Raymond Davidson is an elite competitive pinball player and lead software engineer at Stern Pinball. He is a 2014 IFPA World Champion from Mukilteo, Washington (later Elk Grove Village, Illinois), who has been competing since 1993 and ranks among the top players globally. At Stern (hired May 2020), he has served as lead or primary code designer on major titles including Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, Metallica Remastered, Foo Fighters, Rush, Led Zeppelin, and others, while maintaining an active tournament presence with multiple Stern Pro Circuit wins.
No aliases
Metallica Remastered version 1.0 was released last week with all planned features now in the game
The Lux Eterna and Frantic modes are new additions to Metallica Remastered accessed via combo mechanics
Lyman Sheets wrote the foundational system code used by all modern Stern games
Raymond Davidson wants to become a lead designer on a future Stern game
Code programmer for the Rush pinball machine (mentioned in KB; not explicitly stated in video but implied through review context)
Top tournament player who provided feedback on Pinball Capital machine maintenance
Code programmer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire; noted to have included most desired features in v.83 except final wizard modes
Competitive pinball player, PAPA World Championship 2025 finalist
Elite competitive pinball player and Stern Pinball software engineer; runner-up in 2024-25 SPCF grand finals, lost 6-1 to Zach McCarthy
Credited as participant in Walking Dead Remastered gameplay reveal stream
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No linked glossary terms
Display effects integration on Metallica Remastered was one of the largest technical challenges due to legacy SAM system compatibility
John Borg is easygoing, enthusiastic, and full of ideas but his rule suggestions require developer refinement
Foo Fighters originally had 14-shot modes for all difficulty levels, which was reduced to progressive difficulty (6-5-4 shots) based on feedback before The Pinball Fest
Raymond Davidson's assignment to music-themed pinball games was coincidental rather than intentional
Metallica Remastered version jumped from 0.96 directly to 1.0 because all planned features were implemented
Original Metallica was running version 1.3 when Davidson inherited it for remaster
Lyman Sheets wrote foundational system code that all modern Stern games use
Foo Fighters was originally designed with all modes requiring 14 shots to beat
Raymond Davidson studied computer science at University of Washington with heavy C++ curriculum
John Borg is easygoing and throws rule ideas at designers with enthusiasm
Display effects presentation was the biggest technical challenge on Metallica Remastered
Raymond Davidson wants to transition to lead designer role on a future project
Carlos Laserlo's 6-hour Metallica Remastered stream found edge case bugs in game loop recovery
Bug reports are reviewed by Stern development team at bug.report@sternpinball.com
Obi-Wan mode contains 28 new video clips
Starlight Pit now enables add-a-ball during Minoc multiball
Version 0.92 adds tier-two character modes unlocked after beating primary character missions
Never Tell Me the Odds wizard mode is unlocked by advancing through all Falcon features
Minoc and Hoth multiballs can stack with precise timing during the build phase
Super jackpot performance reduces requirements for the next force mission lighting
Character modes include checkpoint systems that allow players to recover mid-mode
Raymond Davidson won the 2026 Stern Pro Circuit A Division championship at Starfighters Pinball Festival
Raymond Davidson nearly rolled Volley (Gottlieb, 1976) twice during the SPC A Division finals
The Walking Dead at launch had sparse, underdeveloped code that was later dramatically improved through updates
Star Wars: Fall of the Empire is Raymond Davidson's first lead design role at Stern Pinball
Professional players now sometimes bypass Crank It Up mode in the Metallica remaster due to new strategic options
The home pinball market is now more significant than location-based arcade market, reversing the emphasis from 30 years ago
Raymond Davidson started at Stern Pinball in May 2020 during COVID and will have been there six years by May 2026
Metallica had little room for improvement beyond adding wizard modes because Lyman Sheets' original code was already excellent
Andrew Wilkening was the co-designer and primary wingman on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire project
Raymond Davidson won the 2026 Stern Pro Circuit opener at Starfighters Pinball Festival
Raymond Davidson won the Starfighters SPF tournament, first 2026 Stern Pro Circuit event
Raymond Davidson designed/improved the code for The Walking Dead remaster
The Walking Dead Remastered includes two new mini wizard modes not in the original game
The tunnel shot design has been improved and is easier to hit than the original version
Mark Guidorelli as lead software is actively seeking feedback from competitive players Elwin and Davidson for code refinement
Raymond Davidson, a top-10 ranked pinball player and Stern software coder, messaged the host on Facebook with a technical solution for X-Men rebooting issues.
Code update 0.86 includes new wizard modes, extra side modes, extra multiball, and audio-video effects
Character combos now award 2x jackpots if flashing and 3x if solid in multiball progression
Add-a-ball difficulty increases with each usage within a single multiball session
Raymond Davidson coded Star Wars: Fall of the Empire and previously handled extended code for Metallica
Raymond Davidson won the IFPA Circuit Championship finals
Raymond Davidson's code for Star Wars is relatively compelling and creates a game that plays differently from Star Wars 2017
Vader modes feature James Earl Jones iconic voice lines from the films
Over 70 achievements have been implemented in the current code version
Frozen in Carbonite mode has tight timing and is vulnerable to timeout
Ion Cannon Vader modes are particularly valuable when stacked with high-value shots
Raymond Davidson is working on his first non-music pinball code assignment with Fall of the Empire
Raymond Davidson made significant code changes to Star Wars Fall of the Empire in the two weeks prior to this event
Raymond Davidson (code programmer) noted that most desired features were included at v.83 except for final wizard modes
Raymond Davidson's rules code will determine whether this game is forgettable or genuinely enjoyable
Raymond Davidson is the lead code designer on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
Raymond Davidson has primarily worked on music-themed pinball code (Rush, Led Zeppelin, Metallica) before being elevated to lead on Star Wars
Raymond Davidson recently placed 4th at Papa tournament
Code build .83 had most features complete except final wizard modes
Raymond Davidson did an amazing job on the rules design for Led Zeppelin
Raymond Davidson is doing code for Star Wars
Raymond Davidson's first game at Stern was Avengers: Infinity Quest
Black Order mode intentionally violates the design rule of never taking away earned progress
Raymond Davidson programmed a grace period for Black Order final blow allowing single-ball victory lap starts
Avengers: Infinity Quest features 32 different trophy objectives with 24 required for trophy mania
Eye of Agamotto helper was added to speed up space gem progression in response to balancing feedback
Raymond Davidson won both the main event and classics title at Starfighters Pinball Festival, earning 393 whoppers in one weekend
Raymond Davidson won the pin golf format finals and has won two consecutive Stern Pro Circuit events (Pinmasters and Starfighters)
Raymond Davidson is ranked fifth in WPPR and first in Stern Pro Circuit standings by 60 points
Raymond Davidson won Pinmasters tournament
Raymond Davidson led rules and code development
Raymond Davidson won Papa 21 in September 2024, his third pinball major victory
Raymond Davidson achieved eight top-four finishes in pinball majors
Raymond Davidson's previous major wins were in Copenhagen and Toronto in 2016, seven years before 2024
Pinberg is the hardest major to win due to four-game finals with all eras and cutthroat qualifying margins
Raymond Davidson added two new mini modes and will add Blackened wizard mode
Converting Metallica code from SAM to Spike 2 system was 'like converting Spanish to English'
Metallica band saw the Rush pinball game and wanted their game updated, prompting the Remastered release
Raymond Davidson has been at Stern for roughly five years
Raymond has worked on Avengers, Iron Maiden, Jurassic Park (30th update), Metallica, John Wick, Venom, Foo Fighters, Rush, Led Zeppelin, and other titles
The original Metallica required players to rush to multiball for scoring, leaving gaps in single-ball play engagement
Converting SAM-era code to Spike 2 requires manual human review and testing rather than automated conversion
Blackened mode will be a variable 2-5 ball multiball reward for strong performance in all four standard multiballs
Raymond found and fixed multiple bugs in the original Metallica code during conversion
Working as lead designer is harder than working as a collaborative team member on code-heavy games
Raymond Davidson is the new lead software designer for Metallica Remastered and this is his first time leading software design
Over 1,000 new callouts were recorded for the game with the band
The game integrates with Stern Insider Connected platform to store and track player progress
Raymond Davidson qualified in his first Classics entry (fifth tournament entry overall).
