NW Show Tournament Banks

[Opto]

I think there's an OPEN bank and a classics bank. If anyone at the show reads this - please post the lineups!

thx

[Opto]

This just in from Fred

Open Bank

Future Spa
Firepower
Fish Tales
Whitewater
Scared Stiff
Circus Voltaire
24

Classics

Captain Fantastic
Centigrade 37
4 Million BC
Funland

[emma]

Whoa... Future Spa. I need to put together my strategy for that game. It's been something like 12 years since I played one.

[Isaac]

Well, see you all at GK tonight then.

[Dropshot]

Playing at GK will only hurt you compared to, and I am assuming, the way their machines will be set up.

There goes having SS at the Showdown. Darn!

[Isaac]

How do the rankings work? Do they post them live? Or do you just play and pray.

[Dropshot]

They will post them live with about 10 different screens, 3 main ones. Each machine will have it's own page with all the scores, there will also be one with the highest ranked player at the top and what place he got on each machine all the way down the list, and a few others as well. I'm just surprised they don't have it live online.

[ROM]

Wow, interesting line-up!

I wonder if they removed the little bars behind the flippers from Circus Voltaire so that it's not so easy to trap balls.

[Isaac]

[ROM]

They are. But not only that, it's basically impossible in that game to trap a ball and have it roll backward all the way up the inline and then into the outlane. You trap a ball and it will roll back, hit the bar, and then go dead. Great way to keep things under control.

[Legs]

was looking at the flickr stream for the show and found this one of the open bank. you can't really see the games that well, but you *can* see me rockin' the colors on fishtales!

[Legs]

Portland update: Miss Emma Davis was in the wild card playoff and put up a pretty sweet game on Fishtales, but didn't grab that 16th spot. I was 23rd in the open and won the woman's championship. Fred was 13th in the classics but couldn't quite qualify.

[ROM]

Nice. 23rd is good.

What's the wild card playoff?

I only put $20 into the tournament. I wanted to play each machine twice. But, it was too crowded, and I didn't want to have to wait for five people in between each game. So I played five entries in open, and then three in classics. Not a strategy of any sort. Just for fun. I really really dislike this style of tournament. I don't think it's exciting at all.

[eric]

[Legs]

[ROM]

Hmm, I definitely don't hate casual flow... and yes, this is a type of casual flow tournament. Now I am conflicted! My main beef with open qualifying tournaments is the lack of a cap on number of entries. I don't get a thrill from competing when, if I beat someone's score, they can just plop down more money and go again and again and again. There should be caps.

I'm sure the system is great for the people running the tournaments (and the couple folks who end up taking the money home), but I just don't think it's fun to compete in them. It's kind of like LEDs - they are great for operators, but they make for a bad playing experience.

[Opto]

At first I was a bit butt hurt about the $$$ factor with this thing. Like $$$'s are as important or more than the skill you put in. However . . . when I found out that 8-16 paid out $120 bucks, I changed my tune a bit. I only sank $30 in and got like 30th or something. I played pretty well on a few of my 12 games, and had I sank in more dough, could have . . . would have improved my chances of making top 15 and gotten at least my money back. No guarantees, but the odds would improve, no doubt. I heard a few people who were really great players who didn't participate say that they would have played if there were a cap, or simply a set fee or say $100. However, the buy in factor is what generates the great prize pool. . . I mean $1700 to first $1000 to second (I think) and on down to $120 for 9-16. That is a GREAT prize pool. How many folks would scoff at a $100 entry for 40 qualifying tickets, but would end up paying double that in $20 after $20 to try and make it? A lot I bet. The larger tournaments cost more money and that's all there is too it. As a result the prizes are bigger. It still wound up being the top players present in the top 8 battling it out. My only regret was not just planning on spending $120 right off the bat to see if I could get it back by qualifying.

[Dropshot]

Call me crazy but I couldn't see going up there and not spending at least $100. After gas, lets say $20, entry to the event, $40, hotel for 1 or 2 nights $100+, food $20-50, drinks another $50 or so. That right there is $200 at the very least, and then only spend $20-30 to qualify??? I'd just stay home and keep my $230! Yes, you could argue that there are so many free games to play but most titles there are here in Portland or just aren't that good of games or set up poorly to play more than once, maybe twice. My 2 cents...also trying to drum up a more positive attitude to spend $$$ at Slabtown Showdown.

[Opto]

I wouldn't call you crazy at all. That's exactly what I'm sayin' - I should have been prepared to spend more dough. With 9-16 getting $120 back . . . be prepared to spend $120, if you think you've got what it takes to qualify. All in all, the Davis' did in fact spend $80 on the tourney backs, but it was split 2 ways I do think there's a lot more to the show than the tournament. You get to play games that you don't see around town. It's always fun to finally get to play a game, you've been looking at online forever (ie Harlem Globtrotters and Meteor, which are both awesome). I don't think I played a single DMD game, other than the ones in the bank.

The format isn't for everyone, that's for sure. But for the tournament in our area that draws the biggest names every year . . . you have to pony up, and I think that is worth saving for.

I think the big difference with the slabtown tournament is that instead of 10 of the qualifying slots being designated to top 40 players (keith, belsito, eden, shatz, cayle, the sharps, etc), and the rest of us battling for the 10-16 slots, there will be more opportunity for everyone who's not playing A-division level to make it in. I hope all those guys come to the slabtown event, but i doubt ALL of them will make it - leaving more room for folks who aren't *quite* at that level yet to get in.

[Opto]

Forgot to mention - I saw some of the best pinball playing I've ever seen hands down during the finals matches. Watching these guys playing amazing games, under all that pressure was a treat to say the least.

The highlights that I remember all took place on FT. That FT was playing brutal. During qualifying, I put up 30 mil or so after playing it twice. A "good" qualifying score on it was probably in the 80's or above. Most scores probably in the 40's-70's. During the semi finals. Cayle got super jackpots going on his 2nd (i think) MB on ball 2 and put up 470 so. I'm pretty sure this was the highest score that was put up on that machine all weekend. Going into ball 3 Neil had 3 or 4 million to his name. He got MB going . . . lit supers and put up 570!!! New high score on the machine that weekend. Then, later in the finals . . . on ball 2 or 3 Keith did the same only 6 supers to basically win the whole thing.

I guess my point is . . . that machine had been played non stop for 2 days, and after 100's of games played, only a handful of people broke 100 million on it. It was brutal. Then in the final matches, when it counts THE MOST, 3 people progressively put higher and higher GC's on it - amazing pinball all around.

1st - KME
2nd - Robert Gagno
3rd, 4th - Cayle and Zach sharp were playing FT as a tie breaker when we were leaving - tournament ran a few hours longer than we expected and had to get back to town. Anyone know how this turned out?

Congrats to Keith, Robert, Cayle, Zach and everyone who qualified.