# Elvira’s House of Horrors Stern Heads-Up Pinball Invitational! πŸ¦‡ **Source:** Stern Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2022-02-13 **Duration:** 66m 11s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-FYOZ3TEVY --- ## Analysis Stern Pinball's Heads-Up Pinball Invitational tournament on Elvira's House of Horrors features head-to-head competition where players race to complete challenges in the shortest time, with the winner receiving a new Stern pinball machine. The tournament showcases eight competitors from Chicago (Rebecca Hintzel, Chris Keating, Andy Bagwell, Zach Park, Hillary Higgins, Lindsay Shute, Dana Moran, and Colin Joyce) competing through multiple rounds with challenges like Garage Multiball, Unhappy Hour, Junk in the Trunk, and Haunt modes. Round one results show Rebecca Hintzel defeating Chris Keating, Andy Bagwell defeating Zach Park, Hillary Higgins defeating Lindsay Shute in a dramatic finish involving a Lazarus save, and Dana/Colin Moran/Joyce facing off in the final round one match. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Elvira's House of Horrors is the third game in the Elvira pinball series β€” _Jack Danger states this directly during introduction commentary_ - [HIGH] The Stern Heads-Up Pinball Invitational format involves head-to-head, challenge-based competition where winner takes a brand new Stern pinball machine β€” _Tim Sexton and Jack Danger explain tournament format at opening_ - [HIGH] Rebecca Hintzel met Cassandra Peterson (Elvira actress) in full costume when Elvira's House of Horrors came out β€” _Rebecca Hintzel states this in her pre-match interview_ - [MEDIUM] Andy Bagwell was promoted to 'best six foot six or taller pinball player in Chicago' after previous Stern Heads Up Championship performance β€” _Andy Bagwell states this as self-referential joke in his introduction_ - [HIGH] Zach Park is 18 years old and was graduating high school during tournament preparation, majoring in mechanical engineering β€” _Zach Park states this in his pre-match interview_ - [HIGH] Hillary Higgins and Lindsay Shute are friends who met through pinball and play together in local leagues β€” _Lindsay Shute references Hillary as one of her first friends made 'on the bells' (arcade/league)_ - [HIGH] Dana Moran and Colin Joyce met on their first date at Emporium Wicker Park pinball arcade and had their first kiss over two pinball machines β€” _Dana Moran and Colin Joyce both reference this in their pre-match interviews_ - [HIGH] Chris Keating and Rebecca Hintzel are on the same league team called 'Scoop, Shoot, and Boogie' β€” _Tim Sexton states this during commentary of their match_ - [HIGH] Rebecca Hintzel did not win the previous Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational but is returning as a competitor β€” _Rebecca Hintzel states 'I didn't win the first time, but I am ready to win this time' in her interview_ - [HIGH] Andy Bagwell only warmed up for 30 minutes on the machine before this tournament compared to practicing too much for the previous tournament β€” _Andy Bagwell states this in his pre-match interview_ ### Notable Quotes > "I just love a strong flipper tussle." > β€” **Elvira (Cassandra Peterson)**, Opening segment > _Iconic catchphrase used by Elvira to introduce tournament theme; repeated by Jack Danger later_ > "This is in my top five pinball machines. I love the shots, the flow, the humor, the rules. There's just so much to do on this game." > β€” **Jack Danger**, Tournament introduction > _Designer endorsement of game quality and design depth_ > "I'm going to win this tournament because of magic, luck, and effort." > β€” **Chris Keating**, Match 1 interview > _Reflects player confidence and humorous attitude; contrasts with his later loss_ > "She is a goddess of pinball." > β€” **Rebecca Hintzel**, Match 1 interview > _Reflects deep reverence for Elvira character among pinball community_ > "I may be off to college, but I'll be back winning a pinball machine one of these days." > β€” **Zach Park**, After Match 2 loss > _Shows commitment to pinball despite losing and moving to college_ > "I am the spookiest pinball player in Chicago." > β€” **Lindsay Shute**, Match 3 interview > _Reflects thematic alignment with horror game and playful competitive persona_ > "Lazarus out of nowhere! That came all the way down the right out lane, and now she's got it set up for the win." > β€” **Tim Sexton (commentator)**, Match 3 final shots > _Dramatic play-by-play of rare pinball save (Lazarus) that determined match outcome_ > "Pinball was such an important part of bringing me and Colin together... our first kiss was over two pinball machines." > β€” **Dana Moran**, Match 4 interview > _Illustrates pinball's role in personal relationships and couple bonding within community_ > "Unchecked hubris is usually my main strategy." > β€” **Colin Joyce**, Match 4 interview > _Reflects unusual/humorous competitive approach and personality_ > "I sometimes have this problem where I hold my breath and forget to breathe while I'm playing. So I find that if I talk or sing to myself while I play I naturally have to breathe." > β€” **Dana Moran**, Match 4 interview > _Reveals psychological/physiological challenge and coping mechanism in competitive play_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer and organizer of the Stern Heads-Up Pinball Invitational tournament | | Elvira's House of Horrors | game | Third game in Elvira pinball series; tournament showcase game; features garage, junk in trunk, deadhead, haunt, unhappy hour, and wild women multiball modes | | Jack Danger | person | Stern Pinball designer and tournament commentator; co-host with Tim Sexton; Stern staff member | | Tim Sexton | person | Stern Pinball staff and tournament commentator; provides technical gameplay analysis and color commentary alongside Jack Danger | | Cassandra Peterson | person | Actress who plays Elvira; appeared in full costume at tournament; met by Rebecca Hintzel when game was released | | Rebecca Hintzel | person | Returning Stern Heads-Up Invitational competitor from Chicago; won Match 1 vs Chris Keating; teammate of Chris on 'Scoop, Shoot, and Boogie' league team; met Cassandra Peterson in costume | | Chris Keating | person | Chicago-based pinball player, age 44; competitive for almost a decade; Lost Match 1 to Rebecca Hintzel; teammate with Rebecca on 'Scoop, Shoot, and Boogie' league | | Andy Bagwell | person | South Elgin, Illinois pinball player, age 35; returning Stern Heads-Up Invitational finalist; defeated Zach Park in Match 2; described as 'best six foot six or taller pinball player in Chicago' | | Zach Park | person | Evanston, Illinois pinball player, age 18; recent high school graduate; mechanical engineering college student; returning Stern Heads-Up Invitational competitor; lost Match 2 to Andy Bagwell; aspirational machine designer | | Hillary Higgins | person | Chicago pinball competitor; approximately 5 years competitive play experience; won Match 3 vs Lindsay Shute with dramatic Lazarus save in final challenge; friend of Lindsay Shute and Dana Moran | | Lindsay Shute | person | Chicago pinball player, age 29; first heads-up format competition; grew up with campy horror content; lost Match 3 to Hillary Higgins; friend of Hillary and fans of similar horror themes | | Dana Moran | person | Chicago pinball player, age 36; married to Colin Joyce; met Colin at Emporium Wicker Park arcade; first kiss over pinball machines; uses talking/singing technique to maintain breathing during play | | Colin Joyce | person | Chicago pinball player, age 36; married to Dana Moran; self-described arcade enthusiast; uses flamingo stance (standing on one leg) for focus; competing against wife Dana in Match 4 | | Emoto | person | Tournament host/presenter; introduces matches and provides stage commentary | | Scoop, Shoot, and Boogie | organization | Chicago pinball league team featuring Rebecca Hintzel and Chris Keating | | Emporium Wicker Park | venue | Chicago pinball/arcade venue where Dana Moran and Colin Joyce had their first date and first kiss | ### Topics - **Primary:** Tournament Format and Rules, Competitive Pinball Players and Personalities, Elvira's House of Horrors Game Design and Modes, Chicago Pinball Community, Player Strategies and Techniques - **Secondary:** Stern Pinball Company Tournament Organization, Women in Pinball, Pinball as Social Bonding Activity ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) β€” Tournament coverage emphasizes fun, excitement, and camaraderie among competitors. Commentators are enthusiastic about game quality and player performances. Some humorous banter and competitive