UK Pinball Open @ Croydon Hilton 29/09/22-02/10/22

[David_Vi]

Plus, the early bird is £50 and includes 5 entries.
So £25 of that is just paying to register then the other £25 is the five entries?

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Sorry, I am quite confused by this whole thing!

So we need to buy the 3 day pass, then entry to the comp, then buy tickets for £5 each? Or does the competition entry include some entries already?

You get 5 tickets included so if you play them all on the main bank you get 25 games.

I guess I am confused why we need to purchase both a weekend pass and competition entries, when you admit it's not worth going if you're not interested in entering any of the comps. Why not just combine them?

Its how everyone does it. Some folks don't want to play in the comps but want to come along...


Cheers,
Neil.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

There's a few $ signs that still need converting to £'s

I think I got them all now!

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Fully agree with @roadshow16 and thanks for all the hard work @Neil McRae and the PBR team. Very very exciting!

@Neil McRae - trying to work out family logistics, I know it might be too early but do you have any more details on the U16 tournament format?

Yes its likely to be best 5 games out of 6 (not ticket format) and the final for the top 4. But if we get a lot of interest then we reserve the right to make it bigger! Note that Kids can take part in all the events though.

Neil.

 

[roadshow16]

Neil, this is so cool.

Just for those unaware/on the fence/thinking they aren't good enough so may not attend.

Something like this has never happened in Europe, let alone the UK. This is a US model, specifically the INDISC model (The Open World Championships). Historically, money, certainly of this size, has never been played for in Europe. Neil/Peter were using the Fulda comparison before, Fulda there is no prize money, the top 3 in a tourney get a small plastic trophy.

This is special people. I know it may feel strange and different, it does to me too!! I've never played in a tourney like this, but what a privilege!! I hope it does entice lots of European players and US players to come play. And what a privilege that will be!! To see and potentially play against fantastic players. Even if you don't feel like you have a chance of qualifying, just being in that environment, at a tournament of the likes the whole of Europe has literally never seen before, being run by our very own PBR, I implore you to support it and come along, it's really exciting for the UK scene.

Top work everyone at the Republic

 

[windoesnot]

So is the following correct:

To get into the venue for the 3 days, its £40
To register for the comps (pre July) and have 5 entries included, its £50
For every additional comp entry ticket, its £5

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Yes that’s it

So is the following correct:

To get into the venue for the 3 days, its £40
To register for the comps (pre July) and have 5 entries included, its £50
For every additional comp entry ticket, its £5

Thanks

 

[David_Vi]

I understand it's a big deal but prize money means nothing to me, especially as I'm unlikely to win it
It's all fun for me and I believe most people on here (if thread about wpprs is anything to go by).

I suppose the prize money attracts more players from the states?

 

[Deleted member 2463]

well I don't know many things where you can play against the worlds best and maybe even beat them!

 

[Wayne J]

Duplicate post for some reason?

 

[Wayne J]

So is the following correct:

To get into the venue for the 3 days, its £40
To register for the comps (pre July) and have 5 entries included, its £50
For every additional comp entry ticket, its £5

Thanks

£40 to get through the doors. (Plus booking fee)

£50 just to register for the comps (if you register early) but you then get 5 "free" entries.

So do you have to register and pay for each comp and then buy entries seperate from that?

What are the individual registration fees (we know it's £5 per entry).

The rules state:
that no player can pick a machine more than once in the finals, unless all machines have been exhausted, yet there is no indication of how the person picking machines is chosen?
How many games will be played in the finals if there's a possibility of all 18-20 machines being chosen by that player?

Also that once the finals are set out there will be no changes even if there's an error by the player OR the tournament officials!!

I think ill have to wait until there's much more clarity as to what exactly is happening and what the cost could be before I make any decision to register

 

[David_Vi]

I feel like there should be a bundle including registration and a separate entry only ticket for those who just want to spectate. It seems expensive for those who just want to enter considering you can go down the road to Pinball Republic and play a ton more games (obviously on a different day).

I'm not sure who these people are who go to a big pinball comp that's purely tournament play and pay £30 to just sit in a spectator area and play a few freeplay games.

But what do I know

 

[Deleted member 2463]

£40 to get through the doors. (Plus booking fee)

£50 just to register for the comps (if you register early) but you then get 5 "free" entries.

So do you have to register and pay for each comp and then buy entries seperate from that?

