State of Pinball 2022: The Streamers
Too blitzed to remember which streamers were cool? We got you.
We aren’t gonna front, on paper 2022 wasn’t a hot one for pinball. Stern cut back on new releases to focus on the backlog of stuff messed up by the pandemic. The results? Well, uh, mixed. For most of the year, the new releases consisted of Rush (I’m happy for you, Canadians and tourney players) and… Toy Story 4. Not great, Bob!
But also? IDK, pinball sorta flourished everywhere else. We thought it’d be fun to talk about it with a state of the scene breakdown. The good news? There are more good streamers right now than ever before. Let’s check in and see who’s really trippin’ our triggers. (Yes, I do promise to never use that phrase ever again.) Anyway, this is awards season and there’s nothing like an awards show to provide cheap entertainment and controversial fodder for the message boards. Here we go: The state of pinball streamers in 2022? Strong.
Pinball streamers who were cool in 2022
Any list is gonna start with Deadflip, right? Jack Danger enjoys the sort of universal approval ratings usually reserved for Marvel characters, quarterbacks, and good looking cult leaders. It’s not hard to see why. He’s funny, he’s good at pinball, and he’s got Chesnut-brown bedroom eyes that drive the Twitchers wild. He’s become the go-to guy for premiering pins – and it should stay that way. From the production quality to the free-flowing, gettin’ a buzz goin’ vibes, it’s pinball streaming that you’d feel pretty comfortable showing to anyone ur dating to let them know we’re all not giant freaks. Except, of course we all are. Jack Danger included.
Hot Nudge features a sorta-rotating cast of funny ass pinballers based in Chicago. They stream a lot from the legendary Logan Arcade a lot. When they stream from their houses, it’s usually a semi drunken good-ass time. Other than that? IDK, Jane is an amazing tournament player, and Anna and Rebecca are heavy into the Stern and Belles and Chimes scenes. What I’m sayin’ is these folks know their way around a pinball table – which is a nice change of pace from some of the fumbly mumblies I see on other Twitch channels. In 2022 that trend continued, and they added a couple more regulars to the cast (including a Nudge writer cameo or two!). Nice.
Backhand Pinball is run by this friendly dude named Marc. In addition to doing a lot of really daupe events in Boston, he also runs/hosts/produces a super useful stream that featured some great tournament streams in 2022. Most recently, the finals of the UK pinball open, which, if you haven’t watched, was absolutely OFF THE FUCKIN CHAIN. Def some very high-level pinball being played on here – and it’s not always new Sterns, which I appreciate. Love me some Williams, tolerate me some Gottliebs.
Hup Challenge are some goofy motherfuckers. That trend continued in 2022. There was cosplay, there was a giant horsehead, and they produced more tik-toks than your 17-year-old cousin. Hup Challenge gets that pinball shouldn’t be deathly serious. I appreciate that shit, even if I don’t always understand what the hell else is going on on their channel. You feel me? It’s chaos. That feels like it speaks more to our times than anything else going on. Looking forward to descending further into madness with these folks in 2023
Fox Cities Pinball doesn’t stream as often as these other streamers, but if you’re into IFPA tournament play, then it’s basically your wet dream. These guys stream the District 82 tourneys. Who knew Green Bay would play such an important part in all our lives? Well, I had a hunch after attending the Packer Hall of Fame with my Grandma in 1992, but I bet the rest of you schmoes had no idea! They’ve had some legit big moments in Pinball on their stream. Like history making shit. Also a lot of boring stuff too, but hey! Nobody bats a thousand.
Other streamers we dig
I mean, the FlipnOut folks are always rad. MPT3K is a legend. WarlockPinball777 is a pinball dumpster fire in the best and worst ways. I miss when Pinball With a View used to stream. They should do that again.
Anyway, the state of pinball streaming in 2022? STRONG. STRONG AS HELL. We’re not saying that you don’t need to go out and make friends any more because now you can just watch streamers who are funnier and better at pinball than anyone you know but… well, yeah. We are saying that actually. Time to burn some bridges, baby! Got a streamer we missed? Do you stream? Hit us up and let us know. Maybe you’ll make the list next year? MAYBE YOU WON’T, I DON”T KNOW I CAN’T TELL THE FUTURE.
