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It Never Drains in Southern California 2012 Finals - Game 3

IE Pinball·video·23m 14s·analyzed·Jan 13, 2013
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

It Never Drains 2012 finals: Keith Elwin wins Funhouse Game 3, clinching tournament.

Summary

Karl D'Angelo and Johnny Pinball Monica commentate the Game 3 finals of the It Never Drains Southern California Pinball Tournament 2012, played on Funhouse. The tournament features a four-player match (Neil Schatz, Keith Elwin, Karl D'Angelo, and Josh Lahan) with a three-way tie at four points going into the final game. Keith Elwin ultimately wins the tournament with 8 points without needing to play his final ball.

Key Claims

  • Funhouse was not in the qualifying bank but was set aside for practice, and the top tournament qualifier could choose one practice game for the finals

    high confidence · Karl D'Angelo explaining tournament format at beginning of video

  • The Funhouse machine was Jim Belcido's early production model with an older ROM that lacked quick multiball light on the mirror at the beginning of tournament mode

    high confidence · Karl D'Angelo describing the specific machine condition

  • Keith Elwin won the tournament with 8 points without playing his third ball

    high confidence · Final tournament standings announced by Karl D'Angelo

  • In Funhouse tournament mode, if you have balls locked, you must re-lock all balls to start multiball even if balls remain in the lock area

    high confidence · Karl D'Angelo explaining Funhouse tournament rules to Johnny Pinball Monica

  • Most players did not practice on Funhouse during qualifying time, making them unfamiliar with the game for finals

    medium confidence · Karl D'Angelo and Johnny Pinball Monica discussing player unfamiliarity with the machine

Notable Quotes

  • “Funhouse was one of them. And the top qualifier for the tournament gets the option to pull one of those games into the finals. And Neil chose this game.”

    Karl D'Angelo @ 0:30 — Explains the special rule that allowed Game 3 selection, demonstrating competitive format strategy

  • “This game it wasn't, so you didn't have an automatic quick multiball, which is generally the first thing most people go for.”

    Karl D'Angelo @ 1:15 — Highlights how the older ROM changed standard Funhouse strategy in this tournament context

  • “My wife didn't want this game in the house for a long time. She was afraid of Rudy.”

    Johnny Pinball Monica @ 13:45 — Light-hearted comment about Funhouse's Rudy character design and its unsettling appearance

  • “Keith takes it. And he doesn't even have to play the last ball. Keith wins with eight points.”

    Karl D'Angelo @ 24:30 — Announces tournament winner, indicating Keith's lead was insurmountable before his final ball

  • “I didn't trust that kick-out at all.”

    Karl D'Angelo @ 18:15 — Explains player frustration with Funhouse's inconsistent kickout behavior

Entities

Karl D'AngelopersonJohnny Pinball MonicapersonNeil SchatzpersonKeith ElwinpersonJosh LahanpersonIt Never DrainseventFunhousegameIE PinballorganizationJim Belcidoperson

Signals

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Funhouse strategy shift due to older ROM: absence of quick multiball light at start forces players away from standard mirror-first approach

    high · Karl D'Angelo explicitly states quick multiball was not automatically lit on mirror, changing typical opening strategy

  • ?

    event_signal: It Never Drains tournament 2012 finals documentation; tournament continues annually with dates January 25-27 mentioned for upcoming year

    high · Karl and Johnny mention January 25-27 dates for upcoming tournament at video conclusion

  • ?

    product_concern: Funhouse machine exhibits inconsistent kickout behavior, noted as problematic by multiple commentators

    medium · Karl D'Angelo states 'That nasty kick out. It's, like I said earlier, inconsistent' and mentions not trusting the kickout

