INDISC 2023 Classics II Playoffs - First Round

IE Pinball·video·2h 25m·analyzed·Nov 27, 2023

Analysis

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TL;DR

INDISC 2023 Classics II first round playoff coverage on CarHop and Supersonic.

Summary

IE Pinball streams the first round of the INDISC 2023 Classics II tournament playoffs at the Riverside Convention Center. The broadcast covers match-play competition on classic electromechanical pinball games, with commentary from Ron, Mike Welsh, and Tom Graff. The first game featured is CarHop, followed by Supersonic, showcasing high-level competitive play and detailed mechanical/strategic analysis of each machine.

Key Claims

Last year's Classics II tournament was won by Asher Leov, the number one player in the world
high confidence · Opening announcer statement establishing context for the tournament
32 people qualified for the Classics II playoffs
high confidence · Opening announcer statement
The qualifying format for Classics II requires consistency: one entry of four games where all four games must be good, or three number ones plus a terrible game at minimum
high confidence · Tom Graff and commentators discussing qualifying methodology
CarHop spinner shots can be worth up to 200,000 points per spin
high confidence · Commentary during CarHop gameplay analysis
Bowen Kerins had no idea how to play CarHop during the classic match play tournament
medium confidence · Tom Graff anecdote about a previous event
CarHop was designed by John Norris and features progressive awards
high confidence · Commentary noting designer and characteristic progressive features
Danielle Yashari rolled CarHop twice in qualifying with a crowd watching
medium confidence · Commentary referencing past qualifying performance
SuperSonic is left-flipper-only gameplay
high confidence · Commentary describing SuperSonic mechanics: 'all left flipper all the time'
The Game Lab arcade in Riverside operates machines run by Jim Belo and Jay Collins
medium confidence · Commentary about local venue across from Food Lab
Travis Murray successfully doubled his score twice on CarHop, including a risky Heatwave mode attempt that paid off with a 10-million point bonus
high confidence · Live play-by-play commentary during match

Notable Quotes

“The consistency needed is high level high level and Beyond what I can normally produce”
Tom Graff@ 2:31 — Commentary on the difficulty of the Classics II qualifying format, establishing stakes
“You pay for one entry four games and all four games have to be good yep or well three number ones in a terrible game can also but even then you'll be at the bottom of the list”
Ron and Tom Graff@ 2:18 — Explains the unique consistency requirement of Classics II qualifying
“Playing one good game of pinball is hard enough what Lear for especially in games of of this era where house balls are plenty”
Tom Graff@ 2:41 — Notes the challenge of EM-era gameplay with difficult ball control
“If you can execute on that spinner big points and looks like our our first group here will be Jeff folis Eden Stam Travis muray and David Johnston”
Ron/Announcer@ 4:14 — Introduces first competitive group and establishes CarHop strategy
“I love it gutsy play so when I was playing this before one of the awards I got was catchup and they spell it like catchup like the the food item”
Mike Welsh@ 20:04 — Humorous observation about game design detail and risky play strategy
“Big risk big reward in the car Zone”
Commentator@ 35:26 — Summarizes the high-stakes nature of mode selection on CarHop

Entities

Asher LeovpersonTom GraffpersonRonpersonMike WelshpersonTravis MurraypersonJeff FollispersonEden StampersonDavid JohnstonpersonBowen KerinspersonDanielle YasharipersonJohn Norrisperson

Signals

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event_signal: INDISC 2023 Classics II tournament first round broadcast; 32-player playoff field competing on classic electromechanical machines at Riverside Convention Center
high · Full broadcast coverage with multiple games, commentators, and match-play format detailed throughout
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competitive_signal: Travis Murray demonstrated high-level play on CarHop with risky Heatwave mode strategy, doubling score twice and jumping to first place with gutsy mode completion plays
high · Real-time play-by-play commentary and score tracking showing Travis's progression from mid-pack to first place on CarHop
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gameplay_signal: CarHop gameplay emphasizes spinner shots (200k per spin) and timeout strategies for risky modes like Heatwave and Bullseye; safe play involves spinner combos and timeout execution
high · Detailed commentary analyzing mode selection, timeout mechanics, and conservative vs. aggressive play strategies throughout CarHop matches
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gameplay_signal: SuperSonic left-flipper-only design creates feast-or-famine scoring; center lane skill shot and saucer shots drive multiplier mechanics; bonus counts slowly for dramatic effect
high · Commentary explaining mechanics and noting design philosophy: 'You want to know how to play supersonic you just saw it and the cool thing is it counts up really slow'
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venue_signal: Game Lab arcade in Riverside, California operates pinball collection with machines maintained by Jim Belo and Jay Collins; located across from Food Lab restaurant
medium · Commentators reference Game Lab as local arcade resource with well-maintained machines; Jim Belo provides technical support at INDISC 2023

Transcript

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0:09

[Music] we hope you enjoyed the women's playoffs earlier today it is tournament number four right now it is the classics 2 again 32 people will make the playoffs last year this tournament Was Won by the number one player in the world aser leov who will it be this year to take this home let's find

