# PINBALL EXPO 2019 - SUNDAY **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2019-10-30 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2019/10/30/pinball-expo-2019-6 --- ## Analysis Coverage of the final day of Pinball Expo 2019 (October 16-20) held in Wheeling, Illinois. The article details the conclusion of two major tournaments: the Flipout Tournament A Division won by Escher Lefkoff, and the Classics Tournament won by DJ Reil. It includes tournament results, game-by-game breakdowns of key finals matches, and organizer comments on the show's success. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Pinball Expo 2019 was the 35th annual edition of the show — _Article opening and show organizer comments_ - [HIGH] Flipout Tournament entry cost $125 and included access to Vendor and Game Halls — _Tournament format description_ - [HIGH] Escher Lefkoff knocked Keith Elwin into the loser bracket in round 9 of the A Division — _A Division playoff description_ - [HIGH] Rob Berk announced Pinball Expo 2020 would be held October 14-18 at the Westin Chicago North Shore — _Show organizer interview section_ - [MEDIUM] Rob Berk brought approximately 140 games from his own collection to the show — _Article states 'some say around 140' from Rob's collection_ - [HIGH] Cassandra Peterson appearances boosted excitement for the new Elvira game launch — _Stern Pin Lounge display description_ ### Notable Quotes > "With other shows raising the bar with their game numbers and celebrity guest stars, Pinball Expo needed to respond." > — **[name withheld pending review]**, final section > _Indicates competitive pressure among major pinball shows and need for Expo to evolve offerings_ > "There's no doubt this was a highly successful year for Pinball Expo and a great deal of effort was expended in making this 35th show one of the best yet." > — **[name withheld pending review]**, final section > _Assessment of show success by organizers and media_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pinball Expo 2019 | event | 35th annual pinball convention held October 16-20 at Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, Illinois | | Escher Lefkoff | person | Won the Flipout Tournament A Division, defeated Keith Elwin and Alek Kaczmarczyk in finals | | Alek Kaczmarczyk | person | Finished 2nd in Flipout Tournament A Division, defeated Cayle George to reach finals | | Keith Elwin | person | Placed 5th in Flipout Tournament A Division, knocked into loser bracket by Escher Lefkoff in round 9 | | DJ Reil | person | Won the Classics Tournament, defeated Raymond Davidson in finals | | Raymond Davidson | person | Placed 2nd in Classics Tournament, won winner bracket but lost to DJ Reil in final | | Stanley Sowa Jr | person | Won Flipout Tournament B Division | | Colin Urban | person | Placed 3rd in Flipout Tournament A Division | | Rob Berk | person | Show organizer for Pinball Expo 2019, brought ~140 games from personal collection | | Cassandra Peterson | person | Celebrity guest at Stern Pin Lounge display, appeared to promote new Elvira game | | Zach Sharpe | person | Placed 9th in Flipout Tournament A Division | | Stern Pinball | company | Operator of Pin Lounge display featuring Cassandra Peterson and new Elvira game | | Black Knight: Sword of Rage | game | Premium model used in first game of Flipout A Division final | | Jurassic Park | game | Pinball machine used in second game of Flipout A Division final, designed by Keith Elwin | | Flash Gordon | game | Classic game used in Classics Tournament finals | | Fireball | game | Vintage game used in Classics Tournament finals | | Car Hop | game | Gottlieb game featured in Classics Tournament that significantly slowed down play | | Trent Augenstein | person | Tournament organizer credited with running the huge Flipout and Classics tournaments | | Jacob Wolff | person | Placed 2nd in Flipout Tournament B Division | | John Hegele | person | Placed 3rd in Flipout Tournament B Division | ### Signals - **[event_signal]** Coverage of Pinball Expo 2019 final day, including tournament conclusions and organizer commentary on show success (confidence: high) — Detailed tournament results, final match descriptions, and show organizer quotes about successful 35th annual event - **[competitive_signal]** Flipout Tournament A Division won by Escher Lefkoff with dominant performances, defeating top players including Keith Elwin (confidence: high) — Escher knocked Keith Elwin into loser bracket in round 9, then defeated Alek Kaczmarczyk in finals with dominant scoring (1.9B vs 472M on Black Knight, 7.3M vs 10M on Jurassic Park) - **[competitive_signal]** Classics Tournament won by DJ Reil in double-elimination format, requiring two wins against Raymond Davidson (confidence: high) — DJ Reil defeated Raymond Davidson in best-of-three match on Car Hop to secure Classics Tournament championship - **[gameplay_signal]** Black Knight: Sword of Rage Premium showed high-scoring potential with players exceeding 1+ billion points through upper playfield orbits (confidence: high) — Escher Lefkoff scored 1.3 billion on first ball and 1.9 billion by ball three; Alek managed 472 million with less consistent play - **[gameplay_signal]** Jurassic Park exhibited ball-draining difficulty with quick drains limiting scoring opportunities for both finalists (confidence: high) — Both Alek and Escher experienced quick drains on early balls, with final scores under 10 million for the game - **[venue_signal]** Pinball Expo 2019 featured approximately 140 games from organizer Rob Berk's collection plus additional vendor games (confidence: medium) — Rob brought 'some say around 140' games; display included Spanish games and modern titles across multiple halls - **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo 2020 dates announced for October 14-18 at same venue (Westin Chicago North Shore), indicating show stability (confidence: high) — Show organizer Rob Berk confirmed at least one more year at venue