# The Score Card 14: Europe's Champion and April Intensity

**Source:** Kineticist  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-05-06  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.kineticist.com/news/score-card-14

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## Analysis

The Score Card 14 covers April's intensive tournament pinball season, featuring major Stern Pro Circuit events including Silverball Rumble in Massachusetts (won by Eric Stone), the 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship in Sweden (won by Viggo Löwgren), Pinball at the Zoo in Michigan (won by Nick Weyna), and the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open (won by Alex Kelley). The article documents multiple high-level competitions with detailed match results and player performances across various classic and modern machines.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Silverball Rumble at Pintastic drew nearly 250 players and featured a notably varied bank of games with only one modern Stern title — _Article states specific attendance and machine bank composition for the event held in Marlborough, MA_
- [HIGH] 64 players representing 15 European countries competed in the 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship in Lund, Sweden — _Article provides specific participant count and geographic representation for the official IFPA championship_
- [HIGH] Pinball at the Zoo 2026 had over 200 players competing in a pump and dump format with proceeds benefiting the National Alliance for Mental Health in memory of Lyman Sheats Jr. — _Article explicitly states attendance and charitable donation details_
- [HIGH] The Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open pulled in over 100 players for unlimited pump and dump qualifying in its first year as a Stern Pro Circuit event — _Article identifies MAPO as 'a new entry to the event list this year' with specific qualifier count_
- [HIGH] Jaden Rich is the 2026 IFPA Rookie of the Year — _Article identifies Rich's title in the PATZ roster description_

### Notable Quotes

> "A yearly convention that pulls in tons of pinheads from around New England, Pintastic also hosted the annual Silverball Rumble, a card qualifying affair that drew nearly 250 players."
> — **Article (Matt Owen)**
> _Establishes scale and significance of Silverball Rumble as major regional event_

> "Following four long and impressive playoff rounds, two familiar finalists emerged: Sweden's Viggo Löwgren and Belgium's Timber Engelbeen. This epic match between two titans of the EU..."
> — **Article (Matt Owen)**
> _Highlights the competitive caliber and narrative stakes of the European Championship final_

> "Zmac stunned with remarkable multiball play, rolling the machine's 10 million point score limit on his very first ball, ultimately granting him an early win."
> — **Article (Matt Owen)**
> _Describes exceptional gameplay moment at MAPO finals on Torpedo Alley_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Eric Stone | person | Tournament player who won Silverball Rumble A Division at Pintastic with dominant playoff performance |
| Liam Bradley | person | Finalist at Silverball Rumble A Division, lost to Eric Stone in grand finals |
| Viggo Löwgren | person | Swedish player crowned 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Champion, defeated Timber Engelbeen in finals |
| Timber Engelbeen | person | Belgian player finalist in 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship, runner-up to Viggo Löwgren |
| Nick Weyna | person | Won Pinball at the Zoo 2026 Stern Pro Circuit event after three-game PAPA-style finals |
| Alex Kelley | person | Won inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open (MAPO), first Stern Pro Circuit victory |
| Zach McCarthy | person | Top world-ranked player who competed in MAPO A Division finals, also known as 'Zmac' |
| Jason Zahler | person | Notable player who competed in Silverball Rumble A Division playoffs |
| Jaden Rich | person | 2026 IFPA Rookie of the Year, competed in Pinball at the Zoo A Division finals |
| Pintastic Pinball & Game Room Expo | event | Yearly convention in Marlborough, MA that hosted Silverball Rumble, drew nearly 250 players |
| Silverball Rumble | event | Annual Stern Pro Circuit qualifying event held at Pintastic, card qualifying format with ~250 players in April 2026 |
| IFPA European Pinball Championship 2025-26 | event | Official championship held in Lund, Sweden with 64 players from 15 European countries, won by Viggo Löwgren |
| Pinball at the Zoo 2026 | event | Michigan convention hosting Stern Pro Circuit pump and dump event in April, over 200 players, charitable fundraiser |
| Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open | event | New Stern Pro Circuit event in 2026 held at Delaware Pinball Collective, inaugural edition drew over 100 players |
| Stern Pro Circuit | organization | Tournament series spanning multiple events throughout year including Silverball Rumble, PATZ, and MAPO |
| Lund Pinball Academy | organization | Host of 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship in Lund, Sweden |
| Delaware Pinball Collective | organization | Host venue for inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open (MAPO) |
| Anna Siembor | person | Winner of Women's Silverbelle Brawl from Easthampton, MA |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of multiple machines featured in tournaments including Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island |
| Backhand Pinball | organization | Streamed Silverball Rumble playoffs live on Twitch and YouTube |
| YpsiPinball | organization | Streamed Pinball at the Zoo finals on Twitch |
| Lyman Sheats Jr. | person | Memorial beneficiary of PATZ 2026 pump and dump proceeds to National Alliance for Mental Health |