0:36

hi there everybody this is uh IE pinball stream for the classics 2 finals this is the first round of the finals we'll be covering the three of us hi I'm Ron hi I'm Mike Welsh and I'm Tom graph welcome we're here at the Riverside Convention Center in beautiful Riverside California and we're going to be watching some Classics action yeah some more Classics today our second Classics tournament our third actually if you count the classics match play uh Neil and Tom did either of you get a chance to play in the classics today I did unfortunately that's why I'm in the booth I I I did also unfortunately because I am also in the booth but you uh you did very well the last two uh classic tournaments uh yeah the match play Classics I I finished second and then yesterday I actually did nothing for most of my entries and then the last entry I had I think IID have a first a first a 100th and a first wow and just got in at the bottom that's pretty amazing uh but uh a lot of uh great competitors here top 32 uh whittling down to the final person and uh the winner gets this beautiful trophy here awesome Trophy and the qualifying we should say is is I think the hardest qualifying format there is where basically it's it's not it's not a situation where you could just play the same game over and over and keep putting money in until no you you pay for one entry four games and all four games have to be good yep or well three number ones in a terrible game can also but even then you'll be at the bottom of the list the consistency needed is high level high level and Beyond what I can normally produce I'll say that yeah playing one good game of pinball is hard enough what Lear for especially in games of of this era where house balls are

“I think it's Rush no just let's go I thought that Ron and I are big big fans of the game right R how about you Mike you like rush”

Mike Welsh@ 38:46 — Teases upcoming game (Rush), indicates commentator preferences

“You want to know how to play supersonic you just saw it and the cool thing is it counts up really slow so you get to enjoy you get to bask”

Commentator@ 49:11 — Describes SuperSonic's design feature allowing players to watch bonus accumulation

“These flipper skills aren't easy especially in a tournament setting the alley pass is always the scariest thing to try cuz the ball's almost draining while you do it”

Tom Graff@ 52:37 — Notes technical difficulty and risk of advanced EM-era shots

“And Travis has got to be thinking if he passes Eden he's moving on with eight points but for the purposes of the stream we don't want that why not we want the drama want the drama”

Ron and Mike Welsh@ 54:00 — Reveals the meta-commentary about tournament progress and entertainment value

INDISC 2023 Classics IIevent

Riverside Convention Centervenue

Pinball at the Lakevenue

design_innovation: John Norris (CarHop designer) designed progressive award mechanics where letter progression carries between games and modes stack in complexity

high · Commentary noting 'he loved his Progressive Awards' as hallmark of Norris design; visible on backlash showing C-A-R and H-O-P progression

content_signal: IE Pinball provides professional tournament streaming coverage with three-person commentary team, real-time analysis, and technical production featuring multiple camera angles and ruleset explanations

high · Full broadcast structure with Ron, Mike Welsh, Tom Graff providing play-by-play, strategic analysis, and rules clarification throughout event

community_signal: International competitive player presence at INDISC 2023 including Canadian players (Eden Stam, David Johnston), UK players (Andrew Foster), and elite US/regional competitors

high · Commentary identifying multiple Canadian and UK competitors; Asher Leov noted as reigning world #1 player from previous year's win

skill_signal: Tournament-level flipper techniques discussed include post passes, alley passes, tap passes, dead bounces, and precision shot execution; identified as high-risk under tournament pressure

high · Extended commentary analyzing flipper shots, ball control, and mechanical execution; commentators note 'these flipper skills aren't easy especially in a tournament setting'

market_signal: CarHop experienced renewed competitive interest after players gained familiarity with game; previously undervalued by community now becoming popular tournament pick

medium · Commentary noting CarHop 'is a game that people weren't familiar with as much and now that people have been able to put their games in they've sort of figured it out'

tournament_format_signal: INDISC Classics II uses card/match-play format with point allocation (winner gets multiple points based on placement), requiring consistency across multiple games to advance

high · Commentary referencing scoring structure and elimination based on cumulative performance; Travis Murray advancing with 8 points based on match results

operational_signal: Tournament features group-based bracket play with high-seed game selection and deferrals; technical rule questions handled by on-site machines operator (Jim Belo); multiple games running simultaneously

high · Discussion of bracket structure, game selection protocol, and real-time rules clarification call requiring Jim Belo consultation on drop target mechanics

plenty yes too many too many so right now what they're doing they're getting the groups together in the high seeds in each group are picking their games or deferring if they just want to pick order and we're doing I believe we're they're doing so the high seeds depending on how long they stay in they cannot repeat any picks all right so looks like we're headed over to CarHop for our first game to a surprise of not me at group five group five so what you'll see is probably as the tournament goes on you're probably going to be seeing a good degree of car hop I'm guessing you will be seeing a lot of um uh cheetah probably yeah car hop I think it's a game that people weren't familiar with as much and now that people have been able to put their games in they've sort of figured it out uh you'll probably see a lot of the uh hitting the lit spinner and this is an interesting game in most got Le games of this era you usually have to just roll through the in Lane to light the spinner but in this game you kind of have to hit this combo on that right Loop there's a drop Target up there and then through the upper spinner will be lit and you can keep comboing that to increase the spinner the huge value I think 200,000 a spin huge points yes in the classic match play I was in a group with uh Bowen Karens and he had no idea how to play this game so that's all you need to know yeah if you can execute on that spinner big points and looks like our our first group here will be Jeff folis Eden Stam Travis muray and David Johnston how important is it to go for this target when it's uh flashing that's a good question because I've seen people just tra and completely ignore it depending on what mode it's in there is a mode on this called I think it's called Bullseye M Bullseye mode where it's a million a hit on that that Target up there and you got to hit it pretty good I noticed glancing blows do not register