Leonhart foosball tables - shortened, more popularly known simply as Leo - are sports equipment made by the sports equipment manufacturer Leonhart. The company was founded in 1926 by master carpenter Xaver Leonhart in Harburg, and they manufacture not only foosball tables but also pool tables and coin testers. In the 1950s, he invented a special fastening solution on the goalkeeper's stick - the German word taschentuchsperre, which is virtually untranslatable into English - which set off the bumpy road of foosball table production and company formation Xaver, as the German origin story also writes. By today the company has produced more than 200 000 foosball tables, but that's not why I'm writing about their products, but because this is Hungary - and many other nations, including Germany and New Zealand - official competition table, since around 2012, has replaced Garlando products in this country.
An old Deutsche Meister table with Taschentuchsperre (unfortunately I couldn't find Leo)
The Leonhart product range
In our country you will not find this type of table in so many places, the reason is that played mainly by racing drivers, but of course in some of the more upmarket pubs - like Mag Pub - it happens. Their products can basically be divided into several categories their official website according to:
- tables for beginners and amateurs, for home use
- tables for catering and entertainment venues (these are effectively competition tables with a coin tester)
- tables for special uses ("gate fight" tables, variations for more than four people, possibly pieces designed for people with reduced mobility)
- competition tables
- design and brand tables (typically for companies, for promotional purposes)
Of these, pub and competition tables are the most common, for a relatively simple reason: they are durable, long-lasting solutions and the easiest to sell. It's basically the most durable, durable and durable tables. Leonhart Tournament table and its version of the DTFB - Deutscher Tischfussball Bund, or German Table Football Federation - repainted in the colours of the German flag. There was also a board-mounted version of the Tournament table, with different goals and other minimal differences, at a considerably lower price than the Tournament, but unfortunately this has now been discontinued. To summarise the above, if you want to compete more seriously, you need a Leonhart Tournament foosball table.
The Leonhart Tournament Coax Table
Like all professional tournament tables, it has a rather high price tag, at the time of writing 1860 EUR - roughly 700 000 Ft -, plus the cost of shipping the table, which is about 80 EUR within Germany, and of course it is even more expensive - supposedly 100 000 HUF - to our country. Obviously, few people can afford this, but the sports equipment can be rented for around 15 000 HUF per month. The table also has a Home and a Sport These have a different frame, are lighter, and differ in other minor details, so I don't think they are worth choosing for these reasons.
My own Leonhart Tournament table with custom lamp
The Leonharts are so-called "rampless", open, 11-leg tables, this means that the playing area and the side wall are not bordered by a ramp to help you roll back. While the corners, where the dummies would not reach, are tilted, this reduces the chance of dead balls - when the ball stops. Of course, this still happens sometimes, but because the tables are open, you can reach in to put the ball in play. The slats are a lightweight, crush-resistant solution, a favourite synonym for the fact that they break relatively rarely. This is ensured by the increased sidewall thickness, with 16mm diameter rods. As standard, the tables come with green and black dummies, but this can be modified to anyone's preference when ordering.
The advantages of the Leonhart Tournament foosball table
The Leonhart Tournament steel leg, four bolts hold it in two directions and the inside of the legs are filled with concrete to the centre of gravity of the table should be low. Therefore, one of the most stable tables I've ever played on barely moves, which is why the weight of 110 kilograms also plays a big role. It's also worth noting that roughly 40 kilograms can be removed, excluding the legs and the frame, so the body is relatively easy to carry and you won't get a hernia if you have to lift one into the boot of your car.
They are wedge-shaped, but not too much so, with straight sides, so they are great for handling the ball, and the plastic playing surface is a partner in this. Leonhart's ball one of the best in the world - actually a ball, but everyone calls it a ball -, wears relatively slowly, but this manufacturer also has problems with the concept of a sphere. Fortunately, it's still fully playable, so in that sense there are no complaints. In return, it's relatively expensive, roughly 4-5 EUR a piece. Underneath the stickier rubberised surface is a harder plastic core, so if the first one wears off, the ball has to be replaced. Typically, the ball pins break down because the goalposts cut the surface - or they are already egg-shaped from the factory, as there are unfortunately examples of this - and then indentations are made in the surface, which causes them to roll back and forth.
