Episode 417: Jack Slovacek & Nic Stein

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·17m 18s·analyzed·Mar 31, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Jack Slovacek and Nick Stein discuss competitive pinball, elite skills, and upcoming international championship travel.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Jack Slovacek (Nevada State Champion) and Nick Stein at Rochester Pinball Collective during Pinmasters. The two young elite players from Davis, California discuss their paths to competitive pinball, their signature tap-pass and split-flipper skills, and their upcoming international travel to the European Pinball Championship (May 28-June early) and IFPA World Championship in Austria (late June) as part of Team International.

Key Claims

Jack Slovacek won the Nevada State Championship; his mother won the Women's Championship
high confidence · Jack directly states 'you won nevada and your mom won the women's champion she did she did'
Nick Stein developed his signature on-the-fly tap pass technique because he only had one game at home (Time Warp) and no other options for practice
high confidence · Nick explains: 'it started because at home we only had one game and it was not a very exciting game time warp so it was just like what else can i what else can i do with this'
Jack was introduced to pinball at age when his parents took him to Maker Faire where the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth
high confidence · Jack: 'the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth there and that was the gateway drag'
Nick's initial exposure to pinball came through Space Cadet Pinball on Windows XP
high confidence · Nick: 'If it really started, probably like Space Cadet Pinball and Windows XP'
Jack and Nick are both right-handed and have been practicing split-flipper matches together for the European Pinball Championship
high confidence · Directly stated: 'We're both right-handed' and 'nick and i have been practicing split flipper'
Qualifying for IFPA World Championship requires being top 80 in pro rankings, top 2 in your country, or winning a major event like North American Championships
high confidence · Jeff explains the qualification criteria during interview
Nick was concerned about the IFPA World Championship cutoff line, calculating he needed to maintain around rank 42 to qualify from North America
high confidence · Nick: 'i was looking at it according to the rules it's like oh it should be 42 yeah scary like the magic number'
Jack and Nick are the only two Americans attending the European Pinball Championship (May 28-early June); Tim Chapman from Australia and Jeff Teolis from Canada are also attending
medium confidence · Jeff: 'i think you're the only two americans going perhaps i think i'm the only canadian going and i know my buddy tim chapman from australia might be the only aussie going'

Notable Quotes

“I really excited really looking forward to playing in a different country and competing and see what I can do”
Jack Slovacek @ N/A — Expresses enthusiasm for international pinball competition
“I feel that traveling to different tournaments outside of your normal area that you're used to really helps you become a better pinball player”
Jack Slovacek @ N/A — Articulates philosophy on competitive development through tournament travel
“it started because at home we only had one game and it was not a very exciting game time warp so it was just like what else can i what else can i do with this”
Nick Stein @ N/A — Explains origin of his signature on-the-fly tap-pass technique born from necessity
“the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth there and that was the gateway drag”
Jack Slovacek @ N/A — Identifies formative early exposure to competitive pinball through Maker Faire museum booth
“I feel like the more we practice, we kind of can just anticipate what the other person's going to do with the other flipper and almost play as one player”
Nick Stein @ N/A — Describes development of split-flipper synchronization and team dynamics
“Well, I wasn't even planning on going and then Jack was like, well, I'm going. I was like, well, okay, fine. I guess I'll go too”
Nick Stein @ N/A — Shows how Jack influenced Nick's decision to attend European Pinball Championship
“I'm seeing Jack do it. I'm getting jealous. I want to join in on the fun”
Nick Stein @ N/A — Demonstrates competitive motivation through peer influence
“There's the path. Oh, I didn't think about that. So you communicate with the group. It's like, here's what I'm going to go for”
Nick Stein @ N/A — Explains collaborative learning approach in pin golf format at tournaments

Entities

Jack SlovacekpersonNick SteinpersonJeff TeolispersonRochester Pinball CollectiveorganizationPinball ProfileorganizationPinmasterseventEuropean Pinball ChampionshipeventIFPA World Championshipevent

