Foosball Players Competing

Thursday, November 8th 2007, 10:29 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa this week hosts the Pro Foosball Tour. The News On 6â€™s Rick Wells reports foosball players from all over the country will be in Tulsa to play foosball for money. The tournament is underway near I-44 and Yale. It will feature four days of fast foosball playing.

Rex Bennett is the tournament director. He says there are professional foosball players. In fact, a pro tour of sorts is what Tulsa is hosting.

"Some playing for money. Some playing for fun and trophies,â€ said Rex Bennett.

Mike Sutterfield and Gregory Ward love to play and are good enough to play for money, not a lot of money. They say you have to keep your day job.

"If I make $400 or $500 that would be good for my wife. I give her all my money," said Gregory Ward, foosball player.

That way, he says, she lets him play almost as much as he wants. The tournaments sometimes have them traveling out of town.

â€œI've been to Colorado, Kentucky, Atlanta. All over wherever the tour takes us that's where we go,â€ said Mike Sutterfield, foosball player.

For the players the game is pretty serious stuff. At a tournament, they could play for up to 12 hours each day. It isnâ€™t rec center foosball. They have a strategy.

â€œIt's a chess game once you get to the professional level,â€ said Gregory Ward, foosball player.

There are different offenses and defenses a player can employ to get the best of an opponent. Rod handles can get slippery during a game. Some players wrap them with grip tape so they move the way you want.

Play continues through Sunday at the Holiday Inn Select at I-44 and Yale.

Watch the video: Foosball Battle Underway

For more information on the Pro Foosball Tour, click here.