What are the individual registration fees (we know it's £5 per entry).

There are only fees on the non early bird selection

The entries are usable on all tournaments. When you select a tournament to use an entry you are automatically registered to the tournament, there are no additional fees.

The rules state:
that no player can pick a machine more than once in the finals, unless all machines have been exhausted, yet there is no indication of how the person picking machines is chosen?
How many games will be played in the finals if there's a possibility of all 18-20 machines being chosen by that player?

Also that once the finals are set out there will be no changes even if there's an error by the player OR the tournament officials!!

I think ill have to wait until there's much more clarity as to what exactly is happening and what the cost could be before I make any decision to register

Keep reading!:

The group that contains the highest-seeded player gets first choice of machine and order of play. The highest-seeded player within each group may choose either the machine to be played, or the order of play. If the highest-seeded player chooses order of play, the remaining players may choose their order, in descending order of seeding, and choice of machine then goes to the next highest-seeded player in the group. Conversely, if the highest-seeded player chooses the machine to be played, then the next highest-seeded player chooses the order of play, with the remaining players choosing order of play in decreasing order of seeding.

If at any point a high-seed player declines to make a choice, the choice is deferred to the next highest-seeded player, as appropriate. The affected group still retains its order of choice among groups, however. If no player in a group will make a choice, the choice(s) are determined by tournament officials, who may or may not choose randomly.

Note that the original seeding of players when entering the final rounds from qualifying is used in every round. At no time does a player’s seeding change from round to round; therefore the advantage of qualifying in first place can be significant.

No group may select a machine which has already been selected by a group in the same round, nor may they choose a machine on which they have already played in that round (unless machine malfunctions have made this unavoidable; tournament officials may choose to provide additional or substitute machines, however). If the machine selected is currently being played by another group in a previous round of play, the group may wait for that round of play to be completed. For example, if one group is playing a given machine as their first machine, a different group may choose to wait for it as their second machine.

In the event too few machines are available during any round of play, the group(s) with the lowest high-seed players will be forced to wait until a game becomes available. As soon as a game becomes available, as indicated by the scorekeeper, the next highest-seeded group must begin play on that machine. In this situation, choice of order of play will be made by the highest-seed player in the group (unless that player declines, as described above).

When all games have been completed by a group, each player will have a point total for the round. The players with the top two point totals from each group of four players will advance. Significant ties will be resolved using the procedure explained in Section IV – 7.

God ****ing help us if any of you go to a US event.

1: NYCPC EXACT same eventbrite and same rules, 100+ people registered
2: INDISC even more complex ticket system and same rules 300 people registered.

Neil.

 

[Wayne J]

There are only fees on the non early bird selection

The entries are usable on all tournaments. When you select a tournament to use an entry you are automatically registered to the tournament, there are no additional fees.



Keep reading!:




God ****ing help us if any of you go to a US event.

1: NYCPC EXACT same eventbrite and same rules, 100+ people registered
2: INDISC even more complex ticket system and same rules 300 people registered.

Neil.

I've been to and entered big competitions in the states, non-stop queuing to play competition games, people spending well over $300 just to try and qualify. If youre not in the comp there's usually not a great deal to do. Not ideal if you're bringing kids or partners who could get bored easily, or you don't have bottomless pockets.

$ to £ isn't necessarily 1:1 as you've converted it.

41st place takes home nearly twice as much prize money as 5th place in the main comp, even 42nd place takes home more.

The 'additional on costs' for not taking up early adoption need to be clear right from the offset.
I assume individual entries won't change from £5, what will the registration be if £50 is the offer now?
What will entry for the weekend be if £40 is the offer now?
Can you pay on the door?

I also think it needs to be very clear how many non competition games will be available. The complaints from previous shows at Daventry have always been too many games in competition, and that's when there was still over 80 machines available on freeplay.

I know this is a number of tournaments, rather than a show with a tournament, but think that needs to be made abundantly clear. If people think this is going to be anything like Pinfest, or Play Expo, or any other comp they've been to in the UK they need to rethink.

I'm all for big tournaments like this, but I really don't think that there are currently enough people who enter competitions and are willing to throw in to the pot when they don't think they could get anything back out of it.
People will pay one entry in to a comp, just to see how they fare against others, without wanting to commit to the whole weekend, and associated expense.

