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2020 Stern Pro Circuit Championship Game 17

Stern Pinball·video·40m 25s·held·Sep 24, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Game 17 of 2020 Stern Pro Circuit Championship on Avengers Infinity Quest

Summary

Coverage of Game 17 of the 2020 Stern Pro Circuit Championship, a ladder finals format tournament featuring Escher Lefkoff, Python Anghelo, Alexander Kasmarcik, and Steven Bowden competing on Avengers Infinity Quest. Escher leads the finals bracket; the match showcases high-level competitive play with detailed commentary on rule strategies, scoring mechanics, and player skill.

Key Claims

  • The Stern Pro Circuit Championship uses a ladder finals format where players are eliminated and replaced until two finalists remain

    high confidence · Tim Sexton (host) introducing tournament format

  • The championship prize includes a championship belt, a brand new Stern Pinball Inc., and $5,000 cash prize

    high confidence · Tim Sexton explaining championship rewards

  • Avengers Infinity Quest was designed by Keith Elwin and released in 2020

    high confidence · Tim Sexton describing the game during match commentary

  • At the championship level, game selection doesn't matter because all players are equally skilled on all games

    medium confidence · Top seeded player commentary on game selection strategy

  • Escher Lefkoff is 19 years old from Longmont, Colorado

    high confidence · Player introduction segment

  • Python Anghelo is from Fontana, California

    high confidence · Player introduction segment

  • Alexander Kasmarcik is from the Pittsburgh, PA area

    high confidence · Player introduction segment

  • Steven Bowden is from Palatine, Illinois and is ranked #1 in the 2020 Stern Pro Circuit

    high confidence · Tim Sexton introducing Steven Bowden as 'number one ranked player of the 2020 Stern pro circuit'

Notable Quotes

  • “Stern pro circuit Championship is an exciting ladder finals format this means starting with four players we eliminate the last place player and bring in a new player until we're down to just the final two”

    Tim Sexton @ opening — Explains the unique tournament format defining the championship structure

  • “the 20 people are here are all good at all these games so it doesn't matter like you're not picking against someone I'll say oh this person isn't as good at this game now that doesn't exist here not at this level”

    [name withheld pending review] @ early segment — Indicates skill parity among elite competitors and why game selection is strategically irrelevant

  • “Carl is already up to 44 million in just two mode shots”

    Tim Sexton @ Carl's first ball — Highlights the explosive scoring potential in Avengers Infinity Quest modes

  • “Carl has just not made any Thor Captain ball shots yet in this game”

    Tim Sexton @ mid-game analysis — Shows strategic variety in mode sequencing and shot selection

  • “this is one of the moves that Escher does very often and you don't see other players do it as effectively as Escher”

    Tim Sexton @ Escher's first ball — Highlights Escher's distinctive skill and technique on the game

  • “a huge score in Soul Gem with 17 flips to spare giving him an extra 117 million for a total of 200 million just in the soul gem mode that is a massive scoring potential almost perfectly executed by Escher”

    Tim Sexton @ Escher's soul gem quest — Demonstrates elite-level execution and rule mastery on difficult modes

  • “Thanos is trying to take them by shooting these shots”

    Tim Sexton @ Thanos Attacks mode — Explains the defensive mechanics of the Thanos Attacks mini-wizard mode

Entities

Escher LefkoffpersonPython AnghelopersonAlexander KasmarcikpersonSteven BowdenpersonTim SextonpersonKeith Elwinperson

Signals

  • ?

    competitive_signal: All four finalists demonstrate exceptional playfield control, rule mastery, and mode sequencing on Avengers Infinity Quest. Escher Lefkoff showcases distinctive techniques and shot accuracy; Steven Bowden (ranked #1) underperforms early but demonstrates comeback potential.

    high · Carl scores 481M on ball one; Escher executes soul gem with 17 flips to spare (200M in single mode); all players demonstrate professional-level nudge saves and ball control

  • ?

    design_innovation: Avengers Infinity Quest features stacked multiball mechanics with quest modes, portal locks, grid award system, and a mini-wizard mode (Thanos Attacks). Allows diverse strategic approaches and exceptional scoring potential.

