Entering the June 2026 Tucson Timed Match Play as the highest-ranked competitor in the building at IFPA #154, Ben Clement left no doubt about his elite pedigree. Across ten grueling rounds of group match play, the Marana local put up the top score on six of the nine machines he played, securing first place with an aggressive, dominant night on the floor. Clement captured seven of his ten rounds, backing up his phenomenal career peak of IFPA #108 and adding to his active surge of two victories in his last five outings. His veteran composure shone brightly against a deeply experienced national field that boasted 1,530 combined career events and an average of nearly eight years of competitive play.
The setting for this race was Hotrods Old Vail, a unique, highly rated Tucson bar where patrons can admire total automotive restorations and custom modifications right inside the attached auto shop while competing. Operating on a focused Thursday through Sunday schedule, the lively venue provided a high-energy backdrop that regulars consistently praise for serving up exceptional burgers, crispy potato skins, and legendary rattlesnake tails. With an intimate field of eight contenders—six of whom held official IFPA rankings and represented some of the sharpest talent in the state—competitors constantly crossed paths with nowhere to hide during the 214-minute marathon.
Clement Sets the Early Pace Inside the Hotrods Garage
game Organized by third-place finisher Wayne Saeger, the tournament format pitted four-player groups against one another, awarding points based on finishing position across twenty total games. Right out of the gate in Round 1, Clement set the gold standard on Sharp Shooter II, outlasting BOB BODMAN and Saeger to capture the maximum seven points in a 22-minute grind. BODMAN, a seasoned contender with 148 career tournaments to his name, quickly shook off that initial runner-up finish by capturing first place in Round 3 on Stars. However, Clement maintained his iron grip on the top of the leaderboard, immediately backing up his opening win with a commanding Round 2 victory on Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast that lasted 31 grueling minutes.
ballWhile Clement surged early, the rest of the deeply experienced field fought bitterly for regional positioning. Derek Jordan, sitting at #98 in the Arizona state standings and carrying an active five-event podium streak, stumbled in Round 2 before finding his absolute rhythm. Jordan bounced back brilliantly in Round 4 on Godzilla (Premium), taking a crucial first-place finish over Saeger and Jack Layer to keep his momentum alive. Meanwhile, Saeger leaned on his own impressive recent form—four top-three finishes in his last five events—to capture Round 3 on Ice Fever and Round 5 on Dolly Parton.
Jack Layer’s Joyride on Taxi and the Mid-Tournament Push
Even the most dominant tournament runs encounter a sudden roadblock, and for Clement, that decisive moment arrived during Round 6 on Williams’ classic Taxi. In an intense 18-minute clash, Jack Layer managed to get the better of the national standout to claim first place in the four-player group. Layer masterfully exploited the 1988 layout, likely executing the vital competitive strategy of picking up passengers after multiball ends to instantly relight the right saucer lock and maintain perpetual multiball action. This brilliant display earned Layer his only round win of the night, forcing Clement into second place ahead of Zoe Alaina and Derek Miller.
Unfazed by the minor detour on Taxi, Clement immediately initiated a ferocious mid-tournament push to reassert his absolute authority. He responded in Round 7 by utterly dismantling the 1971 Williams classic, Doodle Bug, putting up a massive high score of 105,070 points to leave Heather Hocker in second place. Clement’s suffocating floor control was clearly reflected in his head-to-head metrics, as he decisively finished ahead of both BODMAN and Alaina in all five of the group games they shared during the event. Further down the standings, intense micro-rivalries developed during this stretch, highlighted by fifth-place finisher Jack Layer consistently besting Miller in four out of their five shared matchups.
Derek Jordan Breaks the Series Tie Before a Walking Dead Finale
As the tournament pushed past the three-hour mark, the secondary battle for the remaining podium spots reached a boiling point. A long-standing career rivalry between Derek Jordan and Wayne Saeger finally broke open on the Tucson floor. Entering the night with their historic head-to-head record deadlocked across 20 shared tournaments, Jordan pulled ahead tonight by securing second place overall, taking an 11-10 lead in their 21-event rivalry. Jordan cemented this personal triumph in Round 8 with a flawless seven-point victory on Attack from Mars, comfortably holding off Alaina and Layer.
The dramatic final act culminated in a spectacular Round 10 showdown on Stern’s unforgiving 2014 release, The Walking Dead (Pro). The 19-minute battle pitted the tournament’s eventual top three finishers—Clement, Jordan, and Saeger—directly against one another alongside Alaina. Navigating the brutal playfield demands completing sets of drop targets to light major shots for distinct mode starts. Clement executed the strategy with icy precision, capturing first place in the round to firmly shut the door on the rest of the field.
A Dominant Clinic Set in Stone
When the garage doors finally closed on the action, the Tucson Timed Match Play belonged entirely to Ben Clement. In a tightly contested eight-player arena where every contender was quickly forced into direct combat with elite peers, Clement proved untouchable by logging the top score on six of his nine machines. The masterful performance earned him his third state-level victory of the season, bolstering his #13 rank inside the Arizona NACS standings and bringing his three-year win total to 18. It was a breathtaking exhibition of floor dominance that ultimately settled into a definitive, hard-earned final hierarchy.
- 1st Place: Ben Clement
- 2nd Place: Derek Jordan
- 3rd Place: Wayne Saeger
No comment yet, add your voice below!