I truly hope this is a huge success, but think that it would be better to try and build up to Indisc levels rather than try and replicate it straight from Day 1.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

I've been to and entered big competitions in the states, non-stop queuing to play competition games, people spending well over $300 just to try and qualify. If youre not in the comp there's usually not a great deal to do. Not ideal if you're bringing kids or partners who could get bored easily, or you don't have bottomless pockets.

$ to £ isn't necessarily 1:1 as you've converted it.

41st place takes home nearly twice as much prize money as 5th place in the main comp, even 42nd place takes home more.

The 'additional on costs' for not taking up early adoption need to be clear right from the offset.
I assume individual entries won't change from £5, what will the registration be if £50 is the offer now?
What will entry for the weekend be if £40 is the offer now?
Can you pay on the door?

Its very clear on the Eventbrite site.

sorry something weird happened with the quotes... but trying to address your points:

I also think it needs to be very clear how many non competition games will be available. The complaints from previous shows at Daventry have always been too many games in competition, and that's when there was still over 80 machines available on freeplay.

Yes it will be, right now we don't know and I don't want to make anything up. As I said before, if you are coming for free play- this is NOT the event for you.

I know this is a number of tournaments, rather than a show with a tournament, but think that needs to be made abundantly clear. If people think this is going to be anything like Pinfest, or Play Expo, or any other comp they've been to in the UK they need to rethink.

It is abundantly clear in the eventbrite information. Yes you can register on the day for the full value as noted at the bottom of the add on's in eventbrite:

I'm all for big tournaments like this, but I really don't think that there are currently enough people who enter competitions and are willing to throw in to the pot when they don't think they could get anything back out of it.
People will pay one entry in to a comp, just to see how they fare against others, without wanting to commit to the whole weekend, and associated expense.

Well this is the test - we will see!

I truly hope this is a huge success, but think that it would be better to try and build up to Indisc levels rather than try and replicate it straight from Day 1.

Well I don't get out of bed unless I'm going to try to be the best, but even if we only get 50 players thats fine by me.

I've been to and entered big competitions in the states, non-stop queuing to play competition games, people spending well over $300 just to try and qualify. If youre not in the comp there's usually not a great deal to do. Not ideal if you're bringing kids or partners who could get bored easily, or you don't have bottomless pockets.

The most spent at INDISC was $390 and it was a significant anomaly and someone from Scandanavia where the price of the event was probably the cheapest part of the weekend! and as someone with bottomless pockets its actually quite hard to spend alot of cash. Most of the best players qualify with one or two cards at max.

$ to £ isn't necessarily 1:1 as you've converted it.

not sure I understand this?

41st place takes home nearly twice as much prize money as 5th place in the main comp, even 42nd place takes home more.

Its not 41st place, its 41 place to qualify in the A final assuming that those in 41st place are able to enter the B final otherwise it moves downward - and 1st place for the B final has no bearing on the actual tournament positioning after 40th place, at INDISC this year 47th player (best placed B qualifier) happened to win as a handful of people above him didn't qualify for B final - but B final third place was someone who came 7th top B player in qualifying and actually 55th in the A standings. The B final approach isn't perfect but it tries to address, "the top players always winning" that has been in this thread today.

The 'additional on costs' for not taking up early adoption need to be clear right from the offset.

Its very clear. The words Early bird and the escalating costs month by month to where it says:



I should note. I took the _EXACT_ same approach that several US tournaments have used and that NYCPC are currently using right now. They announced on Saturday and have over 100 registrations - including me!

I assume individual entries won't change from £5, what will the registration be if £50 is the offer now?

So its £40 for weekend pass and £50 for all tournament entries with the first 5 entries bundled so until the end of June is £90. There is no further cost to enter a tournament other than the entry cost of £5 when you run out of the bundled 5 which I used the UKPinfest cost as the barometer.

Can you pay on the door?

Yes it will be £140 with _0_ entries included. We _really_ don't want people paying at the door but we will take their cash if they want too. People will need cash to buy entries.

I also think it needs to be very clear how many non competition games will be available. The complaints from previous shows at Daventry have always been too many games in competition, and that's when there was still over 80 machines available on freeplay.

as soon as we have full clarity on that we will make it known. But don't come if you just want free play.

I know this is a number of tournaments, rather than a show with a tournament, but think that needs to be made abundantly clear. If people think this is going to be anything like Pinfest, or Play Expo, or any other comp they've been to in the UK they need to rethink.

