The Ray Rae Show, Episode 6: 2023 NACS & WWC

TL;DR

Raymond Davidson recounts winning the 2023 NACS and tournament performances on key machines.

Summary

Key Claims

• Raymond Davidson won the North American Pinball Championship held at District 82 in De Pere, Wisconsin

  high confidence · Rachel Ristel congratulates Raymond explicitly: 'Congratulations, Raymond, on winning. Thank you. The North American Pinball Championship.'

• The 2023 Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open was held before NACS and organizers plan to repeat it next year

  high confidence · Raymond states: 'That was actually, they called it the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open. Yep, and they want to do it again next year, so keep an eye out for that.'

• Jason Zoller won the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open with 103 WPPR points by shooting 30 loops in a row on Iron Maiden for 500 million points

  high confidence · Raymond: 'Jason Zoller on his last ball, he literally just shot like 30 loops in a row and got like 500 million points in like a minute... So Jason Zala did take the tournament and point-wise for that, that was a hundred and three points that he took home.'

• There were 150 players at the 2023 Winter 3X tournament where Raymond placed 12th

  high confidence · Raymond: 'There was 150 players... I came, talk about points... But I just didn't quite pull it off. But it got me 12th, you know, instead of 16th'

• Shadow machine at District 82 has a specific skilled shot involving left orbit into side loop that can build infinite value by hitting combo repeatedly

  high confidence · Raymond: 'If you don't know on shadow, you just shoot the left orbit into the side loop. And every time it goes up in value, and it stays the whole game. So if you just commit to that and do nothing but that, You can basically get any score you want.'

• Lumberjack Johnny's hosted tournaments with ~30 games from District 82 collection and games were set significantly harder than at District 82

  high confidence · Raymond: 'There was tournaments at Lumberjack Johnny's which actually had almost like 30 games from District 82... the games there were set harder than I think they ever were at District 82... they just went overboard and pulled every possible post they could find on the game.'

• Eric Stone's presence at Lumberjack Johnny's made games play longer, influencing subsequent setup difficulty

Notable Quotes

• “So Jason Zala did take the tournament and point-wise for that, that was a hundred and three points that he took home. So that's insane.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~22:00 — Confirms Jason Zoller's dominant tournament victory and substantial WPPR point gain

• “If you don't know on shadow, you just shoot the left orbit into the side loop. And every time it goes up in value, and it stays the whole game. So if you just commit to that and do nothing but that, You can basically get any score you want.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~45:00 — Explains advanced Shadow strategy that became decisive in tournament play

• “I'm like, oh my god, I'm gonna lose to 300,000 on Robo War and I almost did too. The ball went down the right out lane but it, you know, sometimes it'll save itself and it did.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~70:00 — Dramatic moment in match against Jared Arnott where ball save saved his tournament run

• “I'm here, the crazy lady actually screaming with my other, with my other gal pals next to me, like getting all excited, you know, about your game.”

  Rachel Ristel @ ~85:00 — Shows community engagement and personal investment in Raymond's competitive success

• “And I knew on ball three all I got to do is spell globe twice and I win.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~80:00 — Shows strategic thinking on Jetspin during critical match against Jared Arnott

• “He literally played the game for less than a minute. Yeah, and the other game that was ridiculous, if you want to watch the most fun, I think this was one of the most entertaining games to watch was the Iron Man match between me and Escher.”

  Raymond Davidson @ ~110:00 — References entertaining final match against Escher in NACS tournament

Entities

Signals

• ?

  competitive_signal: Raymond Davidson won the 2023 North American Pinball Championship at District 82 with notable victories including defeating Escher in finals

  high · Direct confirmation of NACS win; detailed match-by-match narrative of tournament progression

• ?

  competitive_signal: Shadow's left-orbit loop combo strategy is confirmed as dominant tournament strategy providing essentially unlimited scoring

  high · Raymond's detailed explanation of Shadow loop strategy and its effectiveness in multiple matches; multiple players using strategy in tournament

• ?

  competitive_signal: Game selection strategy is critical factor in match play format with limited pool of available machines per round

  high · Raymond discusses strategic game picks and mentions avoiding picking Shadow to prevent playing opponent's selections

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Iron Maiden looping strategy: hitting orbits for 200-400K each then monger bash for additional multiplied value is more efficient than direct multiball attempts

  high · Raymond explains learning from watching match between other players and discussing with Eric Thornton; spinners worth 200-300K per orbit when monger is up

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Robo War is consistently difficult for players with unpredictable ball physics and low scoring outcomes

  high · Raymond mentions consistent struggle on Robo War; multiple references to difficulty; both Raymond and Jared Arnott unable to score well

Topics

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Raymond expresses pride in his tournament victories and enjoyment of competitive play. Rachel is enthusiastic and supportive. Discussion focuses on accomplishments, community, and technical gameplay depth. Minor frustrations mentioned about difficult game setups and tough losses, but overall tone is celebratory and appreciative.