Episode 416: European Pinball Championship – coming to Austria May 2025

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·21m 50s·analyzed·Feb 22, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

EPC 2025 Austria: May 28–June 1, 320–384 player main tournament, tickets on sale Feb 23.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Stefan Riedler about the European Pinball Championship (EPC) coming to Austria May 28–June 1, 2025. The event will feature five major WAPA tournaments including a 320–384 player main tournament, women's championship, team competition, classics, and high-score tournaments across 140–150 machines in an 18,000 sq ft ice hockey venue. General admission tickets go on sale February 23, 2025 at 1 p.m. Central Time; the event includes seminars with manufacturers, manufacturer representation, and expo elements.

Key Claims

The EPC main tournament will have 320 participants with a 200% booster (400% TGP total), potentially scaling to 384 if demand is high.
high confidence · Stefan Riedler directly states tournament capacity and scaling logic.
The venue is an 18,000 sq ft ice hockey hall with space for 140–150 machines, with 5 meters (15 feet) between games and 0.5 meters (20 inches) between back boxes.
high confidence · Stefan provides specific venue dimensions and layout spacing details.
General public tickets go on sale February 23, 2025 at 1 p.m. Central Time (8 p.m. Austrian Time).
high confidence · Jeff and Stefan confirm the ticket sale date and time conversion.
The team event format features 16 countries with four-player teams competing in single elimination best-of-seven using four-ball games, split games, and direct play games.
high confidence · Stefan describes the team tournament format in detail.
Stefan plans to have nearly all Spike 2 games from Stern, all Spooky games, all American Pinball games, Jersey Jack games, Chicago Gaming games, Pinball Brothers games, Dutch Pinball games, and games from Barrels of Fun and Hexa Pinball at the EPC.
high confidence · Stefan states comprehensive machine inventory plan; website (epc2025.at) listed as source for confirmed machine list.
Elvin Brower from Dutch Pinball will attend; Abe Flips will provide a sneak peek of his new movie; Martin Ayab will do live streaming; Andrea from Piedetti Pinball will present.
high confidence · Stefan confirms manufacturer and media representative attendance.
Gary Stern was spoken with in January in London and it 'looks good' that somebody from Stern or Gary himself will attend the EPC.
medium confidence · Stefan indicates positive signals but no firm commitment from Stern representation yet.
A functional one-meter long Lego pinball machine will be on display Friday with tournaments for children and adults, with Lego prizes.

Notable Quotes

“We're going to Austria right now because Austria really is going to be just humming in 2025.”
Jeff Teolis @ Opening — Sets context for Austria as a major pinball destination with multiple events in 2025.
“if you can imagine a pinball machine made in the last 10 years. It will be at the EPC. That's our plan.”
Stefan Riedler @ Mid-interview — Indicates comprehensive machine inventory ambition—nearly all modern titles represented.
“We do have a lot of helpers and if it will be a success, then I will have most likely already a potential date for a similar event maybe next year.”
Stefan Riedler @ Near end — Signals potential for EPC Austria to become annual event if 2025 succeeds.
“So we really take care that we have here a lot of space that the players feel comfortable. And I was looking in this stream a few weeks ago, And this was very nice what I have seen in the stream that the players and machines they had very lot of space And this is very rare in Europe.”
Stefan Riedler @ Venue discussion — Emphasizes player comfort and spacious layout as differentiator vs. typical European venues.
“It should be a lot of fun. Well, I always thought of the EPC as really just a big tournament and a major tournament with 300-plus players. It's that, but the fact you've done this expo and seminars and everything else, I mean, first of all...”
Jeff Teolis @ Mid-interview — Highlights how EPC 2025 Austria has evolved beyond pure tournament to include expo and educational components.

