I have to start this recap with a confession…
I completely forgot today was Finals Day. 😂
Apparently, that’s one way to avoid pre-tournament nerves!
Despite my less-than-stellar memory, I made my way to The Outpost Arcade to compete in the EPIC Women’s Monday Night Pinball League Premier Division (A) Finals after earning the #8 seed.
Semifinals
My semifinal group featured:
Hailey Buhrman
Gabrielle Craft
Olivia Helm
Me
World Cup Soccer
I came out swinging with a solid second-place finish, earning 2 points.
Sorcerer
Sorcerer wasn’t quite as kind, but I managed to salvage 1 point.
Dungeons & Dragons
This was the machine that got away from me. I know the game well, but I just couldn’t put together the performance I was looking for. I made plenty of dragon hits, started a mode, and worked toward multiball, but I never got the game to open up the way I know it can. Sometimes you know exactly what you want to do, and the execution just isn’t there that night.
Final semifinal standings:
Hailey Buhrman – 8
Gabrielle Craft – 5
Olivia Helm – 5
Christy Kohtz – 3
Gabrielle and Olivia required a tiebreaker for the second finals spot, with Olivia advancing.
That officially left me in 7th place overall.
Championship Finals
The final four featured:
Meghan Bougher
Krisha Shufran
Hailey Buhrman
Olivia Helm
After two games, Krisha held the lead, but Meghan mounted an incredible comeback by winning The Uncanny X-Men to claim the championship.
Congratulations to:
🥇 Meghan Bougher
🥈 Krisha Shufran
🥉 Hailey Buhrman
4️⃣ Olivia Helm
Looking Back
After competing in Division B last season, I earned my way into Premier Division A and finished 7th against the league’s top players.
I’ll also pick up some valuable IFPA points from the event, which is always a nice bonus.
Premier Division Finals may not have looked like a workout, but two and a half hours on my feet still burned 305 calories with an average heart rate of 90 bpm.
Movement doesn’t always come from a treadmill or a fitness class.
Sometimes it comes from chasing pinballs, walking between machines, and staying engaged for an entire tournament. It all still counts.
Incidental Exercise Receipts
Most importantly, I gained experience in A Division finals, which won’t feel nearly as mysterious the next time.
The best part?
Next Monday starts a brand-new season.
Everyone starts back at zero, and I get another opportunity to keep learning, improving, and seeing how far I can go.
Congratulations to everyone who competed this season, and a huge thank you to the organizers, scorekeepers, and everyone who makes Monday nights such a fun place to play.
On to the next season! 🎱💜
Still counts. Always.
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