EAST-ANGLIAN PINBALL SHOW 2019

The East-Anglian Pinball Show is one of the cosiest and most unusual events in the UK’s pinball calendar.

For a start, hardly anyone called it by that moniker. For everyone involved, it’s just known as Swavesey after the small Cambridgeshire village where it is held. The actual venue is the back room of the White Horse Inn pub on the village square.

Swavesey also happens to be the home of the event’s organiser, Mark Squires, a.k.a. Dr. Pinball, who announces the dates each March and sends out his appeal for machine-bringers and raffle prize donors.

Another unusual feature is the cost, or the lack of it. Entry is free, and all the twelve machines are on free play.

The chief aim of the two-and-a-half days is to raise money for the event’s chosen charity. This year the beneficiary was Tom’s Trust, a charity dedicated to providing care for children with brain tumours.

So, how does a free event raise any money? Purely by donations. Machine owners donate their games for the long weekend, bringing them from around the country without any recompense. Others donate items for the raffle which brings in the majority of money raised, while straight cash donations are also taken, either in person at the pub or by pledges.

But before we get to that, let’s take a look at the pinballs.

Set-up began on Friday evening, once the back room became available following an earlier function. Within a couple of hours most machines were unloaded, on their legs and ready to play.

The full list of machines at Swavesey 2019 is:

• Attack from Mars (remake)
• Batman (Stern)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon
• Flash
• Harlem Globetrotters
• Miss Annabelle
• Pinball Champ
• Pirates of the Caribbean LE (Jersey Jack)
• Safecracker
• Strikes and Spares (Bally)
• Terminator 2
• The Machine: Bride of Pinbot

All the machines were in great shape and even with the high temperatures experienced on Saturday they had no problem keeping going throughout the show. Any minor problems which did occur were quickly remedied, with several knowledgeable pinball technicians in attendance and ready to leap in.

On Saturday evening there was a group meal in the pub’s restaurant for around twenty attendees, followed a choice of more pinball, relaxation in the beer garden or a friendly game of poker.

Sunday is always the busiest day, thanks to the dual additional draws of the show’s tournament and the charity raffle.

The history of the UK Pinball Cup can be traced back to 2008 and the first Monster Meet at Pinballers Anonymous, since when it has been an annual part of the UK tournament schedule. The host of that event wanted a football World Cup-style competition where players were randomly paired and giant-killing was a regular part of the fun, and Pinball News was happy to oblige.

The UK Pinball Cup isn’t about WPPRs, TGPs or cash prizes. After an initial three-game qualification round with four-player per machine, it’s all quick-fire, head-to-head, single-game, single-elimination rounds to decide the winner. Player pairings and machines played were chosen at random by drawing numbered balls out of a box.

The first round removed half the players, leaving sixteen to enter the head-to-head rounds.

The final came down to a single-game decider between James Adams and Bob Marlow. The machine chosen at random was number 11 – Pirates of the Caribbean LE.

Neither player seemed overly familiar with the gameplay, resulting in a low-scoring final. By the time of each player’s last ball, James had 38,226 to Bob’s 23,437.

Bob could only manage a total of 33,401 with his final ball, making James the winner. Trophies and prizes were presented by Martin Ayub.

In the play-off for third and fourth held on Pinball Champ, Nick Marshall beat Dan Lewell to take third and win a trophy and Bluetooth sports headphones.

The full results are:

1 – James Adams
2 – Bob Marlow
3 – Nick Marshall
4 – Dan Lewell
6 – Nick Hamill
6 – Greg Mott
6 – Steve Lockwood
6 – Vin Jauhal
12 – Wayne Johns
12 – Paul Garner
12 – Martin Ayub
12 – Keith Withnall
12 – Barry Parsons
12 – Ben Lockwood
12 – Lester Levet
12 – Aid Cooper
23 – Chris Williams
23 – Edina Berta
23 – Mark Squires
23 – Phil Dixon
23 – Matt Vince
23 – Neil Grayson
23 – Ben Leigh
23 – Gary Flower
23 – Alex Berta
23 – Mark Cram
23 – Stan Simspon
23 – Effie Lewell
23 – Colin Bobby
23 – Phoebe Lewell

After the qualifying round was decided, the draw for the charity raffle was held.

All weekend raffle organiser, Gary Flower, had been using his powers of persuasion to cajole attendees into buy raffle tickets and raising more money for Tom’s Trust.

The holders of the winning tickets could come to the desk and choose any prize they wanted.

Once all the raffle prizes had been awarded and the final of the UK Pinball Cup decided, the organiser of the East-Anglian Pinball Show, Mark Squires, gave his thanks for everyone involved and all those who came out.

By the end, more than £800 ($1000/€900) had been raised for the charity, while everyone who came got to enjoy a fun, social weekend playing a great range of quality classic and new titles.