**Date:**
20th & 21st May, 2017
**Location:**
Vallecas, Madrid, Spain.
**We haven’t visit Madrid for a pinball tournament since Spain held the European Pinball Championship there back in 2012. This time we were attending the Torneo Madrileño de Pinballs, better known as TMAP.**
The venue for the two-day event was a nondescript building in an industrial area on the southern side of the city which is the permanent home to the private Millonaria pinball club.
For those not familiar with the Millonaria location there was no signage to indicate any pinball presence resides here, let alone the fact that it is the home of a major Spanish tournament.
*The unexceptional building on Camino de Hormigueras*
However, if you enter the building through the unlocked third door, take the lift up five floors and follow the sounds of flippers flipping, you come across the tournament registration desk.
*The tournament registration desk*
Playing in the two tournaments – modern and classics – cost €60 per person. Players could also opt to take an organised lunch held in another part of the building for an additional €20. Those who took the lunch received green wristbands, while those who made their own arrangements wore an orange wristband. As you can see, with no catering facilities nearby, the vast majority decided to have lunch at the venue.
*The list of players with their lunch choices*
Upon registration, players received an orange shoulder bag, two score sheets (one for the modern tournament and one for the classics), a pen and a wipe cloth.
*The two score sheets and pen*
Alongside the registration desk, the lobby also provided a seating area and there was a vendor with a selection of pinball LEDs and other generic parts.
*Pinball parts for sale*
From the lobby, a short corridor led past a group of upright video games into the games room, where the eighty-nine machines were arranged in four long rows of around twenty-two machines each.
*Video games on the way to the pinballs*
*More classic videos*
*The first two rows of machines*
*The second two rows*
The classics machines were arranged back-to-back down the centre of the room, while the modern pinballs backed against the walls. The rear of the room was open to a multi-storey car park which provided access for loading or unloading machines and gave a small seating area for relaxation between games.
*The back of the room*
To help with the relaxation, there was a bar selling soft and alcoholic drinks along with some snacks. Beers were only €1 and gin & tonics €3, both of which were very well received.
*The bar menu*
The classics machines were largely composed of Spanish games, making an unusual selection of rarely-seen titles for the non-Spanish players attending.
*Black & Reed, Big Horse and Poker Plus*
*Mr Evil, Centaur and Full*
Here’s a full list of the machines.
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| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | --- | | 300 | | 30’s, The | | Addams Family, The | | Aerosmith Pro | | Avengers Pro | | Back to the Future | | Big Horse | | Black & Reed | | Bumper | | Cabaret | | Canasta ’86 | | Canasta ’86 | | Centaur (Bally) | | Centaur (Inder) | | Chamonix | | Champion Pub, The | | Cherokis | | Class of 1812 | | Corvette | | Creature from the Black Lagoon | | Creature from the Black Lagoon | | Criterium 75 | | Dardos | | Demolition Man | | Dracula, Bram Stoker’s | | Dragon | | Elvis | | Fairy | | Family Guy | | Fans | | Fantastic World | | Fiery 30’s, The | | Flintstones, The | | Full | | Funhouse | | Getaway, The: High Speed 2 | | Ghostbusters LE | | Grand Prix | | Guns N’ Roses | | Incredible Hulk, The | | Indiana Jones (WMS) | | Indianapolis 500 | | Jacks Open | | Jake Mate | | Jalisco | | | | | --- | | Johnny Mnemonic | | Judge Dredd | | Jurassic Park | | Kiss | | Kiss Premium | | Luck Smile | | Master Stroke | | Metallica Pro | | Mississippi | | Mr Evil | | NBA Fastbreak | | NBA Fastbreak | | Nemesis | | No Good Gofers, | | Pirates of the Caribbean | | Poker Plus | | Popeye | | Pro Football | | Revenge from Mars | | Roadshow | | Rolling Stones, The | | Running Horse | | Scared Stiff | | Sea Scare | | Seven Winner | | Shamrock | | Skyjump | | Spider-Man VE | | Star Trek: The Next Generation | | Star Wars Episode 1 | | Stargate | | Striker Xtreme | | Stripping Funny | | Super Bowl | | Tales from the Crypt | | Terminator 3 | | Theatre of Magic | | Twilight Zone | | Underwater | | Up Away | | Whitewater | | World Cup Soccer | | World Cup Soccer | | X-Men Magneto LE | |
At the front of the room was the tournament desk where results were entered into the computer system, while a large poster showed the player groups, machines to be played and the results.