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.070

0:00
Hi this is Carl D'Angelo and this is Johnny Monica and you're watching the final video for the It Never Drains in Southern California Pinball Tournament. The final game was Funhouse chosen by Neil Schatz. The interesting part was that Funhouse was not in the qualifying bank. We set aside some games for practice. Funhouse was one of them. And the top qualifier for the tournament gets the option to pull one of those games into the finals. And Neil chose this game. Interesting.
0:42
And going into this game, we have the three-way tie between Neil, Keith, and myself at four points. And Josh Lahan is at two points. And technically Josh can still win, right? Anybody can win this Josh would need to get a first And that would give him a tiebreaker For first place with one other player Anybody else, they take first And they win the tournament outright Alright, so let's see We have Neil starting here What do you think is the strategy for this game, Carl?
1:22
Multi-Balls, great strategy of course. Most people go straight for the mirror when they punch the ball. This game had a little bit of a quirk. This is Jim Belcido's early production funhouse. As such, he still had an older ROM in it. So you'll notice in tournament mode, normally the quick multiball light is lit on the mirror at the beginning of everybody's ball. This game it wasn't, so you didn't have an automatic quick multiball, which is generally the first thing most people go for.
1:59
So Nio just missed his frenzy, huh? From the steps? Yeah, it looks like he missed the frenzy on the step count, exactly. I was going to say it looks like Neil is going for mirror most of the time and he'll advance the clock with his shots here and there and hopefully get to 1130 and start his multiball. Nice save there. That's a little... There we go. I love it when you hit the hot dog to the mirror. A little combo. It's the only way to go from left flipper. What is he going to do here? Is he going to go for a skill shot or is he going to do a soft plunge? I like to soft plunge it and then either shoot the ball on the ramp or pass it over to left flipper and then shoot it up the lock lane like this. I find the plunge brings the ball around the back with too much velocity to consistently hit Rudy.
3:17
So he was able to collect one jackpot. I'm gonna click multi-ball. He's cranking away on the mirror. Only two left.
3:35
And he's got his lock lit and locks his first ball. He's in good shape for the first ball in the game. Not a bad start so far. Soft plunge.
3:46
Can I go for the mirror? Yes. He's got quite a few mirrors completed. What does he have? Like one left, right? He only has one left, and then the mirror mode is... Yeah. It'll take him in the super frenzy. Ah. With all the other associated rewards. So, outlaying, but he can't be unhappy about this ball. He's got a good setup. It's a good first ball. I'd be happy with that. Yeah.
4:19
So, let's see. What do we have? Our commentator! Our commentator got a zero on the first ball. Good thing you get to plunge again.
4:33
There's some games that won't let you plunge again, right? Is it Data East games? It depends on the game. What was it? Pinball Magic, I think was one that comes to mind. Yeah, I remember you could get a zero on Pinball Magic without... and for whatever reason it wouldn't give you the ball back yeah so do you remember what oh that's I remember that kick out being a little inconsistent so you really had to be on your toes I was having trouble live trapping and playing the ball bounce over the other foot was inconsistent so I didn't really know I probably should have been hitting it on the fly but I really disliked hitting it on the fly So now we have Josh up and he's got the quick multivol mode ready to go on the mirror. So that's my hunch is that he's going to be shooting for the mirror. Trying to start his quick multivol. He trying to get control there we go Ah just missed what do you do Johnny I want to do that I'll try not to do that. Yeah, but so if you miss a shot four or five times in a row, what's your strategy? How do you... I'll go try it for the sixth time, you know, especially if I have the multiball ready. but if it's not the if the multiball is not lit I would actually go for that the middle screw you know where you lock the balls just to try to increase the time and try to go for multiball for the main multiball right because yeah sometimes you just can't nail that shot it's