ribbing (Chris vs Rebecca, Andy vs Zach) but all in good spirit. The Lazarus save moment and dramatic finishes create genuine excitement. Community relationships and friendships are celebrated. No negative sentiment detected. ### Signals - **[event_signal]** Stern Heads-Up Pinball Invitational tournament successfully executed with 8 competitors from Chicago; features timed head-to-head challenges with grand prize of new Stern pinball machine (confidence: high) β€” Tournament coverage shows professional production, clear rules explanation, random challenge generator, multiple rounds of competition with commentators Jack Danger and Tim Sexton - **[community_signal]** Chicago pinball community demonstrates strong participation, interconnectedness, and depth with multiple league teams, established competitors, and new players entering competitive scene (confidence: high) β€” All 8 competitors are from Chicago area; multiple competitors share league affiliations; returning players from previous tournaments; mix of experienced and new competitors; multiple women participants - **[design_innovation]** Elvira's House of Horrors features multiple distinct multiball modes (Garage/Wild Women, Unhappy Hour, Junk in the Trunk, Deadhead, Haunt) with varying difficulty and strategic approaches (confidence: high) β€” Commentators describe specific shot requirements for each mode; players must understand multiple strategic approaches (short plunge vs full plunge, backhand vs cross-field shots); difficulty modifiers noted (drop target reset in Garage Multiball) - **[content_signal]** Stern Pinball producing professional tournament video content featuring commentary from Jack Danger and Tim Sexton; includes player interviews and dramatic match coverage (confidence: high) β€” High-quality video production with multiple camera angles, graphics showing shot counter, professional commentary team, pre-match player interviews, real-time score/shot tracking overlay - **[product_strategy]** Stern using tournament events as marketing showcase for Elvira's House of Horrors and to drive engagement with competitive pinball community; giving away machines as prizes to drive awareness (confidence: high) β€” Tournament named 'Stern Heads-Up Pinball Invitational'; brand presence throughout; Jack Danger (Stern designer) as commentator; machine giveaway as grand prize; professional production indicating significant investment - **[gameplay_signal]** Competitive players employ strategic plunge approaches (short plunge vs full plunge) to control ball placement; skill shots and back-door strategies factor into challenge completion time (confidence: high) β€” Commentators discuss short plunge advantages; players debate backhand vs cross-field shot safety; back door strategy explained for Haunt challenge reducing shot requirements by 2; players strategically drain to restart with skill shot - **[community_signal]** Female competitors (Rebecca Hintzel, Hillary Higgins, Lindsay Shute, Dana Moran) represent 50% of tournament field; demonstrates growing participation and acceptance of women in competitive pinball (confidence: high) β€” 4 of 8 competitors are women; women's bracket implied through matchups; female competitors treated as equals and given equal commentary focus; Rebecca Hintzel mentioned as returning finalist - **[competitive_signal]** Tournament features range of competitive experience from 5-year veteran Hillary Higgins to brand-new head-to-head format competitors like Lindsay Shute; age range from 18 (Zach Park) to 44 (Chris Keating) (confidence: high) β€” Hillary Higgins states 5 years competitive experience; Zach Park is 18 and just graduated high school; Chris Keating age 44 with decade of competitive play; Lindsay Shute competing in first heads-up format; Andy/Dana/Colin age 35-36 - **[product_concern]** Certain Junk in the Trunk challenge shots identified as extremely difficult (bottom stand-up target described as 'impossible' and 'hardest target in the group'), potentially creating frustration in casual play (confidence: medium) β€” Commentators note bottom target is very difficult to hit; both Andy and Zach struggle with it; Tim Sexton acknowledges difficulty; players rarely complete this shot cleanly - **[gameplay_signal]** Lazarus save mechanic (ball returning from right out lane) demonstrated in Hillary vs Lindsay match; described as 'wonderful' by commentators, illustrating pinball's unpredictability and drama (confidence: high) β€” Ball rocketed down right out lane at high speed and popped back up above Hillary's flippers; commentators request replay; Tim calls it 'gorgeous' and 'Lazarus out of nowhere'; Hillary questioned if play was legal before executing it - **[community_signal]** Pinball demonstrated as significant bonding activity in relationships; Dana and Colin met at pinball arcade, had first kiss over machines, use pinball as conflict resolution technique (confidence: high) β€” Dana and Colin's origin story centered on Emporium Wicker Park pinball arcade; first kiss 'over two pinball machines'; they state 'pinball brings our love together'; use pinball to 'settle discrepancies'; Jack Danger references shared first kiss over pinball with own partner --- ## Transcript Thank you very much. We'll be right back. Welcome to the Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational. Are you ready to watch people play with my machine? Hello everyone and welcome back to the Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational. We have an exciting and fun tournament for y'all to watch today. I'm Emoto and at the desk with me I have Stern Pinball's Tim Sexton and Jack Danger. Thank you so much Emoto. What's up pinball land? I'm Jack Danger and with me as always I'm Tim Sexton, really excited to be here for another great Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational, this time on Elvira's own pinball machine, Elvira's House of Horrors. And, as you saw at the top of the show, Elvira is here, ready to do a little bit of her own commentary. I just love a strong flipper tussle. And I'm sure we're going to have some great competition. Absolutely. So, let's take a look at how the tournament works. The Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational is a head-to-head, challenge-based tournament where the winner takes home a brand new Stern pinball machine. It doesn't get any more exciting than this. So Elvira's House of Horrors. This is in my top five pinball machines. I love the shots, the flow, the humor, the rules. There's just so much to do on this game. And Elvira, iconic. This is the third in the series. And I think people are just going to destroy this game today. I can't wait to see him do it. Yeah, this tournament is a great showcase of a pinball machine because you're going to be starting tons of different features. Normally in pinball, you're playing for score, you're playing for free games. No, here you're playing as fast as possible. Players have to think every shot through, every plunge, every little detail of how they're playing to optimize their time because it's best two out of three, and the fastest time moves on to the next round. And top prize is a brand new Stern pinball machine. We're giving away so many games in these things. Let's see who's competing tonight to win my house of horrors. Alright, here are Elvira's victims for tonight. It's a pretty good list with a few familiar faces. Looking at that competitor list, this is going to be a great competition, Jack. Returning from our previous Heads Up Invitational, we have Rebecca, Andy, and Zach. All semi-finalists, all fantastic players. Yeah, that's right, Tim. And we have some new faces joining us as well. And coincidentally, absolutely coincidentally, they're all from Chicago. Actually, a married couple joining us. We got Colin and Dana, who met because of pinball. And then we have Hillary, who's actually friends with Dana. And then Hillary, who's also friends with Lindsay. And Lindsay knows Chris. It's like this big amalgamation of people that I'm sure have battled against each other in previous tournaments that are now here to tear each other apart. So heading into round one, let's see who's paired together for our first match. Rebecca Hintzel versus Chris Keating. This is going to be good. I'm going to win this tournament because of magic, luck, and effort. Hey, I'm Chris Keating. I'm 44 years old and from Chicago, Illinois. I've been playing competitive pinball for almost a decade. My strategy is to go for the shots I think I can make and just wing it for everything else. This is going to be an interesting challenge. A lot of these players I've played against before, they're