Zach Sharpe dominates Game 4 of 2020 Stern Pro Circuit Championship on Avengers Infinity Quest.
Summary
This is coverage of Game 4 of the 2020 Stern Pro Circuit Championship, a ladder finals format tournament with a $5,000 prize and championship belt. Four players competed on Avengers Infinity Quest (a 2020 Keith Elwin design): Zach Sharpe from Chicago dominated with exceptional play, achieving over 200 million points and multiple gem completions; Jason Wardrick and Eric Stone also exceeded 100 million points; Joe Lemire from Massachusetts, in his first Pro Circuit event, was eliminated with 71 million points.
Key Claims
Avengers Infinity Quest is a comic book themed pinball machine released in 2020 designed by Keith Elwin
high confidence · Tim Sexton (host) presenting game information
The tournament uses a ladder finals format where the last place player is eliminated and a new player is brought in until two remain
high confidence · Tim Sexton explaining tournament structure at beginning
Zach Sharpe has been in all games so far as a returning circuit player
high confidence · Tim Sexton commentary during Zach's turn
Joe Lemire's elimination in Game 4 happened after just one game as his first Pro Circuit event
high confidence · Joe Lemire's post-elimination interview
Joe Lemire started playing pinball about 11 years ago
high confidence · Joe Lemire's post-elimination interview
Notable Quotes
“I'm gonna pick Avengers Infinity Quest, it's another game that I know well and I feel confident that I can do well on it and I have a strategy in mind that I'm hopefully going to execute”
[name withheld pending review]@ 1:09 — Shows competitive player's strategic game selection based on confidence and known strategies
“Back in 2019 I only played four circuit events and I made it as the 19th seed, so I mean to me that was pretty good. This year I was able to play five circuit events and I'm sitting in second right now”
Eric Stone@ 27:59 — Player discussion of competitive progress and circuit participation
“I started playing pinball about 11 years ago. Among the people who are here I am certainly on the lesser side. A lot of people here have been playing pinball for as long as I've been alive.”
Joe Lemire@ 35:38 — Context on player experience levels and Joe's relative newness to serious competitive play
competitive_signal: Ladder finals format with elimination of last place and introduction of new players until final two remain; demonstrates structured competitive framework
high · Tim Sexton explains: 'ladder finals format this means starting with four players we eliminate the last place player and bring in a new player until we're down to just the final two'
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gameplay_signal: Competitive players employ consistent strategy: portal lock acquisition via drop target bank combos, triple-scoring quest selection, Thor multiball integration for maximum scoring in ladder format
high · All four players followed similar progression: securing 2-3 portal locks, starting reality/time/soul gem quests with triple scoring multipliers, integrating Thor multiball for ball count and jackpots
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gameplay_signal: Wide variance in execution on same game machine: Zach Sharp completed 3+ gems and 200M+; Jason and Eric exceeded 100M; Joe Lemire achieved only 71M despite attempted identical strategy
high · All players attempted same portal lock and quest strategy but Zach achieved 200M+, Jason/Eric 100M+, Joe 71M; commentary notes Joe's nervous play and missed shots despite correct strategy
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competitive_signal: Eric Stone reports ranking improvement: 19th seed in 2019 with 4 circuit events, now in 2nd place after 5 events, suggesting growing competitive credibility
high · Eric's post-game commentary: 'Back in 2019 I only played four circuit events and I made it as the 19th seed... This year I was able to play five circuit events and I'm sitting in second right now'
foreign [Music] episode of the stern pro circuit championships I'm your host Tim Sexton here to guide you through all the action the stern pro circuit Championship is an exciting ladder finals format this means starting with four players we eliminate the last place player and bring in a new player until we're down to just the final two the winner of that game wins a championship belt a brand new Stern Pinball Machine and also a five thousand dollar cash prize let's take a look at our field Joe Lemire from Hopkinton Massachusetts hi I'm Zach sharp I am from Chicago Illinois my name is Jason wardrick I'm from Park Ridge Illinois Eric Stone and right now I live down in Tampa Florida in each match the top-seeded player has the opportunity to choose the game or choose their order on the game I think I'm gonna pick Avengers Infinity Quest it's another game that I know well and I feel confident that I can do well on it and I have a strategy in mind that I'm hopefully going to execute this match we will have Avengers Infinity Quest this comic book themed pinball release came out in 2020 was designed by Keith elwin