Raymond Davidson criticized Pinburgh for completely removing in-lane and out-lane posts from machines, turning them into 'luck boxes'
Raymond Davidson won Pinfest tournament last year; he coded Avengers
Raymond Davidson scored $90 million on Funhouse at District 82 and maxed out the jackpot on a live machine
INDISC is the biggest event of the year in terms of opportunity for WPPR accumulation
Multiple entries cannot be purchased for INDISC High Stakes after the initial $500 buy-in
Identifying machine-specific defects during practice (like the Sopranos drop target issue) is legitimate strategic preparation
Launch parties were significantly simpler in the late 1990s, consisting of a single game with top 4 finalists
Raymond Davidson is the primary code designer for Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Foo Fighters at Stern Pinball
Rush received multiple post-launch code updates specifically to improve rule clarity and player communication
Led Zeppelin multiball can be triggered by shooting the left ramp three times without hitting target shots
Stern's smaller LCD screens require different text management strategy than Jersey Jack's larger screens
Raymond Davidson's first full game as lead code designer was Led Zeppelin
Simpsons Pinball Party is Raymond Davidson's favorite DMD-era game, despite having sold it multiple times
Raymond Davidson's first overseas tournament was Texas Pinball Festival in 2016, which shocked him with the competitive seriousness
Raymond Davidson won the UK Open
Raymond Davidson won the UK Open Stern Pro Circuit
Raymond Davidson was number one in world rankings for 2-3 years
Raymond Davidson has been playing in tournaments for 15 or more years
Raymond Davidson cracked under pressure during Game 15, missing critical shots after strong start
Raymond Davidson won the pre-Death Ball tournament defeating Zach in the finals
The WPPR 6.0 system will rank only the top 250 players after efficiency adjustments
Raymond qualified second in The Beast open division
Raymond won The Beast classics finals tournament
The Beast qualifying format requires submitting best 6-7 games from a pool of 15+ games available
Theatre of Magic at The Beast had rubbers removed and excessive tilt sensitivity making it too difficult to play
Raymond Davidson is working on Venom code
Raymond Davidson was a software developer on Rush pinball
Raymond Davidson won the North American Pinball Championships and selected Foo Fighters Pro as his prize.
The Van shot mechanic in Foo Fighters was inspired by the MAP shot structure from Jurassic Park.
Raymond Davidson had never listened to Foo Fighters before working on the game, with 'Learn to Fly' being the only song he knew.
On Rush, Raymond Davidson implemented aggressive multiplier stacking that resulted in scores reaching hundreds of billions, which was later balanced in an update.
Foo Fighters has received strong positive community reception with no significant negative feedback reported.
The biggest surprise transitioning from elite player to code designer was realizing how many implications and interactions each rule has beyond the initial idea.
Foo Fighters Premium tier offers meaningfully different gameplay than Pro (upper playfield integration, shot-spotting strategy), but neither version feels incomplete.
Raymond Davidson won the 2023 North American Pinball Championship
Lumberjack Johnny's games were set significantly harder than District 82's baseline settings
Iron Maiden strategy should prioritize looping orbits for 200-400K points while monger is available rather than pursuing direct multiball
Robo War has unpredictable physics and difficult skill shot that leads to frequent low-score outcomes
The game is currently at code version 0.8 with daily updates from the programming team
The game is designed to be fun for both casual players and competitive tournament players
I had a buy. And luckily I was, I actually volunteered to do the streaming at the last minute.
The Illinois State Championship is a super state with a 24-player cutoff for finals.
My goal for 2023 is to just have more fun with pinball and less focus on IFPA rating optimization.
Raymond Davidson finished last on game one and needs to make competitive moves to improve standings
Strength of schedule tiebreaker considers the average finish position of players' opponents to determine tournament ranking when points are tied
Raymond Davidson won Freeplay Florida tournament
Raymond Davidson's Baby's First tutorial format has been unexpectedly successful and created demand for more short-form educational content
The IFPA provides a 20% boost to WPPR (Whopper) values for tournaments that follow certified formats
The 2022 Flipout main and Classics tournaments changed to best-of-three to best-of-five for top brackets to achieve IFPA certification
Fast Draw's middle drop target is worth 5,000 points and serves as the game's wizard mode
Space Shuttle features an open-at-start right-side gate that functions as an outlane ball save
Raymond Davidson engaged with community feedback on Rush code complexity via TPN Discord and asked for specific input on confusing mechanics
Headlong Flight now starts at 5 PM instead of 3 PM
Subdivisions multiball base scoring was increased to prevent scenarios where multiballs were worth only ~1 million
Multiball jackpot scaling is now tied to time traveling progression rather than automatically doubling
The weapon button now works for Vapor Trails multiball
District 82 is called a WPPR points farm, but this is just a natural outcome of having many events, many people, and many points available
The top 100 IFPA rankings have become harder to enter because the IFPA player count has roughly doubled every year or two, not because of WPPR farms specifically
IFPA's WPPR algorithm is self-balancing because you get more points when top-ranked players compete than when only local players compete
Only the top 64 players' quality ratings count toward WPPR points; players beyond 64th place don't add to the quality calculation
A player's WPPR rating is a hidden stat that tracks average finish relative to peers, and it rewards consistency while punishing losses to lower-ranked players
Raymond Davidson had the best ball he's ever had on Funhouse, scoring approximately 70-80 million on a single ball with extensive multiball play
On Terminator 3, players can achieve higher scores by going for assault mode and wizard mode instead of prioritizing multiball, by shooting left orbits to complete inlanes
You should always shoot the spinner on Robo War when it's lit because it provides extremely high points relative to other shots
Raymond Davidson is part of the Rush pinball software design team
Raymond Davidson won ClePin Classics tournament with Meteor as final game after practicing eight consecutive voids beforehand
Raymond Davidson is the number one pinball player in the world
Raymond Davidson is the world number one pinball player
Raymond Davidson won the Texas Pinball Festival tournament
Raymond's grandparents owned an Alvin Gottlieb Pioneer (two-player Spirit of '76)
Raymond beat his father's high score on Pioneer at age 9 or 10
Raymond's family ordered a Guns N' Roses machine that arrived with shattered playfield glass
Raymond's father purchased the actual Guns N' Roses machine from the Red Robin operator
Raymond had his first tournament experience at Northwest Pinball Show at age 16 and qualified for finals
Raymond finished second to Keith Elwin in a tiebreaker at Northwest Pinball Show at age 18, winning multiple thousands in cash prize
Drum bonus can reach 4X-6X multiplier with drumstick and record combinations
Record progression carries across all three balls and is not lost upon draining
Time machine shot is noticeably easier to hit on Premium/LE than Pro due to vertical rubber stoppers vs round posts
Raymond Davidson is the number one ranked player in the world and a two-time IFPA World Champion
Raymond Davidson has been working with Ryan Wanger on Comet Pinball and Lions Classics restoration
Raymond Davidson provided a comprehensive Rush Pinball rules and code tutorial on the Flip N Out stream
Raymond Davidson is the number one ranked pinball player in the world
Big Money mode requires three cycles (3 shots, 4 shots, 5 shots at center) with no time limit
Pop bumpers progress through color levels (white/yellow/green/red) and drumstick can multiply pop bumper value to 10 minutes
Albums correspond to specific songs and allow shot-spotting when collected (e.g., Hemispheres album enables spot-all-shots in Livia Strongiato)
The rush targets (four of them) alternate between lighting Bastille Day mode and ball saves when completed
Ball saves in Rush are controllable via flipper cradle positioning (outlane saves adjustable)
Completing a mode locks a wildcard record that matches whichever mode color is chosen next, effectively doubling that shot
Raymond Davidson is the world number one ranked competitive pinball player.
Simpler rule designs often result in more fun gameplay than overly complicated mechanics.
