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Episode 417: Jack Slovacek & Nic Stein

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago17 min listen
From the creator

The Dynamic Duo of Davis, California are ready to take on the world! Hear from two great friends and top players as they set their sights on both their first European Pinball Championships and IFPA...

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Highlights

  • Jack Slovacek won the Nevada State Championship; his mother won the Women's Championship
  • Nick Stein developed his signature on-the-fly tap pass technique because he only had one game at home (Time Warp) and no other options for practice
  • Jack was introduced to pinball at age when his parents took him to Maker Faire where the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth
  • Nick's initial exposure to pinball came through Space Cadet Pinball on Windows XP
  • Jack and Nick are both right-handed and have been practicing split-flipper matches together for the European Pinball Championship
  • Qualifying for IFPA World Championship requires being top 80 in pro rankings, top 2 in your country, or winning a major event like North American Championships
  • Nick was concerned about the IFPA World Championship cutoff line, calculating he needed to maintain around rank 42 to qualify from North America
  • Jack and Nick are the only two Americans attending the European Pinball Championship (May 28-early June); Tim Chapman from Australia and Jeff Teolis from Canada are also attending
  • The European Pinball Championship features a country teams event format with split-flipper competitions and team-based games
  • Nick has barely traveled for pinball and this New York trip is his first time flying to a different time zone

Notable quotes

“I really excited really looking forward to playing in a different country and competing and see what I can do”
Jack Slovacek
“I feel that traveling to different tournaments outside of your normal area that you're used to really helps you become a better pinball player”
Jack Slovacek
“it started because at home we only had one game and it was not a very exciting game time warp so it was just like what else can i what else can i do with this”
Nick Stein
“the Alameda Pinball Museum had a booth there and that was the gateway drag”
Jack Slovacek
“I feel like the more we practice, we kind of can just anticipate what the other person's going to do with the other flipper and almost play as one player”
Nick Stein
“Well, I wasn't even planning on going and then Jack was like, well, I'm going. I was like, well, okay, fine. I guess I'll go too”
Nick Stein
“I'm seeing Jack do it. I'm getting jealous. I want to join in on the fun”
Nick Stein
“There's the path. Oh, I didn't think about that. So you communicate with the group. It's like, here's what I'm going to go for”
Nick Stein
“Team International. I wonder if we can come up with a better name. Narnia or something? Wakanda?”
Jeff Teolis
“I felt like I had wizard mode so hard you know 2x play field oh this will do it this will do it here on ball three and then it's over than eight what happened”
Nick Stein

Entities

  • European Pinball Championship· event
  • IFPA World Championship· event
  • Pinmasters· event
  • Starfighters· event
  • Reno, Nevada· location
  • Seattle· location
  • Alameda Pinball Museum· organization
  • Pinball Profile· organization
  • Rochester Pinball Collective· organization
  • Slam Till podcast· organization
  • Team International· organization
  • UC Davis· organization
  • Jack Slovacek· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Nick Stein· person
  • Tim Chapman· person
  • Jurassic Park· product
  • Pinball Arcade· product
  • Space Cadet Pinball· product
  • Time Warp· product

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