all very good. I'm really hoping the magical beard I grew is going to give me some competitive advantage over the non-magic users in this competition. Uh, can we wrap this up? I gotta go drink a flagon of ale with my D&D group. So I don't think Chris understands the difference between a beard and a mustache. Hey guys, I'm Rebecca Hinsdale, and I'm back. And I'm gonna bring it. I know what I'm doing, I'm laser focused. I didn't win the first time, but I am ready to win this time. I practiced, I meditated, I channeled my inner Elvira. I can't let Elvira down. I have to win because she is a goddess of pinball. And by golly, I have to win. I have to win. I am so excited to play House of Horrors. When this game came out, I actually got to meet Cassandra Peterson in full costume. She is amazing. Her puns are on point. I'm gonna play this machine until Elvira says, What a big bonus! Don't tilt. Nudge instead. Whatever you do, don't drain. Repeating to yourself, I'm going to win, I think makes you win. I think it builds up your confidence, and once you're confident in pinball, you can do anything. So Chris and Rebecca are actually on the same league here in Chicago. Their team's called the Scoop, Shoot, and Boogie. So they've probably scrimmaged a lot together. They probably know each other's strengths and weaknesses. This should be a pretty good matchup. Rebecca is a returning player, though, and knows this format inside and out. So I'm excited to see what happens. Can't wait to get started. Let's go to the random challenge generator. The challenge generator is fired up and ready to bake those buns. Baking those buns. That's a fart joke. Oh. Yeah. So to start Garage Multiball, shoot at that gravestone drop target to light locks. Lock three balls and your multiball will start. The garage is the area just to the right of the left ramp and there's a drop target in front of it and what you're doing is shooting it in there several times and there are several multiballs associated with that. The first one being Wild Women Multiball. And it's very tight of a backhand on the left, but super easy on the right. So when players see Wild Women Multiball come up, that's how they know to stop. That's their time. Let's see who's the fastest in this challenge. Chris! Oh, Chris. Oh, this is going to be close. Rebecca's really good. Chris and I are actually on a team together here in Chicago. So we play often together. Um, and I'm just gonna have to take him out in this round, I think. Meh. Yes I am! I am ready! I'm ready! Three, two, one. Oh, God. Oh, it's this way. So Chris starts with the short plunge and he's got it trapped on the right flipper a little early on that shot. Rebecca into the super skill shot. Maybe she's learning for the future challenges. Oh, I see. All right, we're both looking for control here. Chris going for the short plunge again. Puts it on the right flipper. Good trap. Looking to shoot it up into that shot. Does nail the drop target that is blocking the garage shot. Now he just needs to backhand it in there. It is a very, very tight shot from the backhand on the left flipper. Rebecca started making good progress, too, but she does drain, but going for the short plunge. Nice control there to get the ball on the left flipper. Backhands it in. All right, ball one. All right, Chris looking for something. He just keeps ramping out all day here, looking to put anything inside of that garage. So I think Rebecca is playing with a bit more control right now. It's helping her get more shots. Another shot to the drop target. Beautiful, beautiful. Good control. Good little juggling there. All right, we're both in the pops right now. Excellent feed. Rebecca does trap up. And, oh, just comes up a little short in an unfortunate left out lane drain. Oh, that ramp again. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. He needs that garage, though. It's a little bit of a tighter shot from the left flipper. He does nail it there for his second lock. All right, we need one more ball on Chris's side into that garage to start the multiball, and Rebecca just nailed her second ball as well. So they're both tied right now. Chris has it ready. One shot left. Oh, who's going to get it? This is it. Oh! Wow, huge save on Rebecca's side. She has it set up, and she nails it. Excellent work, Rebecca. Yes! It was close. I just didn't get the control I needed. That one was scary. So huge save at the end for Rebecca. She lost some time there when her ball drained down the middle. This time she took a big slide save. The game didn't tilt, only took one danger, and used that opportunity to shoot the shot to start the multiball. Yeah, Chris was taking a lot of chances with the backhand there, and like I mentioned before, it is a very, very accurate shot that needs to happen to thread that needle. And he just ended up hitting that left ramp all day. So Rebecca took that opportunity to put those balls away, and there it is. Schneider Garage Multiballs. So let's move on to the next challenge. What does the challenge generator have for us? Well, to start Unhappy Hour, just shoot either ramp five times. Doesn't matter the order, just shoot five ramp shots. Ooh, Unhappy Hour. All right. Definitely very certain of my ramp skills. Unhappy Hour is tricky. This one's a hard one. This is, you know, you got to ramp it. I can just feel the power, the multiball power, the Unhappy Hour power flowing off of my beard. So this challenge is Unhappy Hour. It's pretty simple. you need five shots to any of the ramps. There's one on the left, one on the right, pretty straightforward. They're very, very easy to combo. So I anticipate this being pretty quick. Everyone wants to get in that flow of shooting one, two, three, four, five. But how do you get there? I think a lot of players like to start with backhanding the left ramp. That one's the most friendly. Wide open. That right one can give you a little more trouble. I don't think people will start with it, but when you have it going on the fly, it's a really easy shot when you're in that rhythm. Absolutely. All right. Let's get haunted. Let's get on happy hour. I'm ready. I am ready to play. Both competitors looking really stoked right now. All right, we go for a short plunge on Chris's side and a little bit of a longer plunge for Rebecca, but they both come down to a controlled stop. We're looking for any ramp shot here. Rebecca does manage to get that left ramp. Oh, just misses the combo to the right, though. Chris still looking for his first shot as Rebecca hits another left ramp. She has three ramps remaining. Drains down the left out lane, though. This will give Chris an opportunity to catch up. That's right. This can be a pretty quick one. I'm ramping. I'm ramping. Chris takes another hard left out lane. So Rebecca has an opportunity here. Trap up on the right. Oh, does a little pass there. She's been doing that. She's been taking the short plunge, letting it bounce off both flippers and get to the left flipper. And that's getting her those left shots. Rebecca having a little trouble with that right ramp, unfortunately. Chris does manage to hit the left ramp. Rebecca needs one more shot to start this mode, and there it is. Unhappy hour. Congratulations, Rebecca. She's moving on to the next round. Looks like that beard didn't do nothing for you, Chris. I can see why you shaved it off. Chris, Chris, Chris. Who knows what he's going to say to me about this. Rebecca, I'll never forgive you. Oh, boy. Well, Dems to breaks. Who are my next victims? I mean players. Oh man, this is so much fun. Let's check out our next player matchup. Oh, Andy Bagwell versus Zach Park, two returning heavy hitters to the Stern Heads Up Pinball Invitational. All right, let's see what they have to say. Hi, I'm Andy Bagwell, I'm 35, I'm South Elgin, Illinois. After my performance last time in the in the Stern Heads Up Championship. I was promoted to the best six foot six or taller pinball player in Chicago. Sorry, Jack. Jack, this guy's getting a little too big for his britches. Jack, we gotta do the show. We gotta be professional here. The last tournament, I think I actually practiced a little bit too much. So this time I only warmed up for 30 minutes on the machine when I got to the studio. My strategy's gonna be repeatable shots. A lot of the challenges, I tried to make sure that I could keep things controlled and do the same easy shot over and over again rather than trying to rush and make difficult shots to complete it faster. I know I'm gonna make it to the finals again this time, and this time I'll be ready. I wish everybody the best of luck in the tournament today. Hi, I'm Zach