Episode 376: Euro Trip with Rachel and Holly
Here’s what it’s like when Rachel Ristow of Wisconsin and Holly Koskinen of Ohio head overseas to Sweden and the UK for pinball events, sightseeing, and meeting new friends along the way. It was a...
Highlights
- The Borås Open had 160+ players competing in a single house venue, matching District 82 participation but in a much smaller space
- The Borås Open may have been the organizer's last year running that tournament
- Ladies' Flex Wisconsin league achieved 25 women on a Wednesday night league, their highest participation to date
- Rachel has been a Beatles fan since age four and has a Let It Be tattoo
- Whoppers 6.0 format will shift to card format emphasizing consistency over high scores, representing a major change from previous versions
- Rachel's early pinball career (2019) was influenced by being told to 'play everything' which she now believes has negatively impacted her Whoppers efficiency metric
- Ed (Copenhagen-based pinball figure) encouraged Rachel to attend the UK Open and informed her about the Borås Open tournament
- Rachel's trip to the UK and Sweden was her first time in Europe
Notable quotes
“Live every day like it's your last, and don't hold back if you can because this experience is absolutely wonderful”
“I found my tribe I found my people. And I always describe our ladies league as like Golden Girls, but on steroids with more beer and more nerdy stuff.”
“The number one thing, and I talk about this all the time. pinball it's not just about pinball it's about the people and it's about the connecting with people”
“I think that it's going to humble a lot of players. Especially in Wisconsin.”
“Where I have the concern about how the Whoppers are going to change is the ability to get new people into the sport... I think that's a huge miss that was not thought about.”
“I cried a whole bunch at Abbey Road because it was a beautiful thing just to be there to find that connection.”
“When you're standing there waiting to play your game, what are you talking about? You're talking about pinball. And I think that's one of the best parts of that.”
“Tower Bridge... was the first time I saw Tower Bridge, and I was just emotionally overwhelmed.”
Entities
- Borås Open· event
- Pin Masters· event
- UK Open· event
- Abbey Road· location
- River Thames· location
- District 82· organization
- Ladies Flex Wisconsin· organization
- Stern Pro Circuit· organization
- Whipped Wins· organization
- Amy Kesting· person
- Cassidy· person
- Deborah Tallman· person
- Ed· person
- Holly Koskinen· person
- Howard· person
- Jeff Teolis· person
- John Reamston· person
- Molly Johnson· person
- Neil McCrae· person
- Rachel Risto· person
- Rodney· person
- Tim Malloy· person
- Tom Graff· person
- Zan Sprouse (Zanadu)· person
- Whoppers· product
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