The Desert Won’t Miss this Rain
It was one of those clear Arizona nights where even the moon looked thirsty. On Monday, September 29, 2025, the air over downtown Mesa sat still at a dry 85°F as pinball fans filtered through the glass doors of Level 1 Arcade Bar for the week’s tournament. Inside, the scene was anything but still — flippers popped, coils snapped, and a subtle hum from neon lights bounced across two floors of arcade glow. Organizer Scott Goldsmith ran the brackets, and the usual crowd of Arizona regulars took their places behind the lockdown bars.
Then came the rain.
That “rain” was a two-player front out of Washington — Peter Schatzer of Kent (IFPA #568) and Ryan Slanicka of Tacoma (IFPA #265) — both Top-600 competitors, both with more tournament hardware than a tool aisle. They had flown down to the desert just a day after competing in Washington’s Chui’s Bounty Knockout, and judging by the jet-lag-free precision they showed, it looked like Mesa had just been put on alert.
Level 1 Arcade Bar: Two Floors of Flashers and Flair
If you’ve never been, Level 1 Mesa sits on 48 W Main Street like a neon time capsule cracked open. Upstairs, you’ve got a full kitchen, a rotating 30-tap beer list, and DJ nights that stretch late into the weekend. Downstairs? That’s pinball country. More than two dozen machines line the walls — from modern Sterns to 90s Bally classics — and reviewers consistently rave that “all the machines were in pristine condition.” Families are welcome until 7 PM, after which the venue transitions into an adults-only arcade-bar hybrid, complete with cocktails like the Link Elixir and Scorpion’s Colada.
It’s no wonder this has become the proving ground for Arizona’s top pinball talent — or, apparently, the newest arena for an out-of-state raid.
Arizona Defenders: The Home Team
Local pride ran deep this night. Defending home soil were regulars like Shawn Barnett (IFPA #1960), Colin Taylor (#3944), Geoff Bennett (#2326), Kevin Burns AZ (#1593), Jocelyn Bowers (#9306), and Adan Gonzalez (#15107). These players practically live between the bumpers of Level 1 and nearby Atomic Age Pinball. Barnett in particular has ruled Mesa’s matchplay format in recent months, with multiple top-five finishes and a knack for closing strong on Stern moderns. The assumption around the bar? Locals knew every outlane nudge, every tilt threshold — they’d hold the line against the visitors.
That assumption didn’t last long.
Rounds 1 & 2 – The Washington Surge
The opening round sent an early message. On Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Schatzer’s precision was pure factory setting — clinical multiballs, perfect timing, no wasted flips. He walked off with a first-place finish before most players’ drinks had hit the table. Meanwhile, Slanicka went full shark mode on JAWS (Premium/LE), lighting his Chum Bucket and collecting a clean multiball start that earned him another Round-1 win.
Round 2 only tightened the grip. Schatzer took command of The Mandalorian (Premium/LE), stacking a Razor Crest multiball with a mission like a bounty hunter who’d read the rule sheet in his sleep. Slanicka, not to be outdone, handled King Kong: Myth of Terror Island (Pro) — Stern’s newest blockbuster — with the kind of confidence that made even the locals lean in closer. Two rounds in, and the visitors from Washington were a perfect 4-for-4.
The desert air stayed dry, but the Washington downpour was already flooding the standings.
Round 3 – Upsets in the Middle Game
Just as it looked like the Mesa crowd might drown, a ripple of resistance surfaced. The spotlight moment came on Fish Tales (Williams, 1992) — the most-played machine of the night. Here, Alex Phillips (AZ rank #15,576) pulled off the upset of the tournament, defeating heavy hitter Kevin Burns AZ (#1,593).
Fish Tales, designed by Mark Ritchie, is a 90s staple known for its ramp flow and absurd humor (complete with a singing fish topper). It’s the kind of game that punishes overconfidence and rewards rhythm. Phillips found that rhythm — alternating ramps to light Monster Fish and cashing in a hurry-up worth more than his opponent’s bonus stack combined. Pro tip for anyone reading: six ramps lights Monster Fish — and that’s your ticket to a monster comeback.
It wasn’t a win that changed the leaderboard, but it gave the locals something to cheer for between sips of craft IPA.
Round 4 – Showdown in the Desert
When the final round began, all eyes turned to Stranger Things (Premium/LE). The UV lighting shimmered purple across the playfield, the Demogorgon taunted from its portal, and both Washington players found themselves head-to-head. Schatzer finished 1st, Slanicka 2nd — the decisive lock-in that sealed the Washington sweep.
Machines Across Eras – 34 Years of Pinball
This tournament’s lineup was a history lesson in silverball evolution — a 34-year stretch from Terminator 2 (1991) to King Kong (2025).
Williams and Bally machines represented the golden 90s: Fish Tales, Addams Family, Indiana Jones, No Fear, and Creature from the Black Lagoon — all hand-drawn art, mechanical toys, and wickedly simple rule sets. Meanwhile, Stern’s modern lineup — JAWS, Godzilla, Mandalorian, Stranger Things, and King Kong — brought the RGB explosions and multipliers that make today’s players twitch with joy (or horror).
Design legends like Mark Ritchie, Pat Lawlor, and George Gomez defined the 90s flow; today’s innovators like Brian Eddy and Keith Elwin have extended that legacy with deep code and cinematic experiences. What made the Washington sweep even more impressive was that Schatzer and Slanicka never flinched across eras — mastering both the drop-target timing of a 1992 Bally and the kinetic chaos of a 2025 Stern in the same night.
Final Standings – Washington Rules the Mesa
When the dust (or maybe drizzle) settled:
- 🥇 Peter Schatzer (Kent, WA) — flawless 4-0 run, proving why he’s among the most efficient players in the Pacific Northwest.
- 🥈 Ryan Slanicka (Tacoma, WA) — three 1sts and a 2nd, continuing his steady rise up the IFPA ranks.
- 🥉 Shawn Barnett (Mesa, AZ) — top local defender, keeping Arizona pride intact.
- Alex Phillips (AZ) — breakout hero, author of the Fish Tales upset that had the crowd buzzing.
The stats were absurd: Schatzer went 4×1st-place finishes, a flawless night; Slanicka posted 3×1st + 1×2nd. That’s near-perfection in any format.
The locals fought to the end. Shawn Barnett snagged his own win on King Kong, reminding everyone that Arizona pinball isn’t backing down. Colin Taylor topped his group on Metallica Remastered (Premium/LE) — Stern’s 2024 update of the 2013 hit — while Kevin Burns finished strong on The Addams Family, that evergreen Bally masterpiece that somehow never loses its charm. But momentum was no longer a factor; Washington had taken over.
The Night That Tilted West
By midnight, the tournament floor had thinned to clusters of laughter, post-game handshakes, and the hum of machines rolling into attract mode. Glasses clinked upstairs. A few locals joked about “installing a roof” to stop the Washington rain next time.
The scoreboard didn’t lie — the desert got raided, and Washington left with the loot.
But if you know anything about Arizona pinball, it’s that pride doesn’t drain easily. The next time these two regions meet, it might not be such a dry heat.