In the history of competitive pinball, very few (36 in fact) have had the chance to call themselves a Major Champion. Like professional golf or tennis, the opportunity to join this elite club only happens a handful of times every year. THE OPEN 2026 brought together one finalist looking to add their name to this list (Dante Oliva) and three finalists looking to add to their already established legacies (Arvid Flygare, Daniele Acciari and defending champion Zach McCarthy).
After qualifying as the #6 seed, Daniele Acciari won 2 out of the 3 games in the final round to capture his 5th Major Championship, becoming only the 4th player in competitive pinball history to do so (Keith Elwin, Jorian Engelbrektsson and Bowen Kerins are the other three).
This victory also served as Daniele’s 13th top 4 finish in Major Championships, putting him at second place all-time, trailing only Keith Elwin who has 19.
With his 2nd place finish, Arvid Flygare earned his seventh top 4 finish in Major Championships. 3rd place went to Zach McCarthy who earned his eighth top 4 finish in Major Championships. 4th place went to Dante Oliva who became one of only 112 players in history to earn a top 4 finish at a Major Championship.
To view the most current list of Major Championship stats, click HERE.