Episode 239: The Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2019

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·17m 51s·analyzed·Dec 31, 2019

Analysis

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TL;DR

Pinball Profile Top 10 2019: Year-end celebration of influential players, designers, and community builders shaping competitive and enthusiast pinball.

Summary

Jeff Teolis presents Pinball Profile's annual Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2019, highlighting competitive players, designers, tournament organizers, and content creators who shaped the pinball community that year. The episode opens with Teolis declining a grassroots campaign to replace Josh Sharp as IFPA president, then provides extensive honorable mentions before revealing his curated list of ten influential figures including Carrie Wing, Steve Ritchie, and Scott Denisey. The discussion emphasizes community growth, women's participation, international tournament development, and the success of boutique manufacturers like Spooky Pinball.

Key Claims

There was a grassroots movement to have Jeff Teolis replace Josh Sharp as IFPA president, including internet photos of people holding signs.
high confidence · Teolis describes a 'mob-like mentality and movement' backed by 'the large majority' based on 'obvious frustration' with current IFPA leadership.
Stern Pinball released six pinball titles in 2019: The Monsters, Black Knight Sword of Rage, Jurassic Park, Elvira House of Horrors, Star Wars Pin, and Stranger Things.
high confidence · Teolis lists these titles explicitly when reviewing manufacturer performance in 2019.
Spooky Pinball's Rick and Morty sold out 750 units faster than any game in recent memory.
high confidence · Teolis states: '750 units gone instantly' and credits theme, design quality, and community affection for the underdog company.
Johannes Ostermeyer became the new number one player in the world in late 2019 and won IFPA 16.
high confidence · Teolis mentions Ostermeyer's 'incredible win at IFPA 16 and also became the new number one player in the world just a few weeks ago.'
The Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb podcast 'Special One Lit' organized a 24-hour Project Pinball streaming marathon that raised over $50,000.
high confidence · Teolis praises the 'biggie' of 'this month, the 24-hour Project Pinball streaming marathon with special guests and over $50,000 raised.'
The Whipped women's tournament at ReplayFX 2019 had 128 women competitors and a waiting list, doubling in size from 2018.
high confidence · Teolis states: '128 women and a waiting list of many more at ReplayFX. Smart adjustments to the format, a bigger playoff group were just a few of the noticeable improvements.'
Christopher Franchi designed art for four different shows in 2019, donated art packages to charity, and left Stern to join Chicago Gaming Company.
high confidence · Honorable mention details: 'Designed art for four different shows left Stern to join Chicago Gaming Company' and 'more than one donation to charity including a unique art package that raised a few thousand dollars for Project Pinball.'

Notable Quotes

“I have no idea how this was started, other than the obvious frustration, but I am humbled. Even though the large majority has screamed for this request, I'm afraid I'm going to have to reluctantly decline.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~0:30-1:00 — Teolis publicly declines a grassroots campaign to replace Josh Sharp, providing insight into IFPA leadership dissatisfaction and his own humility regarding industry politics.
“The IFPA is Josh's baby, albeit a baby that has left home, emancipated from its parent, changed its last name, and joined the Witness Relocation Program.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~1:00-1:20 — Humorous but pointed criticism of the IFPA's organizational trajectory under Josh Sharp, suggesting it has evolved beyond his original control.
“Pinball Profile was created for you, the listener, to learn something new about people connected to pinball. Players, collectors, operators, industry professionals, content creators, and more.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~3:00-3:30 — Statement of Teolis's mission and values for the podcast, establishing why these interviews and highlights matter to the community.
“Not a rock band, not a movie, not a TV show, but a sequel to Steve's earlier pinball machines with Black Knight Sword of Rage.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~18:00 — Highlights the significance of Black Knight Sword of Rage as Stern's first original/quasi-unlicensed game in 18 years, a notable design decision.
“750 units gone instantly. Was it the theme? Certainly a factor for the cult classic TV show but I equally believe that it was because of Scott's great designs his sound and light package his likeability and the pinball community's fondness for the underdog if you will the little guy playing with the big boys.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~52:00-53:00 — Analysis of Spooky Pinball's Rick and Morty success, attributing sales to designer quality, community support for boutique manufacturers, and theme appeal.
“We all enjoyed Peter and all the great players watching the great footage from Jim Lindsay's incredible JDL pinball stream.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~15:00 — References the importance of streaming in elevating international pinball visibility and competitive coverage.

