Welcome to our third edition of The Score Card, a regular series that recaps all of the hustle and bustle going on in the world of competitive pinball. Waving goodbye to April and with the summer just around the corner, the 2025 IFPA season continues to pick up steam, with numerous major events and plenty of opportunities to pick up those priceless WPPRs. Plus, yet another international pinball champion has been crowned, Stern brought their newest game to a fan-favorite convention, and so much more. Pinball tournaments have been as plentiful as they have been exciting to watch, so let's waste no time and get right down to the results and highlights.
Like what you're reading?
Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox.
After several rounds of playoffs, it all came down to a best-of-seven finals between Paul Englert (Aachen, NRW, Germany) and Timber Engelbeen (Nazareth, Fla, Belgium). In the first match on Attack from Mars (Bally, 1985), Paul secured his first win of the series with a solid 4 billion point score, but things took a turn in Timber's favor moving into the second match on Led Zeppelin (Stern, 2020). Timber put up over 400 million points while Paul struggled to match his pace, setting the series to one win each. From there, Timber was unstoppable, nabbing victories on Elvira's House of Horrors (Stern, 2019) and Pirates of the Caribbean (Jersey Jack, 2018), leading up to the potential match point on Dialed In (Jersey Jack, 2017). Keeping his confidence up and his mind locked in to win, Timber came out on top in a 4-1 series finish, becoming the 2024 IFPA European Champion in the process.
The Stern Pro Circuit Continues
2025 Cactus Jack's Silverball Showdown
Cactus Jack's Family Fun Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is one of the best places to play pinball in the Southwest, with over 50 machines including the newest Sterns, a satisfying lineup of solid-state classics, and some other gems that you rarely find on location. From April 4 – 6, Cactus Jack's hosted the fifth Stern Pro Circuit event of 2025, the aptly named Cactus Jack's Silverball Showdown. After two pre-Showdown tournaments that got players warmed up, the main event was a 2-day Match Play affair, where nearly 100 players competed in 20 rounds, all battling for a spot in the A Division and B Division playoffs.
Streamed live on the official Cactus Jack's Twitch channel, CJArcade, the qualifying sessions and playoffs were a blast to watch. Cutting their way through the field of 24 playoff competitors, the A Division finalists put on a hell of a show across their four matches, including Iron Man (Stern, 2014), Total Nuclear Annihilation (Spooky, 2017), Attack from Mars, and the electro-mechanical Bow and Arrow (Bally, 1975). All four finalists put in the effort and fought hard until the finish, but in the end, Colin MacAlpine (Austin, TX) nabbed the victory for the second year in a row, making him the two-time Cactus Jack's Silverball Showdown Champion.
More and more pinball conventions continue to crowd the calendar, with great shows like Pintastic New England in Marlborough, MA offering tons of games on free play, seminars and fireside chats with pinball creators, and of course, a Stern Pro Circuit tournament. Dubbed the “Silverball Rumble” this sixth event on the Stern Pro Circuit saw over 250 players trying their hand at the card-based qualifying, playing on an eclectic bank of pins that included the likes of Barry O's BBQ Challenge (American Pinball, 2024), Stars (Stern, 1978), Tales of the Arabian Nights (Williams, 1996), and many more. 28 players fought their way to the A Division finals, with the next 16 highest qualifiers moving into the B Division finals.
In addition to a slew of other fun side tournaments, Pintastic also hosted the SilverBelle Brawl, a Women's Target Match Play tournament that drew in 60 players. The playoffs for both the Silverball Rumble and SilverBelle Brawl were broadcast live on Twitch by BackhandPinball, who continue to provide excellent streams with solid commentary and crystal clear video. The SilverBelle Brawl four finalists were first to the field, duking it out in a 3-game battle on titles like Yukon (Williams, 1971), Frontier (Bally, 1980), and Batman 66 (Stern, 2016). The door was still open for anyone to nab the victory by Game 3, but Anne Whipple (Portsmouth, NH) took home the gold with a dominant performance on Stern's ode to the retro era of the Caped Crusader.
