BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's no secret that Buffalo is a hockey town. It's a town that celebrates the sport in all forms, including the bubble variety. A recent tournament cast the spotlight on the ever-popular and bustling world of bubble hockey.

The Dishin Super Chexx Bubble Hockey Tournament went down July 13 at the Thin Man Brewery warehouse on Chandler Street.

"Started the company 40-plus years ago and we've manufactured the game for the for commercial coin-up as well as today for a lot of homes," said Greg Kania, sales manager at Innovative Concepts in Entertainment.

They may not have invented the first table hockey game, but the one you see and think about today is their Superchexx model.

"We keep a very low profile in Buffalo, but I mean, just again to see the players come out, it's beyond exciting," Kania said.

Headquartered in Clarence, it only made sense to bring some of the best bubble hockey players in the world together, like Mark Wojtkiewicz.

"I've been playing since '99. It was the Bud Light tournament, which came to town with Rob Ray," he explained.

Wojtkiewicz has made quite a name for himself over the last quarter-century. He's been bursting bubbles all over the place like in Boston, Detroit and St. Louis. 

"I've never played a celebrity that's any good," he laughed and said.

For this tournament, it's back to business as part of a field of more than 30 players. He was dispatching tournament players left and right.

"I've won a few tournaments. It's always a good time. I mean, you play the game to win it. It's competitive. There's a lot of great players here," he said.

Coming up just short of taking the day, Wojtkiewicz and everyone involved like the idea man behind this tourney, Matthew Keeler, are still chalking it up as a win. Sure, someone walked away with a nice prize, but the sport of bubble hockey gets a little brighter light shone on it.

"You think of all these other arcade games like ski ball and where like these are. This is, you know, I think a lot is like the premier arcade," said Keeler, founder of Just Dishin'. "Growing up playing hockey, there is a there's a Superchexx machine in almost every rink I think I've played in. So that was almost a piece of it after hockey where you got to have fun with your friends and and talking up a little bit and you play is just such an iconic game."

This was a very Buffalo tournament in every sense of the word, with local beer, hockey gear sponsors and charitable donations.

"To be able to look back on this and say, you know, this is the first one, but let of these can be given a year to come back," added Keeler.

Proceeds from the tournament were donated to local nonprofit Spirited Athletes Bold at Heart.

The gold medalist on this day was 20-year-old Joe Lewis of Detroit.