October 19, 2026 | The Outpost Arcade
Well, folks, I officially played in my FIRST-EVER EPIC Women’s League Premier Division A Finals! And if there’s one thing I learned tonight, it’s that A Division pinball comes with a little bit of everything: old-school electromechanical chaos, modern pinball mayhem, live-feed cameras, dramatic tiebreakers, and enough facial expressions to keep the internet entertained for years. 😂
Let’s recap this adventure!
🥧 First, a MEGA THANK-YOU to Mom!
Before we get into the pinball, we need to talk about the baked goods.
My mom made pecan bars for me to donate to the Outpost Arcade, and these are some of my absolute FAVORITE desserts she makes. So, yes, I had to have a little internal debate about donating them. I may or may not have eaten three before leaving for the tournament. In one sitting. And I may or may not have experienced a little sugar-induced heartburn afterward. No regrets! 😂
Mom also made pumpkin bars, which are another favorite of mine. Those, however, were staying at home. A girl has to have priorities!
The pecan bars made it to the arcade, and THEY INHALED THEM. There was barely anything left on the plate!
Mom, THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing your baking talents with my pinball people! Your pecan bars were a HUGE hit, and I appreciate you thinking of our arcade community. ❤️
Now, on to the reason I was there!
🏆 Welcome to A Division!
After spending years in C Division, working my way into B Division, and continuing to improve, I finally made it into A Division.
And tonight was my first opportunity to compete in the A Division finals.
The format was a three-game semifinal group, with the top player advancing automatically and the remaining advancement spot coming down to a tiebreaker between the tied players. Three games, four players, and a whole lot of pressure!
My group included Hailey Buhrman, Kaydee Helm, Krisha Shufran, and me.
Hailey is an absolute powerhouse. She was first in women’s state when I finished second last season, and she can make some ridiculous scores on Stern machines while looking like she’s casually waiting for her grocery pickup.
Seriously. How does she do that?
The good news is that Hailey is also a genuinely lovely human being, so it’s awfully hard to be mad at her for being ridiculously good at pinball. 😂
My strategy was simple: focus on my own game, compete against Kaydee and Krisha for the other advancement spot, and try not to let Hailey’s scores get into my head.
Easy, right?
🎮 Game One: Pokémon Premium
We started with Pokémon Premium.
I put up 25.5 million points, while the game included scores of 8.8 million, 9.9 million, and a whopping 122.6 million.
That last score belonged to the player who absolutely ran away with the game!
Pokémon gave us our first taste of the evening’s scoring, and there were still two more machines to get through.
👀 Game Two: Spanish Eyes
Oh, Spanish Eyes. My beautiful, unpredictable, slightly battered old friend.
I believe this electromechanical classic dates to 1976, which makes her the same age as my husband. She’s been around the block a few times, and she has absolutely no intention of behaving herself just because we’re playing in league finals.
Spanish Eyes has pop bumpers with ATTITUDE. The ball can go down between your flippers, bounce around those bumpers, and come flying back up in a direction nobody could possibly have predicted.
You never really know what you’re going to get.
I’ve played her three or four times a year for about five years, so at least we know each other. I love classics, especially the genuine bells-and-chimes experience of an electromechanical game.
But familiarity doesn’t mean control. Spanish Eyes does what Spanish Eyes wants.
Hailey played first and put up 54,410 points. Kaydee scored 37,500, Krisha finished with 35,080, and I landed at 41,380.
And here’s where things got interesting.
I came in on the skin of my teeth! My final ball was responsible for roughly 20,000 points compared with what I’d managed on the first three balls. I was muttering to myself, making faces, and apparently baring my teeth at one point.
All while the live feed was following the action.
I can only imagine the facial-expression highlight reel. 🤣
During last season’s women’s state tournament, people thought I looked calm, cool, and collected. Inside my head, it was Bugs Bunny going woohoo, woohoo, woohoo while bouncing off every wall in the building.
Apparently, I can keep a poker face when the stakes are really high. Put me on a live feed, though, and all bets are off.