Raymond Davidson is ranked number two in the world
Raymond Davidson won the overall District 82 standings and is the number 1 player in the world
Raymond Davidson was hired to help complete Avengers rules due to schedule pressure
Raymond Davidson won the Friday night progressive knockout tournament with 7 strikes remaining
There are 20+ players without IFPA numbers currently playing in District 82 tournaments
The Gamma Ray challenge in Pin Clash 2 (Avengers) has a 15-second timer that is difficult to complete
On Getaway, no player in the Pin Skins event succeeded in getting the super jackpot despite it not being particularly difficult
Colin McAlpine learned during Pin Skins that Getaway's second multiball (redline) provides no ball save even when redlined
Raymond achieved his best-ever game on Tommy the Pinball Wizard during the Open tournament, around $700M, despite not getting a super jackpot
Raymond did not get a single fourth-place finish in either the Classics or Open tournaments at Great Lakes
On Cyclone, the winning strategy involves completing top lanes for double scoring and hitting Ferris wheel shots when lit
Demolition Man's claw awards are worth 10 million points per claw award before bonus multiplier
Raymond's early multiball strategy on Demolition Man is preferable to saving the freeze multiball because it ensures a three-ball multiball and preserves bonus multiplier opportunities
The Great Lakes Classics tournament paid top 8 finishers
Total Nuclear Annihilation's triple jackpots when multiplied by number of locked balls can reach approximately 120k
Getting thirds instead of fourths in tournament play accumulates significantly over time and can result in better overall placement
Raymond Davidson finished in second place at Winter 2x tournament
Raymond Davidson scored 7 billion points on Avengers Infinity Quest using a time gem/reality gem combo stack exploit
Raymond Davidson is currently ranked #1 on the IFPA
Raymond Davidson won the IFPA World Championship two years in a row
Raymond Davidson's first pinball experience was playing a 1976 Gottlieb Pioneer (Spirit of '76 two-player) at his grandmother's house in Spokane, Washington
Raymond Davidson's first IFPA tournament was the Northwest Pinball Championships in 2008, where he qualified top 16
Raymond Davidson continues to stream competitive pinball regularly while working full-time at Stern
Only Doctor Who, Dracula, and Popeye were the original three Orsler games with Lightning Flipper modification
Black Rose replays at 25 million points
Some players have reported ball rejection issues on the Captain Marvel ramp in Avengers
Raymond Davidson spent approximately $1,000 on tournament entries at PAPA in his first year attempting to qualify
Raymond Davidson is the #1 ranked pinball player in the world by WPPR
The 'Do or Die' podcast was created primarily as a personal tool for Raymond to reflect on tournament performance and improve future play
Raymond believes Avengers is an exceptionally well-designed game that can survive extreme stress-testing
Raymond Davidson is the number one pinball player in the world right now with the highest ranking.
Raymond Davidson is only 27 years old and has been playing since he was very young.
Avengers Infinity Quest has 32 possible trophies, of which 24 are required to unlock Mega Trophy Wizard mode
Raymond recently joined Stern Pinball as a coder
Visual Pinball experience helped Raymond transition into game coding
Jurassic Park v1.02 code update was almost entirely Raymond's work from his first weeks at Stern
Avengers features a 3x3 grid drop target system combining mechanics from Walking Dead and Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Raymond Davidson worked on code development for Avengers: Infinity Quest
Raymond Davidson (number one player in the world) said 'Creasel' sounds like a donut name
Raymond Davidson, the world's number one ranked pinball player, came to playtest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Deadflip
Raymond Davidson recently purchased Star Trek to improve his gameplay
Raymond Davidson is recognized for exceptional skill at quickly adjusting to different pinball machines
Raymond Davidson is the #1 ranked pinball player in the world
Raymond Davidson was hired by Stern and is moving to the Midwest
Raymond Davidson is the world's #1 ranked competitive pinball player
Raymond Davidson was hired by Stern Pinball as a game development software engineer
Raymond Davidson is the number one ranked player in the world according to IFPA
Davidson's original start date was planned for April 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19
Davidson believes games should use layered approach to accommodate both casual and competitive players
Davidson learned pinball rules more slowly than other top players because he prefers discovery-based learning over documentation review
Action buttons should be additive and optional rather than mandatory in pinball game design
Washington state pinball competition is comparable in difficulty to Illinois competition
Davidson won an Aerosmith pinball machine at the inaugural Heads Up Championship in Vegas with only 17 competitors
Jurassic Park has surpassed Simpsons Pinball Party as Davidson's favorite pinball game
Raymond Davidson made it to the finals in the Classics division the previous night and didn't get a bye into the main tournament despite his success
Raymond Davidson prefers playing with three balls in multiball and is comfortable going after difficult shot angles
Raymond Davidson is in the lead of the King of Steel group with 6 points
On Frontier, you have approximately 20% chance to drain after every flip
The left drop target to spinner strategy is the optimal way to play Frontier
On Scared Stiff, you should never play coffin multiball without an extender due to low expected value
Raymond had 136 million on Black Rose during his Maine division group with Travis Meary, Luke Nahorniak, and Elliot Keith
On Indy 500, Raymond scored 1.351 billion vs opponent's 1.313 billion in ball 3 comeback
The Sopranos Stugatz target from left flipper wraps into left outlane 'perfectly every time'
Black Knight Sword of Rage has new code that changes optimal strategy
In card format tournaments, you should pick forgiving games because you don't get a second chance at the same machine.
Focus and treating a game as a 'free roll' can improve scoring performance.
Hitting drop targets twice on Flash allows you to light spinner and 'blow it up' for high scores.
In qualifying format tournaments, leaving 50K uncollected from Big Bang bonuses can cost 10+ ranking positions.
Raymond Davidson finished 2nd in the Classics Tournament after winning the winner bracket
Raymond's tournament record was 47-25 after round 6
El Toro has a reputation for being one of those games where 'oh god, not El Toro you're going to let El Toro decide your fate'
Willy Wonka has a serious low-point problem that hurts new player perception compared to point-inflated games like Attack from Mars
Catacomb is probably Stern Electronics' worst game
The new Aerosmith code allows you to stack multiple 3-ball Toy Box multiballs in a single game
Aerosmith extra ball is worth 15 million points, making it always the highest priority shot when lit
Congo's optimal tournament strategy is to shoot the map ramp three times to light Diamond Hunt Multiball via mystery hole
CSI multiball bonus is worth approximately 3x more on ball 3 than ball 1
Spirit of '76 was owned by Raymond's grandparents and played with his father as a child
Simpsons Pinball Party is Raymond Davidson's favorite pinball game of all time
Iron Maiden is one of the most perfectly designed pinball games where fun aligns with points
Raymond Davidson achieved 400 million points on Iron Maiden Flight of Icarus as personal record
Rule knowledge is more important than raw pinball skill for tournament success
Guardians of the Galaxy is optimally played by starting Quill's Quest with Groot multiball to double shot values
Cactus Canyon motherload value increases exponentially the longer you wait before collecting it
Raymond finished 2nd seed at City Champ qualifying
Raymond defeated Elwin in one Kiss game at an Expo tournament, where Elwin scored ~35 million (unusually low) and Raymond scored 200-300 million
On Junkyard, hitting the crane shot during Mamushka mode simultaneously advances Mamushka switch hits, multiball progress, crane hurry-up, and wrecking ball collision triggers for multiball
On Whirlwind, looping the right ramp builds Skyway Tolls (bonus advancement), scales point values to ~100K, and works toward Pop Bumper awards including quick multiball
North America lost to Europe in the Epstein Cup team match at IFPA 16
On Munsters LE, double-flipping after starting the lower playfield cancels the animation sequence, preserving ball time for Grandpa targets and enabling faster Munster Madness access
The pin golf tournament finals used a five-strikes format where players started with five strikes and could survive by winning or placing in middle positions, with elimination at zero strikes
Mike Corbett from Washington won the pin golf finals tournament
Raymond Davidson finished second in pin golf finals, losing to Mike Corbett by 9,000 points on Star Trek in sudden death
Dave Stewart achieved a perfect score across all five open main qualifying games and earned the first-place bye
The Metallica game in finals had a two-second ball saver that was insufficient for the Sparky animation timeout
Shooting the right ramp-piston combo on Metallica provides significantly better value per flip than Sparky multiball attempts
Many competitive pinball players overlook high-value ramp-piston combo strategies in favor of more difficult shot sequences
Game condition (flipper strength, slingshot responsiveness) critically affects player performance in tournament settings
Tournament machine rule modifications (like bonus reset on Sea Witch or ExtraHard settings on Black Rose) significantly change optimal strategy
Mode stacking (combining modes with multiballs) is an effective strategy on modern pinball machines like Kiss and Guardians
Raymond Davidson is defending World Champion title at 2019 World Championships in Milan, Italy
Raymond finished 6th in Classics division
Raymond scored 12 million on Whirlwind and won that game with 4 points
Playing Decepticons in Transformers is strategically superior to Autobots because the Megatron multiball starts with all jackpots lit, and the super is on Optimus which can be multiplied.
