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Episode 327: Peter Blakemore

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago21 min listen
From the creator

Learn more about one of England's finest players, Peter Blakemore. He's not afraid to dance when playing pinball, especially when he's winning...which is a lot. Hear about his club near Stonehenge...

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Highlights

  • Peter has been playing competitive pinball since 2008 after discovering it through a UK pinball league started in 2007
  • Peter won his first two pinball league meets before finishing nowhere in the third, ultimately placing second in his first league season
  • Peter won the EPC Classics event in Finland with approximately 300 competitors after qualifying 54th in a four-game qualifying format with 96 people advancing
  • Peter owns and operates Special Unlit Club in Salisbury with 25-29 pinball machines ranging from a 1962 Williams Space Station to modern LCD games
  • Martin from Pinball News was the UK's top-ranked player for approximately 12 years and was unbeaten during that time before retiring from competitive play
  • IFPA now restricts World Championship selection to typically the top 5 players per country (previously allowed dropping further down the rankings)
  • Special Unlit Club charges £5 entry for 2-hour sessions split across Friday nights from 6:30pm to 10pm
  • Star Wars LE replacement boards were horrendously expensive until about 18 months to 2 years ago when Spike 2 MPU and Node board costs became more affordable

Notable quotes

“I didn't know competitive pinball existed until somebody on Facebook posted... in 2014. How did you know about it in 2008?”
Jeff Teolis
“I had an absolute fantastic day and I went away thinking I'll be happy if I finish mid-table in that meet and I'll have done myself proud. I actually won it.”
Peter Blakemore
“When you buy a machine, they multiply... you've got a third one and a fourth one, so you put one at a friend's, you take one into work... so you've got four folding machines in your house. And you go, okay, maybe I need to do something about this.”
Peter Blakemore
“I'm looking in your back pocket right now, and you're wondering why I'm looking there, because you have this towel dangling... that's from IFPA 13 from Pittsburgh 2016 and you're still carrying it.”
Jeff Teolis
“It's the pinnacle... you get all the best players there and that's where I want to be and so I try and do my best to get into a position where I can actually go”
Peter Blakemore
“He'd fly to the States, go into a big competition, get lots of more points, and then that closeness suddenly ended up being a big gulf.”
Peter Blakemore
“I get to see all my friends for the first time in two years, and I also get to support Bulls and Balls and Matthias. They survived the COVID lockdown and come out strong.”
Peter Blakemore

Entities

  • Flip· company
  • Bainbridge Island· event
  • Bulls and Balls· event
  • EPC Classics· event
  • World Championship· event
  • IFPA· organization
  • Pinball Profile· organization
  • Salisbury· organization
  • Special Unlit Club· organization
  • Dave Rolfe· person
  • Frank Bona· person
  • Greg Mott· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Martin· person
  • Peter Blakemore· person
  • Dark Shadow· product
  • Medieval Madness· product
  • Metallica LE· product
  • Scared Stiff· product
  • Star Wars LE· product

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