with specific 2020 dates already announced - **[content_signal]** Twitch stream available of Flipout A Division final match, indicating live streaming coverage of tournament play (confidence: high) — Article references IE Pinball channel on Twitch with link to A Division final video --- ## Transcript **Date:** 16th - 20th October, 2019 **Location:** Westin Chicago North Shore, 601 N Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090, USA Hello and welcome back to the final part of our coverage of this 35th annual Pinball Expo. For most vendors and machine donors, Sunday continues the tearing down and packing up which began on Saturday evening. [![The remains of the displays in the Vendor Hall on Sunday](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/286-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/286-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) The remains of the displays in the Vendor Hall on Sunday In the Pin Lounge (a.k.a. the Botanic Garden Ballroom) the end-of-show party continued until 6am, so there was plenty of work still to do on Sunday. [![The Pin Lounge on Sunday](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/285-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/285-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) The Pin Lounge on Sunday The only public event scheduled for Sunday was the Classics Tournament, where the play-offs were due to begin. Qualifying for the Classics Tournament had begun on Thursday at 10am and ran right through until 11pm on Saturday – three full days of qualifying. However, there was an extra event taking place in the same part of the room alongside the Classics – the final of the main A Division Flipout Tournament. ![Seeding for the Flipout Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/269-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg) Seeding for the Flipout Tournament The Flipout Tournament followed the same format as the past couple of years where Thursday is used to seed players who then start playing in the tournament proper on Friday. Entry to the tournament cost $125 but that also included access to the Vendor and Game Halls. Players had the choice whether to play in the seeding round or not, but would be placed at the bottom of the seeding if they chose not to play. [![More machines for the Flipout Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/268-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/268-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) More machines for the Flipout Tournament When the seeding round finished at 1am on Friday morning, the top 50% of players formed the A Division play-offs, and the bottom 50% went into the B Division. [![Information for players](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/272-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/272-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Information for players Both divisions’ play-offs consisted of double-elimination best-of-three matches, but the higher a player seeded the more rounds they skipped, with the highest qualifiers only coming into the play-offs in round 9. [![The A and B Divisions](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/270-pinball-expo-2019-1024x609.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/270-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) The A and B Divisions The B Division concluded on Saturday afternoon with a win for Stanley Sowa, Jr. Second place went to Jacob Wolff while John Hegele was third. | | | | --- | --- | | | **B Division Results** | | 1st | Stanley Sowa Jr | | 2nd | Jacob Wolff | | 3rd | John Hegele | | 4th | Rebecca Hinsdale | | 5th | Rob Presley Chris Grace | | 7th | Thomas Urban Erin Malysa | | 9th | John Armstrong Jason Woolston Rabih Dahdouh Deborah Tahlman | | 13th | Jeffrey Williams Abby Tehrune Greg Pitner Phil Harmon | The A Division play-offs went on longer than expected, and with the room needed for the end-of-show party at 11pm on Saturday, the final match was deferred until 10am on Sunday. That final was between Escher Lefkoff who remained undefeated since joining the play-offs in round 9 where he immediately knocked Keith Elwin into the loser bracket, and Alek Kaczmarczyk who did the same with Cayle George. Escher and Alek had met in round 11 where Escher had triumphed, but Alek won through the loser bracket to face him again in the final. ![Alek Kaczmarczyk and Escher Lefkoff before the final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/277-pinball-expo-2019-652x1024.jpg) Alek Kaczmarczyk and Escher Lefkoff before the final The first game of the best-of-three final was on the *Black Knight: Sword of Rage* Premium seen above. It was Escher’s choice and he soon showed why he had chosen it, scoring more than 1.3 billion on his first ball thanks to repeated upper playfield orbits. [![Escher Lefkoff starts the final on Black Knight: Sword of Rage](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/278-pinball-expo-2019-576x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/278-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Escher Lefkoff starts the final on Black Knight: Sword of Rage Alek did well to come back, but ‘only’ managed 444 million on his first ball. Escher upped his score to 1.6 billion on ball two but Alek had a quick drain, only adding a million. Escher wrapped up the first game by taking his score to 1.9 billion while Alek finished on 472 million following a second quick ball. Game two of three was on Jurassic Park, and this time it was Alek playing first. It was a different game, but his luck from Black Knight continued, as his first ball drained quickly with no ball save for less than half a million. Escher only did slightly better on his first ball, scoring just over one million. Alek’s second ball was quick too, but at least he scored the two million skill shot to end on 3.2 million. Escher did the same and hooked up some more shots for 10 million. Alek’s third ball was a copy of his second, and his 7.3 million total meant game two and the final went to Escher. [![Escher wins the final on Jurassic Park](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/279-pinball-expo-2019-591x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/279-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Escher wins the final on Jurassic Park So, Escher was first, Alek was second and Colin Urban was third. [![Colin Urban, Alek Kaczmarczyk and Escher Lefkoff](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/280-pinball-expo-2019-1024x616.