Pinney Forces a Three-Way Tie at Electric Bat

Brian Pinney just refuses to miss a podium. Arriving at the Electric Bat Tuesday Night League, Pinney carried the weight of a staggering hot streak: eight consecutive top-three tournament finishes dating back to December 2025. While the grueling five-round contest ended without a single crowned champion, Pinney ensured his name remained at the absolute top. He finished in a three-way tie for first place alongside Nicholas Zachry and Noah Anderson, keeping his legendary run alive.

It was an absolute marathon of endurance and skill in Tempe, Arizona. The local pinball community arrived in full force, fielding a massive 105-player bracket filled with heavy hitters. Pinney had already snagged three wins in his last five outings, but defending that record against this particular crowd would require absolute precision. Players faced a ruthless format of four-player group games across five rounds, fighting for points based strictly on their finishing positions.

The Early Morning Grind at Electric Bat

The Electric Bat Arcade is a haven for the dedicated pinball purist. Tucked safely inside the Yucca Tap Room, the venue throws its doors open at 6:00 AM, demanding players trade their cash for old-school tokens before stepping up to a deeply varied lineup of sixty-seven machines. It is a budget-friendly, no-distraction environment where players can truly lose themselves in the silverball wizardry without the usual arcade interruptions.

That intense environment hosted a deeply competitive field for the evening’s group match play event. Ninety-seven of the 105 participants held active IFPA rankings, bringing the national average rank of the room to a solid #4,181. Arizona state powerhouse John Shopple entered as the strongest competitor on paper, sitting at a formidable #104 nationally with a wealth of career victories. To survive the evening, players had to grind through the massive lineup, knowing every single point was earned against serious regional talent.

Pinney’s Opening Salvo and a Pulp Fiction Shock

Pinney wasted absolutely no time establishing his dominance on the floor. He opened his night on Williams’ notoriously fast Johnny Mnemonic, leaving Andrew Roesch and Greg Shearer in the dust to take an immediate first-place group finish. Pinney then marched over to Stern’s brand-new Pokémon (Premium) machine, once again putting up the top score to capture maximum points. By the end of the evening, Pinney had posted the highest score on three of the five machines he touched during the event.

While Pinney was comfortably cruising, the rest of the arena was experiencing absolute chaos. During the second round on Chicago Gaming’s 2023 Pulp Fiction (SE), Karen Crouch pulled off the undeniable upset of the tournament. Ranked IFPA #28,328, Crouch completely dismantled Cale Hernandez, erasing a staggering 27,489-spot rank gap to steal first place in a grueling nineteen-minute match. It was a stark reminder that in a field this large, no player’s ranking makes them entirely safe.

Zachry and Anderson Join the Hunt

As the tournament pushed into the later rounds, Pinney’s absolute control began to face serious friction. Round three put him on the unpredictable Whirlwind, where he dropped to second place behind the surging Jeff Wegener. In the fourth round, playing the classic Joker Poker, Brad Vogus managed to edge Pinney out, handing him another second-place group finish and tightening the overall standings.

This slight opening was all Nicholas Zachry and Noah Anderson needed to catch the leader. Zachry has been quietly terrorizing the Arizona circuit, climbing a massive 156 spots up the world rankings over the past year to hit IFPA #204. He fired off back-to-back group wins in the fourth and fifth rounds, conquering Rush (Pro) and Black Knight: Sword of Rage (Pro) to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, Anderson was playing the absolute best pinball of his young career. With only one active year of competitive play under his belt, Anderson had already skyrocketed 5,206 places in the world rankings. Chasing his long-awaited maiden tournament win, Anderson captured first place in three of his first four rounds, suddenly finding himself tied with the veteran Pinney.

A Black Jack Finale Secures the Streak

The entire tournament came down to the fifth and final round. Pinney found himself assigned to Bally’s 1977 classic Black Jack alongside Christy Kohtz, Patrick Swazey, and Kyle Dimes. Knowing his incredible podium streak hung in the balance, Pinney locked in and delivered a clutch first-place finish on the unforgiving solid-state deck.

When the final scores were tallied, the math produced a rare, unbreakable deadlock. Nicholas Zachry, Brian Pinney, and Noah Anderson all finished perfectly tied for first place in the massive event. Anderson finally captured that elusive maiden victory, while Zachry proved his meteoric rank climb is no fluke.

Yet, the defining story of the night remains Brian Pinney’s sheer consistency. He walked out of the Electric Bat Arcade having survived an elite 105-player gauntlet to capture his eighth consecutive top-three finish. From the Christmas Classic to the Tuesday Night League, Pinney’s incredible streak marches on, leaving the rest of Arizona wondering what it takes to actually knock him off the podium.