The Prophecy of Singsaker: Trondheim Open 2026 Reviewed
Published
This article was translated by AI. The original article is written in Norwegian.
On 7 March, the attention of Norwegian table hockey returned to Trondheim and Singsaker school. In the music classroom with its characteristic red ceiling beams, 9 players were ready to compose beautiful tones on the board. This illusion was quickly shattered when the homecoming Espen Moe accused Amund Risa Fylling of playing hockey like Arsenal (cynical, center-feint-focused hockey compared to slow long-ball football) already in the first of 27 rounds of the group stage.
Ahead of the tournament, at Hotel Brådland, physics student Daniel Nygård and IT consultant Fylling discussed the many Monte Carlo simulations they had run of the tournament. They had, however, forgotten to include the undersigned in the analyses, so the simulation they paid the most attention to was one performed by Hans Christian Lønne (who registers yet another absence in Trondheim). This simulation showed only one outcome: Amund would win the final against Arne Hetlelid, after Hetlelid had knocked out Nygård in sudden death in game seven of the quarter-final. That this simulation was in reality a prophecy disguised as statistics, no one knew yet.
By all accounts it was a very even field that lined up this Saturday. Many saw the absence of Klippet and Caics as an excellent opportunity to finally win an NBF gold. One of those who had travelled the farthest to achieve this was Nygård. He showed impressive form, proving that 16th place and 767 points at the Swedish Championships 2026 was no fluke, as he won the triple round-robin group stage.
The group stage also contained a happy reunion with Morten Aarflot. Despite a few years away from the board, he delivered left shovels like never before and among other things took a major scalp when he beat Nygård 1-0 on table 1 in round 1. Nygård himself claims, admittedly, that he scored 4 goals in that game (3 bounce-outs and one own goal), but we take nothing away from Aarflot’s performance.
The picture below shows how the group stage ended. The Bergen league players Arne Johannes Holmin and Trond Ove Gangsøy must be mentioned specially, as their group stage games contained 6 goals on average.
The group stage standings give HC Lønne’s simulation its first victory: Daniel Nygård was to face Arne Hetlelid in the quarter-final. The other quarter-finals are relatively even, but all end 4-2 to the higher-placed player. For a long time it looked like Nygård would follow the same recipe when he went up 3-1 after 4 games.
Then everything turned.
Hetlelid stopped talking and laughing, as we know him, and instead focused all his energy on the board. At the same time, the simulation (read: the prophecy) began to haunt Nygård more and more with each game that passed. Suddenly they were in game 7, as foretold, but even though everyone in the room was waiting for sudden death, Hetlelid settled it in regular time. A disappointed Nygård then left the venue until the final, while Hetlelid got ready for the semi-final.
From here, Amund showed himself as the strongest player of the day when he convincingly defeated the next two home-town hopes. He thereby reclaimed the title from the 2022/23 season and at the same time made sure that no players got their first NBF gold. The undersigned congratulates ARF on the victory, and the other semi-finalists with “the second place” and bronze.
Semi-final between Espen Moe and Arne Hetlelid. In the background you can see the famous Kristiansten fortress.
True to tradition(?) another banquet was celebrated at an Indian restaurant. Amund shared a table with a slightly dejected gang who had just missed out on the podium. Thus the dinner conversation quickly became a nostalgic review of historic table hockey defeats, mental collapses and other traumatic events. Fortunately, Espen Moe eventually came along to lift the mood, and to secure himself a Gangsøy quiz victory. Moe was clearly not full after the cup gold and the tournament silver.
The undersigned would like to thank everyone who participated for a great day of table hockey on behalf of the organizer! After the tournament, the undersigned has received training in Edwall shovels and center feints, and would therefore like to wish you all good luck in the Norwegian Championship! You will need it.
Trondheim Open 2026 podium. From left: Espen Moe, Amund Risa Fylling, Yngve Aasheim and Arne Hetlelid
Disappointed Bergen league players gaze at the podium during the prize ceremony.
Norwegian Championship 2026 (1–3 May)
The next tournament is the Norwegian Championship at Kvernaland. Links to registration are listed below:
Norwegian Championship open class