GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — That's wizard!
In a small arcade, hidden along the backside of a strip mall on Plainfield Avenue, the state's top pinball players went round-for-round, tapping flippers and nudging machines for supremacy.
"I've actually been playing very well," said Rodney Minch, midway through the tournament at RLM Amusements. "It's nostalgia all the way."
On Saturday, Minch, the owner of the arcade, hosted the Michigan Pinball Championship, pitting 24 players against each other for a chance at a $7,000 purse and the honor of representing the state at the national tournament, put on by the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA).
"There's enough randomness in pinball that you can be the best player in the world and just have a bad game," Minch said. "That ball is wild."
By and large, though, bad games were not had by Minch, who finished third in the tournament, winning $704.80, while Jared August took first and Matt Stacks grabbed second, earning $1,971.43 and $1,127.67, respectively.
The highest-scoring players from the past year's tournaments earned a spot in the bracket-style competition, going head-to-head in best of seven series. For each individual game, though, they played on a different pinball machine, needing to use at least one from each era.
"I've learned to appreciate all the genres, all the eras," Minch said of the three time periods represented at the arcade: Pre-1981, Post-2017, and in-between (1984-1987), approximately.
"Whether you win or lose, no matter if you're good or bad, doesn't matter," said Phil Harmon, the Michigan director for the IFPA. "We call it a sport, because it is like a sport when you get into the competition level."
The self-described "elder statesman" of the tournament, Harmon says the desire to reclaim one's childhood often draws people to the game—or sport, if you will.
"Everybody has a memory," Harmon said. "When they come into an arcade, they say, 'I played that as a kid.'"
"You play online— your Xbox, your PlayStation, whatever," Minch said. "But being able to be in-person playing pinball... it's great."
