# Daniele Acciari wins 5th Major Championship!

**Source:** IFPA  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-03-03  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.ifpapinball.com/daniele-acciari-wins-5th-major-championship/

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## Analysis

Daniele Acciari won THE OPEN 2026, his 5th Major Championship in competitive pinball history. He joins an elite group of only 4 players ever to achieve this milestone (Keith Elwin, Jorian Engelbrektsson, Bowen Kerins). The tournament featured four finalists competing for the title, with Arvid Flygare finishing 2nd, Zach McCarthy 3rd, and Dante Oliva 4th.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Daniele Acciari won his 5th Major Championship at THE OPEN 2026 — _IFPA official announcement, direct statement in article_
- [HIGH] Only 4 players in competitive pinball history have won 5+ Major Championships: Keith Elwin, Jorian Engelbrektsson, Bowen Kerins, and Daniele Acciari — _IFPA official source, explicit claim_
- [HIGH] 36 total Major Champions exist in competitive pinball history — _IFPA official statement_
- [HIGH] Daniele Acciari now has 13 top-4 finishes in Major Championships, second all-time behind Keith Elwin with 19 — _IFPA official data_
- [HIGH] Acciari qualified as the #6 seed and won 2 out of 3 games in the final round — _IFPA tournament report_

### Notable Quotes

> "Daniele Acciari won 2 out of the 3 games in the final round to capture his 5th Major Championship, becoming only the 4th player in competitive pinball history to do so"
> — **IFPA**
> _Confirms Acciari's historic achievement and elite status_

> "Like professional golf or tennis, the opportunity to join this elite club only happens a handful of times every year."
> — **IFPA**
> _Contextualizes the rarity and prestige of Major Championship wins_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Daniele Acciari | person | Competitive pinball player, 5-time Major Champion, 2nd all-time in Major Championship top-4 finishes |
| Keith Elwin | person | Stern Pinball designer and legendary competitive player, holds record with 19 Major Championship top-4 finishes, one of only 4 players with 5+ Major Championships |
| Bowen Kerins | person | Legendary competitive player and rules designer, one of only 4 players with 5+ Major Championships |
| Jorian Engelbrektsson | person | Competitive pinball player, one of only 4 players with 5+ Major Championships |
| Arvid Flygare | person | Competitive pinball player, 2nd place finisher at THE OPEN 2026, 7 Major Championship top-4 finishes |
| Zach McCarthy | person | Competitive pinball player, defending Major Champion, 3rd place at THE OPEN 2026, 8 Major Championship top-4 finishes |
| Dante Oliva | person | Competitive pinball player, 4th place at THE OPEN 2026, first-time Major Championship finalist |
| THE OPEN 2026 | event | Major Championship pinball tournament where Daniele Acciari won his 5th title |
| IFPA | organization | International Federation of Pinball Players, sanctioning body for competitive pinball |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Competitive Pinball Championships, Major Championship History and Records, Player Achievement and Rankings, THE OPEN 2026 Tournament Results

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.95) — Celebratory tone announcing a historic achievement by Daniele Acciari. Formal, congratulatory language throughout.

### Signals

- **[competitive_signal]** Daniele Acciari wins THE OPEN 2026 Major Championship, joining elite 4-player club with 5+ Major Championship wins (confidence: high) — IFPA official announcement of tournament results and player achievement milestones
- **[competitive_signal]** Daniele Acciari reaches 13 top-4 finishes at Major Championships, second all-time behind Keith Elwin's 19 (confidence: high) — IFPA official competitive statistics tracking

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## Transcript

In the history of competitive pinball, very few (36 in fact) have had the chance to call themselves a Major Champion. Like professional golf or tennis, the opportunity to join this elite club only happens a handful of times every year. THE OPEN 2026 brought together one finalist looking to add their name to this list (Dante Oliva) and three finalists looking to add to their already established legacies (Arvid Flygare, Daniele Acciari and defending champion Zach McCarthy). After qualifying as the #6 seed, Daniele Acciari won 2 out of the 3 games in the final round to capture his 5th Major Championship, becoming only the 4th player in competitive pinball history to do so (Keith Elwin, Jorian Engelbrektsson and Bowen Kerins are the other three). This victory also served as Daniele’s 13th top 4 finish in Major Championships, putting him at second place all-time, trailing only Keith Elwin who has 19. With his 2nd place finish, Arvid Flygare earned his seventh top 4 finish in Major Championships. 3rd place went to Zach McCarthy who earned his eighth top 4 finish in Major Championships. 4th place went to Dante Oliva who became one of only 112 players in history to earn a top 4 finish at a Major Championship. To view the most current list of Major Championship stats, click HERE.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ff144d80-0e6c-4b16-b53d-d30678f099b9*