just sometimes it's tough So you got Keith here, he started his quick multiball. And he didn't do much with it. And it was a quick multiball. Yes it was. Yep. I wonder what he was shooting for there. Yeah, he's shooting for, look, he's shooting for the ramp. Is it because you get more minutes by shooting for the ramp or? It's a safer shot. The other way to get your minute tracked up is to go in the bumpers. Wow. That'll generally go a little bit faster, but it's more dangerous. Rudy's always a danger to hit. Even though he relights your mirror, there's a lot of side to side action after you hit Rudy, which can often result in a drain out the outlings. But it seems that it's being off for him. He's got another mirror here.
7:38
What is he going to do now? Is he going to look for steps? He's thinking. He's at 925. He's still got a ways to go to 1130. Ah, alley pass and try to rack up the minutes.
7:52
He's trying to get his mirror relit, it looks like. Going for Super Frenzy. And then backhand into the lock lane. Yeah, I'm sure he did that on purpose.
8:12
Did he just say something? Yeah, I heard him. My little booty hit. Oh, and then the out lane. And you notice he didn't drain out the left out lane originally because he had opened the steps gate via the mirror, which opens the gate on the lower left.
8:37
So it's almost a free ball. He's got a nice setup. I mean, he's got one more lock. He has to re-lock his locks. In tournament mode, you start over from scratch. Even if there's still balls up in the lock area, you have to re-lock all your balls. Now, let me ask you something. I mean, I was thinking, because he only has two mirrors left, wouldn't you try to hit the Super Frenzy, or at least get close to Super Frenzy, like one shot away, and then start your multiball?
9:16
Yeah, that's a good way to do it. And he's, I mean, I think he's trying. Okay, there you go. He's got one of the mirrors.
9:24
I guess he just wanted to lock the first one. There you go. Now Super Frenzy's ready. So there you go. He goes for the lock. Ah, he got the Super Frenzy. I'm sure he actually wanted to go for the lock first. Not necessarily. I mean, it looked like he did, but there's two balls in the lock right now. So that's a free shot in Rudy right after you lock your second ball. Yeah, but it's only 18 seconds. I'm sure he wants to. He doesn't want to waste the Super Frenzy. There you go. Nice. Very nice bumper action During this frenzy Bumble Still a pretty good ball Yeah pretty good ball In the lead And that frenzy of course Is calculated on the bonus Which is important Because he did have a warning earlier That's right So let's see if Josh can do something oh and I continue to you can hear Josh
10:41
he really wants that quick multi ball you guys and he nails it gets it nice Now let's see if he can do something with it.
11:00
He's having trouble... Oh! Double drain. Yeah, he had trouble hitting Lugia. Yeah, it's really early on that flipper, it looks like. Yeah, and I guess the fact that this game was not used during the qualifying, probably you don't have enough time to get familiar with it. Right, exactly. Since players could practice on it any time they wanted to but most players I don believe chose to play the game I know I didn play it I maybe once during the qualifying time during one of my break periods
11:50
But yeah, so most players were unfamiliar with how this game played. All right, so Keith has a long ball off.
12:01
One ball lock, two... Two shots left to the mirror. Power in lane. Collecting himself, I guess? Just thinking post-pass or ramp shot to the lock, I assume.
12:31
Let's see if he finds that lock shot There it is Alright let's see if Keith does a short plunge Try and pass the ball over If he goes Oh never mind he's got a freebie Yep Nice and easy way to Choke Chucky. Is it Chucky? Rudy. Chucky. Why did I say Chucky? I'm thinking he looks like Chucky.
13:10
He's kind of a freaky looking boy, right? Oh, yeah. My wife didn't want this game in the house for a long time. She was afraid of Rudy. Yeah.
13:21
Probably a PE 13. Oh, he didn't do much with that multiball. Nope, only got one jackpot. Back to single ball play.
13:37
Going for mirrors. Oh, let's see. Mirrors not. So he's going to hit Rudy. What was he going for there?
13:59
I had the left orb or the ramp. The ramp's a nice feed to the left flipper. It advances your clock and gives a nice setup for the lock shot. So maybe that's where he's going. There we go. Got Rudy, he's got the hit.
14:23
