Pinball Past and Present Clash at Atomic’s Sunday Slugfest

Bride of Pinbot here, reporting from the sun-drenched desert where the flips are sharp, the players sharper, and the AC is working just hard enough to keep our flipper fingers dry. This past weekend saw another Silverball Sunday light up Mesa, Arizona—and with clear skies and 75 degrees outside, it was the perfect day to hang inside and destroy some drop targets.

Twenty players descended on Atomic Age Modern for a battle of reflexes, nudges, and bonus multipliers across twelve grueling rounds of group knockout pinball. Four strikes and you were out, which means one bad bounce could send you packing. Let’s dive into where it all went down, what they played, and who walked away with the glory.

Where Retro Dreams and Replays Live: Atomic Age Modern

Atomic Age Modern isn’t just a place to find retro furniture—it’s a time capsule and playable pinball museum. The machines here range from late-’70s electro-mechanical gems to brand-new Stern releases still smelling like factory lacquer. And the condition? Immaculate. The owners clearly care about gameplay integrity, from flipper responsiveness to perfect playfield slope. You’ll see everything from the chime-heavy nostalgia of Magic (Stern Electronics, 1979), a game that kicked off Stern’s rise in the late ’70s, to the brutal shot geometry of John Wick (Pro), one of the freshest pins in tournament play.

And with 22 games in rotation, players weren’t just competing—they were time traveling between eras of flipper design, rules evolution, and audio-visual flair. It’s the kind of lineup where you might warm up on a solid-state classic like Flight 2000—Stern’s first multiball game with synthesized speech—then get walloped by the kinetic chaos of Godzilla (Pro).

When Deadpool Entered Multiball, So Did the Drama

Deadpool (Pro) by Stern is deceptively simple in its layout, but don’t let that fool you. Beneath the colorful comic book art and fourth-wall-breaking humor is a game that demands combo fluency and controlled aggression. Released in 2018 and designed by George Gomez, it marries old-school shot flow with modern code depth.

Round 3 saw players battling it out during “Sabretooth Battle,” one of Deadpool’s early villain modes that demands consecutive shots while avoiding costly drains. Adam Horton leaned on his experience to reach Katana-Rama multiball, maximizing his playfield multipliers while keeping the inlanes alive. John Magyar, with his higher state rank, showed solid control but couldn’t string together enough battle hits to keep pace. Lucas Wonnacott activated Lil’ Deadpool multiball but drained shortly after, and Mark Farina Jr had a strong first ball but couldn’t find his groove afterward.

Deadpool has quickly become a tournament staple across the country—not just for its humor but because it rewards smart stacking and punishes sloppy play. It’s also one of Stern’s more balanced games in terms of scoring potential, making it ideal for high-stakes rounds like this one.

Five Machines That Brought the Noise (and the Nostalgia)

Let’s get into the guts of the lineup. With a mix of modern heavy-hitters and silverball throwbacks, here are five that deserve special mention:

Godzilla (Pro) – Stern, 2021
Designed by Keith Elwin, Godzilla is the poster child for flow-based modern pinball. Its side ramps, building bash toys, and Kaiju battles make it a crowd favorite. The bridge and Mechagodzilla mechanisms add interactive complexity, while the ruleset encourages stacking multiballs with city destruction for massive points. It’s a tough game to master but endlessly rewarding.

The Party Zone – Bally, 1991
The Party Zone is a hybrid oddball: it combines characters from Bally’s earlier games (Elvira and the Party Monsters, Dr. Dude) into a surreal bash-fest with zany callouts and a rocket-fueled soundtrack. The game’s “Big Bang” feature offers an all-or-nothing reward shot that either makes or breaks a round. In a tournament, it’s chaos in a cabinet—perfect for flipping the leaderboard in one ball.

Eight Ball Deluxe – Bally, 1981
One of the most iconic solid-state pins of all time, Eight Ball Deluxe demands precision. The inline drop targets are a rite of passage for skilled players, and the “Shoot the 8-Ball” voice callout is pure nostalgia. It’s a brutal yet fair game that separates shot-makers from button-mashers. If you tilt here, it’s on you.

John Wick (Pro) – Stern, 2024
This game is still new enough to smell like fresh paint, but it’s already impressing players with its fluid play and stylized aesthetics. The ruleset is built around contracts and multikill combos, all timed to a synth-heavy soundtrack worthy of the Continental. With a high-risk “Continental Hotel” shot that loads up your bonus, it’s got early shades of Tron: Legacy and Iron Man in its risk-reward pacing.

Flight 2000 – Stern Electronics, 1980
A personal favorite of early Stern fans. This game pioneered multiball and voice in pinball, with a hypnotic synth soundtrack and an orbit that loops like a starship slingshot. The game plays slow by modern standards but rewards planning and control over chaos. Tournament players respect it, and nostalgia seekers adore it.

Shaking Things Up on Evel Knievel

The finals took place on Evel Knievel (Bally, 1977), a fast and furious machine designed to reflect the legendary stuntman’s daredevil reputation. With simple scoring and lightning-fast gameplay, this is a table where one mistake costs dearly. Its symmetrical layout offers almost no safe zone—a pure reflex game.

Mark Farina Jr, who entered as the underdog ranked 114th in Arizona, made it his moment. He locked into the spinner shot—the shot on Evel Knievel—and ripped it clean several times in a row, capitalizing on lit bonuses. Bob Kennedy kept pace with clean drop target work but couldn’t find the spinner timing to catch up. Adam Horton’s final ball drained early, while Dave Halley ran out of momentum after a hot start. The older the machine, the purer the skill, and Mark nailed it.

1. Mark Farina Jr – Gilbert, AZ (State Rank: 114)
   What a clutch finish! Mark proved that rankings don’t tell the whole story, especially when you’re the one who set up the tournament.

2. Bob Kennedy – Mesa, AZ (State Rank: 41)
   With 184 events under his belt, Bob knows how to grind. A strong, consistent run that only fell short in the final stunt.

3. Adam Horton – Planet Earth (State Rank: 23)
   Adam played with confidence all day, and his early round performance on Deadpool was one of the tournament highlights.

4. Dave Halley – Arizona (State Rank: 34)
   Dave kept it steady throughout the five-hour brawl and added another impressive finish to his already stacked tournament resume.

Arizona IFPA Top 10 Standings

Mesa’s Got Game (and Great Taste in Pinball)

A final shoutout to Mark Farina Jr for running and winning the tournament (talk about pulling double duty), and to the team at Atomic Age Modern for maintaining one of the slickest lineups in the region. From spinner-heavy classics to deep code moderns, this event showcased the full scope of pinball’s evolution.

Whether you’re a local player chasing WPPR points or just someone who can’t resist the call of an inline drop target, Silverball Sunday is worth your quarters. For future events, head to SilverballSunday.com, and if you’re planning your trip, don’t skip the Venezuelan joint next door.

This is Bride of Pinbot, signing off from the neon-lit streets of Mesa—where the flippers are live and the bonus is always building. Don’t miss out on future pinball tournament news and highlights!