Each day for 21 days, leading up to the 2016 Batcave Masters major pinball tournament to be held May 13th-15th, we had a look at one of the players competing for top honours in this prestigious event. If you would like to see the previous 20, scroll down!
21 of 21 - Andrew Waszkiewicz
Andrew with son Oliver. One would expect Ollie to be a future pinball champion with the available in-house coach. Photo by Australian Pinball League.
Region: Sydney NSW
Australian Rank: 27th
Years Competing: 5
Best Result: 1st place - 2013 Wildball League Final (19 players)
Average Finishing Position: 14th
2015 Batcave Masters Placing: N/A
Monkey on his Back: Paul Reid, Maroubra NSW (0 wins against, 6 losses)
Notes: Some people retire from competitive pinball because they’ve had enough, they no longer find it fun, it makes them angry, or they just aren’t doing so well (sometimes a combination of all four!). Andrew on the other hand had a child and suddenly found spending the time on pinball a little difficult. Something that most new fathers can likely empathise with. A player who in his past life swept the competition aside in the 2013 Wildball League, and seemingly effortlessly dominating almost every event he entered, he had a lot of people thinking he was becoming unstoppable. Well he was stopped, as we know, as little baby Oliver had other plans for dad's immediate schedule. But now life and babies and all of those things have started to calm down a little, Andrew has started getting back into the swing and spin of the silver ball. Celebrating his return to pinball the only way he knows how, casually winning the 2015 Z Ball League final, and a Bram Stoker's Dracula pinball machine for his troubles. He’s still yet to find the rhythm and momentum he had a few years back, with ups and downs in his results, but you can be sure if he finds that rhythm come Batcave, that 1st place trophy may be going to a proud new dad.