Signals

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community_signal: Pinmasters tournament structured as collaborative learning event where group members share strategies and paths; competitive format encourages knowledge transfer between players
high · Jeff and Nick discuss pin golf format: 'you're in a group of four, and really you're kind of a team in a way. Like, okay, here's what I'm going to do'
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event_signal: European Pinball Championship May 28-early June features country teams competition format with split-flipper matches and collaborative team events; positioning as major international tournament with 384 players
high · Jeff describes format: 'they'll have one game where it's a team before each player will play one ball or they'll have split flipper competitions or they'll have 1v1 tournaments'
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competitive_signal: Pin golf format at Pinmasters involves group play where players can learn paths from watching peers; communication about strategies and ball routing is integral to competitive approach
high · Nick describes learning during group play: 'As soon as you see someone in your group do something, there's the path. Oh, I didn't think about that. So you communicate with the group.'
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competitive_signal: Team International (Jack Slovacek, Nick Stein, Jeff Teolis, Tim Chapman) positioning as competitive team for European Championship country teams event with practiced split-flipper synchronization
high · Jeff states: 'jack nick myself tim we're men without a country so we're team international and we're going to be playing in that and we're going to win it all' with confirmation of split-flipper practice
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Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.052

0:00

it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teal she can find everything on pinballprofile.com we're on twitter and x and instagram at pinball profile you can find our great facebook group as well you can email pinballprofile at gmail.com and if you'd like to show your support don't worry the show will always be free but it's patreon.com slash pinball profile and thank you to great supporters like lua w gme law colin m derrick k and others i'm here right now at the rochester pinball collective in east rochester new york oh i'm gonna get in trouble for not knowing the address but listen to slam till podcast you'll know it it's wonderful it's the home of pin masters and also the north american championship series where I'm seeing two buddies of mine and we go way way back minutes really these two gentlemen are going to be joining me in another country in Austria at the European Pinball Championship we'll get to that in a second but say hello to your Nevada State champ Jack Slovacek hey Jack hey how you doing good to see you once again and if you've ever watched this guy on stream you'll love is on the fly tap passes nick stein hey nick how are you doing good how are you both from davis california and this could come into play because you two play so much together that you would be obviously great friends but great teammates so we'll need to figure a way to put you on a team together jack you won nevada and your mom won the women's champion she did she did that was really cool mother son taking home the win there well if she didn't win were you on your own for like having to walk home or something no no it would have been okay but it was really neat you know the best of seven um she went i think to the seventh game every round and survived until the finals where she won like definitively four two and it was just a really cool moment oh that's great that's awesome too and that nice of you to have you know be the fan club there the next day was it at the same venue yep yep yep yeah they had it just the next day um it was at a nice uh person's house who has a collection out in las vegas it was in vegas okay because i know they got a great scene in reno as well too yeah yeah they do that's where i play primarily because that's really close uh to davis um just a couple hours away drivable okay yeah definitely well nevada's not the only place you play you've certainly done a lot of well traveling here for one obviously you have to because of the nevada state but you're going to be doing a lot of traveling, mainly within the States. Where are some of your favorite places? Ooh, I love the trip out to Chicago every year. Seattle is one of my favorite places. So Northwest is always a fun tournament down there. And you and I just bumped heads at Starfighters in Arizona. That was a great tournament. We did. That was really good. That was the first time I did it. It was a pro circuit this year and it went really well. I thought it was a great tournament. Kudos to Tracy Lindberg and everyone, John Schoppel, and all those wonderful people that put on a great event and great pinball mecca, too, there in Mesa, Arizona. I know. The games they had were great. They've recently expanded into a whole other room, plenty of space. It was really cool. And, Nick, you wanted to come to Pinmasters because it's a big Stern Pro Circuit event, and you're playing some of the best players in the world. Correct. I'm just here because Jack's here.