Hitting the right ramp on the specific Iron Man machine at SPL was unusually difficult, requiring more precision than normal and sometimes not completing despite solid shots.
The SPL three-player group scoring adjustment (third place = 2 points) was implemented as an experiment and has remained unchanged because it resolved the fairness issue.
Richie Terry won the SPL Cuatro de Mayo tournament with a final game score of 5.2 billion on Attack from Mars, defeating Raymond Davidson who scored 2.6 billion.
The specific Attack from Mars machine at SPL was a non-remake version, which Raymond preferred because the shots were hittable.
The Northwest Pinball Championships (Sept 6-8) has added a high stakes division this year following Indianapolis's footsteps.
Raymond qualified with a strong seed after scoring 640 million on Iron Maiden, 85 million on Addams Family, and 80 million on Medieval Madness.
Raymond defeated Kaylee in the 420 tournament finals on Wizard of Oz with a score of 270,000 to 110,000 to win the machine as prize.
Raymond Davidson qualified fourth at Pinmasters and achieved it by scoring a hole-in-one on Tron in the final moment
Raymond Davidson is currently ranked #1 in both the Stern Pro Circuit and IFPA World Rankings
Deadpool has improved significantly with code updates and is now preferable to The Munsters
The Munsters requires significant balancing work on super jackpot shot difficulty, multiplier values, and spot mode mechanics
PAPA West is currently on hiatus and The Open serves as its spiritual successor for West Coast competitive pinball
Raymond Davidson is a world-class pinball player with exceptional skill on classic machines
Raymond Davidson won both the IFPA North American Pinball Championship and had back-to-back wins at the IFPA World Pinball Championship in May 2018
Raymond Davidson is currently the #1 ranked pinball player in the world as of October 28, 2018
Top competitive pinball players cannot earn a living from tournament play; most trips break even with occasional big wins once per year
Raymond Davidson was introduced to pinball at age 5 through his grandparents' machine
Davidson's primary motivation for learning pinball rules was achieving replay scores and accumulating millions of points
Playing a pinball machine at home can be advantageous for learning rules but the home machine plays differently than tournament versions and should be treated as a separate game
Guardians of the Galaxy is currently more enjoyable to play than Metallica despite preferring Metallica overall
The Deadpool Megalodon mode exploit (keeping the mode alive to scale shots to $10M) will likely be patched within two weeks
A 30-second practice period before tournament games provides mental confidence but does not significantly improve tournament results
Some late-1980s Stern games like Grand Lizard are controllable enough to compete favorably with 1990s+ machines in tournament finals
Removing the factory SIM card hole protector from Dialed In measurably improves playability and frequency of direct SIM hole shots.
Iron Maiden is the most engaging and fun game in Raymond's current collection because it offers quick playability without grinding setup phases.
Raymond Davidson won IFPA 15, making it back-to-back championships
Raymond Davidson won the IFPA world championship two consecutive years in Europe and Canada
Raymond Davidson won the IFPA World Championship
Raymond Davidson defeated Robert Gagno in the 7pm champion challenge competition at NWPAS 2018
Derek Thompson gave Raymond Davidson $500 to attend Yagpin 2018
Raymond Davidson defeated Tim Sexton decisively in an earlier match
Time Machine Star Warp ramp awards 1-2 million points
Raymond Davidson won the Nationals tournament by defeating Carl in the finals
Black Rose is vastly underappreciated and has significant hidden depth in its rules
Raymond Davidson won the Nationals tournament in Vegas
Raymond Davidson won the inaugural Heads Up Pinball Championship
Raymond Davidson finished second in the main event but expressed unhappiness that the outcome was determined by skill shots rather than overall play
Raymond Davidson won both the Classics and Main divisions at the Northwest Pinball Championships
The Northwest Pinball Championships achieved record attendance with 84-85 players in both divisions
Raymond Davidson won IFPA 14 championship in Denmark
Raymond defeated two-time defending champion Daniele in first match after earning double buy
Raymond is currently ranked 3rd in WPPR and exceeded 1,000 point goal
Raymond finished 19th-20th in Papa A division in April but top 12 in all classics events at same event
Newer pinball games from past 4 years lack comprehensive rule documentation sources that existed for older games
Raymond has achieved Simpsons Pinball Party super wizard mode (Alien Invasion) multiple times
Northwest Championships will use Papa Kings format as throwback with uncertain future continuation
Seattle local tournament finals could compete with Papa finals in terms of player caliber
Shot efficiency is better strategy than safety when pursuing wizard mode goals
Raymond Davidson won the IFPA 14 World Championship
Raymond earned 126 WPPR points from the championship win and is now ranked third in the world
I currently have eight machines, soon to be nine with Ghostbusters on the way
The Seattle Pinball League began in 2009 and featured 40-50 people gathering monthly in handicapped league format
Black Rose is the same physical machine Raymond played at a Red Robin restaurant during childhood
My first pinball tournament was the Northwest Pinball Championships in 2008, and I qualified in my first year
Vulcan is the most complicated EM machine Raymond has ever seen
The Seattle pinball scene produced multiple world-class players including Kaylee, Kevin Burrell, Maka, and Dave Stewart
Raymond Davidson previously scored 40 million on Whirlwind using staging jackpot technique
Professional pinball player; won 2026 Stern Pro Circuit A Division championship at Starfighters Pinball Festival
Senior code developer at Stern Pinball; primary speaker; developed Metallica Remastered 1.0, worked on Rush, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Avengers Infinity Quest
Lead software developer at Stern Pinball; specialist in music-themed games including Metallica Remastered, Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Foo Fighters; hired as a 'wingman' and aspiring to become a lead designer
Stern Pinball designer/developer; explains code update features, design decisions, and new mechanics during the live stream.
Stern Pinball; scheduled to stream new code for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire live from Stern HQ
Winner of Northwest Pinball Championships (both Classics and Main divisions); tournament organizer; skilled player with knowledge of machine setup
Competitive pinball player who participated in Allentown tournament; selected Led Zeppelin for gameplay
Stern Pinball code developer working on Venom with Dwight Sullivan
Top-ranked pinball player with approximately 1,150 Whopper points; example of elite competitive player
Former Dialed In owner; known for excelling at Dialed In at Texas Pinball Festival; could have performed well against Escher on that game
Elite-level pinball player referenced as example of exceptional gameplay quality
Host of Do or Die pinball podcast, competitive pinball player, tournament participant
Won Illinois IFPA State/Provincial Championship; competed in 7-game match against Andy Bagwell that ended at 4 AM
Competitive pinball player; previously won major tournament (Pinburgh); hired to assist with Avengers rules development due to tight schedule
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive pinball player, tournament competitor at Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive tournament player competing at Pinburgh
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive player, tournament winner at 420 event
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive pinball player, tournament participant at District 82 Winter 2x
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive pinball player competing at IFPA 16 in Italy
Previous number one ranked player in the world; competed in the main INDISC Open tournament
Competitive pinball player, ranked #1 by IFPA, guest on Slam Tilt Podcast, recent Nationals tournament champion, owns Black Rose and Tron
Competitive pinball player; won Nationals tournament in Vegas; noted as #1 IFPA ranked player on mission-winning streak
Code developer on Avengers Infinity Quest for Stern; noted as 'rocking it' by hosts
Co-host of Ray Rae Show, competitive pinball player who won the 2023 North American Pinball Championship at District 82
Elite competitive pinball player; appeared in Avengers livestream; ranked among world's best players
Described as 'the best player in the world' by Eric Stone; experienced identical tilt issue on Hot Tip at Pinburgh
Pinball code designer known for tournament-balanced, video game-inspired code (AIQ, Venom); collaborating with Dwight Sullivan
Co-host of Ray Ray Show, competitive player ranked #1 in IFPA, competed at INDISC 2024 earning 223.5 WPPR points
Developer reportedly working on Metallica Vault Edition LCD port
Host of Do or Die podcast, competitive pinball player who competed in NYC Pinball Championships and progressed to final four
Ranked #1 in IFPA pinball rankings
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast; competitive pinball player who competed at Great Lakes Open
Host of Do or Die pinball podcast, competitive player, participated in SPL Cuatro de Mayo tournament
Host of Do or Die podcast, competitive pinball player ranked #1 in IFPA World Rankings and Stern Pro Circuit
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, tournament player competing at INDISC
Two-time IFPA world champion, winner of IFPA 15 tournament in Toronto
Pinball player and personality; recently purchased Star Trek machine to improve gameplay; referenced for game validation
Stern coder/rule set designer; streamed Foo Fighters gameplay; criticized for lengthy rule explanation that detracts from stream enjoyment
Code/animation work on Metallica Remastered (referred to as 'Ray Day' in podcast)
Competitive pinball player; finished third in NYC Pinball Championships main finals
Ranked #1 competitive pinball player; recently hired as coder at Stern Pinball; worked on Jurassic Park v1.02 and Avengers Infinity Quest code
Podcast host (Do or Die), tournament player who comments on Attack from Mars remake quality
Co-designer of Rush rules and Led Zeppelin rules with Tim Sexton
Lead software engineer at Stern; known for Led Zeppelin, Rush, Foo Fighters; first collaboration with Dwight Sullivan on Venom
Number 1 ranked IFPA player, winner of overall District 82 standings
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, competitive tournament player competing in City Champ
Advanced to classics semi-finals, from Seattle area
Two-time IFPA World Champion; number one ranked player for years; has finished 2nd-4th at IFPA Open multiple times but never won
Pinball player observed in background of stream; finished last on game one and needs to make competitive moves
Elite competitive pinball player; mentioned as attending District 82 tournaments
World-class competitive pinball player; scored heavily on Riptide and Laser Cue games, winning multiple games with high scores; demonstrated advanced technique
Competitive pinball player from Seattle; tournament participant
Top-ranked American competitive pinball player; played at IFPA 15; Johannes plans to compete against at world championships
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, tournament competitor, played in Seattle Pinball League July 2019, finished second in finals.