If you can’t laugh at yourself, what’s the point?
🔥 Game Three: Evil Dead
Next up was Evil Dead, the final game in our three-game semifinal bracket.
This was another opportunity to fight for that advancement spot. Hailey and I both felt we knew Evil Dead reasonably well, which gave us something to work with.
Unfortunately, the final standings put Hailey comfortably ahead, while the other three of us finished tied on three match points apiece.
Hailey finished with 12 points across the three games. Kaydee, Krisha, and I each had three.
Which meant…
TIEBREAKER TIME.
Because apparently, we hadn’t experienced quite enough excitement yet.
🏁 The Tiebreaker: MotorDome
The three players fighting for the remaining spot were me, Krisha, and Kaydee.
And the machine? MotorDome.
I was player one.
My opening score was 181.2K, compared with Krisha’s 269.1K and Kaydee’s 295.2K.
By the second ball, I had reached 269.1K, while the other scores had climbed to 662.1K and 450K.
By the third ball, I finished at 393.3K, with the other two scores at 737.7K and 565.5K.
And just like that, my night in the finals bracket was over.
Krisha advanced to the final four.
Was that the outcome I wanted? Nope. Did I give it a shot? Absolutely.
Sometimes pinball gives you the result you want, and sometimes it gives you a story to tell.
Tonight, I got a story.
🏆 Congratulations to the Final Four!
The four players moving on to the finals were:
– Hailey Buhrman
– Krisha Shufran
– Tracy Lindbergh
– Meghan Bougher
The other semifinal group had its own battle, with Tracy and Meghan earning their places in the final four.
The finals lineup was stacked, and I was excited to see how the remaining games played out.
💜 So, Where Did I Finish?
I ended the night tied for seventh place overall, alongside Terri Boyd. Elena Valenzuela finished fifth, and Kaydee Helm finished sixth.
And here’s the thing: I am NOT sad about it.
This was my first time making it into A Division, and I finished tied for seventh in the finals.
You have to start somewhere!
I spent years in C Division. I worked my way into B. I kept practicing, kept competing, and eventually made it into A Division.
Now I have my first A Division finals experience under my belt, and I’m walking away with some decent ranking points, too.
Those points count toward the bigger picture. Every bit of experience matters, and I now have a much better idea of what to expect the next time I get an opportunity like this.
I didn’t make the final four tonight, but I made it into the room where that fight was happening.
And next time, I’ll be coming in with more experience.
😂 Bonus Arcade Entertainment
Between the live-feed cameras following Hailey around, my own facial expressions on Spanish Eyes, the MotorDome tiebreaker, and the general chaos of a competitive pinball night, there should be plenty of entertainment to review later.
I may have to watch that live feed just to see what my face was doing during those first three balls on Spanish Eyes.
There is a nonzero chance that my future pinball reputation will include toddler stomps and teeth baring.
You’re welcome, internet.
Also, there was a Stargate machine sitting at the arcade with a FOR SALE — $4,000, TAX INCLUDED sign.
Just casually hanging out there.
Because apparently the evening needed one more pinball-related temptation. 😂
💜 Final Thoughts
Tonight wasn’t about winning the whole thing. It was about getting my first opportunity to compete in A Division, seeing how I measured up, and getting some experience against a very strong group of players.
I made it to the tiebreaker. I got to play some wonderful machines. I watched some excellent pinball. I got to spend an evening with my pinball community, and my mom’s pecan bars were a runaway success.
That’s a pretty good night.
Congratulations to Hailey, Krisha, Tracy, and Meghan on making the final four!
And a HUGE thank-you to Mom for the pecan bars, to everyone at the Outpost Arcade who made the evening happen, and to my fellow competitors for another memorable night of women’s pinball.
First A Division finals: DONE. Experience gained. Ranking points earned. Pecan bars inhaled.
Now we keep playing, keep learning, and see what happens next.
Because you gotta start somewhere, right?
And apparently, I started with a side of Spanish Eyes chaos and three pecan bars.
Still counts. Always!😂💜🕹️
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