Parks, I'm 18 years old, and I'm from Evanston, Illinois. Last time, Andy Bagwell took me out, but this time I'm gonna take him down. I'm super excited to play Elvira House of Horrors. I love the shot layout and all the different multi balls in the game. My strategy coming in is to have fun and win it all. I didn't have a chance to practice because I was so busy graduating high school and going to all my graduation parties. I'm majoring in mechanical engineering in college, so who knows, maybe I'll be designing pinball machines one day. So Jack, you've known Zach for a long time. How was his graduation party? I wasn't invited to. Well, sorry to hear that, but he is a great pinball competitor, so really looking forward to how he does in this competition. Yeah. So Andy and Zach met up last time in the semifinals. If I remember correctly, Andy moved on to the finals from there, so this is a heated rivalry between these two. Yeah, well, let's go to the challenge generator. Good luck, Zach. That's perfect. Andy, you may have beaten me last time, but I'm taking you down. You're not going to get me this time either, Zach, so best of luck, though. All right, so garage multiball. Again, this is quite simple. You're just going to shoot the drop target in front of the garage, then put three balls into the garage to start what is wild women multiball. I thought I did pretty well on this both times. So again, though, this is a six shot type thing to completion, so Zach's also really super accurate so I think it's gonna be close. This was definitely one of the tougher challenges. Yes, I'm ready. Three, two, one. Alright both short plunging Zach didn invite me to his birthday party or graduation or whatever the crap it was We got Andy doing a nice little bounce pass there We both missing our first shots Do knock down the drop targets. Did he get one yet? No, he still didn't. Yeah, so Andy got his first lock and so did Zach, so they are tied up now. Ooh, let's go. We got a lock there from Zach on the right. Looking for another short punch to get control on the right flipper. Andy's doing some cute little flipper moves and makes a big save there. Ooh, big save. Zach has his second lock open. We're both drained. All right, we're both looking for something here. Trying to trap up on the right on Andy's side. Doesn't quite get control. Oh, it just keeps leaping off of the flipper there. Zach with the second lock there, and Andy is only one shot away now. Can he hit it here? Oh, one and done. Excellent work, Andy. Andy, great job! Yes! Nice job Andy! Quick challenge there, six shots, missing a couple shots can really be deadly and also that feed returning off the drop target, we saw Zach lose control and that set him behind Andy, so Andy kept it under control, shot his shots to start the multiball. There's also something I'd like to point out, the difficulty was raised on this so the drop target keeps coming back up. So instead, in normal play you would hit the drop, put it away, but this just keeps making it harder and harder every time to make that shot. You gotta clear that drop target. Well, let's check the challenge generator for our next match. Okay, to start Junk in the Trunk Multiball, a little bit more complicated. You have to shoot those three trunk targets to open the trunk on the left ramp, shoot the ball into the trunk, and then repeat that entire process, and then your mode will start. luck. All right so Junk in the Trunk Multiball. This one requires a little bit of accuracy. There are three targets on the left, 36, 24, 36. You hit all those, it lights the left ramp, put it up there, that's your first lock. You have to do that twice to start Junk in the Trunk Multiball. So 36, 24, 36, how did they pick those numbers? That's the combination to my high school gym locker. Oh interesting. Yeah. Oh yeah, this one was super hard. Okay, I felt pretty good about this one. I think time was pretty solid. Again, Zach could beat me in anything, so he's fantastic. I'll hold my breath. So many shots you need to hit, and that bottom stand-up target is like, it's just impossible. All right, so we're aiming for the three targets on the left side right under the trunk. We can only hit these from the right flippers, so players like Zach will be passing over to shoot those. Andy has his first target, and Zach misses a little high. Ball goes really out of control when you miss the shot. It's going to be a tough one to actually get those shots and then hit the ramp. Andy was looking for a bit of a bounce pass there. It didn't quite pan out. And as you can see, Zach is shooting for these. They're in a really tight spot, especially that bottom one is quite difficult to hit. Missing early. Oh, he gets two for one there. So if you hit two targets in one shot, that can help you. Even on ricochets, you can also hit those targets. So there are a lot of opportunities to hit these, but it is a pretty tough thing to complete. Andy has his first one complete, so he shoots the left ramp to lock the first ball. Excellent work. Andy also got the two for one shot deal there. And what's great about the left ramp is you can cross shot it like Zach just did, or you can backhand it, which I find is a little bit easier. Andy in the slingshots and drains, but he is ready. He has one shot left for Junk in the Truck. Zach has an opportunity to catch up. He needs that one bottom target. Oh, just misses. Happens to be the hardest target in the group. Does Anderson knock it? Can he put the ball up the left ramp? And Andy sneaks it out. So that was really close. Zach started coming back, but Andy just managed to get it under control and shoot it with his left flipper right before Zach was able to make that ramp shot. Congratulations to Andy. It looks like Zach will not be graduating to the next round. Mmm, yes. Boom. Told you, Zach. No. You got me, Andy. Nice job. Good game, man. I may be off to college, but I'll be back winning a pinball machine one of these days. Who gets to touch my flippers next? Who does get to touch Elvira's flippers next? Emoto? We have Hillary Higgins versus Lindsay Shute. Hello, my name is Hillary Higgins. I am here with Peak Energy, and that is going to take us all the way to the finish line. I have been playing for about five years. It was really the first thing I ever found where I could be competitive against myself and I just fell in love with it that night. I was immediately transfixed by it. In kind of competition world, I like to go in brand new. Part of my claim to fame was just kind of going in like and that energy would kind of freak out everybody that was kind of very intense. No one can really nail me down. Hill Dog's coming. Hill Dog? Is that H-I-L-D-O-G-G? Double G? Yeah, two G's. Hi, my name is Lindsay Schute. I'm 29 years old from Chicago, Illinois. I am gonna win this tournament because I am the spookiest pinball player in Chicago. I grew up with campy horror, things like Elvira, Spengoolie, Tales from the Crypt. I am so excited to play Elvira House of Horrors. I tried to practice the challenges to the best of my ability, but I've also never competed in a heads-up format before. I'm gonna channel all my spooky energy to win today. What I'm gonna say to Lindsay is I'm a little nervous right now, but you know head-to-head, woman-to-woman, I think we got a game on our hands here. Oh my goodness. Yay that makes me so happy. I love Hillary. You know I want to I want to see what happens before I before I go too hard but I think we're gonna have quite the game on our hands. Hillary is my favorite she was one of the the first friends that I made on the bells she's an amazing pinball player this is great I love this. So Hillary versus Lindsay two of the newcomers to this challenge What are you thinking, Tim? You know, they're both great pinball players and they have great personalities. I think no matter what, they're going to have a lot of fun in this matchup. I think some spooky energy is going to come through and help Lindsay pull this one out. You know, you could be right about that. Do you hear that? The challenge generator is calling. So, unhappy hour again, as we saw the very first challenge that we had in this tournament, and it's simply just hitting any ramp five times. You could combo it out, you could just hit the same ramp all day, you're just trying to start that mode. You gotta be quick in this one. I am now ready. Three, two, one. All right, and they're off. You can see at the bottom we have listed the five shots they need so you can keep track along with us. It went from looking very nervous to very intense. We are trapped up on the left on Lindsay's side. She does backhand