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Now that we're firmly situated in the back half of the year, competitive pinball is getting much more intense as the schedule ramps back up. After a nice little break in August, players got right back into the swing of things in September with another Major, a staple convention in the pinball scene, and a trip overseas to one of the UK's biggest competitions. Things show no sign of slowing down either, as the weeks ahead are just as packed. Really, there's no slowing down until the new year for players making their push to the IFPA State Championships and beyond, making this a do-or-die slice of the season.
On this edition of The Score Card, we're looking back at three standout events of September, where players pushed their flipping to the limit in pursuit of big WPPRs and Stern Pro Circuit points. First, we head to Illinois for the return of PAPA, then a quick trip east for the Cleveland Pinball and Arcade show, before wrapping things up with the UK Pinball Open. For those dedicated to the Stern Pro Circuit or WPPR farming in general, September was home to countless crazy moments, amping up the 2025 season of competitive pinball to the next level.
Making its return for the second year, the new iteration of the iconic Professional & Amateur Pinball Association World Championship was held at Enterrium in Schaumburg, IL, in early September. This was the last of the five IFPA “Major” tournaments of the year and part of the Stern Pro Circuit, making it a crucial competition before the end of 2025. Honoring the late Lyman F. Sheats Jr., proceeds from the event went toward the 988 Foundation for Suicide Awareness, raising over $60,000 in the process. In total, over 240 players competed across four tournaments, including the main Stern Pro Circuit event, along with Classics, Women's, and a Youth competition. Main qualifying operated on a card system, a format we've seen only grow in recent months, quickly replacing the Herb-style “pump and dump” format of years past. With 5 games per card and a bank of over 25 titles, ranging from new Sterns like John Wick and Uncanny X-Men to classics like Xenon and Space Invaders, 72 players fought their way into the A Division finals.
After fighting through five rounds of playoffs, four familiar finalists emerged: Zach “Zmac” McCarthy, Gregory Kennedy, Escher Lefkoff, and Raymond Davidson. With Zmac in the driver's seat, three arenas were selected for the grand finals: an eclectic mix containing King Kong: The Myth of Terror Island, Xenon, and Banzai Run. What followed was an extremely impressive display of adaptability, flipper skill, and keeping calm under pressure, as these four top-tier competitors battled for a shot at a Major victory. All of the action was streamed on Twitch by Fox Cities Pinball, who continue to offer some of the very best live pinball action around.
In Game 1 on Kong, Escher tore off at the start with 240 million points, while the other three competitors barely got in a flip. However, the script was flipped on ball 2, as Zmac locked in and scored over 1.8 billion points, more than enough to grab the victory after a ball 3 walk-off. Moving to Xenon, most players employed the same strategy of starting multiball and ripping the spinner, showing off calculated shatz passes and precise nudging. While Zmac struggled a bit, ultimately picking up third place for the match, Greg Kennedy had a solid performance, picking up first place with over 1 million points.
Moving into the final game, Greg and Zmac were tied at 5 points apiece while Escher trailed close at 4 points, but Raymond was left without a path to victory. It all came down to a harrowing match of Banzai Run, where everyone opted to stay in the top playfield, grinding out points with some slick motocross tricks. Still, Zmac made a huge statement on ball 1, scoring over 9 million points as his opponents trailed far behind. As Greg struggled to work the game to his liking, Escher piled on enough points to clinch second place, but Zmac's score held strong. In the end, Zach McCarthy walked away with his second IFPA Major victory of the year, yet again proving his immense pinball prowess.
This year marked the 10th annual Cleveland Pinball and Arcade Show, one of the premier pinball conventions in the Midwest and a long staple of the Stern Pro Circuit. Never one to miss such a great event in my own backyard, I hurried over to the show floor, indulging in a variety of competitions. In addition to the main Stern Pro Circuit tournament, CLEPin 2025 also offered Herb-style Classics and an excellent selection of side tournaments, as well as the always-intense Women's Royal Rumble. Arcade Legacy came in clutch throughout the weekend, streaming as many of the show's competitions as possible, all live on Twitch.
Organized by Kim Martinez, the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble had another excellent turnout, with 60 talented players vying for their shot at the championship belt. Qualifying consisted of 5 hours of Match Play, and after 12 rounds of flipping, the top 16 competitors gathered for a ladder-style finals. Here, four players face off in one match, with the lowest-scoring player eliminated and then replaced by the next highest-seeded qualifier in the next round.
By Round 13, the competition had whittled down to the final four, but Liz Freeman was knocked out on Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast, leaving only 3. After a speedy game of Quicksilver, which knocked out Xan Sprouse, it was down to two players and one machine: Samantha Bacon and Nicole Turk on Stern's Star Wars. Crushing ball 2 and scoring over 800 million points, Samantha Bacon nabbed the win with a walk-off ball 3, defending her title as the CLEPin Women's Royal Rumble Champ.
Meanwhile, the main Stern Pro Circuit competition drew in over 110 players (myself included), for card-based qualifying on a great bank of games. This year was tougher than usual, as only the top 24 players made A Division, instead of the usual 40. Though I managed to squeak by at the last minute and qualified in 24th place, the field of competition was exceptionally tough, ending my tournament after just one round of playoffs.