5:18

Well, you know, that's one skill set to do. Guys, you're young men. What got you into pinball and what took you to the next level? Because you're both elite players. Jack, what was it for you? Well, it was as a kid, my parents would take me to shows such as Maker Faire, where they'd have all sorts of various makers building from little paper planes all the way to the newest tech. and the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth there and that was the gateway drag. And then from then on out, you learn that, oh, there's expos and then there you learn there's tournaments and then there's big tournaments and it kind of snowballs from there. What about for you, Nick? If it really started, probably like Space Cadet Pinball and Windows XP. Oh, wow. And you kept going back to that? The heck with Minesweeper? I'm going to Space Cadet? Yeah, you know, I had Windows 98, Windows Friends House, Windows XP, Space Cadet. It's pretty cool. Gottlieb PlayStation 2 game. There's a local arcade. Josh Sharp helped create it. What about the Pinball Arcade app and things like that? Were the actual real machines, obviously virtual, were those something that kind of got you into it? Yeah, so I started with the video games, but then we also had a local arcade at UC Davis and had a great lineup. And then they changed it. They didn't want people coming for an arcade anymore, so had to re-find games out in the wild but it was reinvigorated by again, yeah, that exactly, Pinball Arcade on Steam computer. I think if I could buy in your two ages, I'm older than you, but it was that that got me back into it. It was the Pinball Arcade. It was seeing these games. I remember those in the 90s. I remember playing those in the wild. Hard to find them nowadays unless you go to home collections and now arcades are really big. So that was my return to this gateway drug, if you will. But were you big into the virtuals, Jack? I was not, actually. It was always, I enjoyed it because it was a physical game. And that was one of the things that drew me to it. But again, you're both young men. I would not be surprised to hear both of you say, I'm obsessed with video games. Because home consoles are just wonderful now. And it's kind of maybe part of the reason for the death of pinball is because they just got so darn good when it was Nintendo and Sega Genesis. And now, of course, PlayStation and Xbox and all these fun things. But you, Jack, are shaking your head like, no, it's pinball. It's physical. Yeah, yeah. I never got into the video side of the games and stuck with pinball. Same for you, Nick, or a little combination? I definitely played more when I was younger. I'm a retired video gamer now. Well, there's some video games on some of these pinball machines. Have you seen that action button and some of the things you have to do on these things? Yeah, that's actually the problem. well I'm showing Jack the light of virtual pinball clicking and dragging the ball around there's so many weird rules on these games practicing video modes every tournament I go to I've had three people today talk to me about the action button or the TLS button or things like that Bowen Cairns was thinking what can we do to put some weird things on the action button I'm just like disable it but that's just me and sometimes you have to use it I just hate when you have to pull your the ball is in play and you have to make a decision the action button. I'm fine when you're cradled up or there a post holding your ball Those are all fine You know like Jurassic Park which Smart Missile do on Those are all cool Oh the other stuff though It two video games and you guys are young guys You don even like it So I like this This is good Traveling though is going to be very big You two gentlemen are about to go to your first ever world championship. And that is not easy to get in. You have to be one of the top 80 players in the world, really in the pro rankings, or be one of the top two in your country, or win a big event like the North American Championships the women's championship uh there are a few exemptions european i believe is another one but it's very difficult to get in you guys probably i know how excited you are to go to this in austria in june but were you looking at the rankings all year like okay i need to a couple i need another 50 points here and there what was it like for you jack yeah definitely it was constantly you know updating looking at the rankings i would say nick uh did it more than i did uh i i tried to tell them to not look as much just to ease the uh the stress but it all worked out in the end yeah it did and it's tough to maintain up there right there's a lot of great players so nick you were always refreshing like have they posted the results yet have they posted yeah you know i was rooting against some other people as long as they don't pass me it'll be fine it was like oh they're going to pass me it was fine how close were you safe to get in or were you looking at the cut line for the ifpa i i well i i had never paid attention before to like where the cut line was so i was like oh i went to like 60 last year and then i was looking at it according to the rules it's like oh it should be 42 yeah scary like the magic number and i was like oh i'm gonna be 42 do you know why is because when it's in europe it's so much easier for you know right here in north america you've got really two countries that are going to be having the easy travel it's a lot more difficult for others around the world but in europe there's so many countries there that's easy travel to go it's in austria though piece of cake for germany sweden for italy all these other places so it takes away a few spots when it's in europe but you made it that's a good thing i learned a little bit about european geography of like how likely is someone from hungary to show up and realize oh they're bordered yeah yeah exactly now speaking of austria so that's coming up in late june but you're already making another trip to austria the european pinball championship which is may 28th roughly to the early june you're going jack you're going nick i'm going and you know what i think you're the only two americans going perhaps i think i'm the only canadian going and i know my buddy tim chapman from australia might be the only aussie going and they have this great event at the european pinball championship it's called the country teams event it's kind of like an epstein cup it's just a lot of fun like they'll have one game where it's a team before each player will play one ball or they'll have split flipper competitions or they'll have 1v1 tournaments it's for country pride jack nick myself tim we're men without a country so we're team international and we're going to be playing in that and we're going to win it all aren't we we definitely are i love that jack told me this nick i asked him at arizona i said hey i see you're going nick's going do you guys want to form a team you're like yeah i said well here's how the format works there's a split flipper match and you went oh that's great nick and i have been practicing split flipper. Hear that, the rest of the world? That's awesome. It's fun, isn't it? Yeah, it's really fun. I feel like the more we practice, we kind of can just anticipate what the other person's going to do with the other flipper and almost play as one player. Who's on the left? Who's on the right? Is it always the same or does it depend on the game? It's been alternating. Are you both left-handed, right-handed? We're both right-handed. Okay. But it's been working fine both ways. So, Jack, when he's on the fly and he does one of his tap passes, Are you ready for it at all times? Yeah, I can feel it coming. Do you have hand signals? Do you talk to each other? Okay, it's coming to you. I'm going to dead bounce, things like that. We've played so much together. It just happens for the most part. This better be a win for Team International. You hear that? Denmark and Germany and some of these great countries that have championships. We're coming after you. Team International. I wonder if we can come up with a better name. Narnia or something? Wakanda? We can figure something out. There's plenty of time. There's lots of time, but it's going to be fun. But again, going to Austria. You're going twice this year. I assume your first real international pinball travel Yeah definitely I really excited really looking forward to playing in a different country and competing and see what I can do Was the reason you wanted to do this twice I know you've earned the spot at IFPA 20, the championships, but if you were quick on the trigger, you could get to go to the European Pinball Championship. I think they have 384 players. Was the excitement for you, Nick, to go there because it is another country and kind of want to feel what other games are like? or was it also because it's a major and I'm trying to stay on top? Well, multiple reasons. First off, I wasn't even planning on going and then Jack was like, well, I'm going. I was like, well, okay, fine. I guess I'll go too. And just looking forward to it. Like I've barely traveled at all. Like this is my first time flying to a different time zone here in New York. I think I've only seen you in California. Yeah, my one non-California event was Northwest last year. And I think I did Pitmasters like seven years ago. I forget. But in Nevada? Yeah. Yeah, I was there too. Yeah. I mean, it's not easy to travel. Obviously, it's expensive to travel for one. But is that, are you looking at some of the big events going, okay, I really want to get to these? Yeah. I haven't done it yet. I'm seeing Jack do it. I'm getting jealous. I want to join in on the fun. Stow away. Do you have a big suitcase?

