Stein Takes the Crown at The 1up
Shannon Stein claimed first place at the Westy Colfax Queens: 2026 Summer Season #5 on July 9, finishing ahead of a 13-player field. The victory came on the back of a commanding floor performance where Stein captured the top score on five of the six machines she drew. Lindsey Brown and Whitney Lockhart secured a tie for second place just behind her in the final standings.
The Thursday night Group Match Play tournament, organized by Deanna Scalf at The 1up Arcade Bar – Westminster, brought out a focused mix of competitors. The field featured nine IFPA-ranked players and four unranked entrants, creating close quarters where one bad game could undo an afternoon. In a smaller format where points are awarded strictly by finishing position within each group, the margins for error remain thin. Stein navigated the evening by simply refusing to drop points to her competitors.
Taking Control on The Big Lebowski and JAWS
Stein, an unranked player with nine years of competitive experience and 19 total tournaments under her belt, began her evening in a three-player grouping alongside Kelli Raisler and River Dare. Her first test was on Dutch Pinball’s 2015 release, The Big Lebowski, where she got 5.00 points for the win. Raisler took second receiving 3.00 points, while Dare finished third. Stein’s victory set a steady tempo for a player looking to improve on her career average finish of 12th place.
The trio immediately moved to Stern’s JAWS (LE) for their next match. Stein repeated the result exactly, again finishing ahead of Raisler and Dare to secure another five points. The only blemish on her Round 1 card came during a longer 52-minute grind on John Wick (LE). Raisler, the IFPA #8702 ranked player, found her footing on the 2024 Stern machine to take first place, handing Stein her only second-place finish of the night. Despite that single loss, Stein finished ahead of Raisler in two of their three shared matches over the course of the tournament.
Strathearn and Lockhart Battle the Monsters
While Stein was building her lead, the rest of the field fought for positioning under the broken clouds and 77°F weather outside. In Round 1, Judy Strathearn found a critical win on Williams’ 1998 classic Monster Bash against Hayley Mitrano and Kyri Baker. On Monster Bash, six center spinner shots will light Mosh Pit Multiball at the scoop, which can then be used to add two more balls to the playfield. Strathearn navigated the George Gomez design efficiently, edging out Mitrano in an 8-minute match to take 5.00 points.
Strathearn carried that momentum into Round 2, where she ran into Whitney Lockhart on the newly released Pokémon (LE). The 2026 Stern design rewards players who know not to hold the left flipper for the skill shot, unless the outlane has been recently rebuilt. Lockhart bested Strathearn, Amber Martinez, and Raisler during their four-player match, securing five points on her way to a strong overall finish. Over the course of the event, Lockhart placed ahead of Strathearn in all three games they shared.
A Flawless Round 2 Closes the Door
Stein entered Round 2 paired with Karen Mooney and Markie Cecelones. The group’s first draw was Stern’s The Uncanny X-Men (LE), released in late 2024. Stein locked in another victory, taking 5.00 points while Mooney settled for 3.00 and Cecelones walked away with 1.00. Stein finished the night having bested Mooney and Cecelones in all three of their shared games.
The momentum continued onto Ghostbusters (Pro), a 2016 release. Stein again outpaced her group, capturing her fourth top score of the evening. The pattern held across the arcade floor, a venue regulars praise for its mix of clean classic cabinets and modern machines operating on traditional tokens and $1 credits. Stein finished her sweep of the group on Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast (Premium), a 2018 Stern release. That final match yielded yet another 5.00 points, cementing her tournament victory.
The Final Count at The 1up
Stein’s run across the Westminster floor was an exercise in consistency, turning a solid start into an unshakable lead. With an average career finish of 12th place coming into the event, taking the crown in a field of 13 required a noticeable step up in execution. She played clean, capitalized on her machine draws, and finished the night with zero wins in the last three years finally wiped from her resume.
Behind Stein’s commanding first-place finish, the battle for the remaining steps was incredibly tight. Lindsey Brown, leaning on a 100 percent win rate across Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Star Wars (Pro), and Jurassic Park (LE), earned enough points to share the second-place spot. Whitney Lockhart matched her exactly, relying on her own crucial wins on Batman 66 (Premium) and Ghostbusters (Pro). When the venue closed its doors for the night, Shannon Stein stood alone in 1st place, with Lindsey Brown and Whitney Lockhart tied for 2nd.
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