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast; competitive pinball player participating in Pinburgh tournament
Programmer/coder for Foo Fighters, featured in Loser Kids podcast interview
Top 4 seed in INDISC 2022 high stakes playoffs; competitive pinball player
Pinball community member who provided troubleshooting help to Don on Facebook when Foo Fighters opto failed
Co-host of Ray Rae Show; tournament player and format expert who played Classics tournament and provided gameplay analysis
Competitive pinball player, won Vancouver Flipout, friend of show.
Pinball commentator and competitive player at INDISC 2019; provides on-air commentary and analysis
Stern Pinball code programmer (aka 'Ray Day' or 'Rayday'); confirmed for Star Wars code; also worked on Foo Fighters, Rush, Metallica Remastered, Avengers, Led Zeppelin, Venom
Elite pinball player; 2025 Pinmasters champion; won both main and classics at Starfighters Pinball Festival; special guest for Episode 7
Guest on Triple Drain Podcast; won Classics division at ClePin tournament with exceptional ball 3 performances; planning early wake-up for finals next morning
Collector/operator with stored copies of WWE pinball machines; benefited from post-pandemic supply shortage and price inflation
IFPA 14 World Champion pinball player, code designer, competitive player from Seattle area, guest on Slam Tilt Podcast
Code contributor at Stern Pinball; worked on Rush code V.89 alongside Tim Sexton
Elite competitive pinball player; won UK Open Stern Pro Circuit; commentated Bond tournament with Tom
Coder/programmer and #1 ranked pinball player; provided detailed Rush Pinball tutorial on Flip N Out stream
Top-ranked competitive player, lives near Chicago, frequently competes at District 82 tournaments
Host of Do or Die Pinball Podcast, tournament player competing at INDISC
Lead software engineer on Venom; known for Led Zeppelin, Rush, Foo Fighters code. First collaboration with Dwight Sullivan on Venom.
Code developer/designer for Stern's Rush pinball; appeared on Flipping Out stream to explain Rush mechanics to Tom
Stern employee; discussed Scoop Mod 4.0 on Flametail podcast; managing Rush scoop issue resolution
Elite Bay Area pinball player; defeated by Brian O'Neill in city championship competition
Tournament player in King of Steel group, currently in lead with 6 points
Co-host of Ray Rae Show; competitive pinball player; provides tournament analysis and game strategy discussion
Co-host of Ray Ray Show with Rachel Risto; released second episode recently
Elite tournament player (WPPR #2, formerly #1), winner of Freeplay Florida, co-host of Ray Ray Show on Poor Man's Pinball Network
Rachel's co-host on Ray Ray Show (Poor Man's Pinball Network), competitive pinball player, provides coaching and tournament strategy guidance
Number one ranked pinball player in the world; from Seattle, Washington; age 27; reached finals
Tournament player, jokes with Jeff about his Big Game classic pinball skills
Pinball player; winner of The Beast Classics division ($2,000); former number one ranked IFPA player
Software developer for Rush pinball
Competitive pinball player who reached Pin Clash finals but lost to Escher Lefkoff; struggled with a Jurassic Park challenge in the deciding match
Pinball community member; participates in group chats analyzing code updates alongside Colin McAlpine and Jeff Teolis
Tournament player; winner of Northwest Pinball Championships and IFPA ranked competitor; hosts regularly appear after his tournament wins
Winner of Edmonton tournament (Y-A-P-in event using Never Drains software)
Stern designer, recently hired (last 2-3 years)
Lead code designer at Stern Pinball, 2014 IFPA World Champion, designer of Rush, Led Zeppelin, Metallica Remastered, and Foo Fighters pinball machines
Noted as designer ruled out for John Wick.
Rules design support for Stern Avengers
Co-host of The Ray Rae Show; competitive pinball player; participated in Illinois State Championship and Chicagoland Pinball League; content streamer (Ray Day Pinball)
Ranked #1 pinball player in the world; co-host of RayRay Show; recently helped Rachel Risto play Foo Fighters with designer Jack Danger
Competitive pinball player; finished second at Vancouver Flipout main event; expressed frustration with skill-shot-dependent final scoring
High-level pinball player being considered by Slam Tilt as potential entry for Trash Talker Invitational; was on East Coast in Washington D.C.
Pinball tournament player; 2025 inaugural Heads Up Pinball Championship winner; IFPA World Championship winner; competitive player known for tournament success
Regular Slam Tilt guest, newly hired by Stern (implied), moving to Midwest from Northeast; follows hiring pattern of Steve Bowden and Tim Sexton
Strong player mentioned as participant in Expo tournament loser's bracket
Tournament player (raydaypinball) competing in Fox Cities Pinball Silverball Mania final; George notes early yakking but ultimate lower score
World #1 ranked pinball player; content creator and streamer; texted hosts about Led Zeppelin code updates
World number one competitive pinball player (IFPA ranking); co-designer/co-captain on Rush with official title 'Wingman' (second-in-command software); lead code engineer at Stern responsible for implementing gameplay mechanics.
Programmer at Stern Pinball; worked on Led Zeppelin expression lights feature; been with Stern approximately one year
Stern Pinball team member; co-coder on Venom alongside Dwight Sullivan
TPF tournament winner, took first in both Classics and main tournament
#1 IFPA-ranked player, lead code designer at Stern Pinball, content creator (RayDayPinball streaming), IFPA World Champion (two years running)
Young Stern Pinball designer in late 20s/early 30s; currently ranked #4 on IFPA rankings (as Ray Day); represents new generation at Stern.
Programmer for Rush pinball machine, collaborated with Tim Sexton on rule set
World #1 ranked pinball player; won Classics tournament at TPF 2026; qualified #1 for main tournament; primary coder on Rush machine (release 0.91).
Stern Pinball code designer/lead; designed code for Led Zeppelin, Rush, Foo Fighters, and assisted on Avengers; competitive player from Australia; first offshore tournament experience was 2016 at Texas Pinball Festival
Described as 'pinball wunderkid'; co-creator (with Andrew Wilkeling) of Star Wars Fall of the Empire ruleset; referenced as inspiration for Pokémon code design
Programmer credited for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire code (version 0.78); previously worked on Metallica remaster; username 'raydaypinball'
Stern Pinball software engineer, streams for TPN, active on Discord, mentioned humorously as target of Gomez's jokes
Code programmer/designer for Avengers: Infinity Quest (identified via 'raydaypinball' chat handle)
Cited as example of top pinball player with skill to reach Venom max level (50) in single game despite speedrun mode design
Co-host of the Oscar H. Ray Show, competitive pinball player who won The Beast classics finals tournament
Co-host of the Ray Rae Show, experienced competitive pinball player who provides strategy advice and commentary
Elite competitive pinball player competing in INDISC 2019 High Stakes Semifinals; appears fatigued after late-night Classics tournament; known for skilled ball control and shot execution
National finalist and top seed competing against Kyle in the men's national championship final
Competitive pinball player; won knockout tournament at District 82 with 7 strikes.