Entities

Jeff TeolispersonJosh SharppersonPinball ProfilemediaCarrie WingpersonSteve RitchiepersonScott DeniseypersonJohannes Ostermeyerperson

Signals

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community_signal: IFPA Women's Advisory Board creation in 2019 accelerated women's participation and tournament growth, evidenced by doubled Whipped tournament size (128 competitors) and creation of state/provincial championships.
high · Teolis praises: 'The newly created Women's Advisory Board is a great step forward for the IFPA. Instantly, we've seen surveys, suggestions, feedback, and changes to the Women's World Championship, including state and provincial championships.'
?
event_signal: Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb organized a 24-hour Project Pinball streaming marathon raising over $50,000, demonstrating growing platform power for pinball content creators and community fundraising.
high · Teolis cites '24-hour Project Pinball streaming marathon with special guests and over $50,000 raised' as 'the biggie' of 2019 media accomplishments.
?
community_signal: Pinball streaming and content creation gaining prominence as core community infrastructure (JDL stream, TWIP podcast, Straight Down the Middle, Pinball Cribs); integrated into major tournament broadcasts.
high · Teolis credits 'Jim Lindsay's incredible JDL pinball stream,' Zach Manny's multiple projects, and Emoto's video coverage as essential to 'great footage from...great players' visibility and community education.
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competitive_signal: Youth dominance accelerating: three of top eight IFPA players and four of top 12 were under age 18 as of late 2019, signaling generational shift in competitive pinball.
high · Teolis notes: 'three of the top eight players and four of the top 12 are under the age of 18. A great looking future for pinball.'
?

Topics

Competitive pinball player rankings and tournament resultsprimaryWomen's participation in pinball competitionsprimaryStern Pinball game releases and designer talentprimaryBoutique manufacturer success (Spooky Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball)primaryPinball community content creation and streamingprimaryIFPA leadership and organizational governancesecondaryInternational pinball expansion (Australia, Europe)secondaryCharitable fundraising in pinball communitysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Teolis maintains celebratory, appreciative tone throughout the episode, praising community members and celebrating industry growth. Opening IFPA criticism is measured and humorous rather than hostile. No major negativity except references to Holly Koskinen's health diagnosis, which is handled with compassion. Overall sentiment reflects pride in community accomplishments, optimism about youth participation, and support for diverse manufacturers and player demographics.