*The matches in the modern and classics tournaments*
Both tournaments worked in the same way; only the machines used and how they were played changed between the two.
*Trophies for the classics tournament*
*Modern tournament trophies*
Players were divided into three groups – A, B & C. In each group, everyone played three- or four-player games across nine rounds, so everyone got to play everyone else in their group. Machines were allocated in a semi-random way – keeping each group to a fixed selection of machines – which meant players would often get to play the same machine twice (or more).
In each match, points were awarded depending on finishing position, with 3 points for first, 2 points for second, 1 point for third and 0 points for last place. That meant a maximum of 27 points were available if all games were won.
The classics tournament was played first.
*The classics tournament begins*
Because many of these machines were single player only, each player in a match played their game in isolation, recording their score on paper and working out the points after the last player in the match finished their game.
*Play in the classics tournament*
The points were then recorded on the poster.
*Recording points in the classics tournament*
When all the matches in a round were over, a call went out on the PA to start the next round while the previous round’s results were entered into the computer. The current standings were shown on a monitor.
*Current standings*
The eight players with the most points in each group qualified for the play-offs on Sunday morning. The first four received a bye through the first round (12 players), while the next four would have to battle it out in four three-player games with only the winner moving on (4 players).
*Players check their position*
The classics tournament qualification ended around 12:30pm, with the first rounds of the modern tournament starting immediately.
Lunch was scheduled for 2pm, so there was just time for a couple of rounds of qualifying before the break.
Unlike the classics, all modern tournament matches were played as regular four-player games.
Lunch is a big deal in Spanish pinball tournaments and two hours are usually allocated to enjoy it. Those who had signed up for the organised meal went down to the entrance and across to the unit next door for the catered meal, complete with drinks.
We opted to enjoy the hot sunny Carl Weathers and headed to the nearby town of Vallecas for a leaisurely lunch at a cafe with street-side tables. A nice iced Estrella beer rounded off the meal of bocadillos filled with anchovies and tortilla, alongside other assorted nibbles.
Play didn’t resume until 4:45, when the remaining seven rounds of the modern tournament qualifying took place. Each round took approximately 30 minutes, so everything wrapped up around 8pm.
*Players relaxing after completing their games*
We were staying at a nearby Ibis Budget hotel which while cheap (€37 a night), modern and a few minutes’ walk to the venue, was basic and not in a great area. So, we made a quick trip back to freshen up before setting off for the centre of Madrid courtesy of Alejandro Yepes Piedra, who had invited us to take part in the tournament and took care of us all weekend.
Central Madrid on a Saturday night is amazingly packed with people. The bars and restaurants are crowded. The streets are crowded. The subway is crowded. It’s like rush hour, every hour.
But it’s also vibrant, exciting and enjoyable. We grabbed a big dish of paella, a couple of jugs of sangria, and headed for Plaza Mayor to explore the city.
Sunday’s action began at 9am for those who finished in positions 5th-8th in their group. The top four skipped this round and so could turn up later, making sure they didn’t arrive too late.
*The Pinball News crew were back bright and early on Sunday morning*
*The modern tournament*
Both classics and modern tournaments again followed the same format. Four groups were made, and three three-player games played with points awarded. Only the player with the most points joined the next stage, so it was a tough round to survive.
As well as the modern and classics tournament, there were several side competitions set up on machines at the back of the room.
*Play in the side competitions*
The pairs competition held on *Guns N’ Roses* had each player play one ball and then play the third ball in split-flipper mode.
*Players in the pairs competition*
The blind pinball competition has a paper shield over the flippers of an *Indiana Jones* machine. The player with the highest score won. Meanwhile there was a one-ball competition run on *Avengers*.
