2-Man Team Tournament? How the what?!?
A lot of politics and social backstabbing later, league members from all over the Bay Area form and register their own 2-man teams. For the sake of this example, we'll follow the two fictional teams called the BAPA Ball Busters and the EBP Beard Crumbs. BAPA Ball Busters consists of Andrei and Walter, with EBP Beard Crumbs being represented by Justin and Stephen.

It's round one of the double elimination bracket and the first match of the tournament is BAPA Ball Busters vs. EBP Beard Crumbs.

The randomly selected game is the highly acclaimed and sought after Stern Indiana Jones!

BAPA Ball Busters and EBP Beard Crumbs play best 2 out of 3 Rock/Paper/Scissors. BAPA Ball Busters win the Rock/Paper/Scissor match and decide they want to choose next game, so they allow EBP Beard Crumbs to choose position of this game. EBP Beard Crumbs elect to go second (even/players 2 and 4), making BAPA Ball Busters play first (odd/players 1 and 3).

BAPA Ball Busters decides Walter is going to play as player 1, with Andrei playing as player 3. EBP Beard Crumbs decide Stephen will play player 4 and Justin will play player 2.

Stephen's final ball drains and the final scores appear on the DMD. Both teams write their scores down on the score sheets. Then, using a calculator, they add BAPA Ball Busters' scores (player 1 and 3). Then, they add EBP Beard Crumbs' scores (player 2 and 4). When they compare the total scores, BAPA Ball Busters win! It's onto game two.

It's time for game two. Since the BAPA Ball Busters gave up position choice for second game choice, they get to choose the next game. They decide to go with one of the greatest games ever! Barb Wire with a broken left flipper and Office Max rubber bands for flipper rubber. EBP Beard Crumbs gets to choose position again and choose to go second/even again. This time Andrei represents player 1, Walter represents player 3, Justin represents player 2 and Stephen represents player 4.

The final ball drains and scores are calculated the same way they were for the first game. The final total shows that EBP Beard Crumbs have squeeked by! It's time for the final game. Since EBP Beard Crumbs have not chosen a game yet, they get the final game choice with BAPA Ball Busters choosing position.

EBP Beard Crumbs decide on every collector's holy grail: Shaq Attaq. BAPA Ball Busters elect to go second/even this time. So now Stephen represents player 1. Justin represents player 3. Andrei represents player 2 and Walter plays as player 4.

Totals are calculated and BAPA Ball Busters defeat EBP Beard Crumbs, ultimately winning 2 out of 3 games and winning the match. The BAPA Ball Busters move forward in the winners bracket, while EBP Beard Crumbs move to the losers bracket to face their next opponent. If EBP Beard Crumbs loses their next match, they are eliminated from the tournament.

Who? What? Where? How much? Hunh?
Who?: Phoenix Games and EBP
Where?: Phoenix Games in Concord
When?: September 28th 2013 NOON
How much?: $30 Per Team
Hunh?: Double Elimination 2-Man Team Tournament -- Read the Rules
Why?: Why not?

What tables will be in the competition?
For a current list of tables that are at Phoenix Games, check out the official East Bay Pinball website. Because 90% of the tables at Phoenix Games are privately owned by EBP members, there is a healthy rotation of new games coming in every 3-4 weeks. Therefore, East Bay City Rumble can’t provide a solid list of tournament games until the day of the event.

NEW INFO FOR 2013 With the expansion of the tournament space, we have a second group of games that are being delivered to the location just for East Bay City Rumble. In addition to the list available at EBP's website, these games are currently being generously offered by EBP members exclusively for this tournament (this list is not set-in-stone and is subject to updating/changing frequently):

  • Wizard of Oz LE
  • Jurrassic Park
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Hollywood Heat

I want to participate, but I don’t have a team put together.
Registration is open only to 2-man teams at this time, so go make friends and find another person that enjoys pinball.

I have a team but we aren’t in a league.
Although in spirit this is a league vs. league event, the competition is open to any 2-Man team. If you’re not a part of a league and you live in the Bay Area, take the opportunity to find one near you and give it a try. On the same token, if you are a part of a league, don’t try to slip under the radar. We’ll find out one way or another who you are playing for (EBP spies are everywhere).

We have a team built up from multiple leagues, is that okay?
It’s fine, but for the sake of bragging rights the team should represent one league.

Are there prizes? World ranking points?
Prize structure will be determined once a registration fee is worked out.

WPPR points are not available for obvious reasons. Their system is just not set up to handle team formats. With that said, this isn't about points -- it's about which league/groups are the Bad Asses of the Bay Area community. Surely, the pride associated with that is worth way more than ranking points...

Can I play some non-tournament games?
AKA "Screw Around Games". If you're attending East Bay City Rumble and you're not a participant in the tournament (and if not, WHY NOT?!?!) OR you are a participant but your team has been knocked out of the tournament, we will eventually open the games up to SAGs. When you coin up for a SAG game, you are doing so AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you're in the middle of a SAG game and a team has chosen the game you're on to run their next match, your SAG game is forfeit without a refund. *TOURNAMENT PLAY TAKES PRIORITY OVER SAGS*

You just announced that people who want to play SAG games can start, but my team is still active in the tournament. I wanna play Hook. Let me play Hook you pricks!
The only people not allowed to play SAG games, when it has been announced that SAG play can begin, are players whose teams are still active in the tournament. Why? It is considered unauthorized practice time and you are giving yourself an advantage.

I’m starving and dying of thirst!
No food breaks. If you get hungry before then, sorry. Make sure you ate a big breakfast before showing up. Phoenix Games is located in a shopping center with plenty of food options. It is also in the center of a strip mall heavy location of town, so there is fast food available just a couple blocks up and down Clayton rd. There have also been threats of a BBQ. No alcohol btfw

Is this an event or a game store?
Just a quick note, although this is a tournament it is being held in a place of business. The store can only acommidate so many bodies at once, so please try not to crowd the front counter or do anything to keep Phoenix Games normal business operations moving along. If you’re waiting for a tournament game and need some place to mingle, we suggest checking out the back alley or the secondary location next door. Introduce yourself to other pinball enthusiasts.

What's with the location next door to Phoenix Games?
If you mean the make up place to the right of Phoenix Games, I dunno.

If you mean the expanded pinball section to the left of Phoenix Games, that is also part of the East Bay City Rumble tournament. We've been fortunate enough to rent that space out just for this tournament and fill it with games from various EBP members. This space allows us for almost double the games and double the space, which also means double the tournament capacity!

So is Royale happening?
Yes! East Bay City Rumble and Royale are seperate annual team tournaments. Royale will be coming up in February, so be thinking about forming your teams during the finals of East Bay City Rumble. Expect announcement in November/December.

Livestreaming?
While we would love to livestream, the budget and resources aren't quite in alignment yet. We're getting there.

DERP!
Indeed.