Transcript

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it's time now for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teolis you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and follow us on instagram at pinball profile Welcome to this special year-end episode. It has been a great year, and I hope the same for you too. Been a bit of an eye-opener for me recently in a poll done on the super awesome pinball show, and also by noticing several internet photos of people holding these signs up. There's been this mob-like mentality and movement to have yours truly replace Josh Sharpe as the new IFPA president. I have no idea how this was started, other than the obvious frustration, but I am humbled. Even though the large majority has screamed for this request, I'm afraid I'm going to have to reluctantly decline. The IFPA is Josh's baby, albeit a baby that has left home, emancipated from its parent, changed its last name, and joined the Witness Relocation Program. I can't take this away from him, no matter how many people protest. So instead, Josh, you are the IFPA president. You're welcome. You can keep that title on your mantle where you have space from the lack of major tournament trophies. And instead of a revolution or exodus from the current IFPA dictatorship, let's work with Josh. his lack of ball saves, and his little April Fool's gags. Even though I'm the proclaimed IFBA People's President, Josh, we look forward to 2020 and the continued growth of pinball throughout the world. Keep up the great work. As the calendar changes, I'm continuing my tradition of highlighting my annual Pinball Profile Top 10 list of the most intriguing people for 2019. I'm extremely fortunate to be able to play pinball across the globe, whether it be the Pinball Profile World Tour, the Stern Pro Circuit events, or other tournaments and shows. I get to meet a lot of wonderful pinball people in the community, many of them you get to hear on this podcast, now unbelievably in its fourth year. Pinball Profile was created for you, the listener, to learn something new about people connected to pinball. Players, collectors, operators, industry professionals, content creators, and more. You get to hear some of the interesting voices and people behind the scenes in the wide range of all things pinball. I said this last year and it's worth repeating, there is no way my list will match your top 10 list, but I'll explain why they made the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People for 2019. So let's look back at the list from 2018 in alphabetical order. root owner. Johannes Ostenmeier, the new number one player in the world and current IFPA champ. Mrs. Pin of the Mrs. Pin Pinball podcast. The late Dahlia Rowan, who had a Memorial Women's Tournament at the NYCPC named in her honour. Josh Sharpe, the IFPA president. And Daniel Spoler, Project Pinball's founder. Now to spread the word about as many people as I can, I thought I'd give you 10 new people for this list and avoid back-to-back years. Although if I did allow back-to-back, you'd have to include Johannes Ostermeyer, who gave us an incredible win at IFPA 16 and also became the new number one player in the world just a few weeks ago. You'd have to include Keith Elwin. Another Pinberg win and another amazing game in Jurassic Park. Expect this game to clean up at the Twippies. To the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2019 list, you have aroused my curiosity and or I was fascinated by what you did this year. On the Pinball Profile Facebook page, there were several comments about choices. With legitimate cases for all of them. I could easily name 100, but you can only have 10. So before we start, let's do some honourable mentions. The newly created Women's Advisory Board is a great step forward for the IFPA. Instantly, we've seen surveys, suggestions, feedback, and changes to the Women's World Championship, including state and provincial championships. This addition to the IFPA helps pinball grow in the right direction. Jeffrey Starr. Good on Jack Danger of Deadflip for sharing and streaming Jeffrey's massive love and knowledge for pinball. With Jeffrey's fan base, many new people to pinball were able to see the excitement the hobby brings to many of us. Getting his passion and collection in front of new eyes is how pinball will continue to grow and Jeffrey along with Jack did just that Christopher Franchi you started the year with a beautiful art package from Munsters Designed art for four different shows left Stern to join Chicago Gaming Company finally released your podcast The Super Awesome Pinball Show along with Ed Vanderveen and Dr. Pin. But the thing I liked the most was more than one donation to charity including a unique art package that raised a few thousand dollars for Project Pinball at Chicago Expo. Speaking of podcasts, Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb of Special One Lit, your positive show has elevated into many people's podcast playlist. There's the different contributors who cover the news each week. In the past few months, you created a Meet the Media gathering at Expo while highlighting many pinball personalities. But the biggie was this month, the 24-hour Project Pinball streaming marathon with special guests and over $50,000 raised. That's putting your platform to great use. keep it up escher lefkoff you were an honorable mention last year too and what a year this was watching you win the big event at expo with all top four players under the age of 20 was a glimpse into the bright future of pinball you moved up to number six in the world after being 24th last year with great showings in australia in august and december plus sixth out of a thousand people at pinberg the sky is the limit for escher to the whipped crew of kate martin elizabeth cromwell and Jessica DiNardo. Over and above each of your busy lives, you pulled off the biggest women's tournament in the world two years in a row, but this time in 2019, you doubled it. 128 women and a waiting list of many more at ReplayFX. Smart adjustments to the format, a bigger playoff group were just a few of the noticeable