### Signals

- **[competitive_signal]** April tournament schedule was particularly heavy with three major Stern Pro Circuit events plus international championship, described as 'practically non-stop' spring portion (confidence: high) — Article states 'Spring portion of the tournament pinball schedule is particularly hefty, and just like March, the month of April was practically non-stop'
- **[competitive_signal]** Multiple players (Viggo Löwgren, Alex Kelley) demonstrated exceptional performance with back-to-back wins and ball 1 dominance across different machines (confidence: high) — Viggo had multiple ball 3 walk-offs in European Championship; Alex Kelley had huge ball 1 scores at MAPO
- **[event_signal]** Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open (MAPO) is new to Stern Pro Circuit for 2026 season, held at Delaware Pinball Collective, over 100 player inaugural turnout (confidence: high) — Article identifies 'a brand new tournament for the 2026 season' and 'new entry to the event list this year'
- **[event_signal]** Stern Pro Circuit expanding geographically with new Mid-Atlantic region tournament, indicating circuit growth and regional coverage development (confidence: medium) — MAPO added to circuit; article mentions upcoming events in Alberta, Illinois, Michigan indicating wide geographic spread
- **[community_signal]** Pinball tournament community integrating charitable giving, with PATZ 2026 pump and dump proceeds benefiting mental health charity in memory of Lyman Sheats Jr. (confidence: high) — Article states proceeds 'going to the National Alliance for Mental Health in memory of Lyman Sheats Jr.'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Multiball play appears critical to winning performances, with notable examples of raptor multiball, lazarus ball mechanics determining match outcomes (confidence: medium) — Timber's winning Jurassic Park game featured 'excellent Raptor Multiball play'; Alex Kelley survived using 'two Lazarus balls'
- **[content_signal]** Major tournaments consistently live-streamed on Twitch with replays on YouTube, indicating established media infrastructure for pinball competitive coverage (confidence: high) — Multiple events streamed: Silverball on Backhand Pinball, PATZ on YpsiPinball, MAPO on Delaware Pinball Collective
- **[competitive_signal]** Jaden Rich, 2026 IFPA Rookie of the Year, competing at elite level in major Midwest tournament finals (confidence: high) — Article identifies Rich as 'IFPA 2026 Rookie of the Year' and notes he was among finalists at PATZ
- **[event_signal]** European Championship drew 64 players from 15 different European countries, indicating well-established international tournament infrastructure (confidence: high) — Article states '64 players, representing 15 different European countries' competed in official IFPA event