Joe Lemire out of Massachusetts joints this game um Avengers Infinity Quest this is Joe's choice and he takes the secret skill shot by plunging all the way around to the right flipper and then shooting the left drop Target Bank in the middle Target [Music] so typically at the beginning of Avengers players will try to shoot enough combos to activate a portal lock case makes a missed shot that leads to a drain out the rain Outland that he was not able to save
[Music] returning circuit player Zach sharp who has been in all of our games so far
Stern Pro Circuit Championship 2020
event
Stern Pinballcompany
event_signal: Professional broadcast coverage of tournament with play-by-play commentary, camera coverage, player interviews, and production by Stern Pinball official channel
high · Multi-camera coverage, professional commentary by host, player name and location graphics, post-game interviews, official Stern Pinball distribution
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community_signal: Tournament field includes players with vastly different pinball experience levels: Joe Lemire playing ~11 years, others with longer histories; Joe acknowledges himself as 'lesser side' of experience
high · Joe's post-game statement: 'I started playing pinball about 11 years ago. Among the people who are here I am certainly on the lesser side'
is ready to start this game of Avengers Infinity Quest it gets a little secret skill shot not the skill shot he was going for but it actually lights this portal lock [Music] and he'll take that portal lock there so his next Quest will have double scoring and it will also give him an extra ball in play
it smells strange at the spinner he will light his quest and he has lit it there [Music] she's a captive God if you're a Thor multiball shoots drop Target on the left side [Music] going for more drop Targets on the left side foreign
for this first reality gem quest he chooses with triple scoring so making some quick scoring progress up to 16 million points and has a fall saber available looks like he's gonna try to bring in his Thor multiball as well and that will start Thor multiball which adds another ball into play it's up to four balls of the play he has an addable lit additionally [Music] he's hitting a lot of jackpots a lot of stuff is scoring very quickly right now [Music]
taking some victory laps [Music] getting all sorts of scoring can't even see all the scores he's getting because he's getting them one after the other but his score is up to 86 million
has two balls trapped on the right flipper [Music] oh he went for a little tip pass there but the flipper did not activate enough to get the ball across to the other side it means he had to send all three balls into play and he loses one out the right out lane that way still has two balls in play still playing his Thor multiball but now with that drain down the middle he is out of his Thor multiball [Music] s
so pretty good scoring there 69 million just from the mode and he also brought in the multi-ball [Music] he has collected his gem [Music] he decides to place it on the left ramp
so Zach now will he could also be going for some Tower locks he can also be going for some Avenger collects [Music] and see what he is going for here shoot some right orbits uh yeah it looks like he's just gonna go for another uh portal lock to start his second mode
portal rock is lit now you can shoot it with this upper flipper he does guaranteeing double scoring and two balls in play at the start of his next Quest
hey it looks like he is going to take it now the portal is opened up he is going to play the time gem quest with double scoring shoots the center ramp it's just uh right Hawkeye ramp [Music]
with you [Music] sash playing very quick through this time Jump Quest loses his second ball in play but he has hit some pop-upers there help progressing him to
his little mini wizard mode [Music] has a few more shots left he's going for the drop Target shot strobing on those three drop Targets on the left side
takes a big slap save there [Music] moose just gems around a little bit with the change gem shots I did not give him credit for the locket 10 knots but he has completed all his level ones of the Avengers so now he's going to choose to play hard mode by holding down the top button for his soul gem quest this is a limited flip mode he only has 20 flips to make eight shots
and this is his right orbit shot there holding the flipper up hoping again he's down to 15 flips remaining 13 remaining still has not hit his right orbit there he goes That's the first shot takes two flips to hit the center Shot only needed one another flip there
the left orbit shot is next there he goes 10 million points for these shot in hard mode [Music] needs to hit his Thor captive ball decides to shoot the center ramp I missed a little bit late has to use another shot there oh and the ball did not make enough progress up to the Target
and with that terrain it'll cost him just enough flips to put him out of the soul gem quest to 30 million points for making those four shots he's in the very loud Hulk gamma ray mode if he shoots the spinner it's 100 plus thousand a spin
[Music] it's a single ball mind gem quest and now Zach is starting to work on his locks ball two locked it is hard to see from this camera angle if he has the third ball Block in the tower but
Zach is his little blurb as he uh just plays a really long and really great ball of Avengers um he started out his game by taking you know the portal lock the second portal lock from the drop Target bank that he checked in instant info by making a three in a row on his drop Target Bang
