Great article in Gulf Coast Magazine by Liam Baranauskas who spent the entire 24 Hour Final Battle observing the event. Figured everyone here would enjoy the read.
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Wow that was great.
It paints such a lovely, welcoming atmosphere 
āPlayers slap at flippers with concentrated violence and curse unfortunate drainsā
ācigarettes outside between every round, bong rips in the parking lot.ā
āhas brought a case of Budweiser, stating that he plans on drinking one beer for every hour of the tournamentā
"At ten in the morning, I see the dayās first emotional breakdown (āI can tell, thereās no point in me being here,ā a man spits at his friend before stomping away to withdraw from the tournament), "
āeven as on the next machine over someoneās yelling, āNo, no, no, no!ā and rage-tiltingā
āNine hours in, some players begin to curse in earnest when they drain, slapping the glass with genuine maliceā
āRage-tilts grow common. āFuck no!ā screams a heavyset, bearded man, throwing his hat on the floor.ā
"One of the most demonstrative players is Bowen Kerins, who won last yearās Final Battle, and whoās been in first place since recording a perfect, nine-point opening round. Even so, every single time he drains, he explodes into a five-second whirlwind of rage, stomping from the machine, yelling at the floor, āFuck! Fuck! Goddamnit! It was right there! Canāt you hit anything?ā "
If I was someone reading this considering entering a tournament for a first time I would steer so far clear.
Maybe now I can understand the proliferation of threads on here regarding player behaviour and how to deal with it.
I fully understand that this is meant to be a dramatic article and certain points may have been exaggerated - but even so.
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Trent won year before last, right? So that would make it Eric Stone described as storming off (what Iāve heard is that he was actually sick and had barely slept the night before).
I think itās a superb piece of storytelling.
Americans in general, and perhaps those from the NY area in particular, are very passionate when it comes to their sports. Real āheart on sleeveā stuff. I think the article does a good job of explaining that excitement and passion in a way that shows itās the players frustration with the game rather than hostility towards opponents.
The Bowen section for example ends with him acknowledging his over-reaction, and the end of the article has a good summary of the friendly competitive spirit : āthereās a very real sense of community here at the Sanctum that contradicts the mesmeric dystopia Iāve just described. Professionals try to help less experienced players. Everyoneās sympathy for tough drains and mutual enthusiasm for good balls seems genuine, even when itās directed at ostensible opponents.ā
Iām not too familiar with āGulf Coast Magazineā, but I hope this finds the wide audience it deserves.
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Correct. He started this piece over a year ago and just finished it up after finding a publication for it. I assume he is referencing to Eric.
Thatās how I feel too on this. Yes it says some stuff that isnāt all unicorns and rainbows, but really drives home the community and togetherness of the hobby as a whole. Despite all these different mentalities, skill levels, and even lifestyles- everyone comes together and rallies around eachother and none of these outbursts or negative stuff you mentioned are directed at any other players. Itās only at themselves or the machine.
I think if you did a deep dive into most any sport and truly had some one in the lockers rooms and living amongst the players for a game or season or whatever youād see a similar piece minus the case of Budweiser and smoking between rounds. Current sport broadcasting from an outsiders view like me(I donāt follow or care for any sports) is itās all boilerplate puff piece. Sideline interviews and locker room interviews are cookie cutter. What happened last quarter? What do you think you need to do better? How did it feel to do that? Responses: we need to rally Rochester and player better defense. Keep
Pushing the offense. Blah blah blah.
Follow a marathon runner on their 26.2 mile journey. Youāll see some not so pretty things too 
Overall I think itās an interesting story and piece. Something different than a lot of the news pieces that tend to happen around these events. Not a single pinball wizard reference either! I think we can all agree thatās a good thing.
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Someone swallowed a thesaurus. It was well written and did a great job of telling the story, but holy crap.
Sooo I got to relive that final game of Black Jack again. Everything went wrong!
Those quotes are definitely spiced up for dramatic journalism and when you collect them like that it sounds bad, but this is really one of the most pleasant tournaments Iāve ever played. Lots of camaraderie, very few hot heads and a friendly environment from start to finish. Iāll keep going back every year as long as I can make it in!
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Hoping I get a ticket this year as I plan to attend. I have to see this once.
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Pinball deserves more of this. There was barely any āpinball is backā and Roger Sharpe. But the thing about Eric wasnāt fair. But ya gotta make more of a story out of it than āpinball is back and everyone had a great timeā
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I donāt see whatās unfair about it unless he was misquoted. He wasnāt even named; we just happen to be among the very, very few people on earth who can deduce his identity from knowledge of the event.
I agree. He wasnāt named. Like Bo mentioned earlier he left the tournament 1 round in and I was told by someone he left because he was sick. He never actually came to me and told me himself. I have heard many people say other reasons and I guess they were right. It is what it is.
If I was writing a piece and it looked like somebody was storming off, thatās what I would write. But if I was Eric and left because I didnāt feel good I might read the article and say āhey manā¦ā That said, it was a pretty piece and I donāt hold this guy to a standard of hard hitting journalism or anything. Iām a reality TV editor by trade so god knows Iāve thrown people under the bus because a commercial break was coming upā¦
Was not expecting to relive a blow-by-blow of my brief Icarus moment 
The Final Battle is a great community experience. Attitudes remain surprisingly positive through the night despite total exhaustion!
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Still canāt believe someone drank a case of beer over the duration. Thatās commitment!
I think you misread that. It was Budweiser, not beer.
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Iām conflicted because my gameplan will be very similar but Iāll be really mad if I donāt get the medal for playing in every match. Iāll just have to bring a 30 rack of Busch light instead of drinking IPAs the whole time. Haha
Almost everyone gets the medal the two times I have attended. Itās a great article and very representative of my experiences there but of course some things may seem more dramatic. Considering how much pinball gets played during that tournament it kinda makes sense. I usually drink some beer around normal beer-o-clock and then around 2/3am start back upā¦
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Thatās surprising. I assumed at least half take a round or two off over the course of the tournament.