Outside, the sweltering Florida summer served up a punishing ninety-four degrees and thick humidity, but inside The Pinball Lounge in Oviedo, the real heat was emanating entirely from the flippers of Nick Smith. On a vibrant Tuesday evening that drew twenty-one competitive athletes to the lanes, Smith put on an absolute masterclass of mechanical precision during the sixth installment of the 5 TPL Bonanza series. While patrons basked in the venue’s welcoming league atmosphere and impeccably maintained silverball lineup, Smith systematically dismantled the field to finish first across every single round he played.
In the grueling arena of four-player group match play, surviving eighteen total tournament games without a single stumble is akin to pitching a perfect game in the majors. Yet, Smith did exactly that, putting up the highest score on all six machines drawn in his trajectory toward the top of the podium. It was a night of pure, unadulterated dominance from the national number 978 ranked player, leaving both seasoned veterans and day-one walk-ups staring at the scoreboard in awe.
Establishing Authority on King Kong and Banzai Run
Right out of the gate in Round 1, Smith established his territorial dominance on Stern’s 2025 release, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island. Facing off against formidable Florida top-ten contender Garrett Smoke, along with national standout John Moschella and David Troum, Smith refused to flinch. He masterfully worked the drop targets near the upper left flipper to trigger King Kong multiball, riding the chaotic multi-ball waves to secure the maximum seven points. Smoke put up a valiant fight to claim five points, but Smith had already set his unstoppable pace for the evening.
Round 2 forced a dramatic shift in mechanical discipline as Smith stepped up to Williams’ 1988 vertical-playfield masterpiece, Banzai Run. Grouped against Brayden Derazza, Andrew Gribbons, and Justin Derazza, Smith adapted his timing flawlessly to the steep magnetic hill. By capitalizing on the high-value cliff jumps on the upper playfield, he outpaced Brayden Derazza’s solid runner-up effort in a swift nineteen-minute clash. Two rounds in, Smith held fourteen points and showed zero signs of slowing down.
Mid-Tournament Momentum Through Rollergames and Monster Bash
The mid-tournament stretch separated the contenders from the undisputed leader, beginning with a Round 3 battle on Williams’ 1990 Rollergames. Once again finding himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Moschella, Smith leaned heavily into aggressive, dynamic shot-making. He consistently dialed in the crucial Pit and Wall shots during high-stakes moments, edging out Moschella’s five-point finish to take another seven points.
Round 4 brought Smith to the spooky, silver-screen ramps of Monster Bash Remake LE, where the competition tightened significantly. Here, he locked horns with eleven-year tournament veteran Doug Bernard and the relentless Moschella. Demonstrating supreme flipper control, Smith swept the table once more, leaving Bernard in second and Moschella in third. This victory further cemented Smith’s statistical stranglehold over his closest rivals, as he finished ahead of Moschella in all four of their shared games across the tournament, and maintained a flawless three-for-three record against Bernard.
Surviving High Speeds and Navigating Shark-Infested Waters
As the evening matured into Round 5, the wider arena erupted into intense regional warfare. On Williams’ 1986 classic High Speed, Andrew Gribbons engineered a gritty, twenty-three-minute victory over Brayden Derazza, Garrett Smoke, and Steve Reining. Meanwhile, Smith kept his composure on Comet, Williams’ 1985 amusement park staple. He consistently pounded the right-side jump ramp to fend off Justin Derazza and Bernard, clinching his fifth straight round victory.
The entire tournament culminated in a grueling Round 6 showdown on Stern’s 2024 blockbuster, JAWS (LE). In a forty-one-minute marathon of physical endurance, Smith squared off directly against top finishers Justin Derazza, Gribbons, and Bernard. Smith repeatedly assaulted the chum bucket shot and sniped the pop-up fin target to attach the harpoon, unleashing multiball mayhem to seal his sixth consecutive first-place finish. Justin Derazza fought tooth and nail to grab second place in the round, a finish that allowed him to pull dead even with Bernard in their intense, dead-even rivalry spanning thirteen shared tournaments.
Flawless Season Momentum and the Final Podium
Landing an undefeated sweep across eighteen games of four-player match play sends a deafening message to the entire Florida competitive circuit. Smith currently commands the twelfth rank in the state standings with 115 WPPR points and two regional victories across eight events this season. This absolute clinic in Oviedo proves he possesses the championship stamina required to shatter the state’s top-ten barrier as the summer calendar heats up. For the rest of the local NACS contenders, the road to the state finals clearly runs straight through Nick Smith.
Winners:
- 1st Place: Nick Smith
- 2nd Place: Justin Derazza
- 3rd Place (Tied): Doug Bernard
- 3rd Place (Tied): John Moschella
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