Ranked #1 world pinball player; provided mentorship advice to Rachel about competitive play; Rachel beat him on Cyclone tournament
Competitive player referenced in context of machine difficulty at District 82.
Competitive pinball player who won the final game (Cameron Silver Ball Rumble) at the Great Lakes Open
Co-host of The Tee'd Off Show, competitive pinball player who competed in all six Super Series tournaments, top-ranked IFPA player, provides strategic and mechanical analysis
World-class pinball player; code/rules designer at Stern; recent guest on Oscar H. Ray show discussing the Beast tournament
World champion, number 2 ranked player in the world, competing in semifinal group
Competitive player in Blue Note quarterfinal group, second seed
Two-time consecutive IFPA world champion pinball player, guest on episode; won championships in Europe and Canada; plans to compete for three-peat in Italy
Player in Oscar H. Ray team (Raymond), defeated Colin 3-0, noted as very strong player
Pinball player competing at District 82 tournament
Ranked #1 pinball player in the world; won the standard tournament at District 82; was in Drew's first round group at classics tournament
Overall winner of Pinball Super Series at District 82, generous with streaming interactions
Listener/supporter of Tribe Multiball podcast, episode appearance reportedly brought significant new listener growth
Co-commentator for tournament, from Everett, Washington; provides strategy analysis
Competitive player, winner on Surfer with 57,000 points in group play
Pinball player and tournament commentator providing detailed rules explanations for Time Machine gameplay
Tournament player; third place in qualifying; previously scored 40 million on Whirlwind; attempted Taxi but returned to Pinball Magic
Stern Pinball colleague of Tim Sexton, known for executing alley passes, plays Revenge from Mars
Former #1 ranked pinball player who publicly criticized Pinburgh's machine setup for removing in-lane/out-lane posts, making games luck-based rather than skill-based
Co-host of The Ray Rae Show, attended UK Open with Rachel Risto
Pinball player and commentator; noted as potentially the only person in attendance who owns a Pirates of the Caribbean machine; expert on Pirates mechanics
Competitive pinball player who defeated Tim Sexton decisively in earlier IFPA 2018 match, advanced to final four
Elite pinball player, not present at 2018-19 championships; mentioned as top contender
Co-host of Oscar H. Ray show with Rachel, discussed Rush Time Machine ball save mechanics
Pinball code/software designer receiving praise for work
Competitive pinball player, tournament finalist, top seed (6th qualifier)
Guest on episode; competitive pinball player who won Texas Pinball Festival; first tournament at age 16 at Northwest Pinball Show; finished second to Keith Elwin in tiebreaker at age 18; IFPA-ranked player
Top competitive pinball player; finished 3rd at Beast 2025 Main event with $1,300 prize; plays at international level
Number one ranked tournament player in the world; has podcast appearance discussing tournament strategy
Rules and code developer for Foo Fighters Pinball
PAPA top four finisher in past three years; competing in group seven with Jim Belsito, John Rapogle, and Josh Sharp
Competitive pinball player noted for exceptional ability to adjust quickly between different machines.
Competitive pinball player mentioned as consistently top-five finisher at tournaments
Competitive pinball player mentioned as higher-ranked finisher at Cameron Silver Ball Rumble
Mentioned in hypothetical comparison to Keith Elwin as pinball player; goat provides humorous non-answer
Competitive pinball player, ranked fourth at Pinball Expo Big Bracket tournament, participated in multiple major tournaments
Stern Pinball code designer (nickname 'Ray Day') credited with code updates for multiple games including Metallica Remastered
Described as 'number one pinball player in the entire earth'; Zach directly contradicts his taste in Family Guy/Shrek, establishing willingness to challenge elite players
Code developer on Avengers: Infinity Quest; described as 'one of the greatest pinball players in the world'; works with Keith Elwin on game rules
Described as 'greatest pinball player on the entire earth' and collector of rare N64 games like Banjo and Kazooie
Lead code designer on Rush; creates complex, tournament-friendly rulesets with deep mode design
World #1 ranked pinball player as of October 2018, competitive tournament player, Stern pinball code designer who has worked on Star Wars and Fall of the Empire
Stern designer who joined project mid-development (May); co-hosts gameplay, explains rules and mechanics to audience
Software developer ('software wingman') on Rush (Premium); provides rules explanations and gameplay commentary
Competitive pinball player who came to playtest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball; referenced as 'world's number one player'
Elite pinball player, moved to Stern Pinball to help with game design and code
Pinball personality who streamed Avengers gameplay on Twitch (RayDayPinball)
Lead code designer at Stern Pinball, #1 ranked competitive pinball player by WPPR, age 27-28, multi-time world and national champion
Current number one ranked tournament pinball player; co-contributed rules/code design for Avengers Infinity Quest alongside Keith Elwin
Pinball designer/programmer; mentioned as underutilized talent resource for Stern's marketing
Pinball code designer credited with software work on Avengers Infinity Quest; host acknowledges his contribution in closing remarks
Competitive pinball player competing in Penskins tournament event
Spearheading Led Zeppelin wizard modes; known for understanding pinball fun for both competitive and casual players
Elite pinball player competing in Fox Cities invitational alongside host; host runs his 'do or die' podcast
Second place finisher in 3-strike knockout at Winter 2X tournament
Elite pinball player who discovered and executed 7 billion point combo exploit on Avengers Infinity Quest; qualified for Pin Clash with top times
Elite competitive pinball player; competing in Stern Heads Up Invitational
Top-ranked competitive pinball player confirmed to attend Super Series
Code designer for Fall of the Empire; also known as Ray Day; first non-music pinball code work
Noted tournament player who won Pinfest championship last year; designer/coder of Avengers pinball game; represents skill tier of tournament competitors
Code designer for Rush pinball; participated in vault celebration stream discussing design philosophy and rules mechanics
Rules designer on Venom, primarily associated with Rush ruleset design
Streamer; helped debug Craig's pinball machine code issue while streaming gameplay
Number one ranked competitive player; two-time IFPA World Champion; has placed second, third, fourth at IFPA Open multiple times but never won
Stern Pinball employee and elite competitive player who tested Godzilla's Soul Gym mode; provided feedback that it was too easy, driving hard mode addition.
Listener who sent email defending Led Zeppelin pinball game (possibly anonymous submission, jokingly attributed)
World number one pinball player, now working as coder for Stern Pinball
Software designer on Stern Rush pinball team; described as great tournament player and personality; praised for Rush code 1.0 completion
Pinball code designer/programmer; responsive to community feedback about Rush code complexity; received objective criticism from community members via TPN Discord
Stern Pinball software engineer; participates in software team meetings; streams for TPN; active on Discord; consumes pinball media content
Pinball game designer known as 'Ray Day', worked on Rush pinball and Foo Fighters pinball, competitive tournament player who recently returned from Pinmasters championship
Full name of Ray Day; coder on Foo Fighters Pinball
Former number one ranked player; won The Beast classics event for $2,000; described as top-tier competitive player
Top-5 world-ranked pinball player; defeated Mike decisively on Star Wars Fall of the Empire
Pinball community member newly hired by Stern Pinball for software development role as of the stream date
Top-tier competitive pinball player assisting Keith Elwin on rules design for Avengers Infinity Quest
Code designer at Stern Pinball with tournament experience
Code programmer on Foo Fighters; known for developing rules on Rush and Led Zeppelin band pins
Led code enhancements for Metallica Remastered
Pinball code designer; recently celebrated birthday; Orby jokingly offered to sleep under his air hockey table if attending Stern
Stern Pinball rules designer; top competitive player; created 'Baby's First' tutorial video series (Rush, Avengers Infinity Quest)
New lead software designer on Metallica Remastered; first-time lead role; congratulated by Orby for promotion
Competitive pinball player who won Pinmasters in a close final match
Software lead/code designer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
Competitive player; won IFPA Circuit Championship finals at Expo
Competitive pinball player; finished 2nd in 2019 Pinball Expo Classics Tournament after winning winner bracket
IFPA World Champion pinball player (US); competed in and won the 7pm champion challenge competition against Robert Gagno
Stern Pinball software engineer; credited as co-designer of Metallica Remastered alongside John Borg
Referred to as 'number one pinball player in all the world'; also described as skilled coder; performs well singing
Lead designer of Rush Pro; present on stream discussing mechanics, code decisions, and design philosophy
World #1 ranked pinball player; Stern Rush code programmer/designer; providing expert commentary on gameplay mechanics and strategy.