Entities

Stefan RiedlerpersonJeff TeolispersonEuropean Pinball Championship (EPC) 2025eventAbe FlipspersonElvin BrowerpersonDutch PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany

Signals

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business_signal: Stefan exploring potential for recurring annual event in Austria if 2025 EPC succeeds, indicating possible expansion of Austria as regular major tournament venue.
medium · Stefan: 'if it will be a success, then I will have most likely already a potential date for a similar event maybe next year because this is the next point what I want to recheck together with the venue.'
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event_signal: EPC 2025 expanding traditional tournament model to include expo, manufacturer seminars, live streaming, and family activities, signaling evolution of major European competitive events.
high · Stefan: comprehensive seminar lineup with manufacturer reps (Dutch Pinball, Abe Flips, Jersey Jack, Stern, Piedetti); live streaming partnership with JDL Pinball; family ticket pricing; Lego pinball machine tournament.
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community_signal: Multiple European pinball clubs (Flipnick, Kugelklopfer, Flippergarage Landshut) contributing classic game inventory (27, 9, 9 machines respectively) to support EPC 2025, indicating strong regional community mobilization.
high · Stefan details club contributions and support structure; mentions 'a lot of support as well from the local city governments that the rent is a bit reduced.'
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event_signal: EPC 2025 Austria positioning itself as one of the largest pinball tournaments globally with 320–384 players in main event, comprehensive manufacturer presence, and expo integration.
high · Stefan: 'target is to have then the 400% TGP with 320 participants. And if the demand is there and if the people book it out very fast, then we will upgrade it to 384.' Scope includes 5 WAPA tournaments, 140–150 machines, seminars, and Lego pinball tournament.
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Transcript

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0:00

It's time now for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teoles. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We've got a great Facebook group as well. We're on Instagram, Twitter, X, at pinballprofile. You can email pinballprofile at gmail.com. If you'd like to show your support, it would mean a lot. Don't worry, the show will always be free thanks to wonderful supporters like Lua W., Rodney C., Jake C., Tony V., Bart V., and others. That's patreon.com slash pinball profile. We're going to Austria right now because Austria really is going to be just humming in 2025. Coming up later this year, you'll see a great video from Abe Flips. Coming up in June, you'll see the World Championships, the IFPA, the best of the best all across the world. Well, coming up in May, just as big a tournament. In fact, more players. Maybe one of the biggest tournaments in the world. It is the European Pinball Championship. And joining us right now is Stefan Riedler. Hi, Stefan. How are you? Hi, Josh. Thank you very much. I'm very good. I'm very fine. But a lot of work to do and a lot of organization for the European Pinball Championship. It rotates year to year. the country directors in Europe figure out where it's going to be. I've participated in Denmark. I've participated in Germany. I know last year it was in Poland. But this year, Austria gets it. And, you know, you and a great team has put together this. I know you're busy with RS Pinball, first of all. But tell us what went into bringing the EPC to Austria in 2025. The background story is I was, several years ago, still IFP country director and worked together with Josh and with Bernd from Flipnick Club to get the world championship to Austria. And Germany then did the EPC and the world on the same year, which we found was a good idea. So I applied to get the EPC as well to Austria and to organize the EPC by myself together with the other pinball clubs and friends here in my small town city to be the host and have a great, fun, big event. Big event. That is an understatement. The event takes place, it starts on May 28th, and there are a lot of tournaments. We're going to go over them. It goes until June 1st again in Austria. And I asked you, okay, well, what's the best way to fly in there? And you said probably to go into Vienna and just take a direct train is the best way. So I'm looking at that, and we'll talk about some of the things to do when we're in Austria. But again, May 28th. And the reason we bring this up now here on Pinball Profile is because the general public tickets go on sale on February 23rd. Now, to put that in North American times, it would be 1 p.m. Central is when you can find it. And we'll give you the link for the website and everything. But when I say there are a lot of tournaments, there are a lot of tournaments, aren't there, Stefan? Yes. So we do five big WAPA tournaments with the main and biggest tournaments, the EPC main tournament, which have even a 200% booster. So target is to have then the 400% TGP with 320 participants.

