The Score Card 17: Pinburgh, WIPT, and The BEAST

As has become common over the past few years, July marked one of the most important months of the year for competitive pinball, containing several massive tournaments with even bigger stakes. On this edition of The Score Card, we're covering three of these big-ticket battles, including the iconic Pinburgh World Match Play Championship, the Women's International Pinball Tournament, and the continuation of the Stern Pro Circuit at The BEAST. Together, this trio of tournaments offered some of the most coveted trophies in all of competitive pinball, leading to tense play, dramatic tiebreakers, and yet another historic victory.

Pinburgh 2026 World Match Play Championship

Now in its third year of revival, the Pinburgh World Match Play Championship has regained its status as one of the premier worldwide pinball tournaments, acting as one of the five IFPA Major competitions in the 2026 schedule. Held at Rezzanine Esports in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, this monumental event hosted over 250 players, who competed across 10 rounds and 40 games of Match Play qualifying across three divisions. In addition to the main Match Play Championship, Pinburgh was also home to several other tournaments, including the Bash at the Burgh, Steel City Strikes, and the Women's International Pinball Tournament (full coverage of WIPT below). Spread across several days, competitors flipped to their fullest potential in pursuit of a potential Major tournament victory, as well as a prize pool of over $60,000.

Out of the 95 players who qualified for A Division, only the top 24 progressed to the playoffs, including many recognizable world-class players like Jason Zahler, Arvid Flygare, Zach McCarthy, Aleksander Kaczmarczyk, and more. While several of these top-seeded players were eliminated in early playoff rounds, two of them persisted until the finals, Jason Zahler and Daniele Celestino Acciari, where they were joined by a pair of lower-seeded but still exceptional players, Josh Sharpe and Brian Shephard. Thanks to Fox Cities Pinball, all of the action was streamed live on Twitch, providing a weekend of excellent presentation and commentary for spectators to enjoy.

In the four-game grand finals, a very fast-playing Aerosmith (Stern, 2017) was the first game of the set, where most players struggled despite varied strategies. However, both Jason and Daniele were able to start one multiball each, scrounging up enough points for first and second-place finishes, respectively. Game 2 of the grand finals, Swing Time (Williams, 1963), was an even sketchier affair, as this one-player EM is often a luck-box with very little room for strategic play. Ultimately, Brian Shephard took first place by nailing one of the best skillshots of the weekend, ending with a 3,218-point game, trailed by Jason in second place with a 2,389-point game.

Game 3 played out on an 80s solid-state classic, Space Shuttle (Williams, 1984), and most players opted to rip the spinner and slowly build up points over time. Though Daniele and Jason led the pack at first, Brian had a huge ball 3 and scored over 2 million points, enough to surpass Jason and nab a second-place finish, while Daniele secured first place with 2.8 million points. Going into Game 4, Future Spa (Bally, 1979), everyone but Josh had a shot at the overall tournament win. Ironically, Josh had the best game of the bunch by a substantial margin, scoring over 800,000 points, while everyone else trailed with around 100,000 points. In the end, Brian ended up taking second place, and Jason took third, tying up total set points and forcing a tiebreaker game between the two players on Fish Tales (Williams, 1992) for the Pinburgh 2026 championship.

In the tiebreaker, Brian set the pace by scoring a monster fish on ball 1 for 30 million points, but Jason answered back with every strategy in the game, playing a multiball, a video mode, and chasing monster fishes for nearly 100 million points. Over the next two balls, Jason only continued to press ahead as Brian couldn't rack up more meaningful points, and in the end, Jason fought to victory and was crowned the 2026 Pinburgh World Match Play champion. This win marks another historic finish for Jason, making him the first player in history to win Pinburgh three years in a row, doubly impressive considering his three-peat of the IFPA World Championship in June.