    high · Multiple quest paths (Reality Gem, Mind Gem, Power Gem, Soul Gem), stacked multiballs reaching 5 balls in play, grid award variability, Thanos Attacks mini-wizard triggering via mystery award

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Game demonstrates significant depth with branching quest sequences, optional hard mode difficulty toggles, gem defense mechanics, and combo systems. Rewards both aggressive and methodical play styles.

    high · Players choose between different gem quests; Escher enables hard mode for 3x scoring but fewer flips; Alexander experiments with unconventional Power Gem selection; combo system rewards accurate shot sequences

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Ladder finals format creates dynamic competition where lower-seeded players can advance through strong performances. Strategic game selection by top seed becomes irrelevant at championship skill level.

    high · Top player chooses game but notes all finalists are equally skilled; elimination-based advancement creates mounting pressure for lower-ranked players

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:01
foreign [Music] of the stern pro circuit championships I'm your host Tim Sexton and I'm here to bring you up to speed with everything going on in this circuit final so far Stern pro circuit Championship is an exciting ladder finals format this means starting with four players we eliminate the last place player and bring in a new player until we're down to just the final two the winner of that game wins a championship belt a brand new Stern Pinball Machine and also a five thousand dollar cash prize let's take a look at our field
0:42
hi my name is Asher lefkoff I'm 19 years old I'm from Longmont Colorado I'm Carl D'Angelo and I'm from Fontana California my name is Alexander kasmarcik and I am from the Pittsburgh PA area all right Stephen Bowden Palatine Illinois in each match the top seeded player has the opportunity to choose the game or choose their order on the game I am leaning to it deferring defending what I hear from the tournament director I mean the the 20 people are here are all good at all these games so it doesn't matter like you're not picking against someone I'll say oh this person isn't as good at this game now that doesn't exist here not at this level this match we will have Avengers Infinity Quest this comic book themed pinball release came out in 2020 was designed by Keith elwin
1:31
we are here at the very top of our ladder of the stern pro circuit finals with Escher lefkoff leading us off which means he's selected this game Avenger Infinity Quest he did not hit the super skill shot oh and he drains right away but he locked at the grid but it doesn't matter that is ball one over right away for Escher lefkov and let's talk about what players are trying to do on this game they are watching these strobing three by three grid Awards trying to lock in the one that says bonus X on the plunge and also shoot the very middle Target to collect a super skill shot and the super skill shot will award them ball save which as we saw with Escher is really critical because you can drain very quickly so Carl is ready he slides up he shoots the middle Target like he did there the ball save light the star of Captain America's shield turns on and he also earns something called a portal lock which will give him double scoring and another ball in play during his first multi-bot he's going right away for the second portal lock he has two portal locks qualified already okay takes the first portal lock there he has an opportunity to take a second portal lock doesn't let this ball Auto plunge Auto punch sends it all the way around and into that second portal lock great start here for Carl he now needs to do one of the tougher things which is shoot the spinning disc he shot a little bit late gets an arc reactor bonus uh hard to hit from this position maybe you can hit it yeah he did hit it off the just knuckle part of the flipper and now his portal is open he takes the backhand shot into it and goes into the reality gem quest
Stern Pro Circuit Championship
event
Stern Pro Circuit Championship 2020event
Avengers Infinity Questgame
Stern Pinball Inc.company
?

event_signal: Professional broadcast-quality coverage with detailed play-by-play commentary, rule explanations, score tracking, and analysis. Stern Pinball providing significant infrastructure for championship promotion.

high · Dedicated host (Tim Sexton), detailed rules commentary, real-time scoring graphics, player introductions, multiple game angles implied by commentary specificity

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Elite players demonstrate distinct playstyles: Carl emphasizes speed and aggression; Escher balances precision with adaptive strategy; Alexander attempts unconventional choices to overcome deficit; Steven demonstrates positional awareness despite initial struggles.

    high · Carl plays 'so fast for the game,' Escher uses distinctive nudge techniques and positioning, Alexander selects non-standard quest (Power Gem), Steven adjusts approach after weak start