Oh, look at that ball just look at it. All the momentum died on that. Alright, Super Frenzy's lit. Another shot. Taking his time, taking a break. He's trying to hit it off the Superdog? That was kind of weird that he didn't go for the one. Or does he want to collect the million from Rudy? Really? Perhaps? Ah, because it lits up again, right? Afterwards. No. No, it doesn't light up again. It's just a... That nasty kick out. It's, like I said earlier, inconsistent.
15:34
And he just doubled his frenzy time. He added another 20 seconds to it. Oh, is that what it does? So when you hit super frenzy and a frenzy, it just adds time to it? Right. whether you're in frenzy or super frenzy if you if you start another frenzy mode it adds another 20 seconds to whatever you're running
15:59
so he probably wants to get get it back into the bumper oh well not too bad I mean yeah yeah five seconds left on the super frenzy you got almost five million on it. 12.9 million. So he's in the lead. 12.9 million. Alright. Let's see what Neil does now. He's got Quick Multi-Ball lit once again. And there you go.
16:43
Nice pass. Nice control. There you go. Yep. There's one. Look at that, systematic. Yeah, that kickback just doesn't let you... And look at it there, it hit the top star post on the sling. Yeah. And it's drained down the middle. I feel like a millionaire O looks like he feeling pretty comfortable in this game now Yeah he is Oh Bad drain there Yeah That going to put him just under key My last shot. Very good run by Neil. Yes, yes indeed. So let's see if you can redeem yourself here. You got a long way to go. I got a long way to go, just know the point that I flam up. I think I'm trying to shoot the step tram to get Frenzy going just to get some points under something. Just get something.
18:12
Okay, so you're not going from there. Get that. I was thinking of the quick points. I wanted the low-hanging fruit. Yeah. And I missed.
18:29
Oh, it's double danger. I think that was a double, so you're good done. That was a double. Yeah, he's done shaking.
18:47
You can see I hit the ball on the fly-back out of the kick-out because I was simply too nervous at this point to do anything else.
18:57
I didn't trust that kick-out at all. So I see you want to re-light the steps. I'm looking to get Frenzy, I would think, at this point. Now that I have the Multi-Ball, I'll go for that.
19:14
There we go. And that 12 million looks like a lot of points. I mean, with a Multi-Ball, you can get that pretty quick. Yeah, you can rack up the points pretty quick. A million to get Rudy, 2 million for the first trapdoor, and then 3-4 adds up quickly. Oh, yeah.
19:38
Nope, it wasn't hard enough. Nope, and I don't know why I did that. That was too hard. Close pass? See the kick out Nice Steps is open So that's a nice setup for Rudy If I can get it That was a nice semi-life catch there
20:19
Now you have Yeah you had There we go Frenzy's not on Now you have frenzy lit right So did you have anything on the steps that was worthwhile No there was no There were no lights lit on the steps That's why You did a full plunge for $500,000 And that kick out is going to be a death to me Yep Ah you remember it huh Yeah I remember where I got knocked out Where my Final It was a good effort I mean you know So basically unless Josh can pull up something out of his sleeve, Keith is going to take it without having to play the third ball. Unless Josh passes Keith, the tournament is over.
21:11
No pressure. Yeah, not at all. So he's got the Spenzy lit. Got some more minutes. And a Rooting Hit. Not an easy shot that mirror, huh? No, it was hard to find that flipper on this game. At least for me, it looks like for Josh too. Oh! Well, and that's gonna do it. That ends the tournament. Keith Elwin. Keith Elwin takes it. And he doesn't even have to play the last ball.
22:15
Keith wins with eight points. Neil Schatz with six points. I end up with five points. And Josh ends up with two points.
22:28
The violence. Look at that violence. well thanks for watching hope you enjoyed all three of these games and hope to see you at our tournament this year january 25th through the 27th yeah congratulations to keith and uh i have to be other players too i mean they played uh they played some good games it was a nice final all the way up to the end i mean that last game mattered for everybody all right all right guys I guess I'll see you guys in what? A couple of weeks? A couple of weeks. Hopefully.
23:03
All right. Thanks for watching.