the left ramp and then immediately combos the right ramp. So that is two shots for her. She needs three more shots. But don't look away. Hillary only needs two more shots. And she has one shot left coming down the left flipper. And she nails it. That starts happy hour. Yep, and then that happened. Excellent work, Hillary. Yeah! Had to make sure it was good! Oh, wait, I got that one? Oh, hell yeah! Hillary got me. Starting out on a high note. All right. So Hillary pulls out the first win of the competition. Five ramps, and I think she was counting them in Spanish? Si, es por God. Well, it's always important to keep track of how many shots you have left. Let's go to the challenge generator. VΓ‘monos! To start Deadhead, shoot that Deadhead family crypt to open it up and then get the ball inside. Easy peasy. So the Deadhead challenge, a lot of players are probably going to want to use the right flipper and backhand this shot because it comes down really slow and it's easy to catch it and shoot it up there again. Absolutely. I would recommend only backhanding this because a cross-field shot can create a bit of a comeback that might drain you. Whereas Tim mentioned the backhand, super, super, super safe. Let's see how the players approach this challenge. I also don't remember completely blowing it. So I think this is going to be a real barn burner. I feel okay about this one. So both players go for the short plunge, trying to get it on that right flipper, but both of them lose control here. However, Lindsey did hit one shot right away there, so she only has two shots left to win the challenge. Yeah, that was a nice ricochet off of the right targets there. Lindsey does drain. Hillary is looking for a trap up of any sorts here so she can start shooting that shot. We got another short plunge coming in from Lindsey. And Lindsay now looks like she has it trapped on the right flipper like she wanted. So she, oh, just a little short. It's a leaper there instead of the deadhead and into the orbit. Hillary's plunging again, trying to get any shots from that deadhead right now. Yeah, the short plungers are very smart here because it does come right to the right flipper. Both trapped up. And the deadhead is open. And Lindsay does manage to put the ball in. All right. And Lindsay takes the W there, living up to her last name, Shoot. Yay! Yeah, I had a feeling she was gonna get me on that one. Amazing. It's 1-1 now. Now it's heating up. Manages to get the ball on that right flipper, backhanding as often as she can, puts it into the deadhead crypt. Tim? Let's go to the challenge generator and see what the tie-breaking challenge is going to be. Ooh, I love this challenge. To start haunt, shoot the house entrance three times. You'll see the house light up all crazily. You know you got it. All right, so start haunt is our next challenge. And there's a couple of ways you can approach this. One, you could short plunge into the backdoor shot, which lights your haunt for one shot up the front, or you could do it the hard way by putting a ball on the flipper and shooting up the middle three times. Yeah, players can actually strategically drain here. The first time you hit that skill shot, you reduce the number of shots you need by two. If you drain and shoot it in there a second time on the skill shot, you start the haunt right away. So shooting or skill shots, skill shots can take longer. You can hit the pop bumpers, lots of risk to that strategy. Shooting up the middle may be a lot safer. All right, well, let's see what happens. This is one of those quick ones. It's just they can be a couple of shots or you can miss everything. So we'll see. If Lindsay gets it on the skill shot, I think she has me. If she doesn't, I think I might take this one home. It's going to be a nail biter. Someone's screaming. I don't know if we can hear that over there, but someone started screaming. Yes, I'm ready to haunt. Okay. I'm ready. Three, two, one. So we can expect to see some mild plunges there. We do get a short plunge, unfortunately, from Lindsey into the pop bumpers. Hilary's going for the direct approach right up the middle, does manage to hit one of the shots into the house. So Lindsey's looking for that shot as well. Goes a little early there, another shot. Also a little bit early. She's got to go a little later to hit that center ramp. She hits it there, but Hilary only has one shot left. I'm so nervous. I'm so nervous. Get it up there, Hillary! All right, looking for some control. And oh, just barely misses, and it falls down the drain. She got lucky, though. Lindsey also drained. They both have to put the ball back into play. Every failure is an opportunity. Hillary only has one left. Looking for maybe a backdoor plunge here. She did get the backdoor there. They're both one shot away. Hillary just missing. Oh, Lazarus out of nowhere! That came all the way down the right out lane, and now she's got it set up for the win. That was gorgeous. Oh, no, that is it. I thought I had to hit it one more time. Wow, we need a replay of that. The ball rocketed at high speed down the right out lane and popped all the way back up above her flippers. She actually called to see if that was legal for her to play it. It's a Lazarus, and it's wonderful. So sometimes in pinball, when you think you're out, ball comes back up and you're back in. That helps Hillary move on to the semifinals. Oh. Oh boy, that was crazy. So close, the parallels between hitting a couple of those shots and joining the ball at the same time. Amazing. Good game, good game, good game. Love you very much, and eat my shorts, Lindsay. If it had to be anybody, I'm glad it was Hillary. Again, I love her. I love you, Hillary. Good luck. All right, congratulations to all the competitors so far. That leaves us with one player matchup left for round one. That's right, Dano Moran versus Colin Joyce. Hi, my name is Colin Joyce. I'm 36 years old. I'm from Chicago, Illinois. I'm just here to have fun. Yeah, I'm a huge arcade rat. I've been playing pinball for forever. Unchecked hubris is usually my main strategy. I kind of feel if I go in with an attitude that I absolutely cannot lose and it's ridiculous to think so, usually works out pretty well for me. One of my things that I do when I'm playing is I'll end up just standing on one leg. I don't know why, but it helps me focus. to centering things. So I'm playing in this tournament and my wife Dana is actually going to be competing against me as well. We are the the Joyce Moran power couple so we are a house divided at least for for one afternoon. If something outrageous should happen at least I know that Dana can come in and defend the honor of our household. So I gotta say I do like Colin's look he's got a lot of style. Absolutely down to the flamingo stance and maybe my favorite Mohawk in the tournament. I'm Dana Moran, I'm 36 years old and I live in Chicago, Illinois. My claim to fame in pinball is kind of a dubious one, being loud and offending children, yelling and swearing at the machine. I sometimes have this problem where I hold my breath and and forget to breathe while I'm playing. So I find that if I talk or sing to myself while I play I naturally have to breathe and then it gets done Just breathe really Pinball was such an important part of bringing me and Colin together Actually on our very first date we ended up at Emporium Wicker Park and our first kiss was over two pinball machines. It was like, boop, over two. Colin and I are double trouble and look out because we're coming for you. Pinball brings our love together. You know, Jack, I thought we were a pinball power couple, but I think Dana and Colin take the cake. Yeah, but we shared our first kiss over a pinball machine too. I just love a strong flipper tussle. Hold on. Wait, hold on. No, I can't. We can't do that. So Dana versus Colin, the power couple, they have to battle each other. And they were trying to game the system here with like, they had two out of eight chance to bring a trophy home, but not this time. Yeah, randomly selected to go up against each other in the first round. That's going to cut those odds of bringing a pinball machine in half. Well, it's funny you say that because here's their reaction to hearing that they were going up against each other in the first round. What? Oh my God. How? How? This is really unfortunate. it. Well, you know, I think I jinxed myself there. I know my husband, man. This guy's a killer. I'm just going to do my best. Yeah. And being both into pinball, I'm sure they settle a lot of discrepancies with pinball. So they probably know how they're going to play against each other. Yeah. That's one of the techniques we invented for conflict resolution in relationships. It works. All right, so this challenge, Start Haunt, we've seen this before. It is three shots up the middle of the house to start the haunt, or one back door, one front door. Or two back doors. Two back doors, one front door. Oh, dos back doors, referring back to the spanish that was happening earlier. Right. Yeah. Two back doors, or one back door, one front door, or three front doors, or there's a lot of ways to get it. Let's get to the challenge. One of my favorite things to do in pinball is riding ramps. So I feel pretty good about this one. Definitely, because it's a back door action. I am ready to rage when you are. Born ready. 