Episode 420: Jason Werdrick
A long-time pinball pro, originally known as "The Kid". Jason tells us about playing pinball in the early days, testing games, early competitions and what's it's like to still compete today at a high level.
Kineticist’s take
Jason Werdrick reflects on 32 years as 'The Kid' of pinball, evolving tournaments, and legendary friendships.
Synopsis
Jeff Teols interviews Jason Werdrick, a legendary competitive pinball player with 32 years in the scene who earned the nickname 'The Kid' as a teenager and remains a top-50 world-ranked player. The conversation covers his early tournament experiences in the 1990s, his collection of classic pinball machines and Transformers memorabilia, the evolution of competitive pinball from smaller fields to modern high-volume events, and his personal relationships with key figures like the late Lyman Sheats, whose legacy lives on through code in games like Spider-Man.
Entities
- Arizona Pinball Show· event
- IFPA World Championships· event
- Indisc· event
- Getaway (Williams)· game
- Spider-Man (Stern)· game
- X-Men (Stern)· game
- Arvid Flieger· person
- Brian Eddy· person
- Ed Boon· person
- Escher· person
- Jack Danger· person
- Jason Werdrick· person
- Jason Zoller· person
- Jeff Teols· person
- Jim Belsito· person
- John Borg· person
- Josh Sharp· person
- Keith (Stern)· person
- Lyman (Stern programmer)· person
- Lyman Sheats· person
- Neil Schatz· person
- Raymond Davidson· person
- Roger Sharp· person
- Stone· person
- Walt Wood· person