ESSENTIAL EVENT // Top Designers Compete In The Annual World Graphic Design Foosball Championship This Friday

This friday night some of the biggest names in graphic design will go head to head in fierce competition at the Art Directors Club, vying for the title of World Champion. No, this isn't a live design tournament—it's the 8th Annual World Graphic Design Foosball Championship. (For those wondering, yes, the logo is meant to be backwards.)

Presented by leading NYC design studios karlssonwilker inc. and the Office of Paul Sahre, the double elimination tournament will feature teams representing more than 50 different professional design organizations, including creative agencies like McGarryBowen and Big Spaceship, studios like Hoefler & Frere-Jones and AHL&CO, publishing companies such as HarperCollins and Penguin, and the design departments at Fortune Magazine and the Metropolitan Opera.

As you'd expect, the championship has a cool interactive website (click on any of the background images to unlock those features, but watch out—a couple parts are semi-NSFW).

Spectators are welcome at the tournament, which kicks off at 7pm this Friday, November 18, and there will be beer from Brooklyn Brewery. The winning team will pedal away with some awesome bikes from Puma.

For a taste of what to expect, hit the jump for a clip from the 2008 championship.

-- John Ruscher