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Game design emphasizes risk-reward through ball save duration, multiball stacking, quest difficulty toggles, and shot difficulty variance. Players must balance aggressive scoring against drain risk.

    high · Ball save expiration creates timing pressure; hard mode increases flips cost; risky shots (left orbit from weak flipper position) tempt high-value completion; extra ball opportunities reward risk-taking

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Escher Lefkoff, age 19, demonstrates championship-level skill and distinctive technique at elite tournament level, suggesting emerging generation of competitive pinball players.

    medium · Youngest identified finalist; leads ladder bracket; executes near-perfect soul gem quest with 17 flips remaining; develops signature techniques noted by commentary

    • 3:19
    this Quest first shot is to hit that spinning disc again the strange letters show your shot multiplier plus the triple scoring multiplier from the three balls in play Carl is already up to 44 million in just two mode shots 52 million your score can explode with this setup in the reality gem quest uh one thing players may do in this mode is aim for their Thor multiball Thor Captain Ball but to bring in Thor multiball but uh Carl doesn't care yet uh maybe he will know that he's down to two balls in play uh now he's down to one ball and play you might really care or he might just shoot the center ramp like you did and okay shoots the other ramp for the final blow he has completed his first Jeb Quest
    4:11
    and has earned the reality gem shoots around the loop and nice nudge to get it out of the left out lane by Carl there and he's placed it on the center ramp
    4:23
    so now he's just making some Hawkeye combos by shooting the ramp and the loop shot back up the middle and now he's got his portal lock lit again did it the hard way again by making combo shots collects the first portal lock and will Carl push odd for the second portal lock I don't see why not he's being so accurate right now in this game takes his first Iron Man lock now he's got the Hawkeye challenge here this can also get him a portal lock if you can hit the target or The Loop that post is in the way but no Nails the loop second portal lock just waiting for the disc to come back up he was a little early because uh he's just playing too fast for the game right now Carl is uh just dialed in and played so fast on all these games we've seen so far in this competition [Music] second portal lock is now collected Carl shot next to the post on the disc okay shoots the ramp you can use the upper flipper here and that should spell strange and it does open to the portal up great nudge again on the left side that ball looked very dead and now we're going into the second Quest the Mind gem quest players get to choose those and they always choose the same thing now take his second Iron Man lock so this is interesting Carl has just not made any Thor Captain ball shots yet in this game still there he has is all three balls in play now and that'll start Iron Man multiball with that shot to the Tower is stacked up here with Iron Man multiball and his mind gem quest
    5:59
    so we're gonna get a lot more pinballs in play very soon here here they come we've got four on the Playfield now we've got five on the play field now uh some of them will be training but they will all be coming back while that ball save is lit while he's playing all this he has completed his mind gem quest so now he's really just in Iron Man multiball uh but he gets these Victory lap points because he has stayed in the multi ball and beaten the quest he will most likely assemble his Avengers during this multiball and that will mean his soul gem will be ready when he comes out of this and it looks like he's assembled his adventures no not quite I actually needs Thor because he hasn't hit the captive ball enough uh the timer now counting down is for the Super Jackpot and Iron Man multiball that has to be shot at the tower still three balls in play 252 million points already for Carl D'Angelo and now he's finally trapped up for us playing a little bit slower here so we can see what's going on well he made a three in the row in the grid to get the super ball saver that is a permanent ball saver until he drinks the next ball which he just did um ball comes back into play Super Bowl saber's still on though uh there's two balls down the drain uh but I guess they're both gonna come back into play so I was wrong about how the Super Bowl saver works but it looks like it's giving him plenty of balls back into play keeps this multi ball going
    7:35
    extra balls and Outlet that's a good points what else is going on 290 million for Carl another three in a row he has started Super Targets with the more grid award completions on the upper flipper shooting around the loop trying to getting halfway around great double flip both uh both fingers Flipping The Flipper buttons at the same time all right 310 million Carl's still playing so fast in this game he has completed his assembly of The Avengers gets a nice nudge save into the in Lane collects the Mind gem finally have to do that single ball play ER have to place that shot next
    8:21