3, 2, 1. All right. All right, let's see if we're going to go for any backdoor action here. It looks like Colin does nail the back. They both get the backdoor. This is neck and neck. Ball shooting out at exact frame. Perfect. And Colin just knocks it out just a few seconds before Dana does. Ooh, now that deserves a replay. I think that was perfect. Yeah. I don't think you could have played that any better. That was actually as accurate as you could be in that challenge. Dana wasn't far behind at all. That was 11.15 seconds for Colin and 11.55 seconds for Dana. Super close. Respectable times from both of them. Congratulations, Colin. Have a second. Love you, honey. To the challenge generator! For the deadhead challenge, you want to shoot the deadhead shot two times. That opens up a little scoop where you can shoot the ball in to start the deadhead. I do like this one. I like this one. I'm going to go with me on this one. Get loose, feel good. Okay, let's do it. All ready. So we're 1-0 Colin. Let's see if Dana can pull something out here. Good short plunge. We're looking to trap up on the right flipper. Watching these two play is like watching a mirror match. Yeah, husband and wife team playing perfectly in sync, draining in sync, doing everything in sync. This is great, entertaining heads up competition. Absolutely. This goes to show that the people you play with really influence how you play yourself. Alright, we had a nice little backhand there from Colin. Colin does shoot across field. She is ready to shoot. It is open. An unfortunate straight down the middle. So he spun around. That may cost him time there. He could have blown off the bonus. He's got the ball, plunged the play. Dana has on the left flipper and she only has one shot left. Oh, Collin just misses. Oh, again. Are you all right there? Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Can we get it in? We're just looking for some sort of control. Both of them just need to put it inside of the dead head and Collin does manage to put it in there. Congratulations, Collin. I've defeated my wife. I don't feel good for me here. I don't feel good. If I was going to lose to anyone, losing to him probably I'm okay with, as long as he then went on and actually avenged our household through the rest of it. Otherwise, no. Otherwise, I'm not pleased here. Colin and Dana, husband and wife, were perfectly in sync sometimes there, but Colin was able to squeak it out of both challenges, and he is moving on to the semifinals. Before we move on to the semifinals, we'd like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, NECA Toys. that's awesome and sticking with the horror theme elvira's house of horrors all this awesome awesome horror stuff from neca uh again a reason why i am upset that i don't get to play in oh i'm sorry jack maybe one day but until then let's go ahead and congratulate these competitors for making it to the semi-finals hillary higgins rebecca hinsdale colin joyce and andy bagwell you're all this much closer to winning a brand new stern pinball machine how do you feel oh my goodness Oh, if I only make it here, I am proud and excited. This is new territory. I'm all about it. It's the whammies, the whammies, the whammies. Let's do this. So now we are starting the semifinals. Four players are left in this competition. Two will move on from the semifinals to the finals, where they will play for the chance to win a brand new Elvira Stern pinball machine. Which ghastly ghouls get to fondle those silver balls next? Our next ghouls are... Oh my, our girly ghouls. Rebecca versus Hillary. Let's go. Ooh, hey girl. Oh, well, I think my odds just took a hit. I'll say that. Oh, she's got that good hair though. But I am very excited to go up against my girl here. I'm confident that I can put up a good fight against Hillary. I think it'll be tough, but I'm gonna do it. This is gonna be a fantastic battle. Rebecca, a returning player who's just been kicking butt left and right, and Hillary, one of the newcomers here, who's actually shown that she can kick some butt herself. This should be a really exciting matchup. Let's go to the challenge generator and see what their first challenge is going to be. going to be. Oh, again? Alright. Oh, come on! I love unhappy hour! Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish! Right? Yeah! So, shoot ramps. Any of the five ramps, left, right, alternating, can be the fastest way to get this challenge done. All right, unhappy hour, okay, okay. I like unhappy hour. You know, you gotta backhand that stiff. I nailed it once. We'll see if we can keep the magic alive. I am ready to start my nightmare. I am ready. Three, two, one. And here's the plunge. Looks like Hillary goes for the short plunge there. Rebecca loses a little bit of time in the pop-up was there. We're just trying to shoot either ramp left and right five times to start unhappy hour. Strong start, Higgins. Nice little move from Rebecca there, and that gets her set up on the right filter, but she hits the lock shot again. That does eat up a little bit of time. That was a great little pass there on Rebecca's side. Backhands the right ramp, which is not an easy task. No, it was good for her to change her strategy there, go for something that was going to work if her other strategy wasn't working. Another backhand there gets her two ramps done. Hillary is still looking for her first ramp. Rebecca was comboing there. She needs two more shots. Hillary does get her first shot on the left ramp, goes for the right, doesn't quite make it. We're looking for a little bit of control. Again, that left ramp is wide open, but it is a lot more comfortable to shoot from the left flipper. So Hillary has another shot here. She has three left. Rebecca's looking for control. Two left for Hillary. Oh, the combos. Oh, both at one. And Rebecca pulls it out with that last shot there. Oh, I can even drink in pinball faster than you can. No! Wait! Oh, devil, she got me! Oh, we were so close! Oh, that was so close. She was so close. That's a good one. Actually, I'm pretty proud. I thought, like, hitting those back-to-back ones, I'm glad I didn't end it on, like, I had four to go, and she murdered me out the gate. Alright, what's the next one? So Rebecca got off to an early lead, but Hillary almost caught up there really quickly. She started making a bunch of shots in a row, but she couldn't execute that very last shot. Yeah, that's rough. There's something about comboing shots where you get in that zone, but then you... Personally, I lose a little confidence after the third one. I just start to overcompensate, and unfortunately, she missed that very last shot, allowing Rebecca to just seal the deal. Also, sometimes when you know you just have one shot left, it makes it the hardest shot to make. You get the pin shakes. But one nothing for Rebecca. Let's go to the challenge generator and see what the next challenge will be. This one I'm feeling very confident in. I think I kind of remember having some trouble here. I'm ready. Am I ready? Okay. Okay, this is going to be good. Oh, did I put the hair up? Oh, that means business. Okay. I love them. I love haunts. I am ready. I am ready. I'm ready. All right, looks like they're ready. Our challenge is start haunt. The quickest way we discovered is shooting the back door twice to get this over. Rebecca does unfortunately miss that shot. We're just trying to... Oh, they are draining on purpose? Yeah, taking those drains gives you another quick opportunity to shoot the skill shot. you know, might be a good opportunity, but Rebecca unfortunately goes back to the pop-up burst, so... She's draining again. She's going for it one more time. It does save you a lot of shots. All right, Hillary did make a shot up the front of the house there. So Hillary actually did take the drain there on purpose. Rebecca's now going the traditional way right up the middle. All right, Hillary ended up in the pop-up