thus, here is a rundown of things to look forward to in what promises to be another historic Foosball extravaganza.
COREY'S DRIVE FOR FIVE: Last year was supposed to be the end of an era as Corey Pinkham announced his intention to move to Florida and retire from the Halloween Foosball Tournament. Corey's retirement came at about the same time the legendary Roger Clemens was wrapping up his Hall of Fame career. It seemed like the perfect storybook ending for Corey as he defeated arch-rival Greg in the finals of the 2003 tournament to win his record 4th Halloween Foosball Tournament. Well just like the Rocket, Humperdink's retirement was put on hold and he fully intends to win it all again this year. If he does, Corey will increase his record number of HFT championships to 5. While Corey does hold most of the Halloween Foosball Tournament championships, there are a few more that he can add to his resume in 2004. Corey needs to win 1 more to tie, and 2 to pass, Greg's record for consecutive wins. Greg won the first 8 games of his career before losing to Corey in 1998. Corey currently has 7 wins in a row, with his last loss coming in the 2001 semi-finals to Jim. Corey also will be playing in the doubles tournament looking for redemption after last year's first round loss to Joey and Nelly. Corey has once again hinted that if he were to win this year's tournament he would indeed retire from the Halloween Foosball Tournament.
STEVE LOOKS TO REBOUND: By almost all accounts, Steve had a poor showing in 2003. His doubles team was eliminated in the first round and he didn't fare much better in the singles as he lost to Nicky in the quarterfinals, missing the final four for the first time since 1998. His performance also more or less put to rest the old notion that Steve was a lock to do well in odd years and only struggle in even ones.
NEW SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS: With Corey holding every statistical advantage over him except for total wins, Greg's lengthy reign as the #1 seed in the Halloween Foosball Tournament (usually due to the GregPoll Rankings) is now over. The defending champion will enter the 2004 Tournament as the #1 seed. Greg, who has made it to three straight finals, has a solid grip on the #2 spot. That switch could have a major impact on this year's final four. If Steve is able to bounce back and return to the semi-finals, he won't be facing Greg for a 7th time....but instead could potentially face Corey for the first time since the 2000 finals. Jim and Greg have advanced to every single final four, but if that streak continues, they will meet for only the second time in the history of the tournament and the first time ever in the semi-finals. The potential for these rarely seen matches to finally be revisited could make this year's semi-finals the most intriguing in history. (Corey was the #1 seed and Greg #2 in 2001, however, at that time Jim was #4 and Steve was #3, so Corey still faced Jim and Greg still faced Steve in the semi-finals)
THE POTENTIALLY BIGGEST TOURNAMENT FIELD IN HISTORY: Its hard to believe that just two years ago, the Halloween Foosball Tournament had to revert to having byes in the first round of the tournament for the first time since 1997. Now in 2004, there is a serious chance that as many as 25 or more competitors will take part in the tournament. Last year's tournament was missing many regulars including Wilson Rith and Derek Cassie. Also players such as CK Mulenga and Mark Trout were at the site, but left before the actual singles tournament. Despite all that there was still a preliminary match to get the field down to 16. Add to the that the rumored likely return of the Casserly brothers, and the HFT could have over 20 players in it even without any newcomers. And yes, there are several rookies who could be making their debut in '04.
THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF THE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT: It could be said that the doubles tournament in 2003 outshined the more prestigious singles tournament. When the Halloween Foosball Committee approved the formation of the doubles tournament in 2001, it was hoped that it would be a more wide open tournament with a lot of upsets--In 2003 that hope came true. The 2004 Doubles Tournament will easily be the most anticipated edition yet as everyone will want to see if Corey and Steve can reclaim their title, will Nick and Kyle repeat, or will it be another team coming out of nowhere again?
