Kelsey Thompson and Cora Nias
9 minutes ago
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Six internationally ranked pinball players from Texas will compete for the top title at the World Pinball Tournament this weekend.
The INDISC Tournament Series will be held Thursday through Sunday at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, California. Players from 24 states and 11 countries will compete for prizes worth more than $90,000, in addition to a new pinball machine for the winner.
And the winner may have roots in the Lone Star State. The six Texans participating in the world tournament are:
- Jordan Berger from Austin
- Robert Byers from Austin
- Colin McAlpine from Austin
- Rebecca Salam from Austin
- Hadi Seed Ali from Frisco
- Jack Revenue of The Woodlands
Syed Ali spoke to KXAN after the first day of competition.
“Frisco is home to the Texas Pinball Festival, one of the largest pinball festivals in the country,” said Seed Ali. “It’s a lot of fun and you meet a lot of nice people. There’s a wide range of demographics. The top players in the world are 19 and 20 years old. And people like me and my men in their 40s and 50s. are going to compete and it’s a lot of fun.”
He explained that he is currently a C-rank player. His hope for this tournament is to qualify for B rank.
“Anything more than that is the best. Even if it’s not, you get great points just for coming [to] Tournaments…even if you don’t perform well, you give yourself a chance to move up in the rankings,” Syed Ali said.
The women’s, classic and youth finals conclude on Saturday, with the open world final scheduled for Sunday. If you would like to watch the event in action, please watch the online broadcast.
People interested in finding places to play pinball near them can use this online tool.