However, several others fared far better, and after quarterfinals and semi-finals wrapped, four players faced off in a 3-game grand final. This included Jack Slovacek, Galvin Morgan, Jesse Baker, and Evan Bookbinder, all excellent players with the talent to put up massive scores and take home the win. Fresh off a top-four finish in the Classics tournament the day prior, Jack was warmed up and ready to go, as he blew past his opponents in Game 1 of Foo Fighters, picking up 1 billion points, while Jesse trailed with 670 million. Moving into Game 2, The Beatles, scores got exceptionally close, as players struggled to get a hold of the squirrely machine. While Jack and Jesse both broke past 2 million points, Galvin took first place with 3 million, while Evan sat in fourth.
Mirroring PAPA's finals, Jack and Galvin were tied at 5 points total while Jesse was close behind with 4, leaving everything down to the final game of Metallica Remastered. On ball 1, everyone struggled, leaving the door wide open for anyone to succeed. Jack made some headway on ball 2, starting a Crank it Up mode and several multiballs, but everyone else continued to run into problems. As Jack ended his ball 3 with 180 million, Galvin knew his target, but came up short with 110 million, ultimately handing Jack the tournament win.
For the final big competition in September, players from around the world flocked to Croydon, London, to compete in The UK Pinball Open. Once held at the Pinball Republic, the UK Open has expanded in recent years, offering more play space and five unique tournaments across the weekend. This is also one of the newer additions to the Stern Pro Circuit, added in 2023, and has built up a solid reputation for international competition. Qualifying for all tournaments was card-based, with 5 games per card leading to PAPA-style finals, on a bank of over 20 games. The bank was exceptionally diverse, too, containing lesser-seen moderns like Evil Dead and Cactus Canyon LE, along with '90s favorites like World Cup Soccer and Attack from Mars. Interestingly, the UK Pinball Open used Match Play for card qualifying instead of the usual NeverDrains software, putting the new feature through its paces and to good use.
Of course, the big tournament of the weekend was the eponymous UK Pinball Open, which offered Stern Pro Circuit and European Championship Series qualifying points, as well as traditional WPPRs. Nearly 200 players showed up to submit their card, with the top 40 making the cut into the A Division finals, competing in 3-game playoff rounds. Offering fantastic coverage as usual, BackhandPinball was there to stream all the qualifying and playoffs live on Twitch, providing nonstop action the entire weekend. The early rounds of playoffs contained quite a few upsets, as all top three seeded players, Jack Slovacek, Arvid Flygare, and Yuen Aw, were knocked out by the end of the semi-finals. Yet, four players fought their way through to the grand final, all well within reach of victory: Timber Engelbeen, Roy Wils, Nic Stein, and Alexandre Bouet.
In Game 1 on Jack Bot, everyone struggled out of the gate and had little to show after ball 1, as the drains were plentiful and outlane heavy. Fortunately, Alexandre dug in on ball 2 for a heck of a run, scoring over 3.5 billion points, with Timber next closest at 875 million points. Game 2 on Jaws was a similar story, though Alexandre got his start a ball early, picking up nearly 600 million points on the first ball. Though ball 2 passed without a change in positions, Timber refused to keel over, putting up nearly 1 billion points and putting the pressure back on his opponents. While Roy and Nick missed out on any major points, Alexandre dug deep for his chance to secure the victory with back-to-back wins, but ended up falling short of Timber's colossal score.
Going into Game 3 on Surf 'n Safari, Timber and Alexandre were tied at 6 total points, while Nic and Roy only had hopes of placing second or third overall. Still, this was a machine that all competitors were comfortable with, as the strategy mostly consisted of hitting the right ramp and surviving feeds from the pop bumpers. On ball 1, Roy and Nic got off to a good start with some multiball play, but Timber and Alexandre both fumbled after a handful of flips. After Ball 2, Nic held the lead with 22 million, but the tournament victory came down to Timber and Alexandre. Ending his ball 3 with 13 million points, Alexandre needed just 8 million to claim the overall win. Though his multiball went sideways, he held on long enough to squeak out a few right ramps, toppling Timber's score and becoming the UK Open champion in one fell swoop.
Although there are only 3 months left in the year, there's still lots of competitive pinball left, beckoning any interested players to flip and have fun. Things are slowing down for the Stern Pro Circuit qualifying events, as the SPC Finals are being held in mid-October, finally wrapping up last year's season. That same week, from October 15 to 18, the world-renowned Pinball Expo will be taking place in Schaumburg, Illinois, where players can compete in the fantastic “Expo flipOUT!” tournament in addition to perusing the massive show floor. If you're unable to make the trip, you can catch all the exciting tournament action on Twitch, thanks to Fox Cities Pinball.
These autumn and early winter months are also a great time to jump into competitive pinball, as players begin to seriously grind WPPRs in anticipation of IFPA State Championships and the tournament schedule quickly fills up. You can find local tournaments by checking out the IFPA Calendar, or if you're only interested in large tournaments promising hefty WPPRS, the IFPA Certified Tournaments Calendar is where you'll want to look. For a bit more social competition, you can also look for local pinball leagues by checking this list of IFPA-approved leagues. For now, we've got our sights set on all the hustle and bustle of Pinball Expo, and we'll have all of the juicy details for you soon. Until then, flip hard and have fun!
Matt Owen is a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend. He can often be found playing endless hours of games or watching an absurd amount of movies and television: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When he's not bingeing entertainment media, Matt enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing pinball, broadcasting, and attempting to cook.