CAL Extreme 2010 Pinball Tourney Modern Finals – Dr. Who from Randy Elwin on Vimeo.

Via TiltWarning:

Two time defending World Pinball Champion Keith Elwin at California Extreme earlier this month on Dr. Who versus Jim Belsito. Spark behind TourneyCam is coming courtesy Randy Elwin of Pinball 101 fame.

Seeing this video made me smile. You could actually have commentators do play-by-play during competition, if we had this perspective. I was watching this wishing I could do some sort of play-by-play and strategy talk with a Telestrator. Forget the EVO tournaments, lets live stream THIS.

Just think how much commentators would help legitimize pinball as a sporting event. Viewers would actually be able to see (and hopefully understand) what we PinHeads are talking about when we discuss whether Jim B. should have continued to go for Sonic Booms or advance toward multi-ball.

                          

Ed Zeltmann (1st), Sean Grant (2nd), Frank Romero (3rd), Jim Fordham (4th)

Last Saturday, 25 competitors battled it out for the New Jersey Pinball Open Championship at Eight on the Break in Dunellen NJ. The National Pinball League (NPL) chose to run the qualification rounds as if it were a Monthly Masters event. At about 5:00 PM the top 4 groups (16 players) advanced to the playoff rounds. The top 8 players started in the winner’s bracket for double elimination play while the remaining 8 players started in the losers bracket for single elimination play. Each match was best two games out of 3, and if a third game was necessary it was a 2-ball game.

In the end, the winner was Ed Zeltmann, who went undefeated in the playoff rounds. His victory will give him at least 25 World Pinball Player Ranking points which will raise his world ranking considerably.

Jim Fordham, NPL New Jersey State Champion

Also at stake was the NPL New Jersey State Championship. Jim Fordham won the title since he was the highest finishing player from New Jersey. The top 8 players from New Jersey will be invited to the NPL Regional Championship later this year as will the top 8 players from each of the other State Championships.

Additional notes about the tournament:

• The format worked out extremely well. We were able to get in 7 or 8 Monthly Masters rounds, have each playoff match as a best two out of 3, and we still finished the competition before 9:30 PM.
• After the first two rounds, I was dead last and yet I still managed to make the top 8 by a fraction of a point.
• There usually are a bunch of older, non-working arcade cabinets in the pinball area. The Break moved those cabinets for the tournament so we could fit an extra game in there, and have a more manageable space for everyone to play and move about the room. I hope those cabs never return, or maybe I could at least take that Neo-Geo cab that was there, if it’s working of course.
• Even though the heat and humidity were close to unbearable, the pinball games themselves held up quite well with no major breakdowns.

                          

Register now!

The 2010 New Jersey Pinball Open, sanctioned by the National Pinball League, will happen on July 17, 2010 at Eight on the Break in Dunellen, NJ. The format will be a Monthly Masters style event until 6:00 PM. Then, the top groups will have the advantage of double elimination, and the bottom groups will go into single elimination for the split bracket finals. This tournament will run in the “Fast Tournament” format, which simply means no holding a ball for more than 5 seconds in single or multiball play. That’s right, holders and trappers, stay on your toes and play the freaking game!

These pins are currently running at The Break:

1. Star Wars: Episode 1
2. FunHouse
3. Attack from Mars
4. Addams Family
5. Monster Bash
6. Iron Man
7. Johnny Mnemonic
8. Lord of the Rings
9. Fish Tales

Since The Break is an active arcade, this listing is subject to change. Games are swapped out from time to time. Recently, Johnny Mnemonic replaced Demolition Man in the lineup, and Fish Tales replaced Road Show. Also, extra machines may be made available for play at this special event.

All tournament games are on coin drop, which is a reason why it will only cost you $20.00 to register for the tournament.

Registration is HIGHLY recommended, as it saves your spot in the tournament. It is possible that there will be NO remaining registration available the day of the show, so PLEASE pre-register.

                          

Special thanks to Jeff Parsons

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Also, the full results from World Pinball Player Rankings

                          

Via WCSH6

Pinball was a real hit in Gorham this weekend. It was Pin-Maine-ia 4, the New England Pinball Championship. John Reuter held the event in his basement. He owns more than 100 pinball machines. About half of them are at his home. The rest are at friends’ houses. More than 50 people took part in this event, where the top prize was $375. The champion, Steven Bowden, says his real prize is the camaraderie of meeting fellow pinball players.

                          

“Y’know, this is some bulls—t man! I shoulda won five rounds in a row, and I f—ked up!”

The Fourth Pinferno Pinball Tournament held at Reciprocal NYC in Manhattan.

                          

Here are the standings for all participants in the 2010 JPA PinGolf Tournament. I look forward to doing it again next League season which starts in early September. Many thanks to all who played.

1st Jim Fordham
2nd Sanjay Shah
3rd Kevin Smigel
4th Ed Zeltmann
5th Paul Drabik
6th (TIE) Steven Bowden
6th (TIE) Frank Romero
8th Koi Morris 
9th Mike Field
10th Joe Oesterling

                          

Pin-Maine-ia 2009 was amazing! Get ready for Pin-Maine-ia IV at the end of June 2010!

Maine’s premier pinball tournament, once thought to have been called off, is a thing that is happening June 25-27, 2010. Last year, the tournament hosted more than 66 players along with a number of other spectators. This year will be slightly scaled back, but the competition will be just as fun and furious. Click here for more information and to register for this fantastic event.

Last year, I helped to administer the scoring for the event. This gave me a little taste of the experience of running a pinball tournament, and helped me to concentrate more while playing.

I hope to see you there.

                          

Via Crazy Gamer News:

STERN Pinball has announced a series of pinball tournaments promoting its newest release, the Iron Man pinball machine.

There are four locations across the US and the event requires a $5 admission fee. The parties all coincide with the movie’s release, May 7, 2010, and each location will have grand prize winners who will receive trophies and cash prizes.

The tournaments are taking place May 7, 2010, in four cities:

Chicago
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (CST)
Gameworks Schaumburg
601 N. Martingale Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173

Birmingham
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (EST)
BumperNets
2000 Riverchase Galleria
Birmingham, AL 35244

Seattle
5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (PST)
Gameworks Seattle
7th and Pike Street
11511 7th Avenue

Cincinnati
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (EST)
Gameworks Cincinnati
Newport on the Levee
One Levee Way, Ste. 2130
Newport, KY 41071

Copypasta’d for your pleasure… ^_^

BTW: Why is there no STERN Iron Man 2 Launch party in New York City?

                          

Spring 2010 JPA season ends on May 26, 2010