When the flippers finally fell silent on Saturday afternoon, Elyza Brillantes stood alone at the top of the local pinball mountain. The Denver competitor captured first place at the Pinbabes at the Bakery – Summer 2026 tournament on June 13, delivering an absolute clinic on the silver ball. Putting on a masterclass of mechanical precision, Brillantes conquered the competition by posting the highest score on six of the nine machines she played throughout the event. This dominant performance cemented her status as a premier tournament athlete capable of breaking any playfield layout.
Outside, overcast skies and 91-degree summer heat blanketed the city, but inside Pueblo’s beloved Bite Me Cake Company and Flip A Coin Arcade Bar, the climate was pure retro competitive fire. Local pinball diehards know this downtown gem provides a wonderfully mellow atmosphere packed with pristine vintage cabinets, an adult beverage bar, and delicious bakery treats. Patrons rave about the welcoming ownership and the curated lineup of classic arcade games that make every visit feel like stepping back into the golden age of coin-op entertainment. It served as the ultimate legendary arena for eleven dedicated athletes to battle through a grueling marathon of knockout warfare.
Early Rounds and Colorado Standings on the Floor
Tournament organizer Deanna Scalf designed a relentless ten-round Group Knockout format that tested every ounce of player stamina across 23 total games. The eleven-player roster featured four IFPA-ranked competitors alongside seven unranked challengers eager to make their mark on the local circuit. In the broader regional picture of the Colorado NACS standings, nine state-ranked contenders stepped up to the plunge. Stephanie Koutavas entered as the highest state-ranked heavyweight in the building at number 62, while Brillantes lurked further down the state board at number 252.
From the opening bell, Brillantes played with the dynamic intensity of a seasoned sports broadcaster calling their own championship game. She swept through her opening group on Williams’ classic 1985 Sorcerer cabinet, capturing the top spot over Allysha Baca and Scalf. Brillantes immediately backed up that statement in the second round on Bally’s legendary 1995 Attack from Mars. Holding the left flipper button during the launch to trigger the secret skill shot ruleset, she outgunned Koutavas, Claire Schad, and Gabbi Hernandez in a marathon 22-minute sci-fi slugfest.
Rich Stuns on White Water as the Knockout Pressure Mounts
Even legendary athletes hit turbulent waters, and the tournament’s dramatic turning point arrived during a tightly contested fourth round. On the unforgiving playfield of Williams’ 1993 White Water masterpiece, Michelle Rich executed a brilliant tactical upset over the tournament favorite. Rather than blasting a full plunge screaming down toward the bottom flippers, savvy players know to soft plunge to the upper flipper for controlled playfield access. Rich navigated the roaring river layout and the tricky Bigfoot Bluff shots flawlessly over an eleven-minute four-player showdown to capture first place in the group.
That stunning loss sent immediate shockwaves through the bracket and altered the momentum of the afternoon. Schad secured second place in the chaotic White Water group, while Koutavas ground out a solid third-place finish. Brillantes was pushed all the way down to a fourth-place round finish, absorbing a critical knockout strike on her scorecard. The unexpected upset proved Rich was a formidable architect of silver ball destruction, setting up an intensely dramatic second half of the tournament.
A Heavyweight Showdown on Stern’s Pokémon Pro
As the strike limits mounted and the field tightened, the seventh round delivered a titanic three-player clash of the tournament’s top performers. The dramatic stage was set on Stern’s brand-new 2026 Pokémon Pro cabinet, representing the cutting edge of modern pinball mechanics. Brillantes locked horns with organizer Scalf and the dangerous Rich in a high-stakes arena battle where every single flipper tap carried championship weight. Spectators crowded around the machine to watch the three local giants trade multiball salvos and mode completions over seventeen minutes of play.
Over those seventeen grueling minutes of mechanical warfare, Brillantes reclaimed her dominant rhythm to sweep the group and capture first place. She mastered the main four-shot layout to leave Scalf claiming second place, while Rich was forced to settle for third. That decisive victory re-established Brillantes’ statistical superiority in direct head-to-head matchups on the floor. Across their six shared group games during the tournament, Brillantes outplayed Rich by finishing ahead of her four separate times.
Koutavas Survives a Thirty-Five Minute Monster on Scared Stiff
The marathon endurance test reached its absolute peak in round nine during an exhausting thirty-five-minute battle on Bally’s 1996 horror comedy classic, Scared Stiff. Master pinball architects crafted this beloved boney beast to punish flipper fatigue while rewarding precise spider wheel spins and crate multiball extensions. Four exhausted contenders—Koutavas, Scalf, Brillantes, and Rich—stepped up to the coffin to fight for tournament survival. Ignorance of the spider spin hole is fatal here, and Koutavas demonstrated flawless trap control to capture first place in the grueling four-player match.
Scalf fought with tremendous veteran grit to capture second place in the marathon match, keeping her podium hopes alive. Brillantes survived in third place, while Rich suffered a tough fourth-place finish. That boneyard clash highlighted the razor-thin margins between the top athletes; across the entire tournament, Scalf and Brillantes proved evenly matched, finishing ahead of each other three times apiece in their six shared games. Koutavas’ clutch victory set up a dramatic final showdown against Brillantes for the overall crown.
Brillantes Seals the Championship on Classic Meteor
By the time the surviving finalists staggered into the tenth and deciding round, the total tournament duration had crossed the 220-minute mark. The championship came down to a head-to-head duel between Brillantes and Koutavas on Stern Electronics’ 1979 solid-state masterpiece, Meteor. Master architects of late-70s playfield design built Meteor to reward relentless drop-target hunting and massive spinner multiplier accumulations. In a rapid-fire nine-minute sprint, Brillantes conquered the rocket banks to secure first place in the round and lock up the tournament victory.
Koutavas displayed extraordinary resilience all afternoon, pushing the champion to the absolute limit while finishing ahead of her in two of their six shared group games. Yet Saturday belonged to Brillantes, whose encyclopedic playfield knowledge and unstoppable competitive drive electrified the entire Pueblo pinball community. Celebrating a monumental personal achievement, Brillantes proved that when the pressure peaks, true athletes elevate their game to conquer the silver ball. Here is how the top competitors finished when the final strikes were tallied:
The Podium
- 1st Place: Elyza Brillantes
- 2nd Place: Stephanie Koutavas
- 3rd Place: Deanna Scalf
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