burst. This is not good for a timed tournament. This is excruciating! And unfortunately what happened there was Rebecca shot the shot too soon. The ramp was still up. She had to wait all that time for the ramp to come back down. That's rough. All right, another front door shot for Hillary there. She's one shot away. Rebecca does nail the shot as well. She is also one shot from completion. Who's going to get it? Oh, a little too bit of an early shot there from Hillary. And Hillary does take the W. Oh, no. Dang it. Oh, I got it. I was watching her. Oh, my God. All right, so we're 1-1. Nice job, Hillary. Holy cannolis. That one was intense. So on the replay here, we want to show something. Rebecca actually shoots the shot too soon, and it does not give her credit for the house shots. Yeah, she has to actually wait for the motor to go all the way down again, all the way back up, and then wait until it's all the way back down before you can shoot it back up into the house. Otherwise, there's no way for the ball to get there. That's right. So the timing of that shot was the difference between Rebecca moving to the finals and us going to another match. That's right. Well, the next round decides who does go to the finals, so let's go to the Challenge Generator. Oh, God. These deadheads. Ooh, start a deadhead. I think I kind of remember having some trouble here. All right, pinheads, the next challenge is start deadhead. You know it, I know it. Two shots to the deadhead, put it in the scoop, boom, bing, done. Couldn't have said it any better myself, Jack. Let's see it. She might have me here, but I'm open to the possibility of surprising myself. This is exactly where I was last time. So I gotta just... I gotta channel all that energy. I am ready. I am ready. Three, two, one. And here's the plunge. And remember, the easiest way to approach this is to trap up on the right flipper, as they both tried to do, and backhand the deadhead crypt. Hillary had a really quick drain there, and she is talking instead of playing. Get back in the game, Hillary. This is to go to the finals. All right, we got a trap up on the right and Rebecca already has one hit on the books here. She's looking for one more. There it is. The crypt is open. She just needs to put the ball away. Hillary looking for any opportunity here to get control to shoot the crypt. Rebecca's spending a lot of time in the pop-up bars. That is slowing her down. There it is. She puts it away and she is moving on to the finals. What? I I did it I did it I did it I might have to stop me that's fair she knocked me out but I gave her a run for her money which to do to Rebecca I'm going to take pride in I mean if I don't make it through the finals it's okay because I got to the finals I can't ask for any more than that. Congratulations, Rebecca, for making it to the finals. That leaves us with Andy. Congratulations, Rebecca, for making it to the finals. And now let's check out what Andy and Colin have to say to each other hearing that they going to be battling in the semifinals Oh hey look at that Colin with the sweet Mohawk Okay well you know first time for everything Let see He is a ton of fun to play I played with him at Logan quite a bit so he's a great player too. All right so Colin versus Andy. Mohawk versus Fauxhawk. What's gonna happen? Well we've seen Andy in this competition before. He's a very determined, very fierce competitor but but Colin has been playing his challenges near perfectly. I think his Haunt challenge we saw last time was some of the fastest play we've ever seen in this competition. Absolutely. Well, let's get right into it by summoning the Challenge Generator. Starting haunt is three shots up the middle, but watch out. Those skill shots can also help you progress towards your haunt. That could be the way to the feet. Two back doors, you're done. Two back doors. Use my Chicago accent. I feel really good about this one. My first go-round, I actually did it in one skill plunge, but did pretty well this time too, so we'll see what Colin does. This is start haunt. I don't see how I can go wrong. Let's go. He's rocking the sunglasses on stream. That is a confidence move. All right, we're going for the skill shots there. Andy over-plunges, but Colin, again, showing how accurate he is with those super skill shots. Andy tilts out. I don't think that saved him any time. The ball isn't in the pop bumpers. He's going for the second. Whoa. You didn't even get a chance to talk about this round. Colin just knocked that out of the park. Woo! Look at that. And celebrated by throwing stuff around my studio. Well, now I'm nervous. Gotta take two in a row now. Look at that. That may be a first. Well done, Colin. So Colin continues the streak of playing absolute perfect challenges, setting world records here in the studio. It's happening right here. This is incredible. So that is 1-0. Colin only needs one more win to move on to the finals over Andy. Let's go to the Challenge Generator and see what's next. Quick recap on Junk in the Trunk. 36, 24, 36 targets on the left. Shoot up the left ramp. Do that twice. You're in Junk in the Trunk multiball. Junk in the Trunk. Okay. I did pretty much the same on this one. I felt pretty good about it. But with what Colin just did last round, I'm pretty nervous right now. Let's go. Yep. Three, two, one. All right. Colin's future's so bright, he's wearing shades inside while he's competing, looking for control on the right. Colin does manage to get it on the right flipper. Does not knock any targets out, but Andy does have one of them done. Colin gets two for one on the left there. Andy is having a little bit of trouble shooting the lower targets. Colin has knocked out those tricky lower targets, but Andy completes his first bang. All right. Andy just needs the left ramp for his first lock for Junk in the Trunk. Colin looking to catch back up. He did take a little stretch break there, it looked like. Yeah, he just needs that top target. Andy has locked his first ball for Junk in the Trunk, so he's going back to the targets. Beautiful shot there from Andy. He's just looking for one more big shot to the bottom two or trying to pick them off individually. Colin just can't seem to get that last target. And this means Andy only has one shot to the ramp left. Will he get it here? He does. Backhand. All right, all right, all right, all right. Just did not want it enough, I guess. So Andy actually is really focused here, nails his targets, shoots the ramp. He handled this challenge pretty well. This is tough with a lot of side-to-side motion. Colin was having trouble hitting those shots he needed. Yeah, the targets are actually grouped really tight together, and they're a little lower than you would expect, and they are very, very troublesome to hit on the bottom angle, but he was actually missing the top one, which was a little confusing for me. So that means it is all tied up one-to-one. We have to go to the challenge generator to see who's moving on to the next round. Garage multiball involves shooting the drop target and then behind the target into the garage three times. First person to start Wild Women Multiball will be moving on to the finals. This is tough. Six shots in a row is difficult to collect on this. The winner buys the next round, yeah? Ready? Three, two, one. All right, we're looking for some short plunges here. Yep, Andy does go for the short plunge to try to trap up on the right. It's a little squirrely. They're just, oh, Colin gets his first drop target and goes for the backhand, but on the fly it's not really that easy. Andy also has it open and nails his first lock shot. So they both have one lock each. It's very close right now. Colin had a little bit of a lead there. All right, they're looking for that drop again. Looks like Andy did knock it down and gets the backhand. Colin putting on the glasses there. Maybe this will help him, but he is losing some time here. Got to put the ball back into play. Andy only has two shots left. One shot left now. On this right flipper, he shoots it a little early. Andy's looking for anything. Control, get up there. That shot is so easy from the right flipper. He does a little ski pass. Doesn't quite make it. We've got some warnings coming in from Colin's side. The backhand here. That works for Andy, and he is moving on to the finals. Yes! Boom! Good game, Colin. Oh, man. You got me sweating, man. Well played. Well, you know, the more things change, the more things stay the same. So Colin, showboating a little bit there cost him a little bit of time. Yeah, I think those spins he does every time he drains and accessorizing and everything. It's