The IFPA is pleased to announce the 8th annual IFPA World Pinball Championship. It will be held May 27-29, 2011 in Vårgårda, Sweden.
Below you will find important information about the tournament including how to qualify, tournament format, hotel accomodations, prize breakdown and more! Any questions please contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com.
WHERE IS IFPA8 GOING TO BE HELD?
Balacs Pinball Parlour
Vårgårdaparken, Parkgatan 30, 44731
Vårgårda, Sweden
The 5th annual Balac’s Pinball Party will be held the weekend before IFPA8. Please follow the links below to the BPP 2011 site for travel/accomodation information for IFPA8:
Accomodations for IFPA8 can be found HERE.
Travel information can be found HERE.
HOW DO YOU QUALIFY TO PLAY IN IFPA8?
Automatic Bid Qualification
Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place over a couple of days, qualifying for the IFPA World Championship takes place all year. Utilizing it’s World Pinball Player Rankings, the IFPA will use the January 1st, 2011 rankings to determine most of the qualifiers for IFPA8. The tournament field will consist of 64 players in total. The top 2 ranked players from each country as of 1/1/2011 will receive an automatic qualifying spot into the tournament. Should either of the top 2 players not be able to attend, that country exemption will move down the country ranking list until it is filled. The rest of the field will be made up of the most highly ranked players from the WPPR list, until we have filled 62 spots. For players that cannot attend, spots will be filled by going down the rankings list.
2011 European Pinball Championship Satellite Qualification (March 18-20, 2011 in Le Treport, France)
The 2011 European Pinball Championship will serve as a satellite event for players not yet qualified for IFPA8. One spot will be up for grabs in the Individual tournament at the 2011 EPC. This satellite event will be open for any player ranked in the World Pinball Player Rankings as of the end of 2010, but did not qualify for IFPA8 through the automatic bid process. Details on the 2011 EPC can be found HERE.
2011 Michigan Pinball Expo Satellite Qualification (April 14-17, 2011 in Rochester, MI)
The 2011 Michigan Pinball Expo will serve as a satellite event for players not yet qualified for IFPA8. One spot will be up for grabs in the A-Division tournament at the 2011 Michigan Pinball Expo. This satellite event will be open for any player ranked in the World Pinball Player Rankings as of the end of 2010, but did not qualify for IFPA8 through the automatic bid process. Details on the Michigan Pinball Expo can be found HERE.
WHAT GAMES WILL BE USED IN THE TOURNAMENT?
Tournament games will consist of games spanning all eras (Electromechanical through the latest Dot Matrix Display games). These games will be divided into three groups for tournament play (OLD/MID/NEW). The game list will be published prior to the tournament so participants have plenty of time to get familiar with game rules and develop a strategy beforehand. The current list which is subject to change is available HERE.
FIRST ROUND OF PLAY
The first round will consist of 8 sessions. Players will be divided into groups of 4 and will play one machine chosen at random from each era. First grouping will be 1/32/33/64, etc. Scoring will be 7-5-3-1 for all matches. Following each session players will be put into new groups based off of the most up to date standings.
Starting with session #2 through session #8, groups will be divided by the following:
Session 2: same as round 1
Session 3: 1-16-17-32, 2-15-18-31, etc, also 33-48-49-64, 34-47-50-63, etc.
Session 4: same as round 3
Session 5: 1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, etc, also 17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, etc.
Session 6: same as round 5
Session 7: 1-4-5-8, 2-3-6-7, 9-12-13-16, 10-11-14-15, etc.
Session 8: 1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, etc.
At the conclusion of the 8th session, 32 players will advance to the final round.
MATCH PLAY MADNESS
The top 32 players from the First Round will be seeded based on their 8 session point total, and put into a bracket. Players seeded 1-8 will receive 2 byes, while players seeded 9-16 will receive 1 bye through the initial match play round. Players seeded 17 through 32 will battle in the initial round to see who advances to play those players seeded 9 through 16. Final rounds will be a best 4 out of 7 single elimination tournament. Each player will choose an EM, SS and DMD machine. Should the match be tied after these 6 games, the match will move to ‘Sudden Death’. This will be a best of 3 match where any of the remaining machines are available to be chosen. The higher seeded player will have choice of machine or position for the 1st game, with the loser of each subsequent game having choice of machine or order. Winner advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday
9am – 9:30am –> check in for players
9:30am – 10am –> Announcements/group picture/getting things started
10am – Noon –> Session #1
Noon – 2pm –> Session #2
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> Session #3 (this will start 1 hour after the last group finishes Session #2)
5pm – 7pm –> Session #4
7pm – 8pm –> Dinner
8pm – 10pm –> Session #5 (this will start 1 hour after the last group finishes Session #4)
10pm – Midnight –> Session #6
Saturday
9:30am – 10am –> check in for players
10am – Noon –> Session #7
Noon – 2pm –> Session #8
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> First Round (seeds 17 through 32 play)
5pm – 7pm –> Second Round (Seeds 9-16 play the winners of the first round)
7pm – 8pm –> Dinner
8pm – 10pm –> Third Round (Seeds 1-8 play the winners of the second round)
Sunday
9:30am – 10am –> check in for players
10am – Noon –> Elite 8
Noon – 2pm –> Final 4 and 5th through 8th match
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> Championship, Consolation final
5pm – 5:30pm –> Awards and wrap up
Rounds will always start as soon as possible in an attempt to keep ahead of the above schedule.
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Please contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com with any questions or comments you may have.
