# PINBALL EXPO 2017 - SUNDAY **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2017-10-15 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2017/10/15/pinball-expo-2017-5 --- ## Analysis Coverage of the final day (Sunday) of Pinball Expo 2017, focusing on tournament playoffs and finals. The Main Tournament B Division was won by Zachary Parks, the Classics Tournament was won by Fred Cochran, and the A Division was won by Keith Elwin who defeated Zach Sharpe in the final. Vendors began packing up Sunday morning, leading to discussion of future events being advertised as Wednesday-Saturday only. ### Key Claims - [MEDIUM] Next year's Pinball Expo will only be advertised as a Wednesday to Saturday event rather than including Sunday — _Vendor and machine-bringer activity; stated as belief rather than confirmed decision_ - [HIGH] Pinball Expo 2017 Main Tournament B Division winner was Zachary Parks — _Tournament results reported with photo documentation_ - [HIGH] Fred Cochran won the Classics Tournament, defeating Ryan Spindler in the final — _Tournament results with detailed match descriptions and photo_ - [HIGH] Keith Elwin won the A Division final, defeating Zach Sharpe who was his Stern Pinball colleague — _Detailed match play-by-play with photo documentation_ - [HIGH] The Flip Out Main Tournament entry cost $75 — _Explicitly stated in tournament structure description_ ### Notable Quotes > "The final day at Pinball Expo is really only for the play-offs and finals of the tournaments." > — **Article narrator** > _Explains the minimal vendor/machine presence on Sunday and operational structure of the event_ > "We believe next year's show will only be advertised as a Wednesday to Saturday event." > — **Article narrator** > _Indicates potential operational change to Pinball Expo format based on 2017 Sunday vendor behavior_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pinball Expo 2017 | event | Major annual pinball industry trade show and community event held October 11-15, 2017 at Westin Chicago North Shore | | Keith Elwin | person | Elite pinball tournament player; Stern Pinball colleague; won A Division at Pinball Expo 2017 | | Zach Sharpe | person | Stern Pinball employee; competitive pinball player; runner-up in A Division final to Keith Elwin | | Fred Cochran | person | Competitive pinball player; winner of Classics Tournament at Pinball Expo 2017 | | Zachary Parks | person | Competitive pinball player; winner of B Division tournament at Pinball Expo 2017 | | Ryan Spindler | person | Competitive pinball player; runner-up in Classics Tournament; winner of winner bracket | | Adam Lefkoff | person | Competitive pinball player; third place in Classics Tournament at Pinball Expo 2017 | | John Replogle | person | Competitive pinball player; third place in A Division at Pinball Expo 2017 | | Tom Knorst | person | Competitive pinball player; runner-up in B Division tournament | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; employed Keith Elwin and Zach Sharpe, both competing at Pinball Expo 2017 | | X-Men | product | Pinball machine used in A Division final tournament play | | WWE Wrestlemania | product | Pinball machine used in A Division final tournament play | | AC/DC | product | Pinball machine used in A Division final tournament play as deciding game | | Westin Chicago North Shore | organization | Hotel venue hosting Pinball Expo 2017 in Wheeling, Illinois | ### Topics - **Primary:** Tournament format and structure, Competitive pinball results, Pinball Expo event logistics, Elite player performance - **Secondary:** Stern Pinball representation ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) — Article is factual event coverage with straightforward tournament reporting; no evaluative language or emotional tone ### Signals - **[competitive_signal]** Keith Elwin and Zach Sharpe (both Stern Pinball employees) competed at high level; A Division final featured X-Men, WWE Wrestlemania, and AC/DC as tournament machines (confidence: high) — A Division final match details with specific game selections and score reporting - **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo 2017 successfully concluded with multiple tournament divisions; operational feedback suggests Sunday vendor participation low, potentially triggering format change for 2018 (confidence: high) — Vendors packing up Sunday morning with belief that next year will be Wednesday-Saturday only --- ## Transcript **Date:** 11th October - 15th October, 2017 **Location:** Westin Chicago North Shore, 601 N Milwaukee Ave, Wheeling, IL 60090, USA **The final day at Pinball Expo is really only for the play-offs and finals of the tournaments.** The vendors and machine-bringers started packing up and loading their vans and trucks first thing on Sunday morning, so that by lunchtime pretty much everything had gone.  We believe next year’s show will only be advertised as a Wednesday to Saturday event. [![The Vendor Hall on Sunday lunchtime](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/197-pinball-expo-2017-1024x683.