Episode 421: Markus Stix

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·11m 14s·analyzed·Jun 24, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Marcus Stix discusses Austria's pinball renaissance and hosting 2025 World Championships

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Marcus Stix, an Austrian pinball legend with 30 years of competitive experience, about hosting the 2025 IFPA World Championship in Austria and the thriving Austrian pinball scene. They discuss Marcus's tournament organizing work (Austrian Pinball Open since 2014), rising Austrian talent including Abe Flips and his upcoming 'Mastering Pinball' instructional video, and the pressure and excitement of hosting a world championship in his home country.

Key Claims

Marcus Stix won his first tournament at age 17 in 1992 (Terminator 2 tournament in Graz) and still owns the machine he won
high confidence · Direct statement from Marcus about his competitive history
The Austrian Pinball Open has been running since 2014 and will be hosted at the same venue as the 2025 IFPA World Championship
high confidence · Marcus describes founding the tournament in 2012, first event in 2013, relocated to Baden-Dorf in 2014
Abe Flips has been playing pinball for only three to four years but is producing 'Mastering Pinball,' a professional instructional video featuring 17 minutes on nudging and collaboration with Johannes Ostermeyer
high confidence · Marcus and Jeff discuss Abe's rapid skill development and video production status
The European Pinball Championship (won by Paul Englert in 2025) broke a streak of North American winners at major pinball championships
high confidence · Jeff states this as establishing European competitive strength before World Championships
Austria is hosting both the European Pinball Championship and IFPA World Championship in the same year (2025) for the first time
high confidence · Marcus: 'we are very proud to make two major championships in one year the first time in austria'
Flip Arena, a pinball club in Vöcklerbrook run by Stefan Riedler, has approximately 16 machines and hosts tournaments and leagues every two to three weeks
medium confidence · Marcus describes Flip Arena's operations; specific machine count stated as approximate ('I think')
Abe Flips came from Innsbruck, Tyrol, and created instructional pinball videos because existing tutorials online were insufficient for his learning needs
high confidence · Marcus describes Abe's origin and motivation for video series
The first IFPA World Championship was won by Rick Stetta in 1991, same year as the first PAPA event
high confidence · Jeff provides historical context; Marcus confirms awareness of early major championships

Notable Quotes

“Yeah, a great game, but a nice reminder. Hey, look at me. I was on top at 17. Yeah. A whiz kid.”
Marcus Stix @ ~5:30 — Reflects on his early competitive success and how the Terminator 2 machine serves as a personal trophy
“This is the biggest tournament I'll go to all year and it's also one of the best”
Jeff Teolis @ ~13:00 — High praise for the European Pinball Championship quality, establishing credibility for Austria's tournament hosting capability
“we are very proud to make two major championships in one year the first time in austria”
Marcus Stix @ ~15:30 — Expresses Austrian pride and unprecedented achievement in hosting both EPC and World Championships in 2025
“I think we're all excited about his mastering pinball. Looking very forward, yeah.”
Marcus Stix @ ~25:00 — Community anticipation for Abe Flips' instructional video series among Austrian pinball scene
“He just was fascinated watching it. And he hasn't been playing that long.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~22:00 — Highlights Abe Flips' unusual rapid ascent from casual interest to recognized instructor in just 3-4 years
“It's going to be a game changer. It's going to be a real improvement to a lot of people's pinball.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~28:00 — High expectations for impact of Mastering Pinball video on competitive player performance
“And competitive pinball is important to see as a sport. And it is sport, in my opinion.”
Marcus Stix @ ~18:00 — Marcus's perspective on legitimacy of competitive pinball as organized sport
“Do it for your country. Do it for Austria.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~35:00 — Jokingly encourages European players to win World Championship and maintain Paul Englert's streak-breaking victory

Entities

Marcus StixpersonJeff Teolisperson Abe FlipspersonStefan RiedlerpersonJohannes OstermeyerpersonPaul EnglertpersonRick StettapersonMarkus RamsnerpersonArno Neuberperson