Pinburgh 2026 Winners:

• A Division – Jason Zahler (New Jersey)
• B Division – Tyrus Eagle (Ypsilanti, MI)
• C Division – Mahesh Murthy (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Bash at the Burgh – Arvid Flygare (Lund, Sweden)
• Steel City Strikes – Cam Harrahy (Richmond, VA)

2026 Women's International Pinball Tournament

In addition to the Pinburgh World Match Play Championship, Rezzanine Esports also hosted the 2026 Women's International Pinball Tournament, offering one of the most coveted titles on the Women's pinball circuit and a prize pool of over $4,000. Over 75 players attended, battling their way through 18 games of Match Play qualifying, with the top 24 players progressing to playoffs. Similar to what occurred in the Pinburgh playoffs, several of the top-seeded players were knocked out in early rounds, but the second and third seeds, Candace Selby and Stacey Moritz, successfully made their way to finals, joined by lower-seeded Miriam Nadler and Rachel Morris, who had fought for their spots since the first playoff round. Once again, all of the action was streamed live on Twitch by Fox Cities Pinball, continuing their excellent coverage of the weekend's events.

The three-game grand finals were a thrill to watch, starting with Game 1 on the modern masterpiece, Jaws (Stern, 2024). On ball 1, most players shot around and just tried to survive the brutally fast game, but Stacey set the pace early, scoring over 100 million points thanks to great multiball play and nudging. Ball 2 was mostly a wash, but on ball 3, Miriam made a run for first place, finishing with over 150 million points. Undeterred, Stacey fired back with two quick beach hurry-ups, pushing her to over 175 million points in the blink of an eye and nabbing a first-place finish.

In Game 2, Summer Time (Williams, 1973), all four players were in for a brutal time as they fought to survive on this timed, sketchy one-player EM. Stepping up to bat first, Stacey went on the aggressive, enduring a flurry of pop-bumpers and targets, and ending her game with a solid 29,900 points. Miriam tried her hand next, and despite more calculated skillshot play and a hefty 5,000-point center saucer, she finished with only 16,150 points. Employing a similarly methodical strategy, Candace had a better game than most, nailing the 5,000-point saucer for her last shot and pushing her score to 22,350 points. Finally, Rachel chose the slower strategy, but drained a bit too late for her chance at the 5,000-point saucer, wrapping up her game with 14,500 points.

With two back-to-back wins, Stacey was a lock-in for the tournament win, provided she didn't get last place, but with potential to force a tiebreaker, both Candace and Miriam still had a path to victory. The last game of finals was Black Pyramid (Bally, 1984), a relatively lesser-seen solid-state game that rewards calculated, consistent orbit shots. On ball 1, most players struggled to hit clean orbits, but Candace cleanly showcased her game knowledge and flipper skills, hitting orbit after orbit and mixing in tap passes for over 1 million points. Stacey found her groove on ball 2, scoring over 1 million points of her own, while everyone else failed to answer back. Ball 3 played out mostly the same way, and by the time the final ball of the tournament had drained, Stacey had won yet again, sweeping her group and earning the title of the 2026 Women's International Pinball Champion.

WIPT 2026 Top 4:

• WIPT Champion – Stacey Moritz (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Second Place – Candace Selby (Glen Burnie, MD)
• Third Place – Miriam Nadler (Brooklyn, NY)
• Fourth Place – Rachel Morris (Austin, TX)

The 2026 Buffalo Extravaganza Annual Summer Tournaments (BEAST)

Now in its third year, the Buffalo Extravaganza Annual Summer Tournaments (BEAST for short) was the next stop on the Stern Pro Circuit following Pinburgh, where players gathered at Pocketeer Billiards and Bar in Buffalo, New York, for some good ol' Herb-style pump-and-dump qualifying. In addition to the main Stern Pro Circuit tournament, The BEAST also offered a Classics tournament and hybrid Best Game-formatted Women's tournament. Over 100 players attended across all three tournaments, with three separate divisions for both the Main and Classics playoffs, and the top 40 players progressing to A Division finals. As with Pinburgh, WIPT, and many tournaments before, Fox Cities Pinball was on-site to deliver a top-tier broadcast on Twitch, showing off all the explosive action.

