By Tyler Quattrin

For The Diamondback

When Zach Parks is absent from class, he can often be found across the country competing in one of the world’s top pinball tournaments.

Parks, a senior environmental sustainability consulting and leadership major in the University of Maryland’s individual studies program, is currently ranked 54th in the world for players who have achieved pro classification from the International Flipper Pinball Association — the organization that runs rankings and most tournaments.

Parks said he was proud of qualifying for the International Flipper Pinball Association World Championships this summer, where he finished 38th out of 79 internationally.

His first pinball tournament was in 2013 with his mother, and they have attended competitions together since. Parks’ love for pinball is a family legacy that started with his grandfather, his mother, Alysa Parks, said.

Her father passed down his passion for pinball to her through an original Fireball machine that ended up in her house. That same machine remained in their basement in Evanston, Illinois, where Zach Parks grew up playing it.

“[Zach’s grandfather] passed away in 1998, so it’s very sweet for me to think about that connection,” his mother said.

Alysa Parks emphasized how much she cherishes her relationship with her son. While she helped him get into the pinball community, she said he decided to continue to the next level by himself.

“To be able to do this with my son, it’s really a rare experience, but now he’s way surpassed me in skill,” she said.

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Parks said his favorite memory going to tournaments with his mother was when they rented a silver Mustang for one of his first world championships.

Parks was drawn to pinball because each game is different. Physically interacting with the machine while immersed in the music and lights makes the experience like “trying to control chaos,” he said.

Since middle school, Parks said playing pinball has been an outlet for him to escape reality.

“People call it a world under glass, which is kind of cheesy, but it really is,” Parks said. “Your focus is on the game. You’re not thinking about other things around you.”

Andy Bagwell, who is on the board of directors for the International Flipper Pinball Association, remembers meeting Parks for the first time about six years ago.

He’ll never forget how impressed he was, he said.

“All I remember about Zach is that he was the first player I ever saw that terrified me,” he said. “I’ve never even seen somebody that was that talented.”

Bagwell added that Parks is willing to help and share his knowledge with others, which inspires others to play competitively.

For Parks, mastering the game involved significant time studying strategy. In addition to constantly practicing different skills, which he’s done after school since middle school, he also spent time learning by watching streamers and content creators on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

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During the school year, Parks said he rarely gets to practice outside of tournaments because there are no pinball machines he knows of on or near campus. He said he is not aware of any pinball clubs on campus or other competitive players in the university community.

Parks attends tournaments during the school year, which he said can make finding a balance difficult.

He said he goes to larger competitions about four to five times a year and tries to compete in local tournaments every few months.

Parks’ goals include winning a major competition or reaching the top 25 in the world. He is also looking forward to competing in the Stern Pro Circuit later this year and the next world championship.

He is focused on a career as a sustainability consultant but hopes to stay involved in the pinball world.

“It’ll be cool when I’ll have maybe a little more free time at night to maybe join a pinball league at a bar and have that social component,” he said.