Code contributor working on Venom at Stern Pinball
Code designer who enhanced Metallica Remastered with new mini modes and Blackened wizard mode
Software engineer credited in Rush Pinball documentary
Competitive pinball player who flew from Chicago to attend Silver Ball Saloon's final night as a guest
Younger Stern design talent part of initiative to inject youthful voices into organization
Veteran pinball player expected in classic/higher tournament divisions
IFPA official and commentator at INDISC; plays Frontier as tiebreaker game against Nate Grant; provides technical rules explanations
Software developer at Spooky Pinball who developed/programmed Rush pinball machine; visiting Dead Flip stream to discuss 1.0 code update
Programmer on Foo Fighters Pinball; focused on competitive/tournament-level gameplay design; appeared at reveal event
Software programmer on Rush; previously on Led Zeppelin; created tutorial video clarifying game rules
Coder/programmer for Metallica Remastered; first head coding role; discussed on Loser Kid Pinball Podcast
Stern pinball code designer; participated in 'Ray Day' tutorial walking through Foo Fighters rules
Stern Pinball programmer; scheduled guest on upcoming Slam Tilt podcast episode; long-time friend of Bruce Nightingale
Pinball streamer whose recent Deadpool content has revived interest in the machine
Elite pinball player referenced as example of world-class player whose reveal stream gameplay might misrepresent game difficulty/depth to average buyers.
Competitive pinball player; won UK Open; attended Expo; sat with Joel during Goldeneye commentary
Competitive pinball player; played best-of-five match against Ron at Pintastic (lost final game on World Cup Soccer by narrow margin)
Pinball code designer and player; from upstate New York area; played early Toy Story and reached wizard mode; currently working on new game design
Competitive pinball player; won Pentastic qualifying with single entry; defeated Stu in Stu vs. Raymond Level Zero competition
Code designer referenced for knowledge of character names (TMNT context)
District 82 tournament attendee; contracted COVID with sore throat symptoms first
Won main tournament division at Free Play Florida 2024
Stern pinball code designer mentioned alongside Keith Elwin as legacy designer helping shape future of pinball at Stern.
Top competitive pinball player mentioned as exemplar of sustained excellence against rising competition
Currently ranked #1 in IFPA world rankings at time of interview
Pinball industry/community figure; David Dennis describes him as 'my hero'; met at Pintastic.
Referred to as 'Davey' in prior conversation with Rob; asked for no more Death Stars but the game includes one
Pinball code designer. Coded Fall of the Empire. Previously worked on Star Wars and other Stern titles. Competitive player.
Elite competitive pinball player; code designer (mentioned as contributor to Star Wars hyperspace mode)
Competitive pinball player; well-known name in pinball community that Walt has heard of and met
Code designer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, praised for compelling code and multiball implementation
Code developer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire; praised for work on the game
Stern Pinball code designer/programmer; co-designer of Avengers: Infinity Quest alongside Keith Elwin; first game at Stern; worked with Rick [surname unknown] and Keith Elwin; competitive player and content creator
Code designer for Fall of the Empire; also known as 'Ray Day'; demonstrated 0.86 update alongside Jack Danger
Pinball code designer and number one competitive player; provided comprehensive Rush rules tutorial on Flippin' Out Pinball stream
Stern Pinball engineer; designing Scoop Mod 4.0 for Rush; featured on Flametail podcast
Stern code designer; currently on Rush; ruled out for Venom lead coder role
Pinball content creator known for 'Baby's First' tutorial series on Rush and Avengers; positive community reception led to increased demand for simplified tutorial format
Lead software engineer on Venom; prior work on Led Zeppelin, Rush, Foo Fighters, Avengers Infinity Quest
Stern Pinball programmer; co-lead software engineer on Venom; known for Led Zeppelin, Rush, Foo Fighters code work
WWE Pinball LE collector; stored copies of machines that appreciated significantly in value post-pandemic
Code enhancement designer for Metallica Remastered; added to Lyman Sheets code; attended dealer seminar Q&A
Lead programmer for Metallica Remastered; discussed code porting from SAM to Spike 2 system on Loser Kid Pinball.
World's #1 ranked competitive pinball player; hired by Stern as game development software engineer; pinball network streaming affiliate; software engineering background (Amazon); confirmed fan of The Pinball Show
Pinball world champion assisting on Venom design
Stern programmer; designed most recent band pinball; hosts debate if he should code Rush or if he's typecast as 'band guy'
Described as 'world's number one pinball player'; featured in Avengers Infinity Quest making-of video; Stern designer/competitive player
Pinball designer/developer; participated in Avengers Infinity Quest reveal stream; discussed trophy wizard mode requirements
Pinball rules programmer; contributed rules and software structure work to Avengers Infinity Quest, particularly mode depth; noted as emerging talent in rules design
Number one ranked pinball player globally; made joke that 'Creasel' sounds like a donut type
Elite pinball player; won overall Super Series standings; set 20+ consecutive ramps record on Police Force.
Known pinball player who did not attend Free Play Florida; chose Pentastic event instead
Led Zeppelin co-coder; recognized for contributions to game code; expected to lead own game design soon
Number one ranked tournament player; co-coder on Rush pinball; provided feedback confirming solid shooting mechanics
Rush pinball designer who has discussed code mechanics with Travis on streams; identified post geometry differences between Pro and Premium/LE models
Elite tournament player; won Free Play Florida finals
Community member who messaged Triple Drain asking where they were during hiatus
Elite competitive pinball player, guest on episode, competed in Pin Clash 2 with Avengers, works with Keith (game creator), IFPA tournament competitor
Elite competitive pinball player; Stern Pinball staff; regularly competes at District 82; represents 'great player' benchmark in WPPR discussions.
Competitive pinball player; won ClePin Classics division; briefly appeared on podcast; manufactures custom pinball games
Stern Pinball designer; tournament player; part of Stern's designer bench; affected by designer rotation changes
Pinball community figure; appeared in stream chat discussing Insider Connected achievement mechanics and timed period discussions for cooperative achievements
Pinball coder working on Venom; mentioned as contributing programmer
Competitive pinball player who won Pre-Deathball tournament at Rochester Collective, defeating Zach in finals; part of ongoing tournament success streak
Qualified for Classics tournament on first entry; completed tournament by entry five
Guest on episode; pinball code designer and competitive player; comments on homebrew exposure and voting dynamics
Software designer on Rush; played long games during Friday stream reveal.
World's #1 ranked pinball player; guest on episode; explained Expo tournament structure; participated in tournaments; qualified highly in A division
Ranked #1 competitive pinball player; played Stu on Attack from Mars in co-op tournament; finished 4th in finals despite top qualifier status
Won Pinmasters golf format tournament; has won three consecutive major tournaments; ranked fifth overall in WPPR, first in Stern Pro Circuit standings by 60 points
Competitive pinball player; won progressive strikes tournament at Pinsonati; left tournament early due to long drive
First place winner in Classics tournament at The Beast
Programmer working on Foo Fighters alongside Tanya Kleiss
World #1 ranked tournament player (Pacific Northwest/Seattle); hired as game development software engineer at Stern.
Newly hired Software Support Engineer at Stern Pinball; #1 IFPA-ranked pinball player; formerly based in Seattle, Washington; software development engineer background (Android/iOS/Ruby on Rails); Do or Die podcast host
Pinball player and tournament organizer who created 'pin baseball' tournament format; operates Discord channel for pin baseball participants
Elite pinball player; donated $250 second place prize for PIN Clash; competitor in Jeff's Pinberg group memory
World's #1 ranked pinball player; hired by Stern Pinball in 2020 for code/programming work; defeated by Escher Lefkoff at Pin Clash; contributes playing experience to game design.