Signals

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event_signal: Austria hosting both European Pinball Championship and IFPA World Championship in same year (2025) for first time in history; major organizational undertaking with strong community support
high · Marcus: 'we are very proud to make two major championships in one year the first time in austria'; Jeff's praise of EPC quality as 'biggest tournament I'll go to all year'
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sentiment_shift: Strong enthusiasm and pride in Austrian pinball community about hosting World Championship; confidence in organizational capacity based on successful EPC execution
high · Marcus: 'It's a lot of pressure. Everyone in Austria is like, okay, can we do it? We're so successful with the European Pinball Championship'; Jeff: 'they will be able to do it, especially because of people like this'
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community_signal: Strong grassroots tournament and club infrastructure in Austria supporting competitive pinball growth; Flip Arena, Austrian Pinball Open, and European Championship success demonstrates ecosystem maturity
high · Multiple venues (Flip Arena, Baden-Dorf club), regular events (tournaments every 2-3 weeks), major sponsors (RS Pinball), and experienced organizers (Marcus, Arno, Michael Trepp)
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market_signal: European competitive pinball resurgence signaled by Paul Englert's EPC victory breaking North American dominance streak at major championships; potential momentum shift toward European champions at World level
high · Jeff: 'with Paul Englert winning, with him winning the European Pinball Championship, that stopped the streak of North Americans winning these majors. So keep the streak alive at the Worlds.'
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Topics

Austrian pinball competitive scene and infrastructureprimary2025 IFPA World Championship hosting in AustriaprimaryRising Austrian talent: Abe Flips and instructional contentprimaryTournament organizing and community buildingprimaryHistory of competitive pinball (1991-present)secondaryEuropean competitive pinball resurgence and diversitysecondaryPinball as organized sportsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Highly positive tone throughout; enthusiasm about Austria hosting World Championship, pride in country's competitive pinball growth, optimism about emerging talent, and camaraderie between experienced players. No significant criticism or conflict. Minor uncertainty only about whether European players will continue winning streak.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.034