3:24

And if the demand is there and if the people book it out very fast, then we will upgrade it to 384, which we can do with the tournament system. and also with the amount of machines that we will have. I did already a bit of re-layouting of how we put the games to have very nice distributed groups and enough place for the people to enjoy the tournaments. Well, that's it. I've seen the layout and 320 is, first of all, impressive, but if you get that demand, you'll go up to 384. That's impressive. So talk about the venue because, you know, when people go to big tournaments, they want to be comfortable and looking at the layout visually, it looks like there is a lot of space for these tournaments and the way you've got it mapped out. Yes, so I was searching on different locations here in my surrounding because in our pinball club, obviously, we cannot do the tournament. We have space for 50 machines and only have around 2,000 square feet, if we calculate it to your dimensions. And so I was searching locations and I found the local ice hockey hall, which is not used during the summer or very rarely used. And so we have the ice hockey field, which is around 18,000 square feet, where we can put the machines on, and then we have some surrounding areas. And the barrier on one side will be removed the weekend before because there is another exhibition. And so we are lucky to have here a bit less work to not remove it by ourselves. And the buildup will be done a bit later. So we can put 140, 150 machines, which will be in several aisles. Between the games, there should be around 5 meters of space, so around, if I'm right, 15 feet. And then between the back boxes, it's around half a meter of space, so 20 inches. So we really take care that we have here a lot of space that the players feel comfortable. And I was looking in this stream a few weeks ago, And this was very nice what I have seen in the stream that the players and machines they had very lot of space And this is very rare in Europe especially at the EPCs because normally the venues are not that size But due to the fact that we rent something external and we got the chance to do this, we got a bit of support as well from the local city governments that the rent is a bit reduced. So we want to do here really something big. You are doing something big for sure. It all kicks off with a warm-up tournament, and there are probably going to be 160 people in the warm-up tournament. But then you mentioned the main, the classic. There is a women's championship. And one of the unique things that I even participated the one time in Denmark is you have the team competitions. And you want to talk about country pride, something that we all certainly admire. That is such a big, big deal where the countries go at each other in a unique kind of format. It's not an IFPA tournament. You know, it's truly just a fun tournament, but the players take it so seriously because you're playing for your country. Tell us about the team event. In the team event, obviously, we will have some very nice trophies sponsored from the Austrian Pinball Club. And we have 16 countries which can register. Each team has four participants. It's a single elimination, so-called best of seven. But these seven games are not normal single games because the first game is a four-ball game. So you have Team A against Team B. Each of the players plays one ball. When this is finished, the winner gets one point. Then you come to the second round, which is two split games. So they play them in parallel. For example, Team A wins again these matches. Then they are 3-0 and they think they have won it maybe. But there is the last round, which you have four direct play games. and if the competitors turn everything around and win 4-0, then it would be 3-4. So there is still always adrenaline until the last round in this competition. You have a lot of fun because you need to train a bit the team play with the split game and you have as well the four-ball game. And especially in split game, it's as well a bit thinking, okay, which game is chosen, which player is on the left or on the right-hand side, how do you configure the teams, who is your opponent, because typically the teams are the best players of the countries which are in there. So it will be a good, fun event. Oh, adrenaline, fun, those are understatements. They are just an absolute blast. And again, the excitement when you actually win a game, win the event, you carry that on for years. So good on the EPC for continuing that tradition, and that takes place on the Saturday. But yeah, a lot of events too. The main event is different. I mean, this is one of the five pinball majors, and it could very well be the biggest tournament of all of them this year. Explain what you need to do in the main tournament, because it is a little unique compared to other tournaments. Yes. In the qualification, four time slots where you can play. So in the registration, you say if you prefer Thursday or if you prefer Friday. We try to consider all of this in the configuration of the event, because some people maybe don't have time that they are there already on Thursday, but they still can participate in the whole tournament. And then each time slot is split in five, or if we upgrade it, in six groups of 16 people. And this group is playing a round robin. So that means you have 15 opponents, so 15 games. and then out of this overall qualification groups, 96 players advance to the final, which will then be a single elimination best of seven till the last one. So 96, 84, 24, 12 and going down. I'm telling you, it's fun. It's every game matters. So much to do there. That's just the main. There's also classics. You've even got great, I want to say it's like a mini expo in a way. You've got some seminars and things going on too. So, yeah, there's lots of tournaments, but what do you got planned for seminars? On seminars, we are now in alignment with the manufacturers, and I'm traveling as well next month to Texas to talk further to