Competitive player; previously participated in Stern Rewards program before joining Stern as employee; now wins games instead of purchasing
Elite competitive pinball player discussed as benchmark for advanced gameplay techniques.
Current IFPA World Championship #1 ranked player; won back-to-back world championships (Denmark and Toronto); now works at Stern; swept Stone 3-0
Competitive pinball player; code designer; finalist in Classics 2 division at INDISC 2022 alongside Keith Elwin and Richie Terry
Elite competitive pinball player at Indisc, spectated and competed against by Arvid
Two-time World Championship winner; mentioned as potential favorite for IFPA 17
Team member on Foo Fighters at Stern Pinball
Recent World Champion; won IFPA 15 final against Acciari, who was playing with fever; won last two World Championships
Former #1 WPPR player; recently played against Jeff Teolis at Allentown Pinfest; in EPC competition
Ranked #1 pinball player globally; Donna played against him in her first Pinberg experience; known as exceptional competitive player.
Stern Pinball code designer; passionate about Black Rose original; provided feedback on Black Rose 2.0; cited by Cardona as validating his interpretation
Competitive pinball player; played in notable Funhouse match at District 82
Competitive pinball player and code designer; won Papa championship in 2024; previously won majors in 2016 (Copenhagen/Toronto); from Seattle area; mentored by Kaylee George.
Former number one world pinball player; Papa 21 2024 winner (third major title); Stern Pinball software engineer; designer of Metallica Remastered code with new features
Competitive pinball player, age 32, won Papa 21
Number one competitive pinball player in the world, fan of Simpsons Pinball Party, completed wizard mode on second attempt
Competitive player; Jeff recalls him scoring $11.4 million on Elvira and the Party Monsters at past Pinburgh and placing last in their group
Top-ranked pinball player; confirmed to attend Yegpin
Elite pinball player ranked as number one player in the world; won Yagpin 2018 overall tournament; visited from Seattle with financial incentive from Derek Thompson
World's number one ranked pinball player; won IFPA 15 championship (back-to-back title); defeated Daniele Acari in finals
Elite pinball player who defeated Kaylee George at IFPA 14 in Denmark; described as mentee turned master
Top-ranked competitive pinball player; praised Oktoberfest as 'Joe Balcer's greatest hits game,' referencing synthesis of designer's signature elements
Ranked #1 competitive pinball player globally; cited as Simpsons Pinball Party enthusiast, contradicting Ron's assessment; known rules expert
World #1 ranked pinball player in 2018; won IFPA North American and World Championships; described as dominant throughout year
Elite pinball player, top seed in 2019 tournament, advanced through difficult rounds with impressive Iron Maiden play
Elite pinball player from Seattle. Won Yagpin 2018 main tournament. Attending 2019 event.
Top competitive pinball player attending NYCPC 2019 from West Coast; defending World Championships title in Milan
Mentioned as example of top elite pinball player who wins many events; used as benchmark for championship-level success
Strong Black Rose player who played with Jeff Teolis group at Pin Masters, experienced tilt bob issues
Current number one ranked pinball player in the world; formerly known as David Ramanson; hosts Do or Die Pinball Podcast discussing competitive strategy and tournament psychology
Pinball player; mentioned as participant in group discussion about tournament rules
Elite competitive pinball player; known for winning multiple new-in-box pinball machines; expected at Free Play Florida event.
2014 IFPA World Champion, 24-year-old elite competitive player from Mukilteo, Washington; masters complex rule sets and wizard modes; organizes Northwest Championships
Newly hired Stern Pinball programmer; elite competitive pinball player serving high-end market
Lead programmer for Fall of the Empire; noted as possibly his first full lead game role; prior work on Metallica Remastered
Stern code designer credited with providing ball saver on Fall of the Empire despite magnetic save malfunction
Stern Pinball code designer and programmer, primary demonstrator on stream, playing game and explaining design decisions
Stern Pinball code designer, hosting and playing Star Wars stream, demonstrating gameplay and discussing feature development
Stern Pinball programmer/designer demonstrating Star Wars code, referred to as 'Ray' in credits
Software programmer who worked on Foo Fighters code, confirmed positive experience working on the game
Stern Pinball employee and competitive player who won Starfighters SPF, the first Stern Pro Circuit event of 2026 season
Lead code designer for Metallica Remastered; programmer at Stern Pinball; ranked ~5-6th in IFPA and Stern Pro Circuit; also worked on Rush, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Venom, John Wick; former #1 ranked IFPA player
Described as 'best active player' by hosts; Stern code designer
Stern Pinball software engineer; available to Sullivan for tournament rule balancing consultation on TMNT
Stern code designer/programmer who converted Metallica from original SAM system to Spike platform for remaster, described conversion as 'like converting Spanish to English'
Tournament-level code designer suggested as potential savior for X-Men and John Wick; known as 'Raymond' in tournament circles
Implied as code developer for Spike 3 games (mentioned in context of gameplay UI/animation quality criticisms)
World's Greatest Pinball Player award winner with 3 titles
Competitive pinball player from Elk Grove Village, IL who finished second at 2024-25 Stern Pro Circuit Finals
Won 2026 Starfighters Pinball Festival A Division; claimed first SPC win of 2026 on Volley
Finalist at PAPA World Championship 2025; competed in grand finals
Code/rules programmer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, alongside Andrew Wilkening and Mike Vinikour
Elk Grove Village, Illinois player; won NWPC Charity tournament; mentioned as top-ranked competitive player in field
Lead programmer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire; first cornerstone game as lead coder; contributed to Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Rush, and Metallica Remastered
Stern Pinball code developer leading software development for Fall of the Empire for the first time; code at v0.83 at pre-release
Stern coder collaborating with Mark Guidarelli and Keith Elwin on Walking Dead Remastered rules refinements
Stern staff; corrected player's understanding of Jedi ball save mechanics; involved in complex ball save feature design
Lead coder on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire; also credited on Metallica Remastered; referred to as well-renowned pinball player and respected coder
Competitive tournament player at Arizona event; greeted Jeff with 'Where's the third flipper?' catchphrase
Rules designer for Led Zeppelin pinball game; Manu credits him with quality work
Tournament competitor mentioned as participant in upcoming designer discussion video about Star Wars
Code/software designer for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
Lead rules designer on Foo Fighters
Programmer for Fall of the Empire; questioned as capable of 'telling a story' in non-music pinball context
Lead coder (Ray Day) for Star Wars; responsible for game software/rules implementation
Alternative name reference for Ray Day; working on Star Wars Fall of the Empire code; tournament competitor mentioned in context
Code collaborator on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire and Metallica extended code; recognized as industry-trusted talent and emerging innovator in pinball code development
Appears in Walking Dead Remastered gameplay demonstration
Code/rules designer for Star Wars; first non-music pin lead role; hosts express hope Raymond's ruleset compensates for weak theming.
Stern Pinball designer and competitive player from Chicago/Washington State area; lead designer on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire and Metallica Remaster; multiple-time Stern Pro Circuit winner (~8-9 wins); started at Stern in May 2020
Lead code designer on Star Wars; former fourth place finisher at Pinburgh; previously coded Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica Remastered
Code developer for Star Wars Fall of the Empire; interviewed at media event
Designer credited on Star Wars Fall of the Empire; described as 'crushed it on this game'
Competitive pinball player competing at Winter Bash tournament with strong performance.
Code programmer for Fall of the Empire; interviewed at media day
Stern Pinball coder and top-ranked IFPA player (top 10) who privately messaged host about Uncanny X-Men software update issue; known for active community engagement in pinball forums
Led code and rules development for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
Competitive pinball player mentioned for winning multiple WWE LE machines; was dominant player before Keith Elwin era
Competitive pinball player featured in gameplay demo, providing tournament strategy insights
Stern Pinball partner described as 'partner in crime'; co-demonstrates gameplay and explains mechanics
Lead software engineer on Metallica Remastered
Veteran competitive player since 1993, 200+ tournaments played
Top-tier professional pinball player; referenced as superior to Jack Danger
Tournament competitor from Elk Grove Village, Illinois; former #1 ranked player, eliminated in Game 15
Top-ranked player globally (rank 1 in both Whoppers and ratings); benchmark for elite-level competition
Expert: merged definition Expert: merged definition