Category: New Zealand Pinball Champs

We’re two thirds of the way through the year now, and the race to qualify for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs is firming up! Remember, your top 12 results from the year are counted.

Our Take

Ash continues to set the pace at the top, adding almost 20 points to stretch his lead over Patrick and Simon. Esther (+8.15) had one of the bigger gains near the top, jumping four places into 7th.

Marc (+11.38) was one of the month’s big movers, climbing 14 places from 42nd to 28th. Richard (+8.09) wasn’t far behind, jumping 11 spots to 33rd, while Filip (+6.15) moved up six places.

Further down, Ed (+6.19) had a monster month, jumping 155 places to 68th after adding his first result of the year. Rod (+4.34) also went on a serious road trip up the standings, climbing 82 places to 79th, while Alexandra (+2.42) shot up 130 places to 93rd.

It was a quieter month on the NZ pinball scene in July, with the Hawkes Bay Matariki weekend being the highlight. Lets see how that affected the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs rankings. Your top 12 results from the year are counted.

Our Take

The top six remained unchanged in July, with Ash, Patrick, Simon, Mike, Tyler and Josh all holding their ground. The biggest story near the top belonged to Aidan (+5), whose climb into 7th continues an impressive season and keeps him well in contention.

The month’s biggest mover was Josh Dipper (+28), while Kylie (+12) and Markus (+9) also enjoyed sizeable jumps. With the Matariki weekend held at the Dipper household, it seems a little home cooking can go a long way! Last but not least, Craig (+11) continued his seemingly unstoppable march up the table.

With the Kiwi Capital Silverball event spreading over May and June and a massive 12 events held overall, there’s a lot of movement in June for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs rankings. Lets take a look, remember your top 12 results from the year are counted.

Our Take

The Kiwi Capital Silverball Festival certainly shook things up! Ash stretched his lead at the top with another huge month, but the biggest move inside the top 10 came from Patrick, whose jump to second sees him leapfrog both Simon and Mike.

There were plenty of movers further down the standings too. Will (+12) and Kelly (+17) both enjoyed excellent months, while Kevin (+8) and Jeremy (+8) continued their steady climbs. Robert also made the most of June, jumping 12 places in the top 48.

Special mention has to go to Mitchell. After playing just five qualifying events, the former NZ Champion has flown straight into 11th place and already looks like a genuine contender if he decides to chase the title.

The story of May was the Kiwi Capital Silverball held in Wellington at the end of the month. With lots of WPPR’s on offer, how did that shake up the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs rankings? Lets take a look, remember your top 12 results from the year are counted.

Our Take

Ash extended his lead at the top with a 60+ point gain, and a great month by Simon has him just pipping Mike for 2nd. Elsewhere Tyler, Isaiah, Will, John, Tom, and Jeremy all made impressive moves into the top 48. But topping them all was old mate Mitchell who swooped in from Oz and rocketed from nowhere up to 15th. Perhaps he’s keen to win back the NZ champs crown again…

We’re now 1/3 of the way through the year – here’s the latest update to make the top 48 for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs! Your top 12 results from the year are counted,

Our Take

There’s no change in the top 10 again this month. And not a great number of large jumps in the top 48, with the best being Craig Easson (+6). Perhaps by the end of this month we’ll see some players making a move, with the Kiwi Capital Silverball kicking off at the end of May!

Here’s the latest update to make the top 48 for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs! Your top 12 results from the year are counted,

Our Take

There’s no change in the top 12 this month, but some good results and jumps up the leaderboard by Haylem Rayner (+13), Richard Willins (+22), and Craig Easson (+10). John Maughan (+70) wins his only tournament of the year and rockets into the top 48, perhaps he should compete more (hint, hint)!

It’s still early days in the new year so expect to see a lot of rises and fall in the race for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs – lets take a look:

Our Take

Patrick Fisher-Evans (+4) makes a big leap up to make it into the top 4. Apart from him there’s too many other players making strong gains to mention. A shoutout to Esther Ahronheim for having competed in 10 events already! Her record from last year – 47 – might be under threat.

A new year means a new qualifying race for the 2026 New Zealand Pinball Champs! Let’s see where everyone starts off after January’s champs and a few other tournaments:

Our Take

The Burke boys take 3 out of the top 4 positions thanks to a strong showing over champs weekend, and great to see Simon up there too. But it’s early days, still lots of time to make your way into and up the rankings!