Jim Belsito | Fun With Bonus

Aug08

For the record: Pinburgh 2019 Finals

Coverage of the Top 16 Finalists at the Pinburgh 2019 Final Rounds.

Feb08

Meltdown Pinball Podcast – Ep. 10 – Urban, Belsito, Spolar, Harney, Johnson, Gottlieb & Associates, LLC Part 3

This is the third and final part of the It Never Drains in Southern California edition of The Meltdown Pinball Podcast … The conversation gets a little more tournament focused … as the competition is winding down …

Mar13

The Life of a Professional Pinball Player

The Post Game seeks to find out what the deal is with professional pinball players.

Aug04

California Extreme Finals 2013 – Metallica

California Extreme Finals action on Metallica. TourneyCam format. With each viewing I am able to learn just a tiny bit more about this game. Pinside has an updated rulesheet.

Jul09

New Pinball Dictionary: Belsito

To wait until the very last minute to attempt a qualifying entry for a pinball playoff, and succeed in qualifying for the next level of competition.

May25

2013 PAPA Circuit Final Round 7 and 8

GeekGamerTV’s coverage of the 2013 PAPA Circuit Final continues with Round 7 and 8. Round 7 Game: Demolition Man (AGAIN!) Players: Adam Lefkoff Jim Belsito Daniele Acciari Jason Werdrick Round 8 Game: Monster Bash (with it’s LOVELY spinner shot) Players: Adam Lefkoff Karl DeAngelo Daniele Acciari Jason Werdrick In the Endurance phase, the four lowest-seeded players play a machine, and the player with the lowest score is eliminated and replaced by the next highest seed for the next round. The winner of each game receives an immediate $100 prize. via:...

May16

2013 PAPA Circuit Final Round 5 and 6

GeekGamerTV’s coverage of the 2013 PAPA Circuit Final continues with Rounds 5 and 6 on Iron Man and Jungle Queen. Will someone utter those immortal words?

May13

Balls of Steel [Video Documentary]

An moment of pinball history… freshly released “New Old Stock” on YouTube, after a decade. If you are a pinball tournament fan or competitor, you will see many recognizable faces. Unfortunately, this tournament was dominated by the sub-par title, Roller Coaster Tycoon. I am a competitor myself, and I acknowledge that I am a bit strange. Given that, I think that’s why I couldn’t help but think whether the players were actually playing the game the way it was intended or if they decided to time out most of the modes on the game. I couldn’t really tell from the video series. I wonder if any of the players remember. It’s a good thing that now the Pinball Expo tournament is run by Trent Augenstein, a perennially top ranked player. The event runs much better now than what you see here in the video. Balls of Steel is an independent, unfunded documentary short about the world of competitive pinball. We’d hoped to get funding for something feature-length, and we used this video as our pitch. We got some meetings, but no money. So, a decade later, here it is. On YouTube. Part 1 In part 1 of 3, we are introduced to the pinball subculture, tour the Stern Pinball factory, and meet our protagonist Sean “the Storm” Grant at the Pinburgh 2001 match play tournament. Part 2 In part 2 of 3 we get to know our protagonist, Sean “the Storm” Grant, and watch him try to qualify for match play at the 2002 Pinball Expo in Chicago. (Plus go on a random “traveling man” date in the process.) Part 3 In the 3rd and final part of this indie doc short, Storm sweats it out to see if he keeps his spot among the qualifying players, and then moves on to what he considers his forte, match play. Will he put up or shut up? Balls of Steel is an independent, unfunded documentary short about the world of competitive pinball. We’d hoped to get funding for something feature-length, and we used this video as our pitch. We got some meetings, but no money. So, a decade later, here it is. On...