Nick Smith FL is inevitable right now. Entering the 4 TPL Bonanza on a rainy, humid April evening, the Florida native carried a heavy mantle: a red-hot four-event podium streak that kicked off back in December 2025 at The Pinball Lounge Tuesday Night Cash Bonanza. He didn’t just show up to protect it; he showed up to dominate. Riding a massive year-over-year rise of 265 places on the IFPA ladder and boasting two outright wins across his last five events, Smith is arguably playing the absolute best pinball of his career. At this latest showdown, he made sure the incredible streak survived, navigating a gritty, talented 25-player field to claim the top spot once again.
The Atmosphere and The Field
The battleground for the night was Oviedo’s premier flipper destination, The Pinball Lounge. General sports fans might not realize the sheer mental endurance required for a 185-minute group matchplay tournament, but the patrons here certainly do. Known among locals as a famously laid-back spot, players frequently rave about the incredible selection of games and how well they are maintained by the staff. Outside, the weather offered a dreary 67-degree light rain with 84% humidity, but inside, the neon glow of 28 different machines kept the energy at a fever pitch.
The competitive context of the evening was a standard, high-quality draw. The typical weekly league night scale brought out 25 total participants, featuring 20 IFPA-ranked competitors and five unranked hopefuls. With a national average rank of #3655 and the strongest competitor being Joe Geneau at #464 nationally, the field was ripe with talent capable of capitalizing on a single missed shot.
Spotlight on a Classic
Amidst modern heavy-hitters like Godzilla and Venom, one true classic stole the spotlight. Bally’s Eight Ball Deluxe is celebrating its 45-year anniversary last month. Originally released in April 1981, this legendary solid-state machine is remarkably still drawing fierce competitors four and a half decades later. Designed by George Christian with iconic pool hall artwork by Margaret Hudson, the machine was built as the highly anticipated successor to 1977’s smash hit, Eight Ball. Arriving during a challenging era when video games were aggressively eating into arcade profits, Eight Ball Deluxe became a massive triumph with a confirmed production run of 8,250 units.
Its lasting significance within pinball history stems from its innovative features for the time. Bally introduced early speech synthesis that famously taunts players to “Quit talkin’ and start chalkin’,” and implemented advanced “memory” drop targets that recalled an individual player’s progress from ball to ball. Eventually winning the AMOA Game of the Year award in 1983, it is widely considered by enthusiasts to be one of the greatest single-level playfields ever designed.
In tournament play, its challenging geometry continues to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Players who knew the machine’s subtle tricks thrived during the event. As veteran shooters know, once all the numbered drop targets are knocked down, focusing entirely on hitting the 4-in-line bonus multiplier drop targets will make your score absolutely soar. Alternatively, those comfortable with the lightning-fast returns from the three pop bumpers found great success simply hammering that left orbit over and over to rack up points.
The Art of the Upset
In any competitive sport, momentum can shift in the blink of an eye. The most jaw-dropping moment of the evening arrived in Round 3 on Stern’s brand new 2024 Metallica Remastered (Premium). In a grueling 24-minute, four-player slugfest, Nick Przekop pulled off a monumental upset over Sierra Lieffort. The ranking gap between them entering the match? A staggering 4,242 spots.
However, anyone watching Przekop recently shouldn’t have been entirely shocked. He has improved by 1,861 ranking spots this year, and that fierce momentum is clearly continuing this month based on early three-year trend data. Przekop walked away with the 7.00 first-place points for the game, proving that the underdog can bite at any moment.
Quiet Climbers and Shifting Rivalries
The middle rounds saw steady, quiet ascents from other notable contenders in the room. Niko Vukicevic is quietly building an impressive resume, having notched three top-3 finishes from his recent events. He fought valiantly across the machines, ultimately securing a highly respectable 6th-place tie for the night alongside Geneau.
Meanwhile, John Moschella—who is up 187 positions on the IFPA ladder over the past 12 months—battled his way into an overall third-place finish. Moschella’s run was crucial, as it directly impacted two major ongoing rivalries within the local scene. Brayden Derazza managed to tie his personal head-to-head rivalry with Moschella at 2-2 with a slightly higher tournament finish tonight. Concurrently, the man of the hour, Nick Smith FL, took outright control of his own rivalry against Moschella, moving up to a 3-2 advantage in recent tournament play.
The Climax on the Mountain
Everything culminated in a high-stakes Round 6 faceoff on Williams’ 1988 classic, Banzai Run. It was a true heavyweight clash featuring the night’s top two overall finishers: Nick Smith FL and Brayden Derazza. Derazza is experiencing his own massive surge, actively rank climbing and moving up an impressive 246 spots over the past year alone.
The 19-minute showdown was a masterclass in flipper control and shot prioritization on the iconic vertical playfield. Facing off against a stacked group that also included the incredibly dangerous Joe Geneau and the surging Vukicevic, the pressure was immense. Ultimately, Smith commanded the tricky upper glass section, capturing the win and sealing his tournament victory with a flawless 7.00 point performance in the round. Derazza claimed a hard-fought second place in the game, securing his overall runner-up spot for the night.
The Reign Continues
When the final machines powered down and the standings were officially tallied, the real story wasn’t just about who took home the prize pool. It was about the continuation of a reign. Nick Smith FL didn’t just win; he validated a journey that began months ago back in late 2025. Maintaining a streak in a sport dictated by physics, gravity, and nerves is one of the hardest feats imaginable. With four consecutive top-3 finishes now safely in the books, the rest of the Florida competitive pinball circuit has a serious problem on their hands. The streak is alive, the momentum is real, and right now, Smith looks totally unbreakable.
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