Date: May 6th, 2012
Location: SS Billiards, 732 11th Avenue South, Hopkins, Minnesota 55343, USA.

On May 6th, 2012, SS Billiards in Hopkins, MN held its eighth annual May Day Pinball Tournament. As it was last year, the event was invitation only.

This year Prada performed her duties of welcoming everyone at the door
of SS Billiards

And, below is a copy of the welcoming e-mail invitation.

INTRODUCTION

Lloyd made flyers about the May Day and the upcoming Joe Esposito event.

Although not for sale, one game was brought in by Jackson. That game was a non-working Checkpoint which Jackson had picked up earlier.

Usually Lloyd insists that only working games be brought in, but Jackson was sure he could get Checkpoint running for everyone to enjoy. And, he did. In about half an hour Jackson had the game totally up-n-running.

Jackson playing a well-earned 'first game' on the machine he just repaired

REGISTRATION

As those invited did not have to pay an attendance fee, no general registration for the event was required; only an invitation.

SCHEDULE

From the schedule above you can see that this was a one day event, but that two pinball tournaments were held. The first tournament was the Survivor and the second was the May Day Tournament.

The first tournament was single elimination while the second tournament was best two-of-three. Players determined the order of play, but players' and games' names were drawn for both of the tournaments. All games were set harder than normal arcade setting, but only for the tournament. The games were reset after the tournaments finished.

Lloyd registered players and put their names in the 'purple computer'; while the 'blue computer' was used for drawing game titles.

Lloyd, the Tournament Director, registering all of the players for both tournaments

From early on, Lloyd’s arcade was bustling with action.

A normal day at Lloyd’s

Although Lloyd’s arcade was full of pool players, somehow the main focus in the room seemed to be on pinball.

A few of the attendees during an early round of competition

Keeping with the original spirit of PAPA, the competitions were held during a normal day in the arcade. This meant that players occasionally had to wait for a non-competing customer to finish his or her pinball game before the competitors could have their turn. But, fellow players were respectful of those still in the tournaments, so there was usually not much need for waiting.

Two of Lloyd’s customers who enjoy pinball, but who did not wish to compete in the May Day tournaments

There was only one problem reported during the event. This was a freak stuck ball.

This player-induced stuck ball (my bad) was easily remedied by gentle nudging of the machine. By the by, can you identify the game?

As for the tournaments themselves, practice got under way at noon and went until 3pm.

The Survivor Pinball Tournament started at 3pm and lasted until just after 6:15pm.

Players readying for the final round of the Survivor Tournament

The solitary winner of the Survivor Pinball Tournament was John. John won $100.00 cash on the same CFTBL game that decided the winner last year.

John won the May Day 2012 Survivor Pinball Tournament; with no defeats

Unlike last year, no time was set aside to eat before the next tournament; the Double Elimination Pinball Tournament.

Also unlike last year, the new neighborhood deli was open well before May Day in 2012. Some players made time to quickly get something from the deli. Others grabbed something from the nearby convenience store. Others went to Wendy’s. Still others got food from Big 10 before the start of the tournaments.

This second pinball tournament started at about 6:30pm and lasted till about 8:45pm. The tournament was split into two brackets - the Winners and the Losers.

Players getting the names of their competitors and their games in the
May Day 2012 Double Elimination Pinball Tournament

Now for the part you have all been waiting for; the winners!

Jim won the May Day 2012 Double Elimination Tournament
and the $200 top prize

Mark moved up one place from last year by winning second place
and $50 in the May Day 2012 Double Elimination Tournament

John was a two-time winner this year by also winning the Consolation Bracket of the second tournament at May Day 2012 and another $50

CLEAN-UP

Lloyd changed the games back to 'normal' play as soon as his arcade quieted down.

NEXT TOURNAMENTS

Be sure to check the Diary section of Pinball News for the next pinball tournament. Hopefully it will be in held near you and/or you can attend.

NOTE:

All pictures courtesy and property of Lloyd Olson, SS Billiards, and are used here with permission.

© Pinball News 2012