the flamingo stance you're supposed to spin. It keeps your centrifugal force thing. There's a lot of style to it, but not enough speed. Andy is the one moving on to the finals to play Rebecca. That is going to be a great match. I can't wait to see it. Two returning champions ready to duke it out. Wait, wait, wait, wait. You almost forgot my favorite part of the show. The super secret challenge. Yeah, you heard her. Schecter Guitars is back. And whoever wins this next challenge takes home this beautiful Apocalypse Red Rain electric guitar. Huge shout out to Schecter. I want this, but I also don't know how to play guitar. Well, let's hope whoever wins does know how to play guitar, because this is an awesome prize. Thank you so much, Schecter Guitars, for being back with us. Look at those knobs. Look at those knobs. My favorite part, the guitar challenge. Talk about a lot of balls flying around all for a pretty axe. Well, it's Super Secret Challenge time, and whoever wins this is taking home the Schecter guitar, and this one's pretty straightforward. We just got to spell Goyle, G-O-Y-L, with the stand-ups that are on the playfield. Yep, should be a pretty quick challenge for this one. Eight players at once. It's gonna be chaos. Like Elvira said, lots of balls flying around in this one. Red. Ooh, this was a tricky one. The gargoyles were a little bit hard to hit. I definitely spent a lot of time trying to get that L to light up, and I had no joy on it. I hate those darn goyles. Hit them as many times as you can until you get a spell. That's what I was going for. Still pretty terrible, not gonna lie to you. I feel like I might get a guitar. So for ease of use, folks, we're just looking for letters. We're getting some control here. We get an L coming in from Zachary immediately. Andy and Chris get some I's. IL for Zachary now. G-O-I for Chris. He is in the lead right now. Rebecca scores herself an I there. We got an O coming in from Dana. Lots of O's popping up around the play field. A couple of G's. Only one L so far from Zach. Could that be the difference maker in this challenge? Yeah, no one else has an L, and Chris really needs that L for that W. Normally you don't want to go for the L, but right now he really wants to take that L. Andy hits the G, one letter left, and wow, right into the L. That is victory for Andy Bagwell. He is taking home the guitar. Boom! Andy! Andy with the goyle! Andy's just winning everything today You don't say I did not remember that correctly Yep, not surprised there Congrats Andy Andy's a G Andy, I look forward to the secret tall person pinball competition That is happening at a secret time and location Well that was complete madness And congratulations to Andy Bagwell for winning that guitar That they just took away from me This is the moment you've been waiting for, darling. The Flippin' Finals! It looks like now we are going to be moving on to the finals. So in the finals, we play a two-minute drill. The person who scores the most points in two minutes is going to be winning a brand new Elvira House of Horrors pinball machine. That's great. And what's cool about the two-minute drill is all the strategies you've seen previously are kind of out the door because now you're just trying to maximize your points per flip, if that is a thing that exists, points per flip. So strategy-wise, Jack, what do you think we're going to see in a two-minute drill? I'm guessing immediate haunt start from skill shots and probably trying to get a multiball as quick as possible. Yeah, multiball does take a lot of shots with these harder settings. Could eat a lot of time. I think haunt would be the way to go. Those shots are worth the most points right away in the beginning of the game. Absolutely. Well, I think it's time to get right into it and see what they do. All right, Rebecca, congratulations on the final. Okay, well, it's fine. It's fine. He's just, you know, got to the finals last time. I shouldn't be surprised. He's an amazing player. This is already over. I feel it. Confidence helps. Andy, I'm really sorry that you made it to the finals because you're going to lose again. And I'm going to win. I'm going to feel really bad when that happens, but not bad enough that I would give you the pinball machine I'm about to win. But you can come over anytime and play, okay? Best of luck to you. I'm taking you down, though. Sorry. Fingers crossed. I am ready to play. I am ready. Three, two, one. All right. This is the final battle, folks. Here we go. Two-minute drill. Let's see where they go. We have Rebecca with the backdoor skill shot, and Andy as well. So we have a million points neck and neck on the board. So it looks like Andy went for a deadhead there, and Rebecca starts her haunt right away. So she's got all these blinking shots lit up on the play field. They're going to be worth at least a million points each. That could be good early points in this two-minute drill. Totally, and Andy going for the multiball approach that I was referencing earlier. He is one lock in with another lock ready to go and does finally start his first haunt. So it looks like Andy didn't want to start that haunt for some reason, but it is useful to have those points on the board. He's still going for his multiball. Maybe he's worried about the timer. True. Looks like Rebecca's also going for a multiball. She did manage to get a junk in the trunk lock as well. That is pretty useful. She could go for those targets, but that could be difficult. Andy starts his multiball now, so he has three balls in play, and those red jackpot inserts are lit up all over the play field. This can be huge. So his haunt hasn't necessarily officially started. He still has to shoot through the house to light all the rest of the shots for his haunt. Yeah, so Rebecca is now pulling ahead with these mode shots. Andy is getting a couple jackpots here, but not enough to put him in the lead yet. So you'll see the jackpot red circles across the playfield as well. You have one on the left ramp for Andy and one on the far right orbit as well for Andy. And Rebecca just getting points out of nowhere right now. Yeah, Andy drains those balls, so he's out of multiball now. He gets a junk in the trunk lock, but Rebecca is still in the lead by 4 million points. Oh, Andy's making it close here. All right, we're down to the 20-second mark here. Who is going to pull through? Rebecca keeping that lead of a cool 5 million. Almost got a free little junk in the trunk lock there. Andy just doesn't have the time right now. He's plunging balls into play. Rebecca is pulling ahead here with 10 seconds to go. Can Andy catch up? And would you look at those scores. Wow, hands off the Clippers, and those are two amazing scores. But Rebecca, champion, winning the brand new pinball machine with 27 million points. That's a huge score in the two-minute drill. That is amazing. Congratulations, Rebecca, for taking home a brand new Stern Elvira pinball machine. I'm sure she's excited. Let's check out what she had to say. Wait! Oh, my God. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Did I just win a demo machine? Don't cry off your makeup. Extremely well done, Rebecca. Really, really, really good job. That was really impressive. Congrats. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe it. I'm so sorry, Andy. I talked some major, you know. I really did want to win. I'm sorry that you didn't win. When I went into that finals, I was just like, just have fun. And do what you got to do. Start a haunt. Don't overthink it. I slayed. Success! Now your house will suck less with my pinball machine in it. Congratulations. What a fantastic battle we had here today. especially coming down to the two-minute drill. You really started off neck and neck there, but they each took their strategies in a different direction, and Rebecca just managed to pull ahead there. Yeah, congratulations to her. That is extremely well played all through the tournament and absolutely crushing the two-minute drill, making mode shots like crazy, getting a huge score. The whole tournament, though, I have to say, Jack, was great. We had great competition, great players, a lot of fun here with Elvira. It's been amazing. Absolutely. and again congratulations Rebecca for winning that brand new machine and a big shout out to all of our sponsors NECA and Schecter Guitars for offering such dope freaking prizes for everybody to take home so from Jack, myself, Emoto and Elvira we say so long thank you so much for tuning in hope you had a lot of fun have a good one pinheads All right. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: bb605502-20f0-4b08-92c1-92640c72af9b*