2019 IFPA Pin-Masters Qualifying | Day 1 | First Session

TL;DR

2019 IFPA-Masters Day 1 Pin Golf tournament coverage in Las Vegas with target score-based format.

Summary

Key Claims

• Pin Masters uses a five-ball format where hitting a target score within five balls scores 1-5 depending on which ball; missing the target scores 6-10 based on final score

  high confidence · Derek Thompson explains the Pin Masters scoring format multiple times throughout the broadcast

• Star Trek has a target score of 35 million for this Pin Masters event

  high confidence · Derek Thompson announces this at the start and it is confirmed throughout gameplay

• Black Rose has a target score of 12-15 million (commentator unsure initially, later confirmed as 12M for main play and 15M for one game)

  medium confidence · Derek Thompson initially unsure, audience member 'B Slayer' provides correction to 15M, later referenced as 12M

• Josh Sharpe sets target scores for Pin Masters based on analysis of scores from the previous day's Nationals

  medium confidence · Derek Thompson states: 'Josh he takes all the scores from Nationals and then you know he takes a look to see where people have scored and then he sets the target based upon those'

• The previous day's Nationals in Nashville went very late, extending past 2 AM

  high confidence · Derek Thompson references: 'Nashville's went very very late yesterday' and later 'I think they went all two o'clock in the morning'

• Pin Golf is a nine-hole format where players play the same nine machines twice on Sunday for playoff rounds

  high confidence · Derek Thompson explains the format: 'you'll be playing nine holes and essentially there'll be nine different machines' and playoff structure

• Joe Lemaire achieved a hole-in-one (score of 1) on Black Rose on his first ball

  high confidence · Derek Thompson commentates: 'I tell you when you nail that hole in one on your first ball I tell you it's satisfying'

• Women's Nationals featured excellent play, including Carrie Wing competing

  medium confidence · Derek Thompson mentions: 'I believe Carrie Wing she actually ended up being in the Nationals as well too' and praises the women's competition

Notable Quotes

• “so essentially what you're trying to do is you know unlike most pinball you're trying to only play one ball instead of playing you know three or or however many of the machine is set up for the lower score that you have the better chance that you have”

  Derek Thompson @ early broadcast — Explains the fundamental difference between Pin Golf format and standard pinball tournament play

• “I am the Lone Wolf I am here alone I'm playing in the afternoon session so essentially unfortunately you're stuck with me for this morning session but I'm hoping I can be as entertaining as I can”

  Derek Thompson @ early broadcast — Introduces himself as the sole commentator, sets expectations for the stream

• “what Steve Ritchie intended was this to be a flow machine and not a trap up exercise so I'm glad to see more players are playing like this That's My Style”

  Derek Thompson @ mid-broadcast — References designer intent for Star Trek and personal playing philosophy

• “if you're getting nines and tens in this format you're gonna it's really hard to recover from it very very tough so you want to make sure that you know you're you're at least achieving in those five balls”

  Derek Thompson @ mid-broadcast — Emphasizes the scoring pressure and strategy in Pin Golf format

• “it's one of the most silliest video modes I've ever seen in a game”

  Derek Thompson @ during Black Rose commentary — Critical opinion on Black Rose's video mode implementation

• “that's pinball unfortunately been there done that”

  Derek Thompson @ discussing player drain — Philosophical commentary on the unpredictability of pinball

• “in the pin golf format you'll see a lot of CopyCat play within that just because you know somebody's found a way of going ahead and you know achieving that Target score quite quickly”

  Derek Thompson @ mid-broadcast — Observes player behavior patterns in Pin Golf format

Entities

Signals

• ?

  event_signal: Pin Golf format uses golf-scoring on target-based pinball machines: players score 1-5 for hitting target within five balls, 6-10 for missing; lowest score wins. Format emphasizes strategy, risk management, and achieving specific score thresholds rather than raw scoring ability.

  high · Derek Thompson extensively explains the Pin Golf format throughout the broadcast with multiple examples of scoring and player strategies

• ?

  gameplay_signal: Star Trek playing at Pin-Masters is described as 'quite manageable' and 'controllable' with good flow; Black Rose has a challenging middle shot that causes rejection issues and forces players to adapt to alternate strategies like lock-based multiball

  high · Derek Thompson: Star Trek 'probably one of the more manageable games here for sure'; Black Rose middle shot 'can be a little rejecting' with multiple players switching strategies

• ?

  competitive_signal: Players showing adaptive strategy: Joe Lemaire successfully executes middle-scoop-based Broadside strategy on Black Rose for hole-in-one; other players (Jim Belsito, Josh Sharpe, John Garnett) switch to lock-based strategy when middle shot proves difficult. Copycat play observed within Pin Golf format.

  high · Derek Thompson observes different strategies being employed and notes 'you'll see a lot of CopyCat play' when a successful strategy is found

• ?

  event_signal: Pin-Masters Day 1 running slightly behind schedule due to Nashville Nationals extending very late (past 2 AM); Derek Thompson commentating solo in morning session; Carl assisting with target score distribution

  high · Derek Thompson: 'we're just running a little bit behind Nashville's went very very late yesterday'; mentions needing target score sheets