Cade Vincent Takes First in Match Play Finals

Ogden Pinball Results: Vincent Claims Victory at Talisman Brewing

Cade Vincent is your winner for the July 8 Talisman Pinball Party. The Ogden local secured the top spot after a 171-minute Group Match Play finals session against three formidable opponents. Vincent’s victory came after a tightly contested evening where he had to outpace the tournament’s top seed to earn his crown.

Before the finals bracket was set, the path to victory wound through a competitive 11-player field. The air outside sat at a warm 94 degrees with 18 percent humidity, but inside the venue, the focus was purely on the flippers. Working backward from Vincent’s ultimate triumph reveals a night of familiar rivalries, dominant streaks, and a 128-minute Flip Frenzy qualifier that left players with nowhere to hide.

Navigating the Frenzy

Cade Vincent entered the event ranked 12th in the Utah NACS, bringing the experience of 129 career tournaments and four season wins to the floor. His qualifier run was steady, though he faced early resistance on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Premium) (Stern, 2020). During a 14-minute session on the machine, Nate London captured first position, leaving Vincent to take the loss. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles playfield heavily rewards backhand shots; players can consistently target the right ramp and, with practice, the center shot from a backhand position.

Vincent also found himself crossing paths with Dallin Hudson, reigniting a familiar rivalry spanning 46 shared events. Vincent finished ahead of Hudson in the tournament’s overall standings, pulling one back in their ongoing, neck-and-neck history. Hudson, the highest state-ranked player in the room at number 10, saw his impressive streak of four consecutive podium finishes end with a sixth-place result. Elsewhere in the room, Travys Oi notched a notable victory over Hudson on Deadpool (Pro) during an 11-minute bout. The 2018 Stern table offers a secret skill shot to those who let a soft right orbit shot go to the plunger for an autoplunge, setting up a prime shot at the right ramp.

Filling Out the Bracket

The rest of the 11-player field fought hard for every position on the board. EK Shaffer and Stacy Shaffer, finishing seventh and ninth respectively, found themselves evenly matched during the qualifier. The two crossed paths twice in the frenzy, with each player finishing ahead of the other exactly one time. Travys Oi, who ultimately finished fifth, showed consistency by finishing ahead of Amanda Rasmussen in both of the games they shared. Rasmussen finished her night in 11th place, just behind Dustin Weston in 10th and Mandi Waldron in eighth. These head-to-head battles defined the middle of the pack, proving that every game matters when fighting for a spot in the top four.

The Capener Threat

While Vincent was busy grinding out his position, Wyatt Capener was putting on a clinic. The Idaho native and IFPA number 3431 came into the event as the clear rating favorite, carrying a wave of rating gains over the past year. Capener brings four years of active play and 107 tournaments of experience to the table, and it showed. He tore through the Flip Frenzy format, assembling a massive streak of seven consecutive wins.

His dominance extended beyond mere win counts. Capener put up the top score on all seven of the machines he played during the qualifier phase on his way to securing the top overall seed. In a small, 11-player field where competitors are bound to face each other repeatedly, Capener looked poised to sweep the entire evening. He and Vincent crossed paths three times during the frenzy, with Vincent managing to finish ahead in two of those encounters, foreshadowing their final showdown.

A Small Field and a Cinderella Seed

The format shifted to a four-player Group Match Play for the finals, bringing a more intimate and high-stakes competitive setting to the brewery. Vincent, Capener, and London all advanced to the final grouping. They were joined by Cado Hernandez, who entered the finals as the fourth seed.

Hernandez, holding IFPA rank 5443, constructed a deep and impressive run from the back of the bracket. She brought 113 tournaments of career experience into the finals, proving that seeding is just a number once the start button is pressed. With three IFPA-ranked players and one unranked player making up the final group, individual matchups carried immense weight. The players settled in to determine a champion over a fixed set of three games.

Taming the Tyrant’s Eye and Securing the Podium

The finals action kicked off among the aromatic brew tanks of Talisman Brewing Company, a venue known for its friendly staff, 4-percent draft offerings, and High Point bottles to go. Round 1 took the group to Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye (Pro), a 2025 release from Stern. On this machine, players can effectively hit the right ramp and left orbit by shield staging—letting the ball rest on the shield before executing a flip. Vincent dominated the 18-minute game, capturing 4 points, while Capener took 2, Hernandez secured 1, and London was left with zero.

Capener struck back in the next game on JAWS (Pro), earning a first-place finish and 4 points in a 21-minute session to keep the pressure on. However, Vincent sealed his victory on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Premium), sweeping up 4 points in a 20-minute game to close out the tournament. Events like this highlight the tight-knit nature of the local pinball community, where every matchup is an opportunity to learn and push familiar opponents to their limits. The event concluded with Cade Vincent standing on top of the podium in first place, Wyatt Capener finishing in second, and Cado Hernandez claiming third.