(Topic ID: 277293)

True pinball wizard?

By SketchyMcDuff

3 years ago


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    #1 3 years ago

    So I’m relatively new to pinball but I was curious if there are any true pinball “wizards” out there? I don’t mean the “hey, that guy’s pretty good” type, but more of a Tommy/Rainman type? The kind of legit, always calculating strategy, geometric angle seeing, feel of the flipper and roll of the ball masters out there? I could google it, but obviously I’m going to get way better answers here

    On a side note, I really appreciate having the access to such a great collection of knowledge here on Pinside. I never knew that there was so much to know about something that I only had a passing interest in just about a year ago!

    #2 3 years ago
    Quoted from SketchyMcDuff:

    So I’m relatively new to pinball but I was curious if there are any true pinball “wizards” out there? I don’t mean the “hey, that guy’s pretty good” type, but more of a Tommy/Rainman type? The kind of legit, always calculating strategy, geometric angle seeing, feel of the flipper and roll of the ball masters out there? I could google it, but obviously I’m going to get way better answers here
    On a side note, I really appreciate having the access to such a great collection of knowledge here on Pinside. I never knew that there was so much to know about something that I only had a passing interest in just about a year ago!

    I am by no means the best "consistent" pinballer out there, but I do hold several records as well. I sometimes just get into a groove and I simply can't miss. I'm not sure what the margin is, to be honest. I wish I could hone in all the time and put up massive scores...but I struggle to find the groove sometimes.

    #5 3 years ago

    I’m oftentimes considered to be a drain wizard

    #6 3 years ago

    When I think "Rainman" Robert Gagno comes to mind: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40004224

    I saw a pretty interesting documentary called Wizard Mode about him and his quest to become the next world pinball champion. He says being autistic, "I find I can focus on one thing for a long time and I have a strong visual memory. So I only have to play a machine once to remember it. I'm also able to notice a lot of things happening at the same time and quickly calculate where the ball is going to go."

    I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't heard of him.

    #8 3 years ago

    Watch Bowen Kerrins and Keith Elwin play each other. It’s unbelievable how good those guys are, especially when they go head to head.

    #9 3 years ago

    From the perspective of people who don't know how to play pinball, there are probably thousands of players whose skills are good enough that they would be perceived as a wizard.

    From the perspective of regular competitive players, just about anyone in the Power 100 is pretty much a wizard. https://www.ifpapinball.com/rankings/power100.php

    And finally, the most decorated competitive player of all time is Keith Elwin (KME). He wins pinball's largest competitive event over 50% of the time...which is remarkable considering that it's now over 1000 players and well over half of the world's top players are there every year.

    That said, the best pinball player of all time could be someone who has never played out in public, so we'll never find out who they are...

    Honorable mention to Neil Shatz (NES), who most people have never seen play since he was the top dog back before anyone had videos of people playing pinball.

    #10 3 years ago

    Rick Stetta and Lyman Sheats .

    #11 3 years ago

    Is "The Rack" still with us? He was the best I've seen play but that was long ago.

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