Over the course of four rounds of playoffs, the A Division was slowly whittled down as the top three seeded players were knocked out, leaving Jack Slovacek, Dante Oliva, Raymond Davidson, and two-time defending BEAST champion Jason Zahler in the final four. In the three-game grand finals, Iron Maiden (Stern, 2018) was the first pin of choice, and while all four players got off to a decent start, Jason flew past his competitors on ball 1, scoring over 275 million points. However, refusing to let Jason heat up, Jack answered back in a big way on ball 2, hitting a juiced 2X power jackpot for 313 million points, ending his ball 2 with a total of 550 million points. Though Jason, Raymond, and Dante all attempted to chase down Jack's score, they simply were unable to catch him, giving Jack his first win while Jason trailed with a second-place finish.

In Game 2, Iron Man (Stern, 2010), ball 1 played out similarly to Iron Maiden, with Jason scoring 10 million points with multiple Iron Monger multiballs while his competitors wrestled with making consistent shots. Ball 2 wasn't great for any player but Raymond, who nailed ramps and lit War Machine multiball to match Jason's 10 million points, while Jack and Dante drained quick yet again. On ball 3, Jason continued to put on the pressure, stacking War Machine and Whiplash multiballs, ending with 21,372,770 points. Needing to make a move, Raymond went to chase down Jason's score by playing War Machine multiball and comboing ramps, but with just one ramp needed to secure the lead, he was met with an unfortunate outlane drain, ending his ball with 21,348,310 points, a mere 24,460 points shy of catching Jason.

Coming into the final game, John Wick (Stern, 2024), Jason, Jack, and Raymond all had a path to victory, but Dante's tournament was effectively over. Ball 1 was brutal all-around, and though Jack got a bit of prep work done and scored a few million points, everyone else suffered quick drains. Everyone picked up the pace on ball 2, stacking modes and multiballs with 2X playfield, but Jack performed the best under pressure, putting up 210 million points compared to the roughly 50 million point scores of everyone else. However, with both Jason and Raymond falling victim to quick drains on ball 3, Jack's hard work paid off, making him the 2026 BEAST tournament winner.

BEAST 2026 Winners:

• Main A Division – Jack Slovacek (California)
• Main B Division – Hagan Major (US)
• Main C Division – Chris Carman (US)
• Classics A Division – Arvid Flygare (Lund, Sweden)
• Classics B Division – John Greenling (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Classics C Division – Chris Nosiglia (Syracuse, NY)
• Women's Champion – Kaite Martin (Brooklyn, NY)

Upcoming Pinball Tournaments and Events

Of course, the world of competitive pinball never comes to a halt, so if you're looking to play in some tournaments, you should be spoiled for options as autumn arrives. The Stern Pro Circuit continues in mid-August at the District 82 Summer Classic in De Pere, Wisconsin, followed by the Northwest Pinball Championships in Lynnwood, Washington at the end of the month. The next IFPA Major tournament, the 2026 PAPA World Championship, will be kicking off in mid-September in Stone Park, Illinois, while late-September brings us the UK Pinball Open in London, England.

There should also be a ton of regional and local tournaments popping up in the coming months, so we also recommend checking out the IFPA tournament calendar and the IFPA league page if you're interested in competitive pinball in your area. For those craving a pinball convention, you can get your fill at shows like the Cleveland Pinball and Arcade Show in late August, but the convention season really kicks off in September and October with events like the Rocky Mtn Pinball Showdown and Gameroom Expo in Denver, Colorado, Pin-A-Go-Go in Dixon, California, and the much-loved Pinball Expo in Schaumburg, Illinois. No matter how you decide to go about it, get out there and flip to your heart's content!