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Proposal: 2017 UK Pinball Open Tournament

Which dates in August would you prefer?

  • Sat 19th & Sun 20th

    Votes: 5 27.8%

  • Sat 26th & Sun 27th

    Votes: 3 16.7%

  • Neither

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • I Want It To Be Held At Play Expo in Manchester

    Votes: 8 44.4%
  • Total voters
    18
Moonraker

Moonraker

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
6,005
Location
Salisbury
In the absence of a UK pinball show or party I have offered to host the UK Pinball Open Tournament at Special When Lit.

I am aware that there are people who would like this event to take place at Play Expo in Manchester in October. This was investigated last year and the NLP team wrote to myself about the set up requirements and conditions of holding the tournament. Those requirements were viewed as totally impossible for setting up, breaking down and operating a tournament at Play Expo.

The result was last year's event went ahead at Special When Lit in Salisbury. It had a poor turnout and made a loss, so this year's event would see the following changes:

1. No prize money being awarded.
2. A return to an August date (see poll).
3. Maximum entry set to 54 people.
4. No use of the troublesome matchplay software.
 
Are they really the reasons why turnout was low though ? Surely finding a central location is key to success?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
There are currently discussions ongoing for a significant comp at the NLP in October. Not quite 100% yet, but looking promising.

What issues have people had with Matchplay?
 
Neil McRae said:
Are they really the reasons why turnout was low though ? Surely finding a central location is key to success?
Click to expand...

Indeed, this is why the event is usually held with the UK show (or whatever you wish to call it) and in the absence of that I have offered to host.
 
Wizcat said:
There are currently discussions ongoing for a significant comp at the NLP in October. Not quite 100% yet, but looking promising.
Click to expand...

So is this significant comp intended to be the UK open? if so then I'm more than happy to hand the mantle over to the organiser... or to anyone else if they so wish (do get in touch with a PM) !

Wizcat said:
What issues have people had with Matchplay?
Click to expand...

Put in ten people and enough machines. No one is supposed to play each other more than once and always on a different machine. The software has issues in the final round and almost always draws a fixture that has already happened, plus you can easily end up playing the same machine a couple of times, which can be viewed as an unfair advantage to the other person.
 
Moonraker said:
In the absence of a UK pinball show or party I have offered to host the UK Pinball Open Tournament at Special When Lit.

I am aware that there are people who would like this event to take place at Play Expo in Manchester in October. This was investigated last year and the NLP team wrote to myself about the set up requirements and conditions of holding the tournament. Those requirements were viewed as totally impossible for setting up, breaking down and operating a tournament at Play Expo.

The result was last year's event went ahead at Special When Lit in Salisbury. It had a poor turnout and made a loss,






Iirc the issues that you construe as impossible were quite simple.The show HAS to finish at a set time, thus we required a well organised
tournament that would finish in the set time.Plus we required you to source the machines for the tournament, not exactly outlandish requests?
Click to expand...
 
plus imo the poll should say a) hold at special when lit (which could give advantage to those who frequent there?)

b)if possible hold at nlp

c) hold somewhere else
d) don't bother

As an aside note if ever held at a big event eg nlp,pinparty,pinfest,nerg this somewhat reduces a home advantage
 
@Moonraker

Thank you for offering to take this on. The obvious point is that ANY tournament is better than no tournament.

The UK Open surely needs to be the best tournament that we as a pinball community can put on

In the 2 years I have been going to these things, the UK Open in 2015 was head and shoulders above any tournament I have played in. That I got to play serious quality players like cayle george, albert nomden and bona helped. But it was much more than that

If it were possible to recreate this 2015 format in manchester - folk focused into one or two hotels, tourney over two days, plenty of games available outside the tourney, day one is groups of 11 with the top 3 or so going through after 10 games against 10 players. Day two is 32 man knockout with a second chance loser's group

I hold my hands up, I did not go to the uk open in 2016. The realities of the venue's size, no clear central rallying point in salisbury, limited number of games available for non tournament players, plus the distance made it too marginal for me .... I admire you for stepping up and taking it on, but it was a different kettle of fish to 2015

If the playexpo guys can host the uk open, I think that would be an excellent outcome. I understand that fenced off tournament machines can cause issues - so surely the answer is to advertise the tournament in advance - open to all comers and/ or to allow entries on the day. If all folk who attend play expo either know that there is a fenced off tourney in advance, or can enter it on the day somehow- that should take the sting out of any griping

Manchester is easy go get to . It has an international reputation for sport. Excellent airport (3rd buisiest in the uk) that would help the top international players to get there

I would certainly offer up a tournament standard game, nicely set up, to the nlp guys if that helps

Getting rid of home advantage is a plus too. If folk get to play the same game more than once, then that is luck, the rub of the green. Home advantage is very real and ideally avoided.