Zach has completed the Mayan gem quest he has gotten the atom also he will still be an Iron Man multi-ball wow it takes a 20 million point award there [Music] super disc is running
might get some good points if you could shoot me a spinning disc [Music] wow there we go super disc how much was that 4.3 million uh less than I thought so this is where the game just gets fun I mean Zach is a very comfortable lead right now especially over player one players two players three and four have not even played yet
so Jason as well Zach are only players who have made it this far from the opening game Eric Stone joined later as a higher scene and of course Joe Lemire this is his first game playing in the starting pro circuit files
[Music] so it looks like Jason's going to take the auto plunger for his punch that sends it all the way around [Music] gets the secrets go start by shooting the middle award that gives him a portal lock right away so he saw that like Zach he just had that three in a row to collect the portal lock and he can go for a second one now by just making a few combos [Music]
there's his first portal lock [Music] just starting his channel on the center ramp [Music] portal is open if the ball Falls in there he will just start his quest [Music]
one more combo to light his other portal lock he gets it there so portal lock will be lit it can shoot into the disc but it'll still be available for him on his next ball
[Music] the character is a little high on the super skill shot hits the top drop Target from the center one he does lock in the bonus X if he completes the bank to give him the portal lock award though Target telling his first portal off oh my God instead the ball comes out the loop hits the rubber pad below the drop Target so he goes right out the right Outlet
Zach the only player who really had a ball going there you Joe still has the opportunity to take that portal lock that everyone's been taking from the drop targets
so it looks like Joe is going to take the plunge from the auto plunger and he does not hit any drop targets instead shoots a left orbit so Joe's just gonna go for combos now [Music]
and that's a really unlikely unlucky feed out of the pop-up restraints down the middle for Joe it's just not much going on right now for Joe Lemire in these games he has to just get into something on his false weight exactly just has a massive lead right now already is completed three of his gems and he will not get that ball back
hey take a three million bonus just for just for training immediately just pads his lead a little bit all right player three Jason wordrick who has a portal lock ready and has strange spells is in the best shape of the not players not named Zach you can get a lot of points really quickly and there's triple scoring quests that he starts
[Music] there's some squinting at the Playfield thinking about what he's gonna do he could go for a warrant on his grid for the skill shot it's just the fate of the universe at stake is giving the machine a thumbs up for talking to him and telling them that they're waiting the auto Lodge did not get them all the way around but he gave me three seconds on the skill shot for rolling over the top rollover [Music] and Jason will start the reality gem quest
it says three balls into play from his portal locks that ball will come back in the grace period of awesome so he's going for his Thor multiball as well hits it there it gets a fourth ball into play starts his Thor multiball in addition to this reality quest to display
and blank Zach he is pretty comfortable right now because now both players basically need to do what he did or even play for a longer maybe play two quests because he had triple scoring for his reality jump Quest
and ramp reject sends up a little out of control and into the drain but not after scoring over 100 million points on this ball too putting himself comfortably into second place [Music] Eric Stone who did very very little on his ball on still has a better position on this game right now than Joe levere because he could take there's two portal locks which both Zach and Jason have done and just get into a quest and bring in Thor like everyone else has done and get over that 100 million point line again and that would put all the pressure on Joe Lemire [Music]
into the portal giving him the first lock I'll pop that down looks like maybe he's just gonna go with the one quarter walk for his quest or maybe he'll go for some combos interesting really bright orbit there
[Music] and that Center ramp there will award him the photo lock so now he can just shoot under the disc like he does there and get his triple scoring for his first Quest and that will be kicking picking the reality gem quest
just like Jason did it so now Joe it's really chasing all these other players now you know unless something crazy happens where it tilts even though he has a multi-by don't see Eric not coming out of this with at least 50 million points [Music]
