Each day for 21 days, leading up to the 2016 Batcave Masters major pinball tournament to be held May 13th-15th, we will take a look at one of the players competing for top honours in this prestigious event. Who will be the next player spotlight out of the 60 players competing? Find out tomorrow!
17 of 21 - Steve Edwards
Standing next to the cutlery, the pinball machines up the back were winnings too I believe. Photo by Sydney Morning Herald.
Region: Newcastle NSW
Australian Rank: 3rd
Years Competing: 4
Best Result: 1st place - Australian Pinball Championship (32 players)
Average Finishing Position: 6th
2015 Batcave Masters Placing: 2nd
Monkey on his Back: Greg Siegele, Adelaide SA (2 wins against, 4 losses)
Notes: Yes it’s true, Edy will be returning from his semiretirement to play in the Batcave Masters once again. Like all of us pinball tragics, it’s hard to stay away from the silver ball, and I guess it does help that he will be there to help run the tournament anyway… Edy was the former Australian number one player, a title he lost when he stopped playing - funnily enough. Though to be fair to the other two players who were snapping at his tail - Peter Watt and Richard Rhodes - Peter was well on the way to passing Edy naturally, and all three players were trading places almost weekly. The battle at the top was fierce, whilst us small fries fought for the left overs below the surface. You could also argue Edy has the most impressive record in major tournaments for an Australian player, and is most certainly the Australian player that has achieved the best result on the world stage - coming in at 20th during the 2013 IFPA World Championships in Germany (which is really a 10th place if you combine the ties and look at strict finishing position). If you aren’t seeing Edy destroying the score boards of every pinball machine he touches, he’s fixing them - a talented pinball technician, he is the reason why pinball tournaments run so well, as he gets them in competition spec before and keeps them running during. Without him working tirelessly for weeks on end, there would be no Batcave Masters for all of us to enjoy.