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/197-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) The Vendor Hall on Sunday lunchtime [![The Games Hall on Sunday lunchtime](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/198-pinball-expo-2017-1024x683.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/198-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) The Games Hall on Sunday lunchtime So, to the tournaments. There were several Flip Out tournament events at Pinball Expo, with the Main Tournament being the biggest. The machines for the Main and Classics tournaments were in their usual spot in the corridor between the hotel’s lobby and the Seminars Hall.  Entry to the Main cost $75. Seeding in the Flip Out tournament began on Thursday morning when each player got two attempts on each tournament machine.  Scores were ranked, with the top 40% of players going into the A division and the rest into B.  Some highly-seeded players would have to play in A, while the winner of B would also get a spot in A. The B Division play-offs began at 9am on Friday morning The play-offs were all best-of-three head-to-head matches played in a double-elimination format.  So the winners of each match continued int he winner bracket while the losers went into the Kevin Loza bracket with the chance to fight their way through to the final.  The highest seed got choice of machine for the first game while the Kevin Loza got the choice for the subsequent games. The B Division was won by Zachary Parks, with Tom Knorst in second.  Zachary then got a place in the A division’s play-offs. [![B division top two,Tom Knorst (2nd) and Zachary Parks (1st)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/199-pinball-expo-2017-1024x708.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/199-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) B division top two,Tom Knorst (2nd) and Zachary Parks (1st). Picture: Jim Schelberg of the Pingame Journal In the Classics Tournament, there was unlimited qualifying from 10am on Thursday until 11pm on Saturday, with the top 16 players qualifying for the play-offs on Sunday.  The top 8 received a bye through the first round. The winner of the winner bracket was Ryan Spindler, and he met the winner of the Kevin Loza bracket, Fred Cochran in the best-of-three final.  Fred won the first best-of-three which evened the score, making the next best-of-three the decider. Fred won that too to win the final.  Ryan was second, Adam Lefkoff was third and Keith Elwin fourth. [![Winner of the Classics Tournament, Fred Cochran](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/205-pinball-expo-2017-711x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/205-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) Winner of the Classics Tournament, Fred Cochran [![The top four: Fred, Ryan, Adam and Keith](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/206-pinball-expo-2017-1-1024x700.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/206-pinball-expo-2017-1.jpg) The top four: Fred, Ryan, Adam and Keith In the final of the A division it was a battle between Keith Elwin who remained undefeated in the winner bracket, and his Stern Pinball colleague Zach Sharpe who won the Kevin Loza bracket and so needed to defeat Keith in two best-of-three matches to win the final. [![Keith watches Zach as he starts on X-Men in the A division final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/200-pinball-expo-2017-1024x683.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/200-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) Keith watches Zach as he starts on X-Men in the A division final In the first game was on X-Men where Zach put up a game winning score of 180M on his second ball, causing Keith to conceded so they could move on to his choice of WWE Wrestlemania.  He had an impressive first ball and an even better second to win that game, making it 1-1 going into the third game. Game three was on AC/DC and Zach had a disappointing first ball.  In contrast, Keith put up a massive 288M on his ball one which looked like a game match and final winner. Zach’s second ball only bumped his score up to 20M while his third only made it to 120M, aking Keith the winner of the final.  Zach was second and John Replogle third. [![Zach congratulates Keith on his win](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/201-pinball-expo-2017-1024x663.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/201-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) Zach congratulates Keith on his win [![The top three in the A division: Keith (1st), Zach (2nd) and John (3rd)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/202-pinball-expo-2017-1024x674.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pinball-expo-2017/202-pinball-expo-2017.jpg) The top three in the A division: Keith (1st), Zach (2nd) and John (3rd) The A division final brought the schedule of events at Pinball Expo 2017 to a close. We will continue to update our reports to add seminar audio and Vendor Hall pictures, as well as a full list of games and vendors. [Back to the Pinball Expo 2017 index](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2017/10/12/pinball-expo-2017/) _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 23ba7154-8e62-4592-823a-44cb7421d356*