them and to try to get more and more people to hear. So, for example, from Dutch Pinball, Elvin Brower will be here, and Ellie's Adventure in Wonderland should be already at the expo. So we have a seminar about this. Ape Lips will come. We will have a sneak peek about his new movie, what he's doing. then Martin Ayab will be here he will do a live streaming for, or we together with him do a live streaming of the seminars most likely Andrea from Piedetti Pinball will be here, I'm in alignment with Jack Guarani from Jersey Jack Pinball, so I hope that the new title from them will be already then on the line or delivered for some units and to get the game designer to here and to have the games here and I talked with Gary Stern in January already in London. It looks also good that somebody from Stern or maybe Gary himself is coming to the show. And almost a bit the point, when we have so many games and when we have so many space there, for the tournament we need a lot of machines, but we even put much more there to bring people to pinball, to make it available for the public, for enthusiasts and not only for the hardcore tournament players And then I thought it a good combination with the contacts that I have to the manufacturers to try to get more and more people over to here because we don have so many big events in Europe like you do in the States. Yeah but we don't have as many this big like this is just absolutely unique this is where you know all the countries and certainly what you've done in Austria really want to make this as big as possible the EBC is massive and it's been fine-tuned from other years too so uh this looks like it could be the best epc yet so kudos to you and and you mentioned martin and the way he archives the uh seminars that's super important love to see what abe flips doing you mentioned his mastering pinball in-depth skills and strategies that'll be good he's going to do a q a period i remember you telling me when we were talking about the epc you said if you can imagine a pinball machine made in the last 10 years. It will be at the EPC. That's our plan. So I have one machine missing now, but I'm in alignment with them from Hexapinball from France, who have Space Hunt here as well. But let's say all Spike 2 games from Stern will be there. We have a massive Jersey Jack tournament, so a great high score tournament on all Jersey Jack games, where You can even win Guns N' Roses Limited Edition new in box. We will have all spooky games there from America's Most Haunted till Evil Dead. All American pinball games. We will have there basically each of the manufacturers. So Barrels of Fun, I assume and hope that they have presented in the second title. So it's Labyrinth in the second one. Chicago Gaming, even Vacation America, we do have here to get all Chicago Gaming games there. From Pinball Brothers, from Dutch Pinball, Bright 2.0. Big Lebowski, Alice Adventure and Wonderland, all the 2.0 kits, what are available on the market to purchase. So The Bride, The Wheelwind and Funhaus. We do have the list on the website www.epc2025.at. We translated it also into English on the top right corner. You can choose the language, have a look on the machines and then you see what we are bringing you there. But it's not only the new games. So I have as well several older games and I get big support from several pinball clubs. Like from Flipnick, they will bring a whole big track of 27 games. The Kugelklopfer, which is also in Upper Austria with nine games. Then from Germany, Landshut, Flippergarage, we will get nine games. So we have a lot of Bailey Williams classics, several Zacharias. I put today together a future spa, which came in last weekend that we have as well at the show. So real classic games too. It should be a lot of fun. Well, I always thought of the EPC as really just a big tournament and a major tournament with 300-plus players. It's that, but the fact you've done this expo and seminars and everything else, I mean, first of all, again, the tournament tickets go on sale February 23rd. That is 1 p.m. Central Time in America. But again, what is that, 8 p.m. Austrian Time? Correct, 8 p.m. That's for the tournament. Now, let's say I'm not a tournament player, and many people listening to Pinball Profile are just casual people. We have a lot of European listeners as well. They just want to go play the games. Those tickets, do you need to get in advance or do you just show up the weekend? You can get them in advance, but you can also show up on the weekend. The seminars will be put on the weekend, so Saturday and Sunday. The whole event starts already on Wednesday afternoon with the warm-up. So from this time on, there will be already free play games available. You can purchase as well a five-day ticket that you can be there from Wednesday till Sunday and enjoy all the free play machines. When the main tournament banks getting free, when the qualifying is over, so we don't need so many games then in the finals, then we will increase the amount of free play games that people can play them as well. So we did as well a special family ticket so that if there are two adults coming with two children to a special prize, and we will promote it because it should be an event which brings people together and which should be fun for all generations. I know I'm listening, and I wasn't really on the fence about coming, but just hearing this, like if I ever was on the fence, I know which way I'm leaning now. This is going to be huge and certainly a big part to Europe. But again, if you're listening in North America, this is something you won't want to miss when you hear of everything Stefan's talking about, the five different tournaments, the show, the expo. You're going to be able to watch it live on JDL Pinball, which Dina and Jim Lindsay do a wonderful job. That's fine and dandy, but don't you kind of want to be there when you talk about all these different games and manufacturers and seminars? Again, let's go to the website. Where can people find out more?