    nice live catch there to stop the ball he shoots the right orbit to place on my gym back to making a okay there we go we are assembled of our Avengers here and we are going into the soul gem quest now Carl's been playing so well I would have to think he's going for Hard Mode by holding down the top button yep he is Carl is holding down the top button enabling hard difficulty as many fewer Flips For Carl definitely has a lot of time on this game a lot of practice on it knows exactly what he wants to do first he shoots the ramp now he's gonna go for the orbit oh it takes a flip there takes another flip there oh out of control using the button now on the my gem to advance himself through this but he is down a lot of flips there we go starting to make progress by shooting that ramp well a lot of flips being used here there's another shot Thor captive ball is next you want this ball to come down to the left flipper and not do that [Music] my gem was used again five flips removed another my gem oh no another Outland
    9:37
    okay still seven flips left he can do this shoots the center ramp oh misses the ramp shot hits the captive ball instead oh and that's not the slippery he wants it on only two flips remain and he's gonna need one to shoot the ramp this is his only chance he makes the shot back into it makes the shot at the tower he completed the soul gem with one flip to spare 120 million points out of that Soul Gym mode
    10:11
    and a train for Carl but not before an excellent ball one 481 million points Carl looks very very likely at this point to move on to the top three with another spectacular ball played so quickly too
    10:31
    Are you seriously going to keep us all waiting so our Comeback Kid Alexander now steps up here with his ballot on The Avengers timing the grid award and now he waits until it's for sure on the bonus X he hits it there first portal lock achieved uses the ball safe immediately as she really wanted that did not get that first portal lock now taken care of now Alexander could just spell strange here and go for the mode but he could also try to get another portal lock takes two dangers instead that was not on his plan but he keeps the ball in play and now we go into a ramp shot what's he thinking he's hitting he's spelling strange so looks like he's gonna take the double scoring now maybe the double danger affected his thinking but now he's at the out lane he's not going to do much of anything now I bought one and now here we are introducing our number one ranked player of the 2020 Stern pro circuit Stephen Bowden who has avoided 16 games of pinball guaranteeing himself lots of money and wow plunge is already off the ramp into the Super skill shots it recovers from that uh weird ball ball is wild kind of situation that you get in pinball sometimes slaves the ball into the in Lane out the out lane but the ball save from the tower shot was on [Music] there's the first danger for Steve Bowden Steve there we go finally now his first trap of the tournament he's gonna take his time here to think about what he wants to do looks like he wants to go for portal locks so he's going to try to alternate the ramp shots for combos great tip pass to get that ball off the left flipper all right up the ramp can he make this shot now from the lower flipper no he's been a little late on that ramp it's not quite making it all the way to the top another shot of it now early still trying to find these shots this is Steve's first game in the tournament uh all the other players are a little more warmed up than he is oh no tried to nudge it back in the in Lane but it did not work for him so Steve no portal lock progress yet had a weird happenstance kind of ball flew off the ramp at the top of the Playfield but he recovered with the skill shot but now it's Carl's game and the rest of the players are just looking to see who can get a foothold on this thing Escher is definitely happy to see that two players have not made much progress yet he immediately takes the skill shot he was going for on ball one takes that first portal lock Escher already going for Thor multiball he's trying to get some more portal locks it looks like wow Thor is ready so can he take that first portal lock the ball save now expires tried to back into the lock but it kind of went around like the mini golf ball in the hole takes the first portal lock now this ball will kick out Escher will go for the ramp no he's just going to spell strange he just wants to go right into his first Quest it looks like oh close to the middle that sure does that a lot he just bumps the game from the left to get the trap on the right get himself back into control and takes just one danger it's one of the moves that Escher does very often and you don't see other players do it as effectively as Escher so now we are in our first reality gem quest at Double scoring and as sure with the two balls of play he can bring in Thor multi-ball
    14:19
    by shooting the captive ball he has that there he's one of these balls may not come back into play maybe they both go yes they both have come back into play so he's still in three ball play here in the uh first reality gem quest with the seven and that 1.8 million point award up to 60 million points now double scoring Choice working out for Escher right now he's made a lot of progress through the reality gem quest still working on that expertly avoiding the captive ball to not start or multi-values up to four balls in play from the attaball and now another grid award for him is another three in a row oh that almost hit the Thor Captain ball nope still in just the uh scoring from the quest