Playoffs for the Silverball Rumble consisted of best-of-seven head-to-head matches, stacked to the brim with Top 100 world-ranked competitors, leading to some absolutely mind-blowing play. Four rounds of playoffs later, it was down to the final two competitors: Carlos DeLaSerda (Columbus, OH) and Jason Zahler (New Jersey), both masters of tournament pinball who represent the pinnacle of competitive play. What followed was an insanely impressive series across six games: WWF Royal Rumble (Data East, 1994), Corvette (Bally, 1994), Tales of the Arabian Nights, Barry O's BBQ Challenge, Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure (Williams, 1993), and The Uncanny X-Men (Stern, 2024). These two titans put on an absolute clinic, perhaps no better exemplified by their 40-minute long match of Barry O's BBQ Challenge, both players pushing the 3 billion point barrier, something unheard of. Ultimately, Jason Zahler picked up another hard-earned victory in the 2025 season, becoming the Silverball Rumble A Division Champion with a 4-2 series finish over Carlos.
Pintastic Winners:
Silverball Rumble A Division Champion – Jason Zahler (New Jersey)
Silverball Rumble A Division Second Place – Carlos DeLaSerda (Columbus, OH)
Silverball Rumble B Division Champion – Cody Gamache (Andover, MA)
Silverball Rumble B Division Second Place – Kris LaCross (Colchester, VT)
SilverBelle Brawl Champion – Anne Whipple (Portsmouth, NH)
The last Stern Pro Circuit event of April was held at none other than Pinball at the Zoo in Kalamazoo, MI, another wonderful pinball convention where free play games, vendors, and like-minded friends are easy to find. Although you won't find any live zoo animals here, one particularly anticipated giant gorilla made their public debut in the form of Stern's newest pinball machine, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island.
Though that was an awesome surprise, we're here to talk about competitive pinball, and PatZ was packed to the brim with multiple tournaments to enjoy. In addition to daily contests, there were three major competitions to enter, including Main, Classics, and Women's tournaments. These core tournaments all used Best Game/Herb Style qualifying, with all proceeds going to the National Alliance on Mental Illness organization in memory of the late Lyman Sheats Jr. With matching contributions from event organizers and all secondary donations included, Pinball at the Zoo managed to raise over $9,000 for NAMI, a heartwarming example of the generosity of the pinball community.
Happily contributing to charity throughout their Herb-style qualifying, the top 16 players in the Women's and Classics tournaments advanced to the playoff rounds, while the Main tournament saw 24 players moving to the A Division playoffs, with the next highest 16 occupying B Division playoffs. Better yet, all of this high-skill pinball action was streamed live on Twitch thanks to YpsiPinball. The Women's finals saw a 3-game matchup on The Uncanny X-Men, Centaur (Bally, 1981), and Deadpool (Stern, 2018), while the Classics finals also engaged in a 3-game battle on Jungle Queen (Gottlieb, 1977), Skateball (Bally, 1980), and Firepower (Williams, 1980). The A and B Division finalists in the Main tournament found themselves playing back-to-back Sterns with Metallica and Iron Man, then wrapping things up with Nitro Ground Shaker (Bally, 1980). Though all players played to the top of their ability, two competitors had particularly strong performances across the weekend. Lily Pizza (Chicago, IL) dominated to the top spot in Classics while also placing in the top 4 of Women's, while Matthew Stacks (Grand Rapids, MI) secured first place in the A Division Main tournament along with a third place finish in Classics.
PatZ 2025 Winners:
Main Tournament A Division Champion – Matthew Stacks (Grand Rapids, MI)
If you're feeling the competitive spirit and want to get involved in tournament pinball, there are more than enough events to attend in the coming months. The YEGPin 2025 Pinball and Arcade Expo in Alberta, Canada is just under a week away, which is the next event on the Stern Pro Circuit. Later in May, the Stern Pro Circuit continues with The Amazing Pinball Race in Ostrander, OH, a staple of the yearly season and one of the quirkier events in competitive pinball.
The circuit slows down until a bit later in the summer, but there are still many IFPA Tournaments to check out, along with big conventions like the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, as well as the Southern Fried Gaming Expo. If you want to earn a golden ticket to the prestigious and sold-out event, Pinburgh, there are also a variety of satellite tournaments offering chances at free entry throughout May and June, including events at Arcade Legacy, Rochester Pinball Collective, The Sanctum, and several more. We're well into the 2025 season at this point, but there's still lots of pinball left to play, so do yourself a favor and get a bit competitive by attending a local pinball tournament or league this summer!
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.
No comments yet. Sign in to be the first.