# AUSTRIAN PINBALL OPEN 2016 **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2016-11-01 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2016/11/01/austrian-pinball-open-2016 --- ## Analysis The Austrian Pinball Open 2016 took place September 17-18 at Hall of Pinball-Fame in Badendorf, Austria, attracting over 100 international competitors across ~100 machines. The tournament used a Swiss system format with 17 rounds on day one, leading to a 24-player finals bracket. Krisztián Szalai won the grand final on Jersey Jack Pinball's The Hobbit, scoring over 1 million points in his second ball despite playing the game for the first time that day. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Over 100 machines were available at the Hall of Pinball-Fame during APO 2016 — _Article states 'Around 100 machines were played during Austrian Pinball Open (APO) this year'_ - [HIGH] Krisztián Szalai played The Hobbit for the first time during the grand final — _Article explicitly states 'By the way: He played his very first game of The Hobbit in the finals!'_ - [HIGH] The tournament attracted participants from 9 countries including Austria, Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway, Hungary, Italy, and Australia — _Article states 'participants coming not just from Austria but also Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway, Hungary, Italy and even Australia'_ - [HIGH] Hall of Pinball-Fame was established about 1.5 years before this tournament (approximately early 2015) — _Article states 'About one-and-a-half years have passed since Austria had a new premium place to play pinball'_ - [HIGH] APO 2017 is scheduled for September 15-17, 2017 — _Article concludes with 'Save the date: APO 2017 will take place from 15th to 17th of September'_ ### Notable Quotes > "He played his very first game of The Hobbit in the finals! Can you imagine?" > — **Article author**, Finals section > _Highlights the remarkable nature of Szalai's victory—winning a tournament final on a machine he'd never played before_ > "The game plays quite slowly and ramping up points means going the distance. A lot of endurance is needed to being able to constantly get those important multiballs that bring in the most points." > — **Article author**, Finals game description > _Describes The Hobbit's gameplay characteristics and strategic demands in tournament context_ > "With each ball, it is necessary to stay in the game much longer compared to many other pins." > — **Article author**, Finals game description > _Emphasizes The Hobbit's unique endurance-focused gameplay compared to other pinball machines_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Austrian Pinball Open 2016 | event | Major competitive pinball tournament in Austria drawing 108 players from 9 countries | | Hall of Pinball-Fame | location | Pinball venue in Badendorf, Austria (8413) operated by Niegelhell distributor, hosting ~100 machines across multiple floors | | Krisztián Szalai | person | Hungarian competitive pinball player, WPPR ranked #82, winner of APO 2016 grand final | | Markus Stix | person | Competitive pinball player, WPPR ranked #29, finalist in APO 2016 grand final | | Roberto Pedroni | person | Competitive pinball player, WPPR ranked #43, finalist in APO 2016 grand final | | Cesare Datri | person | Competitive pinball player, WPPR ranked #100, qualified for APO 2016 finals | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; The Hobbit was featured as the grand final machine at APO 2016 | | The Hobbit | product | Jersey Jack Pinball table used as the grand final machine at APO 2016; described as slow-playing with high endurance requirements | | Flippnic | organization | Styrian pinball club run by Sandra and Bernd Prucher, co-organizer of APO 2016 | | Sandra Prucher | person | Co-founder/operator of Flippnic pinball club, tournament organizer | | Bernd Prucher | person | Co-founder/operator of Flippnic pinball club, tournament organizer | | Stefan Riedler | person | Operator of RS Pinball distributor, co-organizer of APO 2016, also competed as a finalist | | Niegelhell | company | Austrian game machine distributor run by Siegfried Niegelhell; operates Hall of Pinball-Fame, sponsored raffle prize | | RS Pinball | company | Austrian pinball distributor run by Stefan Riedler, co-organizer of APO 2016 | | Siegfried Niegelhell | person | Operator of Niegelhell distributor company and Hall of Pinball-Fame venue | | Jenna Muer | person | Sponsor of tournament prizes at APO 2016 | | Andrew Heighway | person | Representative from Heighway Pinball, presented Full Throttle at previous APO tournament | | Heighway Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Full Throttle was showcased at APO 2015 | | Ghostbusters LE | product | Pinball machine displayed at APO 2016 | | Full Throttle | product | Heighway Pinball machine shown at APO 2015 and 2016 (27-inch display version at 2016) | | Johnny Mnemonic | product | Pinball machine offered as raffle prize at APO 2016 by distributor Niegelhell | ### Topics - **Primary:** Tournament organization and format, Competitive pinball players and rankings, Jersey Jack Pinball's The Hobbit as competitive machine - **Secondary:** International pinball community and participation, Pinball venue infrastructure in Austria, Machine showcases and new game reveals at tournaments - **Mentioned:** Pinball distributors and operators ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Article is enthusiastic about the tournament's success, organization quality, competitive matches, and international participation. Celebration of Szalai's unlikely victory and announcement of next year's tournament reinforce positive tone. ### Signals - **[event_signal]** Austrian Pinball Open 2016 attracted 108 international competitors from 9 countries to Hall of Pinball-Fame, representing a successful regional tournament infrastructure (confidence: high) — Tournament report with verified attendance numbers, participant countries, and detailed tournament structure - **[competitive_signal]** The Hobbit selected as grand final machine emphasizing endurance-based gameplay requiring sustained multiball management rather than quick-hit scoring (confidence: medium) — Article notes: 'The game plays quite slowly and ramping up points means going the distance. A lot of endurance is needed' - **[market_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball's The Hobbit is actively competing in tournament scene and being used for championship finals, indicating market presence and competitive viability (confidence: high) — Machine selected as grand final game at major international tournament; Szalai scored over 1 million points in second ball --- ## Transcript Date: 17th & 18th September, 2016 Location: Hall of Pinball-Fame, 12 Badendorf, Badendorf 8413, Austria About one-and-a-half years have passed since Austria had a new premium place to play pinball. In the midst of rural Styria in southern Austria, a warehouse from local game machine distributor company Niegelhell became a pinball hotspot. Around 100 machines were played during Austrian Pinball Open (APO) this year. Although the main hall is quite spacious, a lot of the machines were located in the upper floors of the building. You can read more about the Hall of Pinball-Fame here and should consider going there at least once. ![Hanging out outside the Hall of Pinball-Fame](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/1.jpg) Hanging out outside the Hall of Pinball-Fame This year was the biggest APO so far. Over 100 people took part in the main tournament while everyone also had the option of competing in a side tournament (free of charge) where a bunch of classic machines of the likes of Firepower or Space Station had to be played. ![Prizes for the tournaments, sponsored by Jenna Muer](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/10.jpg) Prizes for the tournaments, sponsored by Jenna Muer In addition to that, a warm-up tournament took place a day before (also free of charge), mostly catering for those who had a longer trip to the Hall of Pinball-Fame. ![The tournament schedule projected on the big screen](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/3.jpg) The tournament schedule projected on the big screen ![There were several screens showing the schedule and current results](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/4.jpg) There results Speaking of longer trips, despite the somewhat hidden venue, the APO had an international appeal, with participants coming not just from Austria but also Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway, Hungary, Italy and even Australia. ![Training](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/2.jpg) Training ![Playing and chatting](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/11.jpg) Playing and chatting A major pinball tournament in Austria is always connected with the presentation of brand new machines. Last year, Full Throttle from Heighway Pinball was being shown and played, with Andrew Heighway also present at the tournament. This year, next to a Ghostbusters LE and a Full Throttle machine with a 27 inch display, a The Hobbit table was set up which served as the game for the grand final. The machines and the organization of the tournament was provided by Styrian pinball club Flippnic, run by Sandra and Bernd Prucher, and the Austrian distributor companies Niegelhell (run by Siegfried Niegelhell) as well as RS Pinball run by Stefan Riedler, who was also in charge of hosting and presenting the tournament. There was also a raffle taking place with a great prize provided by distributor Niegelhell – a Johnny Mnemonic pinball machine. ![RS Pinball advertising the newest pins](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/9.jpg) RS Pinball advertising the newest pins With 108 people taking part, it wasn’t an easy task for the organizers to execute the APO smoothly and cater for every inconsistency and problem that arose during the tournament. ![Stefan Riedler explaining the tournament