    15:06
    now down to one ball and play does he care now he's gonna wait for the uh all the ball save kind of possibilities of bringing in the extra ball to expire collect the reality Gem and move on probably to his next Quest
    15:27
    so places that reality gem on the ramp starting to shoot the other ramp get some another portal lock going maybe
    15:40
    not happy with that that missed shot between the ramps now recovers from that very nicely
    15:49
    where are we at from this flipper back up the center ramp trying to get these combos going Hawkeye combo there that was nice oh that Center ramp didn't work for him he's got another shot at it keeps the combo alive now the portal lock is lit now he can lock that ball blocks his first ball so does he choose to take his mind gem quest at this point or does he keep going onward and he's got a lot of grid progress already locked in too very happy what what Hawkeye challenge Gods oh he's praying to the Hawkeye challenge Gods try to shoot either the Target or The Loop to get his next portal lock lit and he Nails it so now players when they nail that shot they have to wait for that just to actually rise out of the Playfield but their Quest scoring is now tripled for his next Quest and he's got the disc in a really nice position hits it there can start the next Quest can start it again no both times the ball did not go in to start the quest there it is so now Escher has the potential triple scoring for mind gem quest and now Escher is staring down Carl D'Angelo's great ball one score lots of stuff can happen here he's got his Iron Man locks ready uh he's taken his Thor multi-ball so that's off the table at this point
    17:20
    well not off the table he can always go back to re-spelling Thor multiball and get back into it but now he's trapped up it looks like he's going for Iron Man multiball with the staging of the flippers
    17:39
    having a bit of trouble getting up into those Tower shots there's a shot at it shoots a little late hits into the flipper
    17:47
    there's a shot to it but not before that ball drains nothing he could do to get this bug I could play oh sorry that was ball three locks so Escher perfectly timed that one to get into Iron Man multiball with the Mind gem quest still running so he'll have four balls coming into play he'll have a chance now within this Maya champ Quest we just got a 16 million point shot to also uh completes all the things he needs to assemble his Avengers and try to take down Carl with a soul gem quest after this but also just uh getting some super jackpots in Iron Man multiball Avengers are now assembled he will have soul gem lit after this multiball is over down to two balls in play what's he gonna do he's gonna just let that ball kind of go out the right out lane just didn't feel like staying around it looked like so he's not gonna fight too hard to keep it into play has to collect his mind gem that he's completed now has to place this on a shot Carl chose the right orbit for this shot
    18:50
    by letting that pass yep chooses the right orbit and now we are shooting the ramp Hulk spinner thing is going does he care about this so he bumps it off that upper flipper there what is his plan here his plan is to shoot that right orbit and then start his soul gem quest [Music] Asher will collect his bonus for assembling The Avengers
    19:16
    holds down the button definitely enabling hard difficulty the point potential is way higher just way fewer flips but way more points anytime you complete anything he uses the first mind gem right away and that means he's hit the second shot hit the third shot wow this is amazing progress here has to shoot the left orbit now has the perfect flipper for it but it's a little bit early balls between the slingshots he uses to flip there uses another flip there another flip there not getting him under control yet there we are and that kisses the switch which allows it to progress to the next stage uses the Mind gem again now is a captive ball no it's the ramp use the Mind jump on that one now he's going for the tower completes it wow a huge score in Soul Gem with 17 flips to spare giving him an extra 117 million for a total of 200 million just in the soul gem mode that is a massive scoring potential almost perfectly executed by Escher and bring him within Striking Distance of Carl D'Angelo
    20:26
    so now what are we thinking Escher we're kind of back into main play here going for our next Quest a binary War this is a great potentially great scoring mode if you can shoot all the ramps
    20:40
