The silver ball has a funny way of leveling the playing field, but lately down on St. Claude Avenue, Roland Nadeau has been making the chaotic geometry of pinball look entirely predictable. On a rainy Tuesday evening in New Orleans, Nadeau put on an absolute clinic at Emporium Arcade Bar to capture first place in Season 7 #5 of the Emporium Pinball League. The victory marks an astonishing fourth consecutive top-3 finish for the local phenom, cementing a hot streak that stretches back to April and shows zero signs of cooling off.
Twenty-two flipper-testing athletes braved the humid Louisiana downpour to battle across five intense rounds of four-player group match play. The draw featured a gritty mix of eight IFPA-ranked regulars and fourteen hungry walk-ups looking to make a name for themselves under the neon lights. But when the final bonus tallies stopped counting down after two hours of fast-paced arcade action, it was Nadeau (#145 national) who once again stood tall atop the podium, fending off brilliant, tied second-place runs from hard-charging contenders Curtis Wilde and Alex Wino.
The Electric Sanctuary on St. Claude
Step inside Emporium Arcade Bar on a league night, and you are immediately hit by a sensory wave of clacking solenoids, glowing backglasses, and a killer late-90s soundtrack. The venue has rightfully earned its reputation as a premier New Orleans pinball sanctuary. The machines are kept in remarkably pristine condition by the staff, allowing competitive athletes to push the mechs to their absolute limits without worrying about sluggish flippers or weak kickers. Paired with a lively, welcoming local crowd and wonderfully reasonably priced game tokens, the atmosphere provides the ultimate stage for high-stakes match play.
The physical layout of the lineup demanded total adaptability from the field. Competitors had to navigate an era-spanning gauntlet of nine titles that ranged from late-80s alphanumeric classics like Williams’ Police Force (1989) all the way up to cutting-edge modern LCD releases like Stern’s brand-new Pokémon Premium (2026). To survive this draw, a player couldn’t just specialize in long, flowy modern ramps; they needed the reactive reflexes to handle brutal, lightning-fast outlane drains on unforgiving 90s wood.
Nadeau’s Flawless Opening Gauntlet
Nadeau wasted zero time establishing his dominance from the very first plunge. In Round 1, he stepped up to Stern’s World Poker Tour (2006) and systematically dismantled the table, putting up a monster score to take the full seven points over Ash Sonefeld, Jody Fouse, and Preston Umstead. Nadeau’s deep understanding of the machine’s complex drop-target ruleset was on full display as he controlled the tempo with clinical precision.
That momentum carried right into Round 2 on the treacherous, lightning-fast playfield of Fish Tales (Williams, 1992). Known for its punishing boat ramps and unforgiving center drains, the fishing-themed classic often separates the veterans from the novices. Nadeau kept his cool, locking in his shots to claim another first-place group finish over Mike LaSalle, Ben Applebaum, and Lucy Rosenbloom. By Round 3, Nadeau had made it three straight victories by conquering Stern’s The Mandalorian Pro (2021), proving that his machine adaptability across vastly different manufacturing eras was practically untouchable on this given night.
Mid-Tournament Clashes and Monster Scores
While Nadeau was busy putting together his flawless early run, the rest of the twenty-two-player bracket was trading heavy blows. Veteran IFPA competitor Ben Applebaum created the most jaw-dropping offensive explosion of the night during Round 3 on Stern’s Avengers: Infinity Quest Pro (2020). Applebaum found absolute flow through the spinning disc and portal ramps, dialing in a staggering high score of 76,586,780 points. The massive 27-minute battle saw Applebaum take the win while leaving hard-fighting contenders Preston Umstead and Katie Burkart searching for answers in the outlanes.
Meanwhile, unranked dark horses were proving they had the raw flipper skills to take down seasoned state veterans. In Round 5 on that same Avengers table, Bernard M put together a clutch, gritty performance to capture first place in his group. Bernard held his ground under pressure, actively out-flipping LA NACS #50 ranked veteran Larry Reiter, alongside Applebaum and Fouse, to finish his tournament arc on a massive high note.
Showdown on the Boat Ramp
Entering the fifth and final round, Nadeau sat atop the leaderboard with four consecutive group wins, but Curtis Wilde was right on his heels after stringing together brilliant victories on Pokémon and Avengers. The scheduling gods delivered the ultimate dramatic climax: a head-to-head showdown between the tournament’s two hottest players on the most-played machine of the night, Fish Tales.
With the overall championship hanging in the balance, Wilde stepped up to the Williams classic and played with absolute ice in his veins. He dialed in the captive ball and nailed his casters club shots, putting up the top score of the three-player group to secure the seven points. Nadeau fought hard to keep his undefeated night alive, but ultimately settled for second place in the match ahead of Kelly Wilson. Wilde’s clutch victory marked his third table sweep of the night, securing him a hard-earned tie for second place overall alongside the consistently brilliant Alex Wino, who quietly put together three group wins of his own.
Looking Ahead for Louisiana’s Finest
Despite Wilde taking that final dramatic battle, Nadeau’s massive cushion of twenty-nine total points proved insurmountable. The Season 7 #5 victory adds another glorious chapter to Nadeau’s incredible 2026 campaign. Currently sitting at #6 in the Louisiana NACS state rankings with four official circuit victories under his belt, Nadeau is actively building a terrifying case for regional supremacy. As the local competitive community sets its sights on the next weekly league clashes and the upcoming summer majors, one thing is glaringly obvious: anyone wanting to hoist a trophy in the Big Easy has to find a way to break Roland Nadeau’s iron grip on the silver ball.
Tied for 2nd Place
- 1st Place: Roland Nadeau
- 2nd Place (Tied): Curtis Wilde
- 2nd Place (Tied): Alex Wino
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