CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A year ago, 8News introduced viewers to Midlothian teen Stoller Shiltz and his father, Dale Schiltz, as they traveled across Virginia competing in pinball tournaments. Fast forward to today, and the 14-year-old has earned a new title — “Virginia’s King of the Silver Ball.”
At the Pinball Collective, Stoller can often be found honing his skills on the machines. The James River High School freshman is currently ranked number one in Virginia across all ages, 279th in the world, and fourth globally among players under 16 — a remarkable rise from this time last year, when he was ranked 1,800th worldwide.
Stoller’s talent is backed up by eye-popping numbers. His highest score on one machine? More than 3.4 billion points.
“There’s not a lot of kids in Virginia that play professional pinball,” Stoller said.
His father, Dale, has been by his side throughout the journey — both as a mentor and a fellow competitor. Dale himself is ranked 22nd in the state and said watching his son succeed has been incredibly rewarding…