14:12

Yeah. Definitely. And same for you. Like, is travel, I mean, it's tough when you're young. Funds aren't always available and stuff. time, whether you're working, you need the vacation, this, that. Is that what you want to do? At least circle some of the big ones like EPC, like the World Championship? Yeah, definitely. I'm kind of trying to seek out the majors now to test my skills at those levels. I feel that traveling to different tournaments outside of your normal area that you're used to really helps you become a better pinball player. And when you play the better players, Like, that's what I like about pin masters. It's not for everyone, the pin golf, but you're in a group of four, and really you're kind of a team in a way. Like, okay, here's what I'm going to do. Here's my path to get to the quickest score. I kind of like that. It's unlike anything else. Now, it's different when you're in playoffs, but really it's kind of exciting, isn't it, Nick? Yeah, exactly, because, like, as soon as you see someone in your group do something, there's the path. Oh, I didn't think about that. So you communicate with the group. It's like, here's what I'm going to go for. You just saw how much it scored. I had no idea it was a thing. Yeah. Learning together. You know, it's a lot of fun. I would love to talk to you more. We're going to be, listen, people are going to be talking about us after the European Pinball Championship. Let's be honest. But I know Jack's getting ready for his playoff round of Pinmasters. Congratulations on making it. Thank you. It wasn't easy. Nick, what did you think of the Pinmasters? Loved it as usual. Yeah. You know, always a rough start. Yeah. One of these times. Can you put one bad hole out of your head? Because it's bound to happen in 18. Well, I've lost track of which one to blame it on. yeah there were a few well jurassic park like i mean good god i was one of them i was thrilled to get a five out of ten like i was like that that i felt like i had wizard mode so hard you know 2x play field oh this will do it this will do it here on ball three and then it's over than eight what happened it's tough it's not easy to recover but anyway uh nick i will see you next probably in austria uh keep the practicing on the split flippers don't do any videos we don't want our opponents to see any of our potential weaknesses or skills, okay? Keep that on the down low. Jack, good luck in Pinmasters. Guys, great to talk to both of you. Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it. Great to talk to you too. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're on Twitter and Instagram and x at pinballprofile. Great Facebook group as well that you can join and participate in. If you'd like to email, it's pinballprofile at gmail.com. And if you'd like to show your support in the show, that would be so kind. Don't worry, the show will always be free, but thank you so much to people like Rodney C, Sean I, Derek S, Erica's Pinball Journey, Fox City's Pinball, and more. With Jack Slovacek and Nick Stein, part of Team International for the European Pinball Championship, here live at the Rochester Pinball Collective, I'm Jeff Teolis. We are the world.