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/280-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Colin Urban, Alek Kaczmarczyk and Escher Lefkoff | | | | --- | --- | | | **A Division Results** | | 1st | Escher Lefkoff | | 2nd | Alek Kaczmarczyk | | 3rd | Colin Urban | | 4th | Jared August | | 5th | Keith Elwin Brian O’Neill | | 7th | DJ Reil Cayle George | | 9th | Adam Lefkoff Alex Harmon Zach Sharpe Andy Rosa | | 13th | Dalton Ely Andrew Rosa II Raymond Davidson Robert Smith | | 17th | Brian Shephard Steve Hill Joshua Henderson Dominic Kacich Jim Belsito Josh Sharpe Jason Scheffelmaer Andy Bagwell | You can watch the final on the IE Pinball channel on Twitch [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/497219269). Meanwhile, the Classics Tournament play-offs were taking place on the other side of the hall. [![Play in the Classics Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/276-pinball-expo-2019-1024x593.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/276-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Play in the Classics Tournament Classics Tournament play-offs began at 10am and, given the nature of the games, wasn’t expected to last too long. However, having the Gottlieb game *Car Hop* in the line-up slowed things down quite a bit. [![The final rounds of the Classics Tournament play-offs](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/275-pinball-expo-2019-1024x576.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/275-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) The final rounds of the Classics Tournament play-offs Eventually, at 5:37pm, the competitors had been whittled down to the last two who contested the final. They were Raymond Davidson who had won the winner bracked, and DJ Reil who survived several rounds in the loser bracket to reach the final. [![Raymond begins the final on Flash Gordon](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/281-pinball-expo-2019-1024x578.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/281-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Raymond begins the final on Flash Gordon To win, DJ would need to beat Raymond in the initial best-of-three match to even up the scores, and then beat him again. DJ did indeed win the first best-of-three to take the final to another round. [![DJ plays Fireball in the deciding best-of-three](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/283-pinball-expo-2019-592x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/283-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) DJ plays Fireball in the deciding best-of-three When the final game was on Car Hop at 6:10pm it looked like the final could go on for some time yet, but in fact it all ended fairly quickly as DJ won the game and the Classics Tournament final. [![Classics Tournament top two: Raymond Davidson (2nd) and DJ Reil (1st)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/284-pinball-expo-2019-634x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2019/284-pinball-expo-2019.jpg) Classics Tournament top two: Raymond Davidson (2nd) and DJ Reil (1st) Win the Classics Tournament decided, the last event of Pinball Expo ended and the show was officially over. There’s no doubt this was a highly successful year for Pinball Expo and a great deal of effort was expended in making this 35th show one of the best yet. Show organiser Rob Berk spoke to Pinball News and Pinball Magazine for our joint podcast and, besides thanking all the staff and volunteers who work throughout Expo, told us he was pleased with the way the show went and the range of activities for visitors to enjoy. He also told us that Pinball Expo would be back at the Westin for at least one more year, with 2020’s dates already announced as October 14th to 18th. The number and selection of games this year was excellent, with Rob bringing a large number (some say around 140) from his own collection. The display of Spanish games was of particular note, although sadly many of them didn’t last the duration. None-the-less, they are representative of a whole tranche of games many visitors didn’t even know existed. Stern’s Pin Lounge display was highly impressive, with Cassandra Peterson’s appearances really boosting the excitement surrounding the new Elvira game’s launch. With other shows raising the bar with their game numbers and celebrity guest stars, Pinball Expo needed to respond. The combination of the new Stern games, the factory tour, Cassandra’s presence, the number of seminars, the selection of vendors available, the side events such as the Horror House Hauntcade, the Fun With Pinball exhibit (which we were sadly unable to visit during its opening hours), Paul Zimmerman’s Video Game Center (likewise) and the huge tournament organisation run by Trent Augenstein really boosted the experience for visitors. There were also some external events not held at Expo but running concurrently. The Pinball Life Open House is a the largest, taking place in Huntley around an hour’s drive away, but the Pinball Olympics also took place, making the overall Pinball Expo trip even more worthwhile. We hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage this year. We’ll be back next year for the 36th Pinball Expo to bring you even more seminars, reports and news from the home of pinball. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 070745e3-d7b3-4c1c-9d1d-4c572e16b207*