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!
20 of 21 - Luke Marburg
Luke was the subject of a Herald Sun article late last year. Photo by heraldsun.com.au.
Region: Melbourne VIC
Australian Rank: 7th
Years Competing: 3
Best Result: 2nd place - 2015 Queensland Pinball Open (53 players)
Average Finishing Position: 8th
2015 Batcave Masters Placing: 18th
Monkey on his Back: Steve Edwards, Newcastle NSW (0 wins against, 8 losses)
Notes: There are all sorts who play pinball - lawyers, doctors, IT professionals, builders, artists, and yes, even professional gamblers. Luke is the latter, and subsequently a perfect fit for competitive pinball play; knowing the rules, your opponents, and how to take advantage of them in order to predicate the best outcome, is an integral part of the game. Something that Luke would be very good at considering his profession then, and evidenced by the results he achieves in his home city of Melbourne. One of the very skilled players coming out of that region, Luke also noticed the lack of organised tournaments in Victoria compared with other eastern states, and set about building a community, leagues, and a tool for promoting and supporting pinball. Along with the website he built from the ground up, pinballscore.com, which provides information on where people can play competitive pinball, and updates live results for competitors and followers alike, the Melbourne pinball scene is now very strong and you could argue it was Luke’s hard work and dedication that this has become the case. A generous proponent of the game too, there’s no holding cards close to his chest when it comes to offering tournament structure advice and IFPA rule translation; Luke is only too happy to help us all navigate and enjoy the sometimes complex nature of competitive play.