Providing fun pinball since Aug. 11th 2022

DUPL Season 16 – Week 5: Things Are Getting Tight at the Top

Week 5 of Season 16 took the Dayton Underground Pinball League to Rob’s Warehouse, where 20 players battled through six rounds across a lineup featuring everything from South Park and Starship Troopers to The Mandalorian, Pulp Fiction LE, KISS, Iron Man, and the always-friendly-and-never-at-all-punishing PinBot.

And after five weeks, we can officially say one thing:

This season is getting TIGHT.

THREE PLAYERS SHARE THE NIGHT

Nobody walked away with the coveted 24-point perfect night this week, but three players came awfully close.

Matt Juhascik, Zach Stoddard, and Brendon Tiffany all finished with 21 points, each putting together a 5-1 night.

For Brendon, Matt and Zach, those 21 points were huge for their positions in the overall standings. 

Just behind the leaders was another crowded group. Tony Becker, William Bentley, Mitch Roth, Tom Lute, and Daniel Graeter all posted 18-point nights, going 4-2 and keeping themselves very much in the fight.

BRIAN FINALLY LOOKS HUMAN

Brian Schlagheck entered Week 5 sitting comfortably atop the standings after putting together an incredibly consistent first four weeks.

Then Rob’s Warehouse happened.

Brian finished the night with 12 points, his lowest score of Season 16.

Normally, that might hurt.

Except we've reached the wonderful part of the season where your lowest weekly score gets dropped.

So Brian essentially looked at that 12, crumpled it up, threw it in the trash and continued sitting in first place.

Must be nice.

THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS IS CLOSING FAST

With the lowest score now removed, Brian remains our Season 16 leader with 81 points.

But Tony Becker is lurking just three points behind at 78.

Then we have William Bentley and Diane Spackman tied at 75, followed by Tom Lute, Mitch Roth and Andrew “Muffins” Smith at 72.

That means only nine points separate 1st through 7th place.

And it doesn't get much more comfortable after that.

Tom Bentley, Aaron Krueger, Matt Juhascik and Zach Stoddard are all sitting at 69 points.

One great night—or one complete pinball disaster—and this leaderboard could get turned upside down.

WEEK 5 TOP SCORES

21 Points: Matt Juhascik, Zach Stoddard, Brendon Tiffany
18 Points: Tony Becker, William Bentley, Mitch Roth, Tom Lute, Daniel Graeter
15 Points: Diane Spackman, Andrew “Muffins” Smith, Tom Bentley, Vern Staats, Dan Souders
12 Points: Brian Schlagheck, Aaron Krueger, Rob Altick
9 Points: Teresa Roth, Greg Tilton, Michael Stankas, Jeremy Perry

No 24 this week, which means no new perfect-night token was earned.

CURRENT TOP 15

1. Brian Schlagheck – 81

2. Tony Becker – 78

3. William Bentley – 75

4. Diane Spackman – 75

5. Tom Lute – 72

6. Mitch Roth – 72

7. Andrew “Muffins” Smith – 72

8. Tom Bentley – 69

9. Aaron Krueger – 69

10. Matt Juhascik – 69

11. Zach Stoddard – 69

12. Rob Altick – 66

13. Daniel Graeter – 66

14. Teresa Roth – 63

15. Vern Staats – 63

FIVE WEEKS DOWN…

We are officially past the halfway point of the regular season, and there is absolutely no runaway leader.

Brian still owns the top spot, but Tony is three points back. William and Diane are six back. A whole pack of players is sitting within striking distance behind them.

And because the lowest weekly score gets dropped, every player still has the opportunity to erase one bad night from their season.

So if you've been waiting for the standings to settle down…

Good luck with that.

Huge thanks to Rob for opening up the Warehouse and giving DUPL another fantastic place to play. Twenty players, six rounds, a great lineup of games and another night in the books.

Week 5 is done. Three weeks remain.

Now things get interesting.