Maurice Pelletier saunters into McSorley’s Saloon on Bayview Avenue and it quickly becomes apparent he’s one of the regulars. Patrons, bartenders and winking waitresses greet him on a first-name basis. Despite the boozy smiles and amicable banter tossed back and forth, he’s not really there to socialize. Instead of taking a seat at the bar he walks right to the back of the pub where a lone pinball machine sits.

He drops a few loonies in the slot and slams the plunger.

The silver sphere takes flight as the machine lights up, casting a surreal glow that paints his focused face.

The evening’s training session is underway.

During the day, Pelletier, 37, is a high school teacher.  But outside of the classroom he has put in more than a few hours at the helm of the pub’s pinball machine, and his diligence has paid off.  He’s currently ranked 7th in Canada, and 155th in the world, according to the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA).

This weekend he’ll be in Sweden, facing pinball wizards from across the globe at the 2011 World Pinball Championships.

"This is my neighbourhood pub,” he explains between games. “I starting coming when I was underage, I'd get a fries and coke and I'd come after school.  I wasn't allowed to drink liquor, but they would let me play the machines out back. I'm known as the pinball guy in here.”

Pelletier began playing pinball when he was just 10 years old.  His parents, both university professors, likely hoped he’d spend his spare time in libraries rather than pubs and arcades, but they inadvertently kicked off his obsession.

“I got into pinball because my parents were both Profs and when we had days off school they brought me to the university (York U) and I would spend the days at the arcade playing against the university aged kids.”

Playing on the tips of his toes, he quickly started cleaning up the competition, who marvelled at the instinctual prowess of their pint-sized opponent.

“I realized I really liked it and it gave me a thrill,” he explains. “I was always good at it…I seemed to have a natural talent for it.”

Not everyone was impressed with his new obsession. His teachers, not to mention his parents, quickly took note of how much time he was spending with friends in arcades like the now-defunct Funland near Yonge and Dundas.

“[Funland] was not really the safest place for a kid to go and we would always get in trouble but we’d go anyway and make excuses for why we were late getting home from school.

“I remember my teacher assembling us all and saying 'you guys have been spending too much time in some anti-social places.' ”

With the surging popularity of home gaming systems, the old arcades starting going out of business and finding a decent pinball machine to play became a challenge. It could have been the death of something great, but as we’ve seen time and time again, be it with vinyl records or Polaroid cameras, the hardcore enthusiasts and aficionados will find a way to keep their passion alive.

The Toronto Pinball League (TBL) was formed in 1995 and Pelletier joined in 2004. It soon became clear that there was a thriving underground scene for collectors of vintage machines, and those interested in competitive play.

Online forums dedicated to the game began popping up and tournaments, some with sizable cash prizes, were organized.

“Breaking into that scene was kind of new and realizing that there are people who have been competing for years, and they all know each other. They are all part of a tight-knit community that cheers each other on at competitions and they play each other regularly.”

Pelletier began taking part in international competitions about 7 years ago. He slowly climbed the rankings, and has made some decent money along the way, with his largest cash prize in one tournament standing at an impressive $3,500.

Pelletier has been a high school teacher in Toronto for the last ten years, but he's taking a semester or two off to travel and chase his pinball dreams.

“I figure this is the only time where I’ll have the opportunity to drop everything and take off for Sweden,” he reasons.

Over the years his pinball obsession has become accepted in the eyes of loved ones.  “Now when I play my parents check the standings."

The world’s elite players are also recognizing him as a dangerous opponent.

“It took a little while but now I get noticed, they recognize me as a threat to play against.”

As he walks out of McSorley’s, the "Pinball kid" is once again showered with attention and a slew of ‘good lucks’ from those pining for his success in Sweden.

The owner of McSorley’s, Simon Hanson, greets him with a firm hand shake.  Hanson is a pinball enthusiast himself.  He respectfully watched as Pelletier’s skills progressed over the years, all the while light-heartedly lamenting the lack of funds the astute student of the game spent in his establishment.

“We made no money off this guy,” he playfully moaned.

“He puts a quarter in and plays all night.”

michael.talbot@citynews.rogers.com