improvements that the players and viewers enjoyed. Thank each of you for growing the hobby and proving that pinball is for everyone. Since we're talking about Pittsburgh, more kudos to Elizabeth, Doug Polka, Mark Steinman, Fred Cochran, Kevin Martin, John and AJ Replogle, Virginia and Petey Bart Hendrickson, Bowen Kerins, James Kuntz, and all of the volunteers, techs, and TDs at Pinberg to make the 1,000 player tourney another huge success. For anyone that has ever run a tourney, no matter the size, you realize how difficult it is. Anticipating problems before they happen, trying to figure out any troubleshooting before you begin, making sure all rules, settings, adjustments are consistent. Oh, and providing enjoyment for so many people across the world. To each of you, your efforts paid off because Pinberg and ReplayFX just keeps getting better and better. MyBookie.net made a splash in 2019. Betting on pinball players and prop bets at major events was a surprise to many. It was weird to see people take action on players, myself included. Does betting on pinball legitimize it as a sport? No, but people will bet on anything. Just watch the Super Bowl prop bets in a few weeks for an example. So the fact that betting can now be done on pinball seems par for the course. More honorable mentions before we get to our pinball profile top 10 most intriguing people of 2019. Like so many great Europeans that did well this year, Peter Andersen of Denmark made a big jump to the world rankings at number 5 right behind Keith Elwin. Peter's year began with a classics win at the Dutch Pinball Masters. That catapulted Peter for a very strong week in Italy at IFPA 16, including third in the World Championship. We all enjoyed Peter and all the great players watching the great footage from Jim Lindsay's incredible JDL pinball stream. As we talk about streaming and great competitions, we'll all be glued in early January to IE Pinball as Carl D'Python Anghelo, Jim Belcido and Bob Matthews put on the biggest in-disc yet, including the new major, the IFPA Open. These three Californians added to InDisc in 2019 with another round of Classics and the High Stakes Tourney. This event now, like Pinberg, is a must on your pinball calendar. Julie Dorsers had a great 2019. Julie runs tourneys every Monday night in London, Ontario. As a player, Julie was the top woman at PinFest, and she won the Dahlia Rowan Memorial at the NYC PC. Julie also turned a lot of heads with her home brew of Wonder Woman. The old Electronimo game from Stern has a lot of fans, and it even was a big hit at the CNEPC when it was used in three tourneys. Taking a homebrew one step further and turning it into an actual pinball company was Damien Hartland from Haggis Pinball. Man, you've come a long way in a short time, learning so much, taking us along the ride as you build Kelts. Bringing the game from Australia to both Texas Pinball Festival and Chicago Expo, no easy task. It was fun for all of us to flip and you make it look very easy to root for someone as passionate as you are All the best in 2020 And finally speaking of pinball companies each had a great 2019 Jersey Jack Pinball showed us Willy Wonka. Not only was the Pat Lawler-designed Joe Katz program game fun to play, but kudos for JJP for their success on showing it and shipping it so quickly. American Pinball did well in the shipping department. They moved to a new facility, and we are seeing more and more of Joe Balcer's Oktoberfest and Houdini machines out and about. Chicago Gaming Company continues to grow with their new titles under development. Different models and toppers, and now Christopher Franchi added to the fold, only makes CGC bigger and better. Spooky Pinball added Eric Priepke and then ended the year with a bang on their fifth title, Rick and Morty. We got to see Behind the Curtain at Deep Roots, Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland at the Houston Arcade Expo. Albeit two prototype machines, the buzz from those in attendance was very exciting. We'll see what's next as the full unveil happens in March. And finally, Stern Pinball. My goodness, six titles. The Monsters, Black Knight Sword of Rage, Jurassic Park, Elvira House of Horrors, Star Wars Pin, and Stranger Things. The assembly line is moving big time in Elk Grove Village. So now that brings us to the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2019 in no particular order. Number one, Carrie Wing. With so many great women players like Danielle Peck, Louise Wagonsonner, Sunshine Bond and more, Carrie had a great 2019 as a player. It was no surprise to people from Kansas to see Carrie win the state championship and also do well at events like the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show and IFPA Pinmasters. But there were also three top three women's event finishes for Carrie. Third at Whipped, second at Indisc, and a big win at the IFPA Women's World Pinball Championship in March in Vegas. By the way, all while playing in the North American Pinball Championships at the same time. No big deal for Carrie as she's used to it in Kansas. We've got a couple great locations there, the 403 Club and Pizza West. We have monthly tournaments and weekly tournaments. So it's pretty often that I play two tournaments in a week, which is great for practicing. Expect more for Carrie Wing in 2020. Number two, Steve Ritchie. People rumored that this was it, his swan song, the last game before retirement. Not true. Those people who suggested that were dazed and confused. Just listen to Steve and you'll hear he has a whole lot of love for pinball. And in 2019, we were able to see something not seen by Stern Pinball since 2001's High Roller Casino, a quasi-unlicensed game. Not a rock band, not a movie, not a TV show, but a sequel to Steve's earlier pinball machines with Black Knight Sword of Rage. Steve, along with an amazing animation team, software from Tim Sexton, sound from Jerry Thompson, and artwork from Kevin O'Connor, put together a machine that gave us one of the best interactive toys ever, a topper like no other, and that classic Steve Ritchie flow. Next on the list at number