it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teels you can find everything on pinballprofile.com we're on twitter x instagram at pinball profile we've got a great facebook group as well if you'd like to email any questions maybe a guest you'd like to hear that's pinball profile at gmail.com and if you'd like to show your support don't worry the show will always be free but we do appreciate the support to help keep this thing going that's at patreon.com slash pinball profile want to thank rodney c lua w so many others including cliff a sean i and more thank you again for your support getting ready for the world championships it's going to be huge and it's happening in austria which is also the home of the european pinball Championship just a few weeks earlier. It's a lot of pressure. Everyone in Austria is like, okay, can we do it? We're so successful with the European Pinball Championship. And I can tell you, they will be able to do it, especially because of people like this, an Austrian, if not European, if not world legend, Marcus Stix. Hey, Marcus, how are you? Hey, Jeff. I'm fine. Thanks. You know what it's like to be at a world championship. In fact, the last time it was in Europe, in Germany at Freddy's, you came fourth. So you know the pressure, you know how great the players are and you never know who's going to win it this year. But when it's in your home country, it's a little more exciting, isn't it? Oh yeah, absolutely. We are very excited and looking forward. The prepares are still running and yeah, we hope it would be a good event. I'm sure it'll be wonderful too. And again, people are going to enjoy Austria that have never been here before. I've only got to see a small sample of it but uh winter would be nice certainly for skiing but maybe not for uh road travel and stuff but you have a beautiful country here i'm really really impressed yeah thank you i'm i'm i'm on you and uh i enjoy it yeah absolutely you have been playing for a very very long time 30 years of competitive pinball which is older than some of our uh top players marcus and i'm there right there with you but 30 years is a long time you've seen a lot of changes You know, we mentioned certainly the games and sometimes companies went by the wayside, but now we've got so many different machines. What was it like playing pinball competitions back when you first started? It was, I guess, in 1992, there was a Terminator 2 tournament in Graz in Austria. And I did it. I made the main prize. I was first at the end and I won a new in Terminator 2 machine I was 17 years old Do you still have the machine Yeah I still have the machine yeah You can get rid of it It like a trophy right Yeah absolutely Absolutely, yeah. And a great game, but a nice reminder. Hey, look at me. I was on top at 17. Yeah. A whiz kid. It's the way it is, isn't it, nowadays? But, you know, we see some players of our age still compete, still do very well. You're going to be ready for the World Championship coming up. But so 92, that was the first year after the very first two majors. The first two majors happened in 1991. It was the IFPA World Championship. That was Rick Stetta winning that. And that was also the first year of the PAPA. I guess they called it the World Championship back then, too. They didn't call it PAPA 1, but it was the first time it happened. And then shortly after that, Marcus, you probably remember this, was the first time they had the third major, which was the European Pinball Championship. That was in 1995. That had to be exciting back then. Yeah, absolutely. I don't remember if I was there. I think I was not. You'd only been 20 years old. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I don't think I was there. But when John Youssi it come to this side of the pond, if you will, you're like, OK, now I can. I don't have to go across to North America. The big events are coming here to Europe and it's rotating. And now here in 2025, Austria is going to be hosting it. So it's exciting to see competitive pinball grow. What are your thoughts of competitive pinball and what it was like back in the day? Yeah, I'm sure that people love it and more and more people love it. And I think competitive pinball is important to see as a sport. And it is sport, in my opinion. I agree. Absolutely. And yeah, I love to see this and I hope there is growing on. and we are very proud to make two major championships in one year the first time in austria european championship and the ifpa well you know i had a lot of people at the european pinball championship ask me coming from north america say you know how does this tournament fare compared to some of the big tournaments in north america and i said without blinking an eye this is the biggest tournament i'll go to all year and it's also one of the best so austria pulled it off so that's why I'm confident the same will happen with the World Championships at the end of June. It takes a lot of work and you know in the area RS Pinball is a big big sponsor with what Stefan Riedler does but tell us about Flip Arena his club. Yeah a pinball club also in Vöcklerbrook he has about 16 machines there I think and yeah he has I think every two or three weeks open for the public He makes little tournaments He has a league And there is also the final of the Austrian Championship Series every year Okay, great. Again, with that many machines, it's kind of nice to do that. But there are other big Austrian events. And in fact, you've run one since 2014, the Austrian Pinball Open. And that's in September. And that's a long time going. So that's actually the same venue where the World Championships can be. Tell us what it was like for you to put that together and why you did so. Yeah, that's right. We make our club in, I think, 2012. And the first big tournament was 2013 in a big cinema. And 2014, it was the first Austrian Pinball Open. And since then, we are in our club in Baden-Dorf. And yes, every year there are coming much more people from all over the world. And everybody is excited and they love our venue. At the European Pinball Championship, I got to know your country director, Arno Neuber. And he is certainly very knowledgeable when it comes to running tournaments and whatnot. And you were also a big part of that and so many other people, Michael Trepp and the Lindsays were there. And of course, Stefan. It took a lot of people to make this go. But with Arno, I know he's a great player too. You're a great player. Tell us some of the other great players here in Austria. I think that one of the best players from Austria is Markus Ramsner. On this event, he's still in the high score tournament. and he made in the major EPC tournament the top 16. Then Abraham, Abe. Yes, Abe flips, yeah. I think we're all excited about his mastering pinball. Looking very forward, yeah. He told me, the filming is certainly all done. It's now production and voice work and sound effects and all those kind of little things. But at the EPC, they showed a nice little five-minute clip for it. So all those people, and there are a lot of people that were on the Kickstarter campaign, if you will, they're going to be very happy when they see this. Abe is a great pinball player. Yeah, absolutely. Really. But he kind of came out of nowhere. I remember him telling me this story. He just was fascinated watching it. And he hasn't been playing that long. No, no. I think he started three or four years ago or something. And he has a few machines at home. And, yeah, he learned a lot in a very short time. How do I get on that learning curve speed I mean I been playing a long time you been playing a long time Where was that acceleration for just a few years like Abe has what in the water here at austria is what i really trying to say tell us more about abe seedler yeah i know him uh i think three years ago uh he comes from innsbruck from tyrol and um yeah he make this very very cool videos and uh the idea was uh his idea he know there is There are a lot of tutorials on the internet and so on, but for him it was not enough. He wanted more professional and so he had the idea to make something like this and he made it really good. It's funny, we're talking about someone who's been playing for a short period of time, but a lot of the top players or players near the top or top 100 IFPA players watch his videos and get some good refreshers, or maybe there's something that they didn't do. When they see this new video with like 17 minutes of nudging, incredible tricks that Johannes Ostermeyer does, and he does a big part of it, it's going to be a game changer. It's going to be a real improvement to a lot of people's pinball. Yeah, I think so too. Yeah, absolutely. And in cooperation with Johannes, absolutely awesome. We look forward to that. And we look forward to the IFPA World Championship at the end of June in your location where you hold the Austrian pinball open. I know it's going to be wonderful. Will the title stay in Europe? Will it go back to North America? It's a big challenge, isn't it? It's a really, really big challenge, yeah. In fact, with Paul Englert winning, with him winning the European Pinball Championship, that stopped the streak of North Americans winning these majors. So keep the streak alive at the Worlds. Yeah, try it. You're going to have to do it. Do it for your country. Do it for Austria. Yeah, let's do it. Thanks for all your help. And I know your countrymates and friends from all around Europe certainly appreciate everything you do. And I enjoyed you coming on Pinball Profile. Thanks, Marcus. Thank you, too. Thanks for having me. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're on Facebook and Instagram at pinballprofile. We have a great Facebook group as well. If you'd like to email us, it's pinballprofile at gmail.com. And if you'd like to show your support, that's patreon.com slash pinball profile. Thank you so much to people like GME Law, to Nick N, Stefan R, Fox Cities, and more. Looking forward to the World Championships in Austria. I'm Jeff Teolas. you