    and going for this one yeah he's going for the binary award oh but unfortunately drains at the right outline there doesn't tilt though so sabotas come in 25 million for Escher another great score on Avengers Infinity Quest here Carl D'Angelo will return to the game here he's checking instant info to see what grid award he will be going for next looking at it there maybe super Gauntlet I don't know what he's thinking he's going for uh I guess the three in a row on the top and he hits it there for the super skill shot for the three in a row for the bonus extra super combos now is running and uh combos is kind of the name of the game here when you're going for portal locks so not a bad idea to have that running while you're just working your way to the next gem quest has to place this gem here that shot is already has a gem on it that shot doesn't though so the gem will be placed and he's making these super combos and he's got the binary Wards running wow look at this scoring board a reward of 10 million there for 17 million in that mode not happy about this because that's going to the left out lane and Carl saw that coming those half Loop shots can be very dangerous and wasn't able to make a great left out lane save that time like he was on previous balls
    22:16
    now Alexander has him right where he wants him he loves making those big ball two ball three comebacks we saw this last game maybe we'll see this again maybe not but the first skill shot he's playing it safe now so he takes the skill shot on the easiest skill shot gets the three seconds of ball Save which is up now and he has that portal lock already for ball one so this will carry over for him with the reality gem quest at Double scoring with the ball saver and the second ball coming into play Alexander's first shot us to the ramp didn't do much for him but uh he's really looking for it looks like the Thor multiball to bring in here and he immediately does that shot brings him into a Thor multiball plus the multi ball he got from the reality gym portal lock
    23:05
    and has his uh multiplier a pretty high can I make it a lot of shots yet here we go finally making some shots in the uh gem quest down to two balls in play he's now trying to get control oh that didn't work for him back to single ball play that Thor multiball is over 1.4 million not a great score from that but still in the quest he's going to try to complete this and he's making some shots to help him well that orbit didn't go all the way around for him gets uh makes some really nice nudges off the rubber on the side of the game to keep the ball from going down the middle
    23:50
    coming off the slingshots for him it's a little sketchy right now for Alexander but that's a really nice pass up to the post and Alexander is not taking a lot of time to settle down with these traps as soon as he gets the ball where he wants it on a flipper he's just going for it completes his reality gem mode with a relatively low score for the reality gem quest uh but it's not going to phase him because he can now move on to the Mind gem quest after he places this he replaces it on the center ramp everyone's favorite shot to place the reality gem on a lock just in one more combo
    24:26
    oh no trusted the dead pass but it went into a slingshot now at the left out lane
    24:36
    so it's kind of a ball one situation for Steven here because playing this the way players typically play it you'll shoot around and try to shoot that grid award that is lit right now and he hits it so there we are the grid award the portal lock the skill shot takes the first Proto lock so that's got to feel good for Steve who was missing shots on ball one now to get something going the way he wanted it
    25:04
    and shoots for a mystery award what'll this give him his competition mode so
    25:10
    just gonna start the super reactor mode not crazy here at this part of the game so he's going just taking the first portal lock and into the reality gem quest he's thinking about beating Alexander it looks like not really thinking about needing to catch up to Escher and Carl at this point that is a lofty goal might as well get ahead of Alexander at this point and then start attacking those huge scores
    25:37
    team is aiming for the disc it's not really letting him make a huge shot on the disc Thor multiball is just one shot away ball saver is expiring uh uh where is he going here he has all the balls on the upper Playfield there's a right flipper and for the Thor ball on the Fly there okay now we have started Thor multiball and this gives him more safety now he's attacking that disc getting his multiplier up and this will light his shots in the reality gem quest also a lot of the Slick shots and the shots are taking the ball into the grid never sleep on the grid lots of good stuff can be awarded there at the drop Target Bank Thor multiball jackpot down to two balls and play another Thor jackpot and add a ball from shooting the target uh where else we go we're going with more shots so he's now completed the reality gem quest he has now caught up and passed Alexander's score 86 million and now we're still going here in Thor multiball and we're still in a victory lapse here and don't look now but uh Steven has assembled almost all his adventures he just needs to spit her but wow a triple drain to end ball two there very very interesting position now between Stephen and Alexander and now we have Escher levkoff stepping back up to the game Escher and Carl will take turns piling on points here on ball three trying to pad their lead over Alexander and Steven we're not going to see who's at risk of elimination until we get to Alexander's ball it's right now Alexander and Steven are the ones who are at risk the most anyone could still be eliminated but there's a big gap between the scores right now
