It happened exactly seventeen minutes into Round 4 on the classic 1977 Bally table, Eight Ball. Bruce Cherry stepped up to the flippers, navigating the tricky spinners and kickbacks to secure a massive upset over the tournament’s heavy favorite, Andrew McCann. The victory was not just a standard win on a vintage solid-state machine; it was a blaring statement of intent. Cherry, an up-and-comer sitting at IFPA #6,339, cleanly outscored McCann, who holds the impressive IFPA #1,193 rank, overcoming a staggering gap of 5,146 ranking spots. Mason Forsyth and Chris Wilkes rounded out the group in third and fourth, respectively, bearing witness to the dramatic shift in momentum.
In a massive, sprawling tournament, a lower-ranked player might comfortably dodge the top seeds all day long. But this was Tik Tok’s Fair Strikes 4/6, where the competitive field consisted of exactly eight participants. In an intimate, small-field group knockout format, there are absolutely no easy draws. Every player faces everyone else soon enough, meaning there is nowhere to hide.
A Retro Pressure Cooker
Located in Bremerton, Washington, Tik Tok’s Workshop provided the perfect battleground on a clear, 61-degree evening. The venue is widely regarded by patrons as an elder Gen X wonderland, packed with a retro aesthetic that perfectly captures the golden age of local arcades. Players flock to the bar for its welcoming atmosphere, where a friendly, rockstar bartender serves up great drinks and light bites right in front of the guests. It is the kind of establishment where ten dollars in quarters can easily fund hours of nostalgia-fueled entertainment.
Beneath the warm, Galaga-era glow, however, the Fair Strikes format demanded absolute, unforgiving focus. The rules were straightforward but brutal: players competed in four-player group games over a series of rounds, earning strikes based on their finishing positions. Once a competitor reached the predetermined strike limit, they were eliminated from the event, and the last player standing would take the crown.
With only eight competitors in the building, the talent density was remarkably high. Five of the players were IFPA-ranked, boasting an intimidating average Washington state rank of #166. The field was anchored by McCann, the strongest player on paper, who holds the #36 spot in the state. However, the small, highly concentrated bracket guaranteed that McCann would have to face hungry, fast-rising challengers repeatedly throughout the 193-minute event.
The Climbers and the Quiet Threats
Cherry’s brilliant Round 4 upset on Eight Ball was far from a lucky break. In just his second year of competitive play, Cherry has established himself as a dangerous early-career climber. He has rocketed up an astonishing 3,028 ranking spots over the past year, and he brought serious momentum into Bremerton. Coming into the event, Cherry boasted two wins in his last five tournaments. Despite a rocky start in Round 1—taking a fourth-place finish on World Cup Soccer—he quickly rallied to dominate the middle rounds.
But Cherry was not the only competitor riding a hot streak in the eight-person gauntlet. Chris Wilkes, who ultimately battled his way to a second-place overall finish, has also been making significant waves. Wilkes has climbed 1,303 spots this year, and his momentum continued to build throughout the night. Wilkes started incredibly strong, taking first place in both Round 1 on The Wizard of Oz (LE) and Round 2 on Devil’s Dare.
Meanwhile, Mason Forsyth spent the evening quietly building on his own recent successes. Forsyth entered the tournament with the confidence of four recent top-three finishes and proved to be a persistent threat across the playfields. Unranked competitors like Kelly Frost WA and Kate Janeway also applied pressure, trading blows with the veterans and ensuring that no round offered a moment of rest. In a field this tight, every single match felt like a high-stakes finals appearance.
The Dragon and the Deep Water
Despite the early, high-profile setback against Cherry, McCann refused to go down quietly. As the field gradually thinned and the strike counts grew perilous, the veteran found his footing in Round 7. The battleground for this critical clash was Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye (Premium), a highly complex 2025 release from Stern.
In a grueling 25-minute, three-player faceoff, McCann went directly head-to-head with Wilkes and Janeway. McCann masterfully navigated the table’s deep ruleset, claiming first place in the round and forcing the surging Wilkes to settle for second. Janeway took third in the intense matchup. It was a stark reminder of McCann’s immense pedigree, proving that the top seed could still dictate the pace and dominate in the deep water of the late elimination rounds.
An Unstoppable Arena Sweep
Ultimately, however, the entire night belonged to Cherry. His performance evolved into a masterclass in adaptability across a wide variety of eras, speeds, and manufacturers. By the end of the nine-round tournament, Cherry had put up the top score on five of the nine machines he played. This incredible arena sweep count left his opponents completely starved for points and scrambling for mere survival.
The tournament’s final, decisive climax arrived in Round 9 on the legendary 1981 Bally classic, Centaur. In a rapid-fire, five-minute showdown that tested reflexes and nerves, Cherry brilliantly outpaced Wilkes to take first place in the round. The victory secured the overall tournament championship for Cherry. Wilkes finished the night with a hard-fought second place, while McCann proudly rounded out the podium in third.
When a pinball tournament features just eight total participants, the competitive math is entirely unforgiving. There are no large crowds to get lost in, and there is no safety net for a poor performance. Competitors are forced to look their biggest threats in the eye, round after grueling round, with no buffer of soft early-bracket draws. Bruce Cherry did not just survive this competitive crucible; he fully embraced the lack of hiding spots, faced down the top seed, and walked out of Tik Tok’s Workshop as the undisputed champion.