The final week of the regular season brought a little bit of everything:
two first-place finishes, a Pinball Rainbow, a new player breakout performance, and one last reminder that pinball can be equal parts skill and chaos.
Round 1: Nitro Ground Shaker
1st Place
I kicked off the night on Nitro Ground Shaker and immediately got off to a strong start. This classic machine rewards control and patience, and I managed to stay ahead.
The result was a first-place finish against a solid group.
Starting the night with a win is never a bad thing.
Round 2: Pokémon (Premium)
3rd Place
Pokémon was a tougher battle.
I managed to stay competitive enough to grab third place, but I never really found the rhythm I wanted.
Sometimes that’s all you can do—collect the points, avoid the last-place finish, and move on to the next machine.
Round 3: Big Game
2nd Place
Big Game was a solid performance.
I wasn’t able to catch Brad Vogus for first, but I stayed consistent throughout the game and secured a second-place finish. At this point in the night I had a first, a second, and a third, which put me in a good position heading into the final two rounds.
Round 4: Godzilla (Premium)
1st place
This was the highlight of my evening.
The game started well with skill shots, ramps, Mechagodzilla progress, and building locks. By the time I reached my final ball, everything was lined up exactly where I wanted it.
I had:
Godzilla Multiball running
Kaiju Battle ready
Mechagodzilla ready
Strong control of the ramps and jackpot shots
The plan was to finish Godzilla multiball, start Gigan, and immediately bring Mecha-Godzilla into the mix for a stacked scoring opportunity.
Instead, I experienced what can only be described as a Pinball Rainbow.
Three balls exited in three different directions at nearly the same time—one down the left side, one down the right side, and one straight down the middle.
Everybody loves rainbows until they’re made out of pinballs.
Even with the abrupt ending, the score held up for an 82.4 million point first-place finish and my second win of the night.
Round 5: Black Knight: Sword of Rage 4th Place
The final game didn’t go my way.
I started strong with skill shots and mode progress and felt like I was only seconds away from getting things rolling. Unfortunately, the big scoring opportunities never arrived, and I finished in fourth place.
Oddly enough, this ended up being one of my favorite games of the night.
One of the newer players in our group had been learning throughout the evening and was still working on basic flipper control. Then suddenly everything clicked.
She started a mode.
She started locks.
She started multiballs.
And before anyone knew it, she was climbing the leaderboard and charging all the way into second place.
The entire group was cheering her on by the end.
Watching someone have that breakthrough moment is one of the best parts of league pinball.
Final Results
🥇 Nitro Ground Shaker – 1st
🥉 Pokémon (Premium) – 3rd
🥈 Big Game – 2nd
🥇 Godzilla (Premium) – 1st
4️⃣ Black Knight: Sword of Rage – 4th
Night Total: 23 Points
Final Thoughts
When I look back on Week 6, the numbers tell a pretty good story: two wins, a second, a third, and only one fourth-place finish.
But the moments I’ll remember are the Godzilla game that almost became something much bigger, the perfectly formed Pinball Rainbow, and the new player on Black Knight who suddenly discovered what happens when everything starts working.
That’s league pinball.
One minute you’re setting up a massive multiball stack.
The next minute you’re watching three balls leave the machine in the shape of an Atari logo.
And somehow, that’s part of the fun. 🎱😄
Still counts.
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