A Burnaby resident has been named the best competitive pinball player in the world, following a 5-day tournament in Pittsburgh.
27 year-old Robert Gagno competed against approximately 200 elite pinball players at the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association World Championships to earn his spot at the top. The competition requires players to stand for 12 to 14 hours a day and earn top scores on five different pinball machines.
Gagno has been playing competitively for six years, but despite being the reigning Canadian pinball champion, this is his first time as world champ.
“I’ve never seen him play so focused and so well,” said Kathy Gagno, Robert’s mother. “He’s really well-liked (in the pinball community) so people were happy to see him winning.”
Kathy believes her son has had to overcome many obstacles to achieve this accomplishment, but since being diagnosed with autism as a child, Gagno has surpassed expectation, according to Kathy.
“Doctors said, ‘he’ll never talk, he’ll never be able to read or write,’” Kathy said. “Pinball has made him more social, but it doesn’t involve a lot of language. His area of strength is visual, and (pinball) is a very visual game.”
Gagno’s journey as a competitive pinball player living with autism is documented in the upcoming film, Wizard Mode, premiering at Toronto’s Hot Docs Canadian international documentary film festival on May 2. The film makes its Vancouver debut May 11 at DOXA festival.
As for what’s next, Kathy said Gagno will continue to play competitively.
“It’s almost depressing now because the only way to go is down (laughs) but I guess it’s just about maintaining (the title),” she said.
