IFPA Australian Pinball Championship

  1. Quick Overview

The IFPA Australian Pinball Championship is an annual pinball competition organized by the IFPA. As part of the prize package for each IFPA State/Territory Pinball Championship, the Top 4 finalists receive an invitation into the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship. If any of the Top 4 finalists are unable to attend the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship, the next finalist(s) from the State Championship will be allowed to participate and serve as the representative(s) of that state, down as far as the 8th placed finalist. The 2022-23 IFPA Australian Pinball Championship details are TBD.

All mentions of “State” below also refer to Territory winners.

  1. Competition Details
  2. How to qualify

There are two ways to qualify for the IFPA Australian Championship.  The main way is to be one of the Top 4 finalists after the completion of an IFPA State Pinball Championship.

The other way to qualify is to be one of the Top 24 WPPR point earners (best 20 results) over the calendar year after State Championships have been completed.

Once all State Championship finalists have been determined, and the Top 24 WPPR points have also been finalised, the 2022-23 IFPA Australian Championship will run with a field of 48 players.

  1. Fees

Entry fees (if any), for the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship are yet to be determined. 20% of the fees collected through the endorsement of events within Australia will go towards the prize pool for the event.

  1. Prizes

The tournament features a guaranteed package of cash prizes. In the event of an overrun beyond expenses, tournament revenue will be retained to finance the next IFPA event. In the event IFPA discontinues its events or is disbanded, any such retained revenue will be donated to charity.

The prize package will be determined based on the endorsement fees collected. All participants who make the final 16 in the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship will be paid out. Here is the prize pool breakdown:

1st place – 30% of the prize pool + Trophy + Title of “IFPA Australian Pinball Champion”

2nd place – 18% of the prize pool + Trophy

3rd place – 12% of the prize pool + Trophy

4th place – 8% of the prize pool

5th through 8th place – 4% of the prize pool each

9th through 16th place – 2% of the prize pool each

  1. Schedule

All qualifying rounds will be done on one day, with the finals to take place the next morning.  Actual times and location are still yet to be determined.

III. Format of Matches

  1. Seeding of finalists

Once all participants are finalized, the players will be seeded based on their WPPR rank at the end of the calendar year.

  1. Machines Chosen

The Tournament Director will notify all finalists of an eligible machine list at least 1 week prior to the event taking place.

  1. Qualifying Rounds

The qualifying stage will consist of 4-player matches. 7-5-3-1 scoring in each match.

 

Players will be split into three pools, according to the final WPPR standings from 2022:

Pool A: 1,6,7,12,13,18,19,24,25,30,31,36,37,42,43,48.

Pool B: 2,5,8,11,14,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47.

Pool C: 3,4,9,10,15,16,21,22,27,28,33,34,39,40,45,46.

 

There will be 5 rounds with 3 matches per round.

 

Each player will be grouped with each other player in their pool exactly once.

 

The top 5 players from each pool will advance to the elimination stage. In addition, a wild card entry will be given to the best 6th placed finisher.

 

Ties for qualifying positions will be resolved by a one game playoff. Players failing to advance from a playoff within their pool will remain eligible for any playoff for the wild card.

  1. Finals

Players are expected to arrive no later than the advertised check-in time.  Anyone failing to arrive in time will be ineligible to compete and the next available reserve will be called.

The elimination stage will consist of best-of-five (5), head-to-head matches. The loser of a match is eliminated.

 

Players will be ranked by most pool stage points, then most ACS qualifying points.

 

In each round, the highest-ranked player will play the lowest-ranked player, the second-highest-ranked player will play the second-lowest-ranked player, and so on.

 

The higher-ranked player in a match will get choice of machine for game 1. Choice will then alternate.  The other player in the match will get to choose player order.  No machine will be played more than once in the same match.

A 3rd & 4th place consolation final will be played in a best-of-three match.

This process will continue until there is one remaining player in the tournament, who will be declared the winner.

  1. Winners

Winners will receive cash prizes as cash during an awards ceremony shortly following the conclusion of all final rounds. All decisions by tournament officials regarding winners and prizes are final.

First Place will also receive the title “IFPA Australian Pinball Champion”. This title remains in effect until the next annual IFPA Australian Championship Series, or will expire after two years if the IFPA Australian Championship Series is discontinued.

  1. Rulings and Malfunctions

All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the IFPA World Pinball Championship. Those are available HERE, starting at Paragraph V. Please ignore any sections above this as that relates to the format of the World Championship.