On the evening of June 23, 2026, the local silverball faithful gathered at the Outlanes Pinball Lounge in Littleton for the Spring/Summer Open League #4. The chill, comfortable bar is renowned for its stellar mix of retro and modern tables, providing the perfect battleground for 59 competitors. The field was absolutely stacked, featuring 46 IFPA-ranked players and drawing a dozen of Colorado’s top 25 state-ranked contenders. Yet, all eyes were glued to Englewood’s own Walt Wood, a 15-year veteran riding a scorching hot streak.
Wood strolled up to the flippers ranked IFPA #39 nationally, carrying a phenomenal seven-event streak of top-three finishes that began back in early May. Having captured the crown in four of his last five outings, Wood was the undeniable heavyweight favorite of the bracket.
Abbott Strikes First on Venom
Even the mightiest champions can stumble, and Wood’s evening opened with an unexpected uppercut on Stern’s 2023 release, Venom (LE). This modern speed-fest demands fast combo skills, where tournament players often pick Eddie to start and aim just left of the scoop to ignite the carnage on the plunge. In a tough four-player group, it was Mark Abbott who delivered the decisive blow.
The pre-game ratings gave Abbott roughly a 1-in-5 shot of taking down the top seed, but Abbott—whose own rating has climbed to IFPA #1,107 this year—defied the odds. He executed flawlessly on the Symbiote-infested playfield, handing Wood a second-place finish and proving that out on the Outlanes floor, absolutely nothing is guaranteed.
The Walking Dead’s Time-Warp Mystery
If the Venom loss rattled Wood, he didn’t show it when he stepped up to Stern’s gritty 2014 survival simulator, The Walking Dead (Pro). According to the tournament data, this four-player slugfest between Wood, Donavan Stepp, Mark Abbott, and Lauren Rusnak clocked in at a staggering 155 minutes. Considering the entire tournament’s duration was recorded as only 161 minutes, it looks like a sleepy scorekeeper or a software glitch gave us a good laugh. Unless they managed to play the rest of their matches in six minutes flat, we’ll chalk this marathon up to digital fiction!
Regardless of the buggy timestamps, surviving this unforgiving arena requires extreme tactical discipline, like methodically completing drop targets to light your major shots for mode starts. Wood’s veteran grit shined through the software errors; he outlasted the group to claim the top score on the machine, with Stepp grabbing second.
Breaking Ties and Sweeping Arenas
Once Wood found his rhythm, he became an absolute wrecking ball. He swept the rest of his groups, putting up the top score on four of the five machines he touched during his run to the championship. As Wood locked down the top of the leaderboard, the rest of the field engaged in some heavy, deeply personal battles.
Rob Tompkins, who is steadily improving his season rating to IFPA #2,349, finally edged ahead of Mark Abbott to break a long-standing deadlock in a rivalry that spans 17 shared tournaments. Tompkins also locked horns with veteran Donavan Stepp; the two share a deep history across 16 events, and true to form, Stepp maintained his edge over Tompkins in their shared bouts tonight.
Mishler’s Back-Bracket Miracle
While Wood’s brilliant display of sustained excellence earned him another victory, the most resonant storyline of the night belonged to a player who walked in as a massive underdog. Ben Mishler arrived at Outlanes coming in as the 73rd seed of 59—a true back-of-the-pack competitor facing a gauntlet of state champions.
Yet, when the lights flashed, Mishler played the pinball of his life, executing a spectacular run to the front to force an incredible multi-way tie for second place. It was the ultimate Cinderella story, proving exactly why we line up to flip on league night.
- 1st: Walt Wood
- 2nd: Beth Smith
- 2nd: Rob Tompkins
- 2nd: Ben Mishler
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