    27:32
    so Escher is now kind of uh back to the beginning of the game almost except he doesn't have the reality gem or the Mind gem quest available so he's going for combos he's going for the just unlocking the next Quest
    27:50
    it's been a little sketchy for him he's gonna take a break oh now he's into Thanos attacks it's the first second mini wizard mode of the game soul gems really the first mini wizard of the game and we have not seen this yet actually in the stern pro circuit it was a mystery award for him 10 million points that's fun all right he's got to defend his gems Thanos is trying to take them by shooting these shots defended a gem there
    28:22
    it's Captain ball some of the shots don't really do much for you in this mode like the captain ball right now has to shoot the left orbit there that's a tough shot because got it guarded by that flipper
    28:35
    and also those grid uh targets don't do anything for you right now in this mode all right shoots the left orbit now he wants them to shoot the right ramp to defend the reality Jam reality jumps down defended that's a good amount of points 19 million now he's going to be trying to defend his other gems [Music] just has to shoot the lit shots only two of them lit right now it's the ramp and the orbit takes the orbit shut there takes a while left orbit there on the Fly that was a really nice shot it's got the center ramplet he's got the right orbit lit again so it's a little early for the orbit but fails them out with the upper flipper
    29:22
    there he goes up the center ramp now he's got to shoot the right ramp and that will let him defend the mine gem another great point total this will put him well ahead now of Carl's score back to 550 million got his last gem to defend it's only earned Three Gems so Thanos can only take this one more uh but with that drain the soul gem is lost to Thanos but also his game is lost to Thanos that is the end of escher's game with 555 million great score here
    30:02
    Carl knows he will be moving on to the top three if he can pass 555 million and how does Kyle choose to approach this he's going to shoot the tower for the skill shot that's only 1.3 million but it gives us a ball same and a ball lock
    30:20
    extra ball is lit the extra ball good points there is that what he's gonna be going for has to shoot it on the target behind the disc right flipper is the one you want it from hell he takes a backhand shot on the Fly was very close shoots the disc and where will that went wind up oh no it kind of blocks him now because the portal came open oh no well he's gonna take the shot yes he has to kind of there he is with the extra ball 25 million and starts Thanos attacks but won't be in Thanos attacks for very long other than the ball saver being here Carl is now ahead of escher's score and he will be walking away the ball will continue plunging but now we know Carl is safely on to the top three of the 2020 Stern pro circuit championships [Music] now Alexander finds himself in a familiar situation in dead last on ball three with an uphill battle ahead of him what can he do oh he can start by taking once again the little easy skill shot up top the default skill shot not a secret not a super skill shot just a skill shot uh lights is Portal lock though so my gem is on the table for him takes that first portal lock uh does he press his luck for a second point of lock I don't think so I think Alexander's looking like he's trying to rotate that disc there the ball kind of hits it and stops it and now the Portal's open so there we are safely into multiball for Alexander oh is he thinking of an unconventional strategy a power gem quest wow Alexander diverges from the pack and picks the power Gem and trying now to bring in his Iron Man multiball by shooting the tower two shots of mist of the tower but the ball save is still on uh that's the first Power gym mode shot only a million another million for these glancing blows oh no is that ball Gonna Come Back no he is out he is out of the safety of a multiball just shooting a Hawkeye ramp
    32:37
    all right this is uh this is risky for Alexander he's gotta find something that works for him and quick shit's a ramp he's making just a little bit of shot progress here he's glancing blows from the Hulk but he's almost completed this power gem quest only the first ball locked you're in a portal lock maybe he could take a third quest with the portal lock but uh yeah this is a very unconventional game of Avengers takes the second Iron Man lock so only one more shot there but he's so close to completing this mode and he's got a still some distance he has to put between himself and Steve Bowden does he try to finish the mode first it looks like yes he is trying to finish the mode he's gonna need to shoot the left orbit to actually hit that Hulk shot
    33:32