The remaining play-offs all consisted of four-player groups playing three games per round, with 9-6-3-1 scoring – a system which seemed inherently likely to produce ties. The top two players in each group progressed to the next round, reducing the initial sixteen players to eight and then to a final four who would compete for the top four places.
The classics final took place first and it was a sudden-death single five-ball game played on *Master Stroke*. The four finalists were Rafitas, Alexxx, Inderman and Cisco120 (everyone uses nicknames in Spain).
*The four classics tournament finalists:*
*Inderman, Rafitas, Cisco120 & Alexxx*
Alexxx played first on this single-player game.
*Alexxx starts the final in the classics tournament*
Hi score of 600.600 set the target for the rest to attack.
Rafitas played next but fell short with 518,100. Inderman was third to play and his total just beat Alexxx, scoring 633,300 to lead the field.
Cisco120 was the last to play.
*Cisco120 plays the last game in the four-player final*
He sailed past Inderman’s score on his third ball, ending his game when his score reached 657,900.
So, Cisco120 won, Inderman was second, ALexxx third and Rafitas fourth.
*Winner of the classics tournament, Cisco120*
*Second place, Inderman*
*Third place, Alexxx with his fiancee*
*Fourth place, Rafitas*
*The top four in the classics tournament*
The full results of the classics tournament are:
| |
| --- |
| Classics Tournament Results |
| | | | | --- | --- | | Pos | Name | | **1** | **Cisco120** | | 2 | Inderman | | 3 | Álexxx | | 4 | rafitas | | 5 | BonelessChicken | | 5 | Santy | | 7 | Ángel | | 7 | DINO | | 9 | Quercus | | 9 | PinballBCN | | 9 | Cga pozuelo | | 9 | Mainwaring | | 13 | Baptur | | 13 | ROMEO | | 13 | Rayo | | 13 | Julio | | 17 | Pochoguerrero | | 17 | Rafa | | 17 | shaolins | | 17 | DAN | | 21 | IKE1 | | 21 | Mirloblan | | 21 | NBSJOSE | | 21 | KURSH | | 25 | Fhk | | 25 | Fede | | 25 | LUCIUS | | 28 | Richart | | 28 | Druida | | 28 | Pipo | | 31 | BURN RUBBER | | 31 | Carro | | 31 | KROM | | 34 | Luigivampa | | 34 | Roskalion | | 36 | Javi | | 36 | Capitán | | 36 | Alucinoff | | 36 | Multiball | | 36 | Pulgarin | | 41 | Lieven | | 41 | Juaney | | 43 | Lucky Luke | | 43 | hassanchop | | 43 | Federo | | 46 | Glen | | 46 | Troshinsky | | 48 | ajal | | 48 | Danidrummer | | 48 | Pimiento | | 48 | Drator | | 48 | Jmfl1977 | | 53 | Leberry | | 53 | KRISMA | | 55 | Sarten | | 55 | Ayub | | 55 | Tropoglar | | 58 | Shh-ware | | 58 | APE | | 58 | Jetlager | | 61 | Gabrielo | | 61 | Neo-Jesus | | 61 | IronBall | | 64 | metroider | | 64 | Fari | | 64 | dMode | | 67 | DarkZeroIce | | 67 | VIC | | 67 | Rubensaos | | 70 | marchales | | 70 | Igmabor | | 70 | DJ HULK | | 73 | Ronko | | 73 | Gregorio | | 73 | iliciman | | 76 | Steiner | | 76 | tinkui | |
Then came the final of the modern tournament. This was also a single game, played on the club’s newest acquisition, an *Aerosmith* Pro. The four finalists were Rafitas (again), Martin Ayub, Julio and Leberry
*The four modern tournament finalists:*
*Rafitas, Martin Ayub, Julio and Leberry*
Leberry began the final.
*The final of the modern tournament begins*
Leberry made a solid if unexceptional start, scoring around 2M. Martin then played next.
*Martin is player two in the final*
A quick bounce down the left outlane didn’t give Martin much of a start, although he did light a couple of locks.
Julio did a little better, scoring just over a million, while Rafitas had the quickest first ball of the four, not putting up much of a score yet.