17:38

I want to mention one more thing, something very special that we have on Friday because I was once in an exhibition and I have seen there a Lego pinball machine. Its size is around one meter in length, around 45, 50 centimeters wide, functional, working. And we will have as well this machine on Friday at the venue. And there will be, let's say as well, two tournaments so everybody can play. We have a category for children and for adults. We give prizes from Lego at the Lego Club and you get some chocolate too. So I think this will be something nice as well because everybody of us have seen already on Facebook or somewhere some cool Lego pinball machines. And when I've seen this, I was getting touched directly with him to be sure to have it at the venue. I don't think you've left a stone unturned. You've really thought of everything for the EPC. It's amazing. I know you've been planning for quite some time, but we're only three months away. Tickets go on sale on February 23rd, 1 p.m. Central Time in North America. and again, the website, Stefan? www.epc2025.at Thank you for your time. I know you're a busy man. You and I are going to be in touch. I'll gladly help you out in any way possible because you've got a lot of different avenues and different aspects of this whole tournament and expo, if you will. And I'm sure if other people want to get in touch with you, what's the best way for people to get in touch with you if they want to help you with the EPC? Click on the website. There is a form. Get in touch with me on Facebook, email, WhatsApp, whatever, at office at rs-pinball.at or info at fliparena.at. All this information is going directly to me. We have, when you register for the tournament, as well a checkbox if you would like to help for the scorekeeping of the high score tournament. Because on the Jersey Jack high score tournament, we have more than 30 hours of qualification time, and so we need a lot of supporters over there. So we have two hour shifts and a lot of other things to do as well. So it will be a big event, but I'm already checking. I don't know if it runs very well. I hope so. We do a lot of effort and put it in it. We do have a lot of helpers and if it will be a success, then I will have most likely already a potential date for a similar event maybe next year because this is the next point what I want to recheck together with the venue, what would be a potential date for next year, if it's successful and if the helpers are willing to support. A tournament is only as successful as those that help volunteer, whether it's TDing, teching, scorekeeping, like you say, anything that you can do to help always helps any tournament, especially in this case with the EPC. Stefan, all the best to you, and I know I'll see you soon, and we'll be in touch. Perfect. Thank you very much. Thank you for your support to Spreading the Word. it's very important and I'm really looking forward to see you this year, hopefully soon again This has been your Pinball Profile you can find everything on pinballprofile.com we're on Twitter, X Instagram at pinballprofile great Facebook group as well, you can email pinballprofile at gmail.com let us know who you'd like to hear, if you have a guest that you think would be wonderful for this program if you'd like to show your support on Patreon that would be wonderful, don't worry, it's not necessary the show will always be free, but thank you so much to wonderful people like Jerry S, GME Law, Derek K, Albert A, Sean I, and others. Looking forward to the EPC, May 28th to June 1st. Tickets go on sale for the players this coming Sunday, February 23rd, 1 p.m. Central Time. I'm Jeff Teolis. Silver white winters that melt into springs. These are a few of my favorite things. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.