"A blind man could see it with his cane." my favourite Star Trek Quote!

 

[RuyLopez]

This has the potential to be an extraordinary event , i got a feeling players from all over Europe and possibly even further afield might attend , especially when word gets out that there's a three and a half grand first prize for the main, holy guocomole , that's crazy I definitely reckon only players from the UK should be eligible for entry into the main ,especially as it is officially the UK open

 

[Wayne J]

So its £40 for weekend pass and £50 for all tournament entries with the first 5 entries bundled so until the end of June is £90. There is no further cost to enter a tournament other than the entry cost of £5 when you run out of the bundled 5 which I used the UKPinfest cost as the barometer.

Your barometer must be broken.

Pinfest competition entries cost £20 for 4 on your inital purchase and thereafter £5 - or £10 for a single entry.

No £50 registration fee (or £25 if you buy early and count the bundled entries), as is the case here.

I REALLY don't want to come across as negative, and would love this to be massive, but you keep comparing to comps in the US, and there just isn't the same player base or history of such priced comps here, yet.

 

[David_Vi]

non-stop queuing to play competition games, people spending well over $300 just to try and qualify. If youre not in the comp there's usually not a great deal to do. Not ideal if you're bringing kids or partners who could get bored easily, or you don't have bottomless pockets.

If it's like that I don't think it's for me! Far too serious, lots of waiting around and barely playing with others is not why I enjoy Pinball.
Hopefully there's enough big time players as I don't think the UK has that many who would be up for it

I'm all for big tournaments like this, but I really don't think that there are currently enough people who enter competitions and are willing to throw in to the pot when they don't think they could get anything back out of it.
People will pay one entry in to a comp, just to see how they fare against others, without wanting to commit to the whole weekend, and associated expense.

As above. I agree.
Feels too big too soon to be honest.

I love the competitive side of pinball but only when paired with the social and interactive side. Watching numbers move up a scoreboard as people play individual games isn't my thing.
I enjoy watching finals, especially when I know some of the players but I don't need to spend money on hotels and a spectator ticket for that if it's streamed.

I'm torn about it, I love the idea of a big event and mixing with international players. But I feel like in practice it's not really aimed at me or for me.

I love group matchplay, flip frenzy and best game formats, they're social and fun. I suppose I can stick to those.

 

[Benleigh250]

If it's like that I don't think it's for me! Far too serious, lots of waiting around and barely playing with others is not why I enjoy Pinball.
Hopefully there's enough big time players as I don't think the UK has that many who would be up for it



As above. I agree.
Feels too big too soon to be honest.

I love the competitive side of pinball but only when paired with the social and interactive side. Watching numbers move up a scoreboard as people play individual games isn't my thing.
I enjoy watching finals, especially when I know some of the players but I don't need to spend money on hotels and a spectator ticket for that if it's streamed.

I'm torn about it, I love the idea of a big event and mixing with international players. But I feel like in practice it's not really aimed at me or for me.

I love group matchplay, flip frenzy and best game formats, they're social and fun. I suppose I can stick to those.

I seem to recall the last uk open pre pandemic was head to heads against players in your group. Everyone qualified for the next round which took place the following day!
as much as I love pinball and entering comps this one seems expensive and on the serious side.
seems like I will enjoy pinfest more.

 

[mufcmufc]

I imagine hiring the Hilton isn’t cheap. I think we’ll get a lot of European players over (50+ is my estimate). This level of tournament hadn’t been done since we had the EPC and IFPA championship here. Hotel booked, tickets will be purchased on Saturday

 

[AlanJ]

I have no idea what "card format" or "matchplay" is. Is there an explanation of how it all works somewhere please? Is it like https://www.indisc.com/tournament-rules/ ?

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Your barometer must be broken.

Yea £5 an entry which is what I recall it was at UKPinfest per entry, and you only got 3 games for that.

Pinfest competition entries cost £20 for 4 on your inital purchase and thereafter £5 - or £10 for a single entry.

yup the same.

No £50 registration fee (or £25 if you buy early and count the bundled entries), as is the case here.

no but you still need to pay the entry fee to play in the comp.

I REALLY don't want to come across as negative, and would love this to be massive, but you keep comparing to comps in the US, and there just isn't the same player base or history of such priced comps here, yet.