three is someone who beat up that Black Knight Sword of Rage machine, and many others on the way, to finishing fifth in the Stern Pro Circuit standings, Alexander Kazmarchuk from Pittsburgh. This 17-year-old averaged 46 points in the six SPC events he played in, including two firsts at Pinfest and OBX. He also came second to Escher Lefkoff at Expo's Flipout. What makes Alexander so good is he excels at new and old games, and he's a favorite to win wherever he plays. Speaking of great young players, at number four, it's Colin Urban. Just when you were thinking you need to feel sorry for him for not getting into Pinburgh, he goes to a different Stern Pro Circuit event and does something that's never been done before. No one in the history of the IFPA had a better month ever than Colin did in August, when he dominated the Brisbane Masters. Because of that, he now sits eighth in the world. And by the way, three of the top eight players and four of the top 12 are under the age of 18. A great looking future for pinball. We'll let Colin talk about the next person on the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2019. Jimmy's great, super nice, and it's really crazy how him and Jason Lampert put the whole entire tournament together. Just the amount of work and planning that must have taken is just phenomenal. At number 5, Jimmy Nails. He put on 10 events at the Whopper farm known as Brisbane Masters. A huge undertaking down under. Who would play in 10 events? Where would the games come from? The volunteers The techs The TDs Well Jimmy did it And it was amazing by all accounts He and Jason Lambert are making Australia a hotbed for pinball along with guys like Martin Robbins and Ryan C in Melbourne Australia is now part of the IFPA club and after Jimmy did such an amazing job with Brisbane Masters watch for more and more tourneys and great players in Australia. Number 6 goes to one of my favourites in pinball, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Positivity, excitement, passion, just some of the words to describe Emoto Harding. If you've been to any big show, you've seen the excellent Marcos Specialties display booths set up by Emoto, Crystal Gemnick, Fred Richardson, Antoinette Johnson, Ashley Ludwig and more. But Emoto does more, with great video coverage, interviews and a spirit like no other. Her interviews at TPF were spread out through the year, you saw more of those at Expo and you'll see Emoto as the official event videographer at InDisc in January. Speaking of videos, let's move to number 7 on the list. Maybe the hardest working person in pinball. If there's someone else, I don't know who it is. Zach Many. Where do you start? The straight down the middle and twippy awards he does with Greg Bone? There's the twip podcast he does each week. He took over flipping out distributors in January. There's the Staircat. And Zach even gave us a little video fun with pinball cribs highlighting home collections. Just one of those would be a lot. Zach does them all. Very impressive. In 2019, I first heard about the next person on the list, Holly Koskinen from Columbus, Ohio. Arcade Super Awesome knows about Holly and her skills, even though she's only been playing competitively for three years. In a short time, Holly has become a pinball expert. We all got a chance to see that firsthand as Holly won the biggest women's event ever at Whipped at ReplayFX, including putting on a clinic on Spanish Eyes, a game she had never played before. But what we didn't know, as Holly later publicly shared, is that she's been diagnosed with Lyme disease. When Holly shared that on social media, I learned a lot about how difficult this is for people. I cannot imagine. But this setback does not define Holly. She is a warrior, she is grateful, a kid at heart, and someone I look forward to seeing at events. Here's to the best of health and happiness, Holly, in the new year. The second last person on the list had some memorable second place finishes in 2019. Italia's Daniele Acari. First, it was the epic battle versus Johannes Ostermeyer at IFPA 16. Daniele's $3 billion on Bram Stoker's Dracula couldn't hold up and add to his record four world championships. Then North Americans got a chance in August to see Daniele come to Pinburg. It's difficult for Daniele to come so far, especially for tournaments with a busy work schedule, but he made it count. He came in second to Keith Elwin and showed us why he is already one of the greatest players of all time. So before we give our final person, let's recap the pinball profile top 10 most intriguing people of 2019. Number one, Kerry Wing. Number two, Steve Ritchie. Number three, Alexander Kismarchuk. Number four, Colin Urban. Number 5, Jimmy Nails. Number 6, Emoto Harney. Number 7, Zach Menne. Number 8, Holly Koskinen. And number 9, Daniele Acari. So the final person on this list, at number 10, is Scott Denisey. Scott first wowed us years ago with a Whitewood of TNA that went into full production and sold more games than any for Spooky Pinball. Now we get to see his latest, Rick and Morty, a game that sold out faster than any game in recent memory. 750 units gone instantly Was it the theme? Certainly a factor for the cult classic TV show but I equally believe that it was because of Scott's great designs his sound and light package his likeability and the pinball community's fondness for the underdog if you will the little guy playing with the big boys Spooky Pinball The community wants to see companies like Spooky do well and having Scott put his efforts into one of the most anticipated games is a huge windfall Well thank you for listening to this and all of the Pinball Profile episodes May 2020 find you with lots of love and happiness. For those that have lost loved ones, I hope your thoughts are filled with nothing but fond, everlasting memories of the people that have left you. And to everyone, may you find time for charity and forgiveness. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. Please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and follow us on Instagram at pinballprofile. Happy New Year. I'm Jeff Teolis. Thank you.