Annual YEGPin continues to attract international interest

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These competitors are seeking the ultimate high score.

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Launched n 2016 by Die Hard Pinball league, YEGPin Pinball and Arcade Expo returned to Sherwood Park this past weekend welcoming competitors and pinball lovers of all ages to Millennium Place. Offering free play for the more casual fans, and five tournaments including match play, pro card championships, women’s match play, the charity classic championships, and a youth tournament for players under 12 years of age, for the more competitive minded players, the event is the largest pinball expo in Canada.  

Featuring competitors from as far away as Australia, as well as Italy, the U.K, and the United States, the talent pool for all five tournaments was deep, with many of the players holding spots on the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) ranking list.  

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The competitive machines were organized into banks of four, where players showed off their skills on machines from four eras of pinball, LCD/modern, electro-mechanical, early modern/ late solid state, and solid state. With cash prizes to be won, hundreds of competitors gathered. 

Among the five tournaments was the women’s match championship, which comprised of 74 female participants. Karrie Hill, a competitor from B.C who also appeared as a commentator on the event’s Twitch stream, said that while there is no gender specific advantage such as strength, it’s about giving women their own safe space in an area that can often be dominated by men.  

“We never know what background (people) come from and what their experiences are with men. So, it’s nice to have a space for women for to just be with women,” agreed Danielle Wilcox, who travelled from Seattle to compete. 

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Winner of the classic’s charity championship and match play championship, Luke Nahorniak travelled from Minnesota to attend YEGPin for the third time. Taking every opportunity he can to play, he travels to six to eight big events each year.

“It’s not like competing on a video game, where everything’s coded and going to be the same every time, the mechanical aspect of pinball definitely adds a whole other level,” explained Nahorniak, who is a full-time mechanical engineer and is ranked tenth overall with the IFPA.  

Nahorniak said he grew up playing and has been on the competition scene for over a decade. While he doesn’t have a strategy per say, he said it’s all about learning the machine and adjusting as he plays.  

“Every shot you take you’re learning from and getting feedback,” the winner said.

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For those just looking to top their personal high scores, the event featured an entire arena dedicated to free play. Unlike traditional arcades that often charge $1 or more a game, YEGPin allowed players unlimited play for the price of admission. And with 138 pinball games in the free play area alone, the options were abundant.  

From newly released machines based off cult classic films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Labyrinth, John Wick, and Jaws, to older games like the1963 Big Daddy machine and 1978 Bobby Orr’s Power Play, there was something for everyone at the expo.  

Dolly Parton, South Park, Elton John, Dr. Who, The Big Lebowski, and Pulp Fiction, the list of games featured at YEGPin goes on.  

“Almost any pinball game you can dream of is probably a thing,” said Die Hard Pinball league executive and member of the YEGPin organizing committee, Erin Badree.  

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Most of the machines enjoyed on both sides of the event were on loan from generous donors, including Arkadium Retro Arcade in Sherwood Park which closed their doors for the weekend to donate all of their machines. Supplying many of the newer machines, Nitro Pinball from Abbotsford, B.C was also on scene showing off the latest releases. 

The event, which ran from Thursday, June 20 to Sunday, June 23 and occupied 28,000 square foot for Millennium Place, took an army of approximately 70 volunteers to run and also featured other arcade favourites like Duck Hunt, Skee Ball, and Dance Dance Revolution.  

After an action-packed weekend, Badree emphasized that the event is all about the love of the game and funds from admission go towards future events.  

“We just want to play pinball. We just want to put on the show. We just want to do something kind of fun, so we don’t do it for the money,” Badree said.   

tmacleod@postmedia.com 

@MacleodTheodora

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