details](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/7.jpg) Stefan Riedler explaining the tournament details ![Sandra and Bernd Prucher preparing the tournament certificates](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/8.jpg) Sandra and Bernd Prucher preparing the tournament certificates It was even more remarkable then that everything worked out really well. Players were competing under the Swiss system, spread over 17 rounds during the first day of the tournament. The best 48 players then qualified for the group phase. ![Playing in the APO 2016](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/12.jpg) Playing in the APO 2016 ![Final ranking after Day 1](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/21.jpg) Final ranking after Day 1 On the second day, those 48 best players were put into six groups with eight players each. In each group, every player had to play each other player in his or her group. The four players who won the most points in each group then advanced to the finals. ![The winners of the eight groups](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/5.jpg) The winners of the eight groups The 24 best players of Austrian Pinball Open 2016 were: | | | --- | | APO 2016 Qualifiers | | | | | --- | | Roberto Pedroni | | Arno Nöbl | | Markus Stix | | Ingo Götzhaber | | Tormod Pettersen | | Flavio Baddaria | | Cesare Datri | | Philippe Bocquet | | Krisztián Szalai | | Ales Rebec | | Péter András Simon | | Istvan Ruha | | Andrej Rizner | | Guiseppe Violante | | David Schrittwieser | | Marko Ritosa | | Stefan Riedler | | Istvan Szabo | | Istvan Berecz | | Zeljko Vasic | | Tobias Wagemann | | Roland Schwarz | | Stefan Karlhuber | | Sandor Varga | | These qualifiers then moved on to the finals, playing within a single elimination system. Many of those games were tough matches which is no big surprise given some very strong competitors like Markus Stix (rank 29), Roberto Pedroni (rank 43), Krisztián Szalai (rank 82) or Cesare Datri (rank 100) were flipping it out. ![Roberto Pedroni was hoping to make pinball great again](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/22.jpg) Roberto Pedroni was hoping to make pinball great again Three of those four top-100 players – Pedroni, Szalai and Stix – then also found each other in the grand final, and thus had once more successfully defended their great placements in the WPPR ranking. But who would be the big winner? Choosing the new The Hobbit game from Jersey Jack Pinball as the machine for the finals was an interesting choice. The game plays quite slowly and ramping up points means going the distance. A lot of endurance is needed to being able to constantly get those important multiballs that bring in the most points. With each ball, it is necessary to stay in the game much longer compared to many other pins. There was a very suspenseful atmosphere within the hall. More and more bystanders gathered around the finalists to get a glimpse of this very important match. ![The audience for the final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/20.jpg) The audience for the final Roberto Pedroni (player 1) fell behind pretty soon, losing his first ball very early on. Krisztián Szalai (player 2) managed to play a very consistent first ball, followed by Markus Stix (player 3) who couldn’t quite keep up with Krisztián. ![Roberto Pedroni in the final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/15.jpg) Roberto Pedroni in the final The second ball was the deciding factor: Krisztián Szalai played astonishingly, racking up over a million points which is an exceptional achievement on the The Hobbit table. By the way: He played his very first game of The Hobbit in the finals! Can you imagine? ![Krisztián Szalai in the final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/17.jpg) Krisztián Szalai in the final Krisztián’s third ball wasn’t quite so good but he still had a big lead over Markus Stix. While Markus played the last ball of APO 2016, the room was filled with even more excitement than before. ![Markus Stix in the final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/16.jpg) Markus Stix in the final He showed incredible talent, strength and endurance during this ball and thus came close to Krisztián’s score. But finally Markus couldn’t help but drain the ball due to a misflip caused by a – very human – decrease in concentration and energy after two long days of playing competitive pinball. ![The final scores](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/19.jpg) The final scores So, the Austrian Pinball Open 2016 really had a memorable final game and generated a lot of happy and exciting moments. That is why the organizers are already busy preparing their next tournament. ![The top three with the organisers](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/apo-2016/6.jpg) The top three with the organisers Save the date: APO 2017 will take place from 15th to 17th of September. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 870bc8aa-2981-42ec-b3ab-777f951ca75e*