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## Transcript

The Spring portion of the tournament pinball schedule is particularly hefty, and just like March, the month of April was practically non-stop. In this edition of The Score Card, we're jumping between three Stern Pro Circuit events, including New England's big Silverball Rumble, a classic weekend of pump and dump at the good 'ol 'Zoo in Michigan, and a brand new tournament for the 2026 season: The Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open. If that wasn't enough, a new champion has been crowned across the pond following the astounding 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship. Let's dive in. Silverball Rumble at Pintastic New England The first stop in April for the Stern Pro Circuit takes us to Marlborough, MA, for the Pintastic Pinball & Game Room Expo. A yearly convention that pulls in tons of pinheads from around New England, Pintastic also hosted the annual Silverball Rumble, a card qualifying affair that drew nearly 250 players. Playing on a notably varied bank of games, which surprisingly only featured one modern Stern title, hundreds of players put in their best cards, with the top 28 qualifiers moving on to A Division finals and the next top 16 in B division. The Silverball Rumble A Division playoffs bracket featured quite a few notable players, including Jason Zahler, Eric Stone, Jason Werdrick, Dante Oliva, and many other names who have frequently graced The Score Card. Streamed live on Twitch by Backhand Pinball, the playoffs offered intense, best-of-seven, head-to-head battles, and you can watch it all back on Backhand's YouTube channel. Four players in total fought their way into the semifinals, including Jason Zahler, Liam Bradley, Eric Stone, and Noah Sicard, but Eric and Liam performed at the peak of their game and moved on to the finals, while Jason and Noah competed for bronze. The grand final face-off between Eric and Liam was a stunning back-and-forth battle, which began on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire (Stern, 2025), and while both scored over 200 million points, Liam squeaked out his first win by roughly 20 million points. Moving onto Game 2, Black Jack (Bally, 1978), Eric fired back with a huge ball 3, nearly rolling the score and tying things up, as Liam struggled to answer back. However, in Game 3, Diner (Williams, 1990), Liam found his groove and put up a huge 22-million-point game, while Eric only scored 5 million. Yet, Eric refused to let Liam heat up, grabbing another win on Game 4, Magic Castle (Zaccaria, 1984), once again tying things up. From there, Eric locked in and picked up back-to-back wins on Operation Thunder (Gottlieb, 1992) and Evil Dead (Spooky, 2024), earning the overall tournament win despite Liam's solid play. Women's Silverbelle Brawl – Anna Siembor (Easthampton, MA) IFPA European Pinball Championship 2025-26 Taking a quick break from the Stern Pro Circuit, let's take a jaunt to Lund, Sweden, for the 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship. Here, 64 players, representing 15 different European countries, flipped for their chance to be crowned the 2025-26 European Pinball Champion, hosted by the Lund Pinball Academy and streamed live on their Twitch channel. Following the round robin qualifying round, 32 players made their way to the best-of-seven, head-to-head finals bracket. Following four long and impressive playoff rounds, two familiar finalists emerged: Sweden's Viggo Löwgren and Belgium's Timber Engelbeen. This epic match between two titans of the EU kicked off on Jurassic Park (Stern, 2019), where Timber got off to an electric start, winning the match with excellent Raptor Multiball play and a 750 million point ball 3 walk off. In Game 2, Demolition Man (Williams, 1994), Timber picked up another win, clearing over 1.4 billion points, while Viggo still had an impressive game with 500 million points. At this point, Viggo shrugged off the pressure and he started to heat up in Game 3 on Congo (Williams, 1995), picking up his first win of the series. In Game 4, Dirty Harry (Williams, 1995) Viggo locked in to say the least, scoring over 3 billion points by ball 2, causing Timber to concede the game. With the series tied at 2-2, they moved onto TRON: Legacy (Stern, 2011) for Game 5, where Viggo continued his dominant performance, picking up another ball 3 walk-off win. All that separated Viggo from the European Championship was Game 6, Attack from Mars (Bally, 1995), and after Timber struggled to overcome Viggo's 11 billion point score, Viggo earned the championship with yet another ball 3 walk off. For our next tournament, we move over to one of Michigan's longest-running pinball conventions, Pinball at the Zoo. An always affordable and entertaining weekend, PATZ 2026 was also the home of the next Stern Pro Circuit competition: a $1 per play pump and dump extravaganza, with