On the surface, Sterling Mitoska is your average teenager. He likes to play video games, can often be found fiddling on his phone, and deeply enjoys hitting the “67” meme when the opportunity presents itself. However, unlike most teens, he also consistently scores billions of points on the newest Sterns, slide saves machines with ease, and casually dominates most pinball tournaments he attends. At just 14 years old, Sterling has made a big name for himself in competitive pinball, comfortably sitting as the 19th best player in the entire world (and 18th best pro player). The youngest player ever to attend an IFPA World Finals, Sterling is no stranger to the pressures of playing on pinball's biggest stages, but he stays surprisingly humble despite his huge achievements.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Sterling at the Pincinnati Pinball Show in Cincinnati, Ohio, as their flagship tournament was one of the last on the 2025 Stern Pro Circuit. Besides competing in the main competition, Sterling was also graciously sponsoring the Junior's tournament, a clear sign of his generosity and eagerness to welcome more young players into the hobby. Getting to know him a bit, I was pleased to find not only a smart, respectable player, but one who was wise beyond his years in terms of competition, composure, and reaching his goals.
The Origins of a Prodigy
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In addition to talking with Sterling, I also had a quick chat with his father, Josh Mitoska, to get a bit of insight on Sterling's start with pinball. More than just a supportive dad, Josh is by far one of the best tournament directors in the competitive scene, always making fair calls and showing respect for the players and game at hand. Often found quietly watching Sterling from the sidelines before being whisked away to handle a machine malfunction or make a ruling, I figured there was no better person to clue me in on Sterling's competitive beginnings.
Note:This interview has been edited for content, clarity, and length.
Matt Owen: First things first, thanks for being such a consistently good tournament director. It's awesome to see you supporting Sterling at every tournament, but even cooler that you're actively involved in the competitive scene and help make it better. So, tell me a bit about Sterling's origins with pinball.
Josh Mitoska: Pinball has been around for Sterling's entire life. I actually got my first machine before he was born. I took my oldest child to a nearby pinball convention just to check things out, and I ended up buying an Attila the Hun machine and bringing it home. Sterling was just fascinated by them, he would just pull up a step stool and start playing. By the time he was 7 or 8, he was beating people when we would play locally.
Matt: That's when the tournaments began, huh?
Josh: Honestly, I didn't even know that the whole competitive side of pinball existed or that it was this large. I took him to a few tournaments early on, right before the pandemic, and he did really well. Obviously, during the pandemic there weren't many tournaments to attend, but since then, it's been nonstop competing.
Speaking with Sterling
Later that day, I sauntered over to the tournament area to get some pre-competition flips, and of course, Sterling was there doing the same. Opting to forgo crucial practice time, he was nice enough to sit down for a few minutes and let me pick his brain, while everyone else wailed away on the machines.
Matt Owen: Thanks for sitting down and chatting with me during your busy weekend. First off, what got you into pinball?
Sterling Mitoska: My dad always had pinball machines around the house, and I would just play them a lot just for fun.
Matt: That's always a fun way to start, having them at home. So you've been playing your entire life, but how old were you when you first got into pinball tournaments?
Sterling: I started playing locally when I was 7, just playing some tournaments here and there. I think I really started to get good right before the pandemic.
Matt: You've certainly come a long way in a short time. It's very impressive to watch you play. What's your favorite part about playing in tournaments and attending all of these competitive events?
Sterling: Well, besides competing, I really just like chatting with people. It's fun to try out new games and share strategies, that kind of stuff.
Matt: And what is it about pinball that continues to pull you back for more?
Sterling: There's just so much variety. There's so many different eras of games, and some stuff is similar, but every game plays differently. You have to constantly adapt your strategies and learn new rules, which I really like.
Matt: So when you play in a tournament, how much of your focus is on winning versus having a good time? Is one more important than the other?
Sterling: I'd say it's 50/50. Like, I want to win, but I try to have fun as much as possible. As long as I get top 8 at the bigger tournaments, I'm usually pretty happy with my performance.
Matt: That's a good mindset to have. I always say if you're not enjoying yourself, it's not really worth it. That said, you have a habit of winning quite a bit. What are some of your proudest accomplishments in your pinball career so far? Any scores that you're proud of?
Sterling: It's hard to say, but I'm really proud of getting 50 million points on Ripley's Believe it or Not. I tried so many times to do that, and it's still been hard to repeat.
Matt: How about competitive accomplishments?
Sterling: Getting third place at The Beast in their Classics tournament this year was cool. I also placed fifth at Pinball Expo, that was tough.
Matt: Not to mention you attended IFPA Worlds in Austria last year (2025)! How was that whole experience?
Sterling: That was my first time out of the country, so it was exciting. Austria was cool to visit, it was just really, really hot. But yeah, the experience was a lot of fun.
Matt: I'm sure you'll have plenty more opportunities to attend Worlds in the years to come. Speaking of, do you have any long-term goals for your competitive career? Anything you're shooting for in particular?
Sterling: I'd love to be in the top 3 ranked players in the world. That's probably my biggest goal. Otherwise, I really want to do well at INDISC this year. A top 4 finish would be nice.
Matt: Those are some good goals to have for someone of your skill level. You keep getting better every time I play you. For players like me who are always looking to improve, do you have any advice on how to become better at pinball?
Sterling: Play a lot. Practice a lot. That's probably the most important thing. It's also good to play games from different types of genre/era. You can also learn a lot from discussing strategies with your friends and other players. For flipper skills, just focus on catching the ball. Catch and shoot, don't just flail at the ball.
Matt: Well, it's clear you play a lot of pinball. When you're not flipping, do you have any other hobbies?
Sterling: I like playing video games a lot. Have you played Hollow Knight: Silksong? (after several minutes of discussing the 2025 action video game....) I also like playing frisbee with my mom, that's fun.
Matt: Okay, last question. I'm going to put you on the spot here, but what are your top 3 favorite pinball machines?
Sterling: Hmmm, America's Most Haunted is definitely up there. Venom Pro. It's really hard to pick a top 3. You know what I really like? Old Gottlieb games. Like, the really weird ones. We have a few of those at home and those are always fun to play.
With the big Pincinnati tournament looming ahead and precious practice needed, I didn't want to occupy any more of Sterling's time. Later that weekend, as the final games of playoffs wrapped up, Sterling finished his tournament run in 2nd place out of 140 players, outscoring numerous players with double his years of experience. Judging from his performance at Pincinnati and the tournaments that have come before, Sterling is not only one of the best players in the scene, but is also improving at a pace faster than his contemporaries. If he's this good at 14 years old, I can't even imagine what he'll be like in the years to come. Simply put, he's an astounding pinballer with a ridiculous amount of potential, and one of my favorite players to watch.
To follow Sterling's competitive adventures, check out his Facebook page, Sterling Plays Pinball, and keep an eye on The Score Card, as he is frequently featured there.
Matt Owen is a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend. He can often be found playing endless hours of games or watching an absurd amount of movies and television: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When he's not bingeing entertainment media, Matt enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing pinball, broadcasting, and attempting to cook.
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