Robert Gagno (born September 9, 1988) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

player. Diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

at the age of three, he won the world pinball championship at the age of 27.

Early life

Gagno was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 1988. His mother, Kathy, was once a top female player in Canada. He was diagnosed with

when he was three.

Career

Gagno began showing interest in

at the age of five. When he was ten, he started playing on a pinball machine, ''Whirlwind''. At the age of 19, he contested his first tournament in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 2011, his father, Maurizio, took him to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

to participate in the world's largest pinball competition where he succeeded to stand among the four finalists. Later, he made it into the top ten in the IFPA's ranking and after winning the U.S. National Pinball Championship in 2015, he moved into the top five. He made an entry in the

Professional and Amateur Pinball Association The Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) is an organization supporting the game of pinball as a recreational and competitive sport. PAPA is currently a brand owned and operated by the Replay Foundation and is based in the Pittsburgh ...

(PAPA) World Pinball Championship in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 2016 and won the trophy.

Personal life

Apart from pinball, Gagno works in a bank office and takes a computer programming class in the evening. In 2016, two film directors ''Nathan Drillot'' and ''Jeff Petry'' featured him in their documentary, ''Wizard Mode'', which was premiered at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagno, Robert 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Vancouver Pinball players Autistic sportspeople