Tik Tok’s Workshop Recap: Richard Godwin Takes First Place

The tension at Tik Tok’s Workshop crackled early on Monday evening. In the very first round of the Fair Strikes tournament, a fierce four-player battle unfolded on the 1977 Bally classic, Eight Ball. Rachel Ady, an unranked competitor, stepped up and delivered a stunning performance against Donovan Haga, the highest-ranked player in the building at IFPA #720. Over a grueling twelve minutes, Ady navigated the retro playfield to secure a crucial first-place finish in the group, handing Haga his first strike of the night. In a field this small, that early stumble sent a clear message to the rest of the room.

Located in Bremerton, Washington, Tik Tok’s Workshop is a certified elder GenX wonderland, built on a foundation of pure retro arcade nostalgia. Patrons flock here for the incredible atmosphere, where a single rockstar bartender handles mixed drinks and light bites while seamlessly servicing the machines with a smile. It is the kind of intimate, friendly bar where players can easily spend hours flipping on classic titles with just a handful of quarters. But on a tournament night, that cozy environment quickly transforms into a high-stakes pressure cooker.

The Unforgiving Weight of a Twelve-Player Bracket

With only twelve participants registered for the June 8 event, the margin for competitive error was virtually nonexistent. The Fair Strikes knockout format meant that every player was constantly rubbing shoulders with the same dangerous opponents. Ten of the twelve players held active IFPA rankings, bringing the national average rank of the field to a very solid #11784.

The lineup itself demanded respect. Spanning from 1972 to 2017, the collection featured unforgiving classics like Bally’s Centaur and Fireball, alongside modern brutality like Spooky Pinball’s Total Nuclear Annihilation. In a Fair Strikes format, where players earn strikes based on finishing position, these high-variance machines meant a single drain could be disastrous.

A small bracket creates a unique, suffocating psychological weight for tournament competitors. One brilliant game can instantly propel a player toward the podium, while a single poor performance can completely undo an entire afternoon of hard work. The local Washington scene was heavily represented, with nine state-ranked players boasting an average state rank of #241. Everyone knew each other’s flipper tendencies, making every matchplay pairing feel like a high-stakes local derby where secrets were impossible to keep.

Haga and McCann Rekindle a Classic Rivalry

Despite his shocking early setback against Ady on Eight Ball, Donovan Haga refused to quietly exit the tournament. Haga has been trending up significantly on the strength of his recent results, collecting two outright wins across his last five events. He carried that aggressive momentum into the middle rounds, fighting his way through the bracket to set up a massive Round 6 showdown on Gottlieb’s 1982 Devil’s Dare.

Waiting for him at the machine was Andrew McCann, another powerhouse local sporting an impressive IFPA rank of #1193. The two players share a deep, long-standing rivalry, with Haga leading their historical head-to-head matchup with 14 wins to McCann’s 11 prior to the event. Over fourteen agonizing minutes, the two heavyweights traded blows on Devil’s Dare, but Haga ultimately seized the top spot in the three-player group. McCann was forced to settle for second in the game, though he successfully narrowed the gap in their lifetime series by outlasting Haga in the overall tournament standings.

Richard Godwin’s Relentless Machine Sweep

While rivalries flared and upsets shook the lower half of the bracket, Richard Godwin was quietly assembling a masterclass performance. Godwin, currently sitting at IFPA #7333, utilized an incredible run of consistency to survive the nine-round gauntlet. Out of the six different machines they played throughout the evening, Godwin managed to put up the outright top score on four of them.

That level of dominance is nearly impossible to counter in a Fair Strikes format. Godwin navigated the challenging retro lineup with absolute surgical precision, refusing to give their opponents any breathing room. Whether they were battling through the chaotic early rounds or closing out the final frame, Godwin’s ability to sweep the arena kept the rest of the field permanently playing for second place.

Settling the Podium in Bremerton

Godwin ultimately secured the first-place finish, capping off a stellar night of pinball. Andrew McCann’s resilient play rewarded him with the runner-up spot, proving his enduring consistency in the Washington competitive circuit. Mason Forsyth, an emerging talent ranked IFPA #10415, rounded out the podium with an impressive third-place finish.

Donovan Haga’s explosive run finally ran out of steam, leaving him just outside the money in fourth place. Arthur Eckhardt and Bruce Cherry followed closely behind in fifth and sixth respectively, highlighting just how incredibly tight the top half of the leaderboard remained until the very end of the night. Even players who finished lower, like Justin Torno and Rachel Ady tied for seventh, fought tooth and nail in every single round.

When the final ball drained and the machines went quiet, the reality of the small bracket was undeniable. In a twelve-player field, there are no easy rounds, no soft matchups, and absolutely no safe leads. Tik Tok’s Workshop delivered a textbook example of close-quarters competitive pinball, where one great game forged a champion and one bad bounce sent contenders packing.