Kelsey Schomberger Captures First Career Title at Pinball Jones

Kelsey Schomberger stood over the flippers, a competitor ranked 18,903rd in the world, playing the 16th tournament of their career. At the PBJ League Season 26 Week 3 meet-up on April 8, 2026, the script was supposed to be written for the heavyweights. Pinball, however, rarely follows a script. Schomberger didn’t just survive the bracket; they thrived, securing a milestone first-ever career tournament win against a field that averaged a national rank of 11,202.

Setting the Subterranean Stage

Hidden beneath the streets of Fort Collins, Colorado, Pinball Jones provided a cool, nostalgic, subterranean atmosphere perfectly suited for a night of upsets. With its rows of pristine machines and tasty craft beer on tap, the underground bar hosted a standard competitive draw of 31 participants. It was a typical league night scale, but the competitive context was undeniably fierce. Thirty of the players were IFPA-ranked, including three in the Colorado NACS top 25 and national heavy hitter Daniel Albeyta (#948). The state talent pool was incredibly deep, boasting an average state rank of #177.

A Giant Slain on Medieval Madness

Schomberger’s Cinderella run was the ultimate headline, but the theme of the underdog pulsed throughout the arcade all night long. Nowhere was this narrative more evident than on Williams’ 1997 classic, Medieval Madness. In Round 1, Patrick Carney—ranked #18,662—stepped up to the castle against pinball veteran Dave Mercer, ranked #2,320. On paper, it was a mismatch of epic proportions: a staggering rank gap of 16,342 spots.

But the silver ball knows no rankings. For 78 grueling minutes, Carney systematically dismantled the castle and his opponents. He battered the drawbridge and commanded the playfield to a staggering 29,664,990 points. Wes Alonzo (#19,479) put up a respectable 12,533,140 for second place, and Erika Stonebay (#8,771) took third with 5,685,170. Mercer, the heavy statistical favorite in the four-player group, was left in the dust, finishing dead last with 4,838,910 points. It was the kind of spectacular upset that sends a jolt of electricity through a league night crowd.

The 122-Minute Wizarding Marathon

Across the room, while castles were falling, wizards were dueling in what the official logs claim was a sheer test of physical endurance. Jersey Jack Pinball’s 2025 release, Harry Potter (Arcade), hosted the longest match of the tournament—a punishing 122-minute, four-player marathon. Now, while we aren’t pointing fingers, one has to wonder if someone left a timer running while grabbing a fresh pint at the bar, because two hours for a single game is wildly suspect. Questionable reporting or not, Jerry Valentine officially emerged from the wizarding world victorious with an astonishing 170,000,000 points. Valentine has been an absolute terror on the circuit lately; with only two active years on record, he is on a meteoric rise, jumping 2,071 places this year alone and capturing four wins across his last five events. His Colorado NACS season context backs up the hype: he has amassed 75.91 WPPR points across 10 events, racking up 5 wins. Devin Halsey hung in for second with 85,000,000, while Tai Tran—who came into the event in spectacular form with three podium finishes in his last five events—had to settle for third with 54,000,000. Aaron Volz bowed out in fourth with 18,000,000, finally capping off the supposed two-hour grind.

Fending Off the Heavyweights

To take the overall crown, Schomberger had to fend off a surging upper echelon of talent that was peaking at exactly the right time. Elliott Layne, who ultimately claimed second place overall, has been steadily climbing the ranks, moving up 312 spots over the past year. Entering the tournament with a blistering win rate of three victories in his last five events, Layne was a clear threat. He had already built a strong seasonal foundation, tallying 70.25 WPPR points across 6 events, including 2 wins in the state rankings. Right behind him in third place was Jeremy Larsen, a player riding his own undeniable hot streak. Larsen is up 935 spots over the past year with momentum continuing this month, backed by three top-three finishes in his last five tournaments.

The Champion’s Path

Yet, despite the pedigree of Layne and Larsen, Schomberger’s play was simply untouchable. Entering the night with just 2 events and 2.21 WPPR points on the season, Schomberger put on a masterclass in varied pinball eras and styles. Grouped with Kaylen Merritt, Juan Da Silva, and Wolfgang Anketell, Schomberger started their charge by taming JAWS (Premium) with a 64,257,450-point victory. They followed it up by navigating Jurassic Park (Pro) for a comfortable 36,036,250-point win. On the legendary Attack from Mars, Schomberger went supernova, blowing up the saucers to the tune of 912,415,470 points. They kept the winning streak alive on the brand new Pokémon (Pro) with a 30,387,210-point first-place finish. A minor stumble on Pulp Fiction (SE) yielded a third-place finish with 122,330 points, but the damage to the rest of the field was already done. Schomberger had wholly dominated the group.

In a sport where world rankings and head-to-head statistics often dictate the narrative before the first ball is plunged, the PBJ League Season 26 Week 3 meet-up was a stark reminder of why the games are played on the glass, not on paper. From Patrick Carney’s giant-slaying 78-minute triumph on Medieval Madness to Kelsey Schomberger lifting the trophy in their 16th career event, the underdogs ruled the underground at Pinball Jones. For the 18,903rd-ranked player in the world, the flip from dark horse to champion is finally complete.