If you’re one of those who consider pinball an anachronism of dingy arcades and dated diners, the IFPA 20 World Pinball Championship will make you change your mind. Here, the world’s best players gather, and the ante is as high as the tension is charged. Imagine 80 of the world’s top players from 18 nations competing for the title with jitters and accuracy that would make even the most experienced esports competitors quiver.
A new generation is leaving its stamp, and it’s not just hyperbole. The median age of the last eight (excluding the legendary Keith Elwin) was around 19, making the competition something of a youthquake. Sweden’s up-and-coming stars Arvid Flygare and Viggo Löwgren arrived in identical Lund Pinball Academy tops, while Colorado standouts Escher Lefkoff and Zach McCarthy represented the Rocky Mountains. Even defending champion Johannes Ostermeier seemed as solid as ever, but the real narrative was new blood rising up.
Nevertheless, pinball isn’t solely about youth—it’s all about family with deep roots. Adam Lefkoff, a top-ranked player himself and senior engineer for NV5 Geospatial, has been coaching his son Escher since the age of four. To Adam, pinball is the ultimate engineering challenge, where problem-solving and strategy are as important as reflexes. “The journey of the silver ball is more than a game. It’s a reflection of my passion for engineering and problem-solving,” he said. That approach has paid off—Escher is currently one of the world’s best. Their tale is just one of the ways that pinball brings generations together.
The finals were an endurance marathon of skill. Games went late into the evening, with over 12,000 watching on Twitch. The commentary table was filled with pinball legends, while the chat averaged serious fans, curious newcomers, and the occasional troll—the same way these streams typically are.
The quarterfinals delivered some unforgettable battles. World #1 Jason Zahler faced off against all-time great Keith Elwin. Arvid Flygare and Viggo Löwgren went the distance in a nine-game nail-biter, with Arvid clinching it thanks to a Monger multiball on Iron Man. Escher Lefkoff swept Zach McCarthy, while Johannes Ostermeier just managed to edge past Matthew Richardson in a tiebreaker. The tension was so sharp you could almost feel the tilt warnings buzzing through the screen.
By the semifinals, the play was on a whole other level. Arvid stormed to a 3-0 advantage over Johannes, ultimately eliminating the defending champion. Over on the other side of the table, Jason and Escher—the world’s top two players—put on a dazzling display of high-end play, making rolling tap passes and alley shatzes look effortless. Jason remained stone-cold stoic throughout it all, racking up jackpot after jackpot, but the pressure was building beneath that calm demeanor.
The finals reflected all that is most exciting about competitive pinball: comebacks, accuracy, and the sorts of subtle nudges that distinguish pros from the rest. Jason took an early lead with a 3-0 advantage over Arvid, but Arvid staged a comeback, taking the match into extra games. Their battle on Godzilla was thrilling to watch—Jason took his score carefully past 1.5 billion, while Arvid’s final ball slid away. The crowd at the barn went wild, Twitch chat lost their minds, and Jason just finally let the emotion out, still smiling and clapping as he knew he’d just won his first Major Championship.
After qualifying as the #3 seed, Jason Zahler beat 4-time Major Champion Daniele Acciari (5-3), 11-time Major Champion Keith Elwin (4-2), 3-time Major Champion Escher Lefkoff (4-1) and 1-time Major Champion Arvid Flygare (5-3) to win his 1st Major Championship, becoming the 35th player in competitive pinball history to accomplish the feat.” That is rarefied company.
What is even more thrilling, though, is the way pinball has evolved with the digital world. With live streams of tournaments being broadcast on Twitch, expert insights, and a worldwide audience, the silver ball has never been more watched—or as intense. As Adam Lefkoff said, the horizon is bright with new players coming into the light, and the community is still on the rise. Sponsorships can still be an obstacle, but to those who are passionate about the game, there is always another tournament and another stream to watch.
So the next time somebody dismisses pinball as something in the past, remind them of IFPA 20. Remind them about the teenagers playing like veterans, the legends testing the limits, and the champions stepping up to the plate when it counts. Because in competitive pinball, every flip counts—and the next world champion may be out there watching, waiting for his chance.