I don't disagree that this is more expensive than other events, but its not like any other event hosted here in the UK.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Deleted member 2463]

I have no idea what "card format" or "matchplay" is. Is there an explanation of how it all works somewhere please? Is it like https://www.indisc.com/tournament-rules/ ?

Alan - card format is format used at UKPinfest, except here you have to get 5 scores.

Matchplay is 4 players playing each other (for the finals).

 

[Deleted member 2463]

If it's like that I don't think it's for me! Far too serious, lots of waiting around and barely playing with others is not why I enjoy Pinball.
Hopefully there's enough big time players as I don't think the UK has that many who would be up for it

If 10 players turn up, I'll take it.

As above. I agree.
Feels too big too soon to be honest.

what is the right size and when?

I love the competitive side of pinball but only when paired with the social and interactive side. Watching numbers move up a scoreboard as people play individual games isn't my thing.

then this isn't for you.

I enjoy watching finals, especially when I know some of the players but I don't need to spend money on hotels and a spectator ticket for that if it's streamed.

we wil be live streaming (big news to come on that soon!).

I'm torn about it, I love the idea of a big event and mixing with international players. But I feel like in practice it's not really aimed at me or for me.

its aimed at anyone who loves competitive pinball.

I love group matchplay, flip frenzy and best game formats, they're social and fun. I suppose I can stick to those.

well David, a friend of mine, Gene Cernan, google him. He told me "Neil You'll never know how good you are unless you try!".

oh and this is just the first of some other big competitions!

Regards,
Neil.

 

[johnwhitfield]

Good luck with it. Always good to see people trying new things.

I think we’ve become very spoilt in the U.K. in terms of how cheap it is to play pinball in recent years. £2.50 for unlimited play at the U.K. pinball league is a bargain. Similarly so are the vast majority of contests.

£100 sounds expensive but how much would we all have stuck into a machine in the wild? £1 a play? That soon mounts up.

It’s a bit like when you hear people complaining that Netflix’s are ripping them off at £10 a month forgetting that that was pretty much the same cost in real terms of hiring a single video from blockbusters in the early 90s.

3 days of any event is going to be expensive. Everyone draws their own lines about what they perceive as value for money. Personally I’m amazed how much people pay to attend sporting events as it’s not for me. Similarly £40 to take the family to my local cinema is way above what I’m willing to pay. Substitute the same cost for anything to do with music and I’ll be all over it

I’m on the fence about getting tickets but that’s more about being able to get time off than the cost of the event. What time does it all kick off on the Friday?

 

[Benleigh250]

does anyone remember attending a uk open using the following format as shown below?
this years one looks good though.
can bundled entries all be played on the Saturday? I guess there is no need to attend all 3 days If all comps can be played in one day.

Hi! The uk open looks mega! However…..
Entered something similar pre pandemic….
After registration you get placed into groups a-f each qualifying group plays everyone else in that group in a 2 player head to head game groups had a couple of hours allocated to play their matches
This uk open seems very different
Thoughts?
Everyone qualifies for day 2 based on finishing positions in your group! Those who finished at the bottom have an early start on day two.
As day two progresses people are eliminated until the finals!

 

[Benleigh250]

sorry the first rime all the text didn’t paste
Hi! The uk open looks mega! However…..
Entered something similar pre pandemic….
After registration you get placed into groups a-f each qualifying group plays everyone else in that group in a 2 player head to head game groups had a couple of hours allocated to play their matches
This uk open seems very different
Thoughts?
Everyone qualifies for day 2 based on finishing positions in your group! Those who finished at the bottom have an early start on day two.
As day two progresses people are eliminated until the finals!

 

[Jib]

I don't attend competitions but do enjoy watching the streams, even though it takes me over a week to get through some of the multiple day ones!

This may not be for everyone and that's ok but surely it's exciting to have what could be such a large (for pinball) event in the UK that may attract some of the worlds best.

 

[Big Phil]

Its good to see something like this happening.

As an organiser, I know exactly how this feels trying to get something new off the ground. If Neil knows he put everything into it and it works, brilliant! If it doesn’t work, he can still hold his head high.

It’s the good old saying, you won’t know until you try.

Granted it’s not for everyone but hey, there’s other events for you if you’re not purely into comps. It’s not as if you’re starved of places to play pinball.

It’s not for me but I hope it’s a huge success. And I’ll be watching some of the stream with a beer.

 

[crsedgar]

Sounds like a great event, I hope it's a success @Neil McRae et al and all the hard work pays off