*Julio picks his song as player three*
Leberry started a three-ball multiball to take a solid lead, but Martin and Julio both held out to lock all six balls and maximise their scoring potential. Although it was a risk, it paid off for them both. Leberry ended on 55M, but Martin overtook that with his 61M total. Julio had the much better multiball, however, ending his game on 121M. Despite putting up a valiant fight, Rafitas’s game never really got going and he ended up in fourth.
So, Julio was the winner, Martin was second, Leberry third and Rafitas fourth. Trophies were awarded by the event organisers.
*Winner of the TMAP 2017 modern tournament, Julio*
*Second place, Martin*
*Third place, Leberry*
*Fourth place, Rafitas*
*The top four in the modern tournament*
Here are the full results:
| |
| --- |
| Modern Tournament Results |
| | | | | --- | --- | | Pos | Name | | **1** | **Julio** | | 2 | Ayub | | 3 | Leberry | | 4 | rafitas | | 5 | Rayo | | 5 | Ángel | | 7 | Mainwaring | | 7 | Quercus | | 9 | Gabrielo | | 9 | Lieven | | 9 | Troshinsky | | 9 | PinballBCN | | 13 | Cisco120 | | 13 | Richart | | 13 | VIC | | 13 | Juaney | | 17 | dMode | | 17 | APE | | 17 | Tropoglar | | 20 | ROMEO | | 20 | Lucky Luke | | 20 | Pipo | | 20 | ajal | | 20 | BonelessChicken | | 25 | Shh-ware | | 25 | shaolins | | 25 | IronBall | | 28 | Ronko | | 28 | Mirloblan | | 28 | NBSJOSE | | 31 | Fhk | | 31 | Fari | | 31 | tinkui | | 34 | Rafa | | 34 | Igmabor | | 34 | KURSH | | 37 | Carro | | 37 | KROM | | 39 | Baptur | | 39 | marchales | | 39 | metroider | | 39 | Fede | | 39 | DJ HULK | | 44 | Druida | | 44 | Álexxx | | 46 | Pimiento | | 46 | Santy | | 46 | Alucinoff | | 49 | Inderman | | 49 | Cga pozuelo | | 49 | Multiball | | 52 | BURN RUBBER | | 52 | Neo-Jesus | | 52 | DINO | | 55 | Luigivampa | | 55 | hassanchop | | 55 | Rubensaos | | 58 | Pochoguerrero | | 58 | Roskalion | | 58 | LUCIUS | | 61 | DAN | | 61 | Glen | | 61 | Jmfl1977 | | 64 | Sarten | | 64 | Drator | | 64 | Pulgarin | | 67 | DarkZeroIce | | 67 | Gregorio | | 67 | Jetlager | | 70 | Javi | | 70 | IKE1 | | 70 | Federo | | 73 | Steiner | | 73 | Capitán | | 73 | KRISMA | | 76 | Danidrummer | | 76 | iliciman | |
Awards were also given to the winners of the side competitons.
*Winners of the pairs competition, Druida and Ronko*
*High score competition winner, Pipo*
*Blind pinball competition winner, Ironball*
There was also an award for the Interstellar Championship of Monza, although we’re not quite sure how this was decided.
*Winner of the Interstellar Championship of Monza, Jetlaguer*
With all the awards presented, the event closed at the very civilised time of 4pm. That meant we still had the rest of the day free to return to central Madrid for plates of tapas and some nice cold drinks.
Like most Spanish tournaments, TMAP 2017 was run in a relaxed though professional way. With the vast majority being local players, everyone seemed to know how it ran and what was expected of them. Those unfamiliar with the venue might have had trouble finding it – we knew the address but still couldn’t work it out until someone showed us – but once inside the format and rules were immediately understandable.
The relaxed timescale also worked well for us. Having a two-hour lunch break split up the day nicely, and the sensible finish times on both days allowed us to enjoy the city – something not always possible with other tournaments.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to TMAP 2017. Thanks to all the organisers.
While the area around the venue is not the most attractive (and we would probably choose to stay closer to the centre of the city next time), we welcomed the format, the collection of machines, the Carl Weathers and the hospitality, and would love to spend some additional time exploring Madrid on our next trip.