Got to try my hand at helping run a competitive pinball event (the 2013 Missouri Open at the Third Rail Bar and Grill) instead of playing in one yesterday. A long day, but thankfully I just had to deal with registration and scoring and bracketology (head-to-head matches in a double elimination format - thank God for Brackelope!), and not have to deal with malfunctioning machines!
Fellow league player Andrew Hrdlicka, whom some of you may remember from the Hercules machine photo I posted a while back, had the misfortune of being upset in the first round and had to win eight matches in a row against some very strong competition to reach the top of the loser's bracket to face John Miller, an extremely strong player. Even worse, because of the double elimination format, Andrew had to win two matches against John to win the tournament.
After some exciting games (including an AC/DC game decided by 50,000 points!), the last game for all the marbles was played on an incredibly evil Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Andrew is on his third ball and just needs to make the skill shot for 3M to win. I should note that finding the skill shot on a real RBION is far harder than the TPA version.
At this point, everyone gets really quiet...and all I can think about is the sequence from No Good Gofers' Double Skill Shot:
Bud: Please everyone, we need quiet!
(three-second pause)
Buzz: (at the top of his lungs) MISS IT!!!
As it turns out, Andrew did miss the skill shot, and after some frantic nerve-shattering seconds trying to regain control (no ball save!), he managed to grind out the last million or so to win game, match, and tournament. Congratulations, Andrew!
Fellow league player Andrew Hrdlicka, whom some of you may remember from the Hercules machine photo I posted a while back, had the misfortune of being upset in the first round and had to win eight matches in a row against some very strong competition to reach the top of the loser's bracket to face John Miller, an extremely strong player. Even worse, because of the double elimination format, Andrew had to win two matches against John to win the tournament.
After some exciting games (including an AC/DC game decided by 50,000 points!), the last game for all the marbles was played on an incredibly evil Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Andrew is on his third ball and just needs to make the skill shot for 3M to win. I should note that finding the skill shot on a real RBION is far harder than the TPA version.
At this point, everyone gets really quiet...and all I can think about is the sequence from No Good Gofers' Double Skill Shot:
Bud: Please everyone, we need quiet!
(three-second pause)
Buzz: (at the top of his lungs) MISS IT!!!
As it turns out, Andrew did miss the skill shot, and after some frantic nerve-shattering seconds trying to regain control (no ball save!), he managed to grind out the last million or so to win game, match, and tournament. Congratulations, Andrew!