yes got everything going and Eric is using this time to just make a lot of shots finishes off his quest gets him million points hitting more Thor jackpots [Music] he has collected a lot of Avengers he's actually collected all the adventures so he will have his soul gem lit after this whole uh all three of these four balls drained from the Playfield there there goes one of them they still got a couple more in play and why not take more jackpots while you're here even with two balls and play Eric likes to just shoot all these balls up all the ramps Orbitz make a bunch of jackpots and he gets points really fast when he plays like this
I hate that [Music] so Eric almost after 100 million point line he is catching up to Jason uh with soul gem he has the opportunity to pass Jason very quickly
[Music] it's called you being an idiot it places the reality jump on the truck Target it's probably not where he wanted it but I don't think it's going to stop him from taking wow and he is not taking hard mode for his slow gem
that left orbit is one of the hardest ones to start with it can really cost you a lot of flips Eric makes three shots in a row right there back in 2019 I only played Four circuit events and I made it as the 19th seed so I mean to me that was pretty good as a lot of people play seven or even more circuit events so this year things are looking a little bit better I was able to play five circuit events and I'm sitting in second right now so I think next time around I'll be a little bit higher up [Music]
adds a lot of flips there he has 46 floats remaining and they only started at 30. tried to backhand the uh the Captain Marvel ramp that not a common strategy is not happy about it but he has plenty of flips remaining 32 flips remaining there he goes takes the ramp a little rattle to the tower shot another one there he uses the upper flipper to just push the ball away from the middle drain and he feeds it with the shot and that'll complete his soul gem 32 flips to spare ends with 28 million now that is actually less points than Zach got from playing hard mode and only hitting four shots but maybe he preferred the safety of having the soul gem and being able to place it
s [Music] so now the situation really changed to changes to what can Joe Lemire do you've seen every single player take a triple triple scoring Quest has seen every single player start a Thor multiball
obviously but putting himself in a position where he's in second place as player fall for it's very unlikely to be eliminated right now but he also has a lot of work to do to catch up with Zach who played an amazing ball one
so Eric ends the ball with maybe 200 million you have 210 million there and all the pressure is on Joe Lemire at the very least he needs to catch about 140 million points he even needs to get a little more than that because Jason probably has at least two million points in bonus just from plunging the ball
Joe has been going for the same strategy all the other players have been going for it as well trying to complete the grid to get his quarter lock trying to get his second portal lock from combos
now he made the skill shot there but he completed the wrong one he actually was a little early about the 2x Shield value unless he's changed his strategy he was just plunging a little early
Joe knows he's in a tough situation he's not happy I notice he's basically forced to hit those drop targets looks like he's trying to post pass instead of making shots and that's how he went to make a shot and he's just a bit out of control right now post pass is really coming to the end of the right flip right not giving him the angle he needs on the drop jackets [Music]
okay he gets his drop targets there and he had a chance for another one to shot a little bit High there he goes so that license first put a lot oh his second point he is already locked the portal off of his previous ball now it could come out of a pump up version go in the portal and it does still needs to spell strange to actually start [Music] oh man and that almost went out the left Outlet he saves it has a chance to backhand it and it just goes around the room doesn't make it in a couple of shots that should have made it in they just were a little off [Music] that backhand makes it finally Joe breathes a sigh of relief and looks like he is gonna take his reality jump quests he's trying to calm down it's very nervous playing his first game in a certain pro circuit he's in a tough spot yeah [Music] still no guarantees for Joe he has one shot to start his Thor multi-ball on the Captain's ball and he takes the storm once we will start [Music] catapaus lit already and now he's got five balls in the play and it's all chaotic and he's trying to work the score up but it's moving very slowly now he's not made just a lot of progress in the reality type of question [Music]
but he is getting some Thor jackpot shots worth as much as the reality check is questions [Music] 54 million so making some work now but he is out of a multiball so he has to do the rest of the work for the reality gym question sticker ball play [Music]
coming all the way down to Massachusetts to get eliminated after just one game Joe Lemire see what he has to say I started playing pinball about 11 years ago among the people who are here I am certainly on the Lesser side a lot of people here have been playing pinball for as long as I've been alive stick around for more matches from the stern Pro Circa Championship let's see if any of these players can make it all the way to the finals