all proceeds going to the National Alliance for Mental Health in memory of Lyman Sheats Jr. Over 200 players showed up to compete, putting up big scores that would make LFS proud, with the top 24 players moving on to A Division finals and the next 16 occupying B Division. The roster of players in the 2026 PATZ A Division finals was a fun and eclectic bunch, with some of the very best players in the Midwest representing their region, including Dominic Labella, and the IFPA 2026 Rookie of the Year, Jaden Rich, just to name a few. However, following three rounds of playoffs, four other fantastic players fought their way to the finals: Sterling Mitoska, Matthew Stacks, Nick Weyna, and Andy Rosa. This made for an excitable finals match, all streamed live on Twitch by YpsiPinball. Kicking off the three-game, PAPA-style finals was Wrestlemania (Stern, 2015), where Nick Weyna took the lead early with over 150 million points, but Sterling was able to surpass him on ball 3, picking up his first win in the process. The competitors then blasted through Game 2, an incredibly punishing Eight Ball (Bally, 1977), and while Sterling and Andy suffered continuous unlucky drains, Matthew and Nick both scrounged up over 100,000 points, picking up first and second place finishes respectively. With the standings relatively close between all players, the competition mostly came down to the final game on Creature from the Black Lagoon (Bally, 1992). Capping off a great tournament run with a strong 200 million ball 1, Nick Weyna persisted, outscoring everyone else and taking home the PATZ 2026 first-place finish. The last Stern Pro Circuit tournament of April was also a new entry to the event list this year: the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open, held at the Delaware Pinball Collective. A quality competition that has been steadily growing in recent years, the Mid-Atlantic Pinball Open (or MAPO, for short) pulled in over 100 players for unlimited pump and dump qualifying, with main, classics, and women's tournaments to enjoy. Ultimately, out of the 100 qualifiers, the top 32 moved to A Division, while the next top 8 progressed to B Division, with the entire competition streamed live on Twitch by Delaware Pinball Collective, with replays available to watch on YouTube. Thanks to MAPO's addition to the Stern Pro Circuit, several top world-ranked players wound up in the A Division finals, including Zach McCarthy, and several more, making for a particularly brutal playoff battle. Similar to Pinball at the Zoo, playoffs were three games, PAPA style, albeit with slightly different scoring, which put a greater emphasis on consistent play rather than squeaking out one big win. After several rounds of playoffs, the final four faced off: Zach 'Zmac' McCarthy, Alex Kelley, Anthony Lambos Jr., and Carlos Delaserda. Things got off to an absolutely ridiculous start in Game 1 on Torpedo Alley (Data East, 1988), as Zmac stunned with remarkable multiball play, rolling the machine's 10 million point score limit on his very first ball, ultimately granting him an early win. After that extremely long game, the players were definitely ready to dive into Game 2, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island (Stern, 2025), producing some surprising results. Echoing Zmac's performance from Game 1, Alex Kelley blew up King Kong with nearly 500 million points on ball 1, pushed over 1 billion by ball 3, giving him his first win of the series. Things were close coming into Game 3, Stars (Stern, 1978), with Zmac and Alex ahead of the pack, while Anthony and Carlos hoped for a big comeback. Once again, Alex had a huge ball 1, surviving long thanks to two Lazarus balls, and scoring nearly 200,000 points, enough to bag him the overall tournament win and his first Stern Pro Circuit victory. After the craziness of March and April, the Stern Pro Circuit slows down a bit in the coming months, but not too much. Things pick back up in mid-May with the YEGPIN Pinball and Arcade Expo in Alberta, Canada, followed by the Silverball Super Social V in Stone Park, Illinois, come late June. Pinburgh and the BEAST are the two big competitions for July, while the District 82 Summer Pinball Classic and the Northwest Pinball Championships will keep us busy in August. Between these big-time tournaments and the many others cropping up from weekend to weekend, it seems like this summer will be another stunning collection of months for competitive pinball. If you're looking to get involved, we recommend checking out the events calendar on Pinside, competing in an IFPA-sanctioned tournament, or joining a local pinball league for some casual fun. As they say, “it's more fun to compete”, so try to get out there this summer and test your skills! 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.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-06-06 | Item ID: 011e1eca-f187-47f7-8506-43eba289663d*