THE OUTSIDER RENATO AGRESTI WIN THE PINBALL AT WATERFALLS TOURNAMENT IN ITALY
Two days of sports pinball and great fun, next to the Marmore waterfall and inside the ‘Dino Merluzzi’ Pinball and Modern Art Museum, with a multi-tournament by Ifpa.
Marmore, Terni – An unexpected success, perhaps. But at the same time, well-deserved one. The player Renato Agresti from Lazio raised the cup at the end of the two days of pinball competition at Marmore, in Terni – where the 2023 edition of the “Pinball at Waterfalls – Torneo flipper Marmore” tournament has just ended. He defeated a talent like that of Giovanni Parisella, at the end of the final match for two, after beating some of the big favorites for the title: Gabriele Tedeschi from Rome, who ended at the third place, and Lorenzo Gagliardi from Siena, who has to settle for the fourth place. But in addition to being the first “important” title won by Agresti in an official competition, valid for the world rankings, what makes the Lazio player’s triumph even more special is above all the way in which it happened, because he dominated the decisive match, after the other finalist literally gave the show during the entire qualifying round and in the two days of challenges. Not to mention, then, the long journey that he had to face earlier, in the knockout round, to get to the decisive challenge.
But this success is worth double; triple, indeed. Bearing in mind that the competition, in addition to being valid for the World Pinball Player Rankings (Wppr), was also the sixth stage of the seven scheduled for the current year of the Ics (Italian championship series) circuit, and the only one in our country included in the European circuit Ecs 2023 (European Championship Series).
Along with Agresti, entertainment also triumphed, because that of Marmore was a memorable experience, to put in the book of memories and leave it there forever. Among the moments not to be forgotten. In addition to celebrating the first official competition held in a unique location in Italy, such as the “Dino Merluzzi” Pinball and Modern Art Museum, inaugurated only a few months ago in the Umbrian village, what was staged was a formidable proof of how one can bring value to a territory and to the local community, through the synergy of several subjects. In fact, in addition to the Museum and the Ifpa Italia association, the Pro Loco of Marmore and the parish of Marmore worked on the event, with the support of a series of national and international suppliers, who have joined forces to feed the local initiative: such as the historic companies Faroplay – the Italian Stern Pinball’s distributor, Luxury Games – the distributor of Jersey Jack pinball machines – and Mr.Arcade by GennaGroup, specialist in the world of pinball machines. Thus creating an event sponsored by the Municipality of Terni and the Umbria Region, managing to entertain many people, including professional players, citizens, tourists and simple curious. Creating two real days of fun, for everyone.
But in addition to the main tournament, two other competitions were held. A “side tournament”, always valid for the Ifpa ranking, won by Paolo Luise from Padua, ahead of Alessio Crisantemi and Fabio Squadrani from Romagna, played on vintage pinball machines present in the museum, and a collateral tournament (“Flipperando nel Museo”) open to everyone, where the winner was the other Lazio player Carmelo Vitale, followed by the Milanese Francesco Sacco and the Roman Alessandro Cacialli. While the “quota for women” Tiziana Castellani ended at the fourth place.
Info and pictures about tournament: www.ifpaitalia.it
Info about Italian Pinball Museum: www.museoflipper.it/en
