Hacker Cinema
Foosballers
2019 · Film · documentary · 96 min
Directed by Joe Heslinga
Most people know foosball as the game they used to play in their parent's basement, but for some die-hard fans, foosball isn't just a game... it's a way of life. Enter the underground world of professional foosball, a sport that's been around for over 40 years but no one knows exists. Through an ensemble cast, FOOSBALLERS not only uncovers a forgotten piece of sports history, it follows 6 of the best table soccer players in the world as they prepare for the sport's most prestigious event, The Tornado World Championships.
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1 comment on Hacker News
It's a speciality of the Tornado tables which are mostly used in the US. It was introduced as a cost saving measure, because four additional figures are cheaper than a curved playing surface.
The curved corners in a traditional table are of course necessary to avoid the ball being dead in the corners. With three players you don't need a curved corner and can still always get the ball.
Here is a video of the ITSF world cup, where you can see that there is just a single goalie on every side: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vnrAIOWDwo&pp=ygUOaXRzZiB3b3JsZCBjdXA%3D
There is actually a quite interesting documentary out there which tells the rise and fall of foosball in the US which is tightly coupled with the company behind the Tornado tables if I remember correctly. I saw it on Youtube a while a ago, but could not find it now. Might have been "Foosballers" but I am nit sure.