As a final point, forget about prize money. If winning £100 or so is required to influence someone into entering then fook 'em
 
Last edited:
Moonraker said:
So is this significant comp intended to be the UK open? if so then I'm more than happy to hand the mantle over to the organiser... or to anyone else if they so wish (do get in touch with a PM) !

Put in ten people and enough machines. No one is supposed to play each other more than once and always on a different machine. The software has issues in the final round and almost always draws a fixture that has already happened, plus you can easily end up playing the same machine a couple of times, which can be viewed as an unfair advantage to the other person.
Click to expand...

I'm biting my tongue a little, because nothing is final yet - but the comp that is being planned for NLP show isn't the traditional UK Open format, and depending on sponsorship we may not even have the option of calling it 'The UK Open'. My only reason for mentioning it at all really was to suggest that we already have something in motion at the NLP show (so no capacity for another comp there). I don't think anyone would have an issue with another venue (such as SWL or elsewhere) hosting a comp. (Poibug's mention of 'home advantage' aside! ;) )

Happily also it sounds like the issues you may have found with MatchPlay won't affect the format we're thinking of (and in my testing so far hasn't shown up an issue!)
 
TYHO said:
Iirc the issues that you construe as impossible were quite simple.The show HAS to finish at a set time, thus we required a well organised
tournament that would finish in the set time.Plus we required you to source the machines for the tournament, not exactly outlandish requests?

plus imo the poll should say
a) hold at special when lit (which could give advantage to those who frequent there?)
b)if possible hold at nlp
c) hold somewhere else
d) don't bother

As an aside note if ever held at a big event eg nlp,pinparty,pinfest,nerg this somewhat reduces a home advantage
Click to expand...

To find 20 machines over and above those already being supplied to NLP would be a massive task. It's hard enough trying to find enough machines at the UK show when they're there already never mind finding an extra 20... Plus they have to be delivered first before anything else is set up and have to remain in place to the very end being the last to leave.... Never mind meeting any of the other criteria specified in the letter.

Regarding the poll,
a) home advantage is only a perception particularly with the number of events held at SWL. What SWL does provide is good condition machines in tournament standard that are already set up correctly.
b) If the NLP want to hold the event then I'm happy to hand it over to someone else to organise and find those extra 20 machines.
c) such as?
d) I am bothering as it's the UK Open. If no one else is bothered then they have the option of not entering.
 
BTW Pete, thanks for putting the offer forward, SWL is an epic place and handy for me :D
 
Well done Pete for stepping up (again) and offering to host and organise - whilst better than some locations for me personally it's still a fair old journey & I'd be OK in principle to travel up to Manchester (although less of a attractive prospect on an August weekend when everyone is doing the same for holidays).

So happy with Salisbury, happy with elsewhere - only able to tick one August date (so have gone for the non Bank Holiday one), but at the moment could do either.

I'll always be happy to try and attend & participate (with no realistic chance of progressing too far), but surely better that something gets proposed organised for the UK Open, rather than nothing at all?
 
Unfortunately I'm away on those dates but if it a date I can make I'd be happy to travel down to SWL.

I'm not too keen on Manchester Expo as every time I go I still don't get enough time to play all the great machines on show as it is busy with the public (as opposed to Pinheads). There used to be a comp at the UKPP in Daventry which was great.
 
Tucks said:
There used to be a comp at the UKPP in Daventry which was great.
Click to expand...

That is this competition (the UK open) - albeit in a smaller dedicated venue than Daventry, although the tournament area with 20 machines in at Daventry is probably a similar amount of floor space. It will be the same tournament organisational team as at Daventry.
 
The decision was to avoid bank holiday traffic on the roads, so it will be on 19th and 20th. It was supposed to published at the weekend but there are a few bugs to sort out first.
 
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