    now he has the Trap never Waits long for the Trap Alexander extra balls lit for 25 million that'll help tries to shoot that left orbit again very very risky shot making here for Alexander now he's decided to go for the Iron Man lock misses that shot though as well give up on it no he's going to be Iron Man lock and get all that slingshot almost sends it into the out lane Alexander looks like he's on borrowed time here the ball wants out he's not making either the shots he needs that Tower shot's just not working for him Alex is yelling at himself saying don't miss that again and he doesn't the yelling works now he's into Iron Man multiball
    34:15
    it's a conservative way to play in this position here he's just trying to survive now still needs that left orbit with this ball trapped on the left foot it's a little easier because you can hold that flipper up but he doesn't need to takes the final blow finally only two and a half million for finishing that mode uh into Iron Man multiball this can be some good points on these super jackpots
    34:39
    no explosive scoring after Alexander in this game and we know Steve Bowden just needs some of those Hulk Spinners to get to his soul gem quest [Music] all right he's getting some points on the board here with the tower Super Jackpot [Music]
    35:00
    he's built up the value of the jackpot with the disc spinner has the orbit shots now to hit for the jackpots hits an orbit there
    35:17
    great live catch there he's trying to shoot for the Atta ball has not quite hit that Target yet um another thing Alexander might think about here while he's in this multiball maybe he wants to get his soul gem now going he needs those spinner shots just needs the spinner shots actually so that left spinner and he's been hitting that orbit shot now yeah just okay he's actually assembled his Avengers so coming out of this multi-ball he will have his soul gem quest lit foreign settle now he's playing very methodically here Alexander put himself actually into quite a good position here the choice to actually take iron man multiball has worked out for him right now as he's used this Iron Man multiball to light the soul gem quest
    36:12
    all right he's happy here to be in a position where he's well he's gonna have to collect his gem we'll do this by transferring with the ramp shot a little early there nice nudge to prevent that ball from going out the right Outlander [Music] and there we go collects the power gem has to place the power gem this upper flipper can't really place any gems for you with players that just shoot rounds he decided to try to shoot it get the ball to the left flipper you know what he gonna do from this flipper is he gonna just shoot for the left orbit yeah he's trying for the left orbit that didn't work for him that's over to the left flipper
    36:59
    I guess the gym got play so now he is in the soul gem quest and Alexander is very likely going to play this at Hard Mode the scoring potential as we've seen with Escher is enormous about to hit the top button now is he passing on hard mode he is passing on horde mode he did not hold the top action button he just wants to complete this he really wants the soul gem uses two flips there to shoot the ramp going for the orbit oh he doesn't have the Mind gem that probably factored into his decision doesn't have that safety of being able to use the button to spot the shots there's the first shot there eight flips added another eight flips added another 8 Force added three in a row for him now he needs the left orbit shoots it perfectly four shots done in this mode captive ball is next a little late on the captive Ball but it took a weird hop off the in Lane guide
    38:00
    strap targets plenty of shots or flips remaining sorry over 50 flips remaining now over 60 flips remaining I think Alexander is probably going to make it through this one because he only has one shot left to complete this mode and it's to the tower 61 flips to do it and he only needed one of those 61 flips 33 million for the 60 flips to spare Alexander is now just patting his lead against Steve Patton that ball comes off the post no harm there perfect live catch and now around the right orbit uh that gem is placed and down the middle Escher is now safe Alexander has a 183 million Steve Bowden with 30 spins on his Hulk spinner can light his soul gem quest he also can take his Iron Man multiball I believe so it looks like that's lit it's always hard to tell from this angle Tick Tock let's get this party moving so here we are Steve battle decides to take the Grid or the secret skill shot
    39:15
    save is on but the ball is heading towards the alley and saves it out of the right Outlet area shoots the center ramp and he will go to try to place the gym he's assembled his Avengers but he needs to place that gem to start his soul gem oh no he's side to side okay still alive he's not happy though with the way this is working for him and now the lights are on from the gamma ray Quest all the flash lamps are on takes a danger and out the right out lanes sends Steve Bowden now out from number one to one and done the always stoic Stephen Bowden is eliminated in fourth place let's go to Steven to hear what he had to say yeah I didn't make it came up short by not being able to hit that the right ramp to start well I had to actually hit multiple times I had to get the gym place it and then shoot it again to start Thanos and then I still wanted to do some more work this was another match of the stern pro circuit championship