LawMed 2017: Foosball

tl;dr law won 6-1.

This year’s LawMed foosball was almost as scintillating as the men’s football game in which our young lads led by Athletics Director Josiah Tham beat Medicine 1-0 the day before. In fact, it was probably more exciting. It was non-stop excitement the entire afternoon at BTC with 5 men’s doubles matches and 2 mixed doubles matches, and each match a best of three.

 

Match 1 — Eugene Oh and Jaron Chui vs Med Pair 1: 7-10, 10-5, 10-2 (W)

To kick things off we had retiring year 4 pair Eugene and Jaron showing Medicine and the law juniors how foosball is done. They were off to a nervy start, amidst shouts and gasps in equal measure from supporters of both sides. Despite fighting valiantly, nerves got the better of them, and down they went in their first set.

Shrugging off the early nerves, Eugene and Jaron hit back with a convincing 10-5 victory and sealed the third set with an emphatic 10-2 win. 4 years of lounge experience paid off, and rumour has it Medicine’s first pair’s names would have been under the table after the last set, but for the graciousness of our retiring year 4 pair. Classy. Don’t bah. Law 1, Med 0.

 

Match 2: Jonathan Trachsel and Fabian Terh vs Med Pair 2: 6-10, 10-6, 9-10 (L)

Our strongest pair of the day went down in a shock defeat, losing in sudden death in their third set. In a series of matches that resembled pinball more than foosball, it was tough for our boys to settle in. Medicine had obviously thought through their gameplan. After going behind 6-9 in the third set, Jonathan MoTM Trachsel turned up the heat to claw team Law back to a sudden death 9-9 finish. Unfortunately, our resident foosball king was distracted by the spider that crawled onto the foosball table near his right hand, the momentary lapse costing them possession and consequently the match. That wasn’t the end of their day though. Law 1, Med 1.

 

Match 3: Jonathan Trachsel and Hannah Heng vs Med Pair 3: 10-4, 10-4 (W)

Score speaks for itself. Hell hath no fury like a Trachsel who just lost a game of foosball. Some described the first mixed-doubles match of the day as “bruising”, some called it “savage”, and one Medicine onlooker was overheard saying “eh the ball damn fast ah”. Yes. The ball is fast, but Trachsel is faster. Happy birthday Hannah! Law 2, Med 1.

 

Match 4: Joshua Foo and Kenneth Ng vs Med Pair 4: 9-10, 10-5, 10-5 (W)

Taking after their seniors Eugene and Jaron, Josh and Kenneth decided to throw the first set. Going behind 2-9 in a mere 2 minutes, the pair did well to claw themselves back to 9-9, yet it was too little too late. First set to medicine. But all’s well that ends well. This would be the last time Josh and Kenneth played LawMed together, and they surely made it count. They made quick work of medicine pair 4 in the second set, before completing the final chapter in their short story of redemption. Kenneth “Kena” Ng even cheekily snuck in a dummy shot that absolutely bamboozled Medicine’s keeper. Rumour has it the keeper is still looking for the ball. Law 3, Med 1.

 

Match 5: Samuel Ling and Hao Zhi vs Med Pair 5: 10-3, 9-10, 10-9 (W)

Samuel Ling has got to be the hero the foosball table needs, but not the one it deserves. It was thus also apt that it would be Sam and partner nailing the victory for Law after driving 3 nails into the foosball table 1 hour earlier for necessary reinforcement. Another day of work for uncle Sam, another victory for Team Law. Sam and Hao Zhi even treated the audience to a nail-biting finish despite earlier attaining a nearly unassailable lead. Who doesn’t love tie-breakers, eh? They sealed the deal for team Law, and rendered the next two matches an exercise in futility for med. He who built the table is surely one with the table. Thank you uncle Sam. Law 4, Med 1.

 

Match 6: Fabian Terh and Emma Gan: 10-6, 6-10, 10-9 (W)

It was yet another nail-biting finish for this match, with Fabian desperate for redemption and Emma spurred on by #1 fan Darrell Lee. With victory already in the bag, the pair could have taken it easy, but Emma & Fabian fought hard for a 2-out-of-2 perfect finish for our mixed doubles teams.

Resident superstar Trachsel attributed the victory to Darrell’s fervent cheering, with Darrell even claiming “I came to cheer and I cheer in more ways than one”. One has to wonder how one cheers other than by cheering. But it was clearly law cheering after this bout — 5 of 6, and 2 of 2 for our Lady foosballers. Law 5, Med 1.

 

Match 7: Jonathan Trachsel and Fabian Terh round 2: 10-8, 10-5 (W)

Law’s best against medicine’s best Round 2 to end the day with a bang. And end it with a bang they did. The scoreline for game 1 looked deceptively close, but the stats don’t lie — Trachsel and Fabian recorded so many shots on target, one wonders why the bout did not end earlier. The final game ended with Medicine’s strongest pair (who previously beat Trachsel and Fabian in match 2) swapping positions, shouting set-piece calls, laughing nervously and dripping in palpable anxiety — all to no avail. The balance was restored and King Trachsel stepped away from the table with his head held high — you did really well too, Fabian. Law 6, Med 1

 

Overall, it was a Sunday afternoon well spent for the foosballers. Much praise was afforded to Hannah Heng who selflessly spent a good two hours of her birthday playing foosball in the warm stuffy lounge (LawClub please turn on the air-conditioning next time). Foosball Captain 2017 Joshua Foo expressed his desire for young year 1’s to step up and take over from the retiring year 4s, who made up 7 (!!!) out of 10 players in the team (the usual suspects who camp at the table on weekdays, you know who you are). It was a fitting swan song for the graduating seniors. Congratulations to the team once again.