The table is covered with sliding bubble wrap, this "magic word" means nothing more than that the bars move in a plastic slide held together on both sides. This is good for several reasons, firstly it takes 3 minutes to replace if it breaks, secondly From 2022 onwards, you can request a threaded solution as an extra, and then the bushings can be unrolled by hand. The toothbrush is great, soft silicone rubber, one of the best I've tried. It's neither small nor big, and it grips well enough to play snowball fights without the need for grip tape.
Another advantage is that it is played in relatively many countries, competitions are organised in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovenia, in addition to our own, but for those who want to go further afield, there is Spain, or even New Zealand. Official ITSF table - recognised by the international federation - which is why it is also the venue for the World Championships every year, currently St. Wendel provides space for.
But the biggest advantage is that suitable for any type of shot, it makes no difference whether you draw, push, pint or snakes, but the table is also very suitable for e.g. woods. The surface and the ball are moderately slippery, which means it's relatively easy to adapt to technically.
The disadvantages of the Leonhart Tournament foosball table
One of the typical faults of the table is easy breaking dummy. There are legends that the green one breaks better - some operators have reported 5x the amount of breakage - but I don't think this is true, they can all break, including the screw inside. This the latter is also available from Leonhart at a special, very expensive price, for the assembly of the not very often used Torx bit 25 needed. You should also be prepared with a set of torx wrenches, because you'll need one in the other side for counter-locking. The same goes for the backwards side, it's very easy to over tighten and it will break straight away, so if you have one of these tables, stock up. The loosening of the screws makes a very distinctive clucking sound, you have to tighten them before they break. These are type faults, there's not much you can do about them, but the parts are easy to replace.
The plastic gate element tends to get tired, they can be over tightened and they can crack. The bigger problem from a technical point of view is that the ball can fall in over the goalkeeper. Very rarely, but it happens, so I think this design is unfortunate. Also rare, but some players pull down the handle, that can no longer be put back in a meaningful way. The reason is that when it is new, you have to hit it with a rubber mallet and it expands and takes on the shape of a steel rod. But once you pull it down, it stays wide and you can put a completely new one in its place.
It is not very common, but it can be called a type defect, that the rod has weakened/bent, in which case the material is already cracked, usually at the bore of the dummy, typically on the backing. Fortunately, there are plenty of spare parts for these, so everything is available, albeit at a relatively high price. On very old tables, there are still signs of external damage, but this is almost always due to improper care. Overall a relatively trouble-free, stable and good table - a true all rounder, probably the best in the world in that sense - I recommend it for practising and executing all kinds of techniques.
Although I wrote earlier that the ball is pretty good, unfortunately older tables tend to slip, especially the more worn balls on the more worn playing surface, with the high humidity - heat, plus the sweat of the players - adding to the problem. It feels like an 'ice rink' to play on, but at other times it is very grippy and techniques such as the pin are easy to execute. In other words, if you play a lot of "Leos", be prepared for conditions to vary depending on the condition of the table and ball, humidity, temperature and even the will of God. I have seen several times at international tournaments where players have either wiped the table with a towel or even sprayed a grease solvent - such as Clean - on it to remove the dirt. It could be debated whether this is legal and constitutes a change to the playing surface, or whether it is simply restoring the original state.
Leonhart Tournament add-ons
You can order quite a lot of things for the table, but perhaps the most important accessory is the lamp. There are two types, the LeoArena and LeoArenaStrong, or variants thereof, with A and T feet. They are all very expensive, it is no coincidence that I have come across many "home made" solutions, and I have one myself. The mounting points are Leonhart specific, so they cannot be put on another table, unlike universal solutions such as the KickerLight.
A separate element - which I think is the ultimate in saving money - is a rod locking plastic, which is expensive as hell. It's good if there are children in the family, to reduce the risk of injury, but otherwise if you bang into it, the end of the pole can cut an adult's hand. I've already mentioned the fold-out sliding bushing, which is important if you want to take your table apart frequently because you have to move it around, for example.
For balls you should only use the Leo-ITSF version, for slip oil you should use nothing, for official competitions you should use Pronto - yes, the furniture polish, the brown one too.
The Leonhart Tournament in our country
In Budapest, among others, the MultiTable in the club and the Mag Pub-and in Balatonboglár in the Gál-A pub you can play on a table painted green, but I've seen it in Eger, and occasionally in a few other places in the country. It's the official table of Hungarian tournaments, so if you want to see more of it, you should go to one.
Summary
Leonhart's products - especially the Leonhart Tournament - are a very high quality foosball table and I can recommend them to everyone - and what better example that I have one at home - especially for those who want to compete in the long run.
