Location
Format Details
| Event Name : | Main Tournament |
| Qualifying Format : | Matchplay Qualifying |
| Finals Format : | Match Play |
| Player Limit : | 24 |
| Unlimited Qualifying? : | No |
Tournament Overview
Start Date: February 20, 2026
End Date: February 21, 2026
Part of the first ever Canadian National Pinball Championship weekend; annual pinball competitions celebrating the best Canada has to offer. This event will be played in different provinces each year.
THIS EVENT: The Women's Canadian National Pinball Championship (WCNPC) is invite only on Thursday.
How to qualify for WCNPC:(24 players)
Finished in the top 2 of the IFPA Women’s Provincial Championships Sun., Jan. 18/26. If any of the top 2 are unable to attend, the next 2 finishers may replace them. These people have 7 days to commit to their attendance for WCNPC.
After the Women’s provincial players are selected, we will round out the field of 24 by selecting from the highest ranked Canadians in both the Women’s standings and the highest ranked Women in the Overall standings. This remainder of the field “zipper selection” is similar to the selection of the WNACS, so there’s familiarity in this process.
The WCNPC will run the exact same format as the current NACS/WNACS bracket.
Note: this tournament is only to Canadian residents, as some non-Canadians may participate in the Provincial finals.
The fee for the WCNPC is $40, plus venue fee ($60 per person for the weekend). Top 16 of CNPC will be paid after money taken to cover trophies/IFPA fees. Note: for players fortunate enough to qualify for both CNPC and WCNPC, they will only pay the $60 venue fee once.
1st Place –> 27% of prize pool + Trophy + Title of “Women’s Canadian National Pinball Champion”
2nd Place –> 20% of prize pool + plaque
3rd Place –> 15% of prize pool + plaque
4th Place –> 10% of prize pool + plaque
5th through 8th place –> 7% of prize pool
For WCNPC, the top seeds will be the Women’s provincial winners, followed by other provincial Women’s qualifiers. To round out the Women’s field of 24 will be a “zipper selection” of Women in the Overall Rankings, and Women in the Women’s Rankings.
3 sets of 8 machines will be available for the championship. One set will be designated “OLD”, one set “MID”, and one set “NEW”.
Players will be placed in a single elimination bracket once the seedings have been completed. Depending on the number of players, there will be byes for the top seeded players through the first round.
Each match will be a race to 4 wins (unless a match is tied 3-3 after 6 games where a sudden death tiebreaker will be played – see below). At the start of the match each player will choose an ‘OLD’, ’MID’ and ’NEW’ machine. The lower seeded player will choose the first machine, followed by the higher seeded player choosing the second machine. This picking order will continue until all 6 games have been chosen. A machine may not be picked more than once in the same match. Once a player verbally makes any choice regarding machine or position, they are locked into that decision.
The higher seed will first choose whether they want to start on one of their own choices, or one of the lower seed’s choices. Position will be based on who originally selected the machine before the match started. The player that did not have the machine as a part of their three choices will have a choice of position on that particular machine. The match will alternate between machines chosen by each player, until all 6 games are completed. Should a player reach 4 wins before all 6 games are completed, no further games should be played. If the higher seeded player chooses to start on one of their machine choices, they will choose game number 1, 3 and 5 in the match (from their 3 picks). The lower seeded player would then be choosing game number 2, 4 and 6 in the match (from their 3 picks).
Should the match be tied after these 6 games, the match will move to ‘Sudden Death’. This will be a single game where any of the remaining machines are available to be chosen. The higher seeded player will have a choice of machine or position for this ‘Sudden Death’ game.
Each player will have the opportunity for 30 seconds of practice time before starting every game of every match. This is to ensure that both players have a chance to get familiar with the machine.
The winner of the match advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.
The 3rd/4th place Consolation Final will be a best of 3. The higher seeded player having choice of machine or position for Game 1 & 3.
THIS EVENT: The Women's Canadian National Pinball Championship (WCNPC) is invite only on Thursday.
How to qualify for WCNPC:(24 players)
Finished in the top 2 of the IFPA Women’s Provincial Championships Sun., Jan. 18/26. If any of the top 2 are unable to attend, the next 2 finishers may replace them. These people have 7 days to commit to their attendance for WCNPC.
After the Women’s provincial players are selected, we will round out the field of 24 by selecting from the highest ranked Canadians in both the Women’s standings and the highest ranked Women in the Overall standings. This remainder of the field “zipper selection” is similar to the selection of the WNACS, so there’s familiarity in this process.
The WCNPC will run the exact same format as the current NACS/WNACS bracket.
Note: this tournament is only to Canadian residents, as some non-Canadians may participate in the Provincial finals.
The fee for the WCNPC is $40, plus venue fee ($60 per person for the weekend). Top 16 of CNPC will be paid after money taken to cover trophies/IFPA fees. Note: for players fortunate enough to qualify for both CNPC and WCNPC, they will only pay the $60 venue fee once.
1st Place –> 27% of prize pool + Trophy + Title of “Women’s Canadian National Pinball Champion”
2nd Place –> 20% of prize pool + plaque
3rd Place –> 15% of prize pool + plaque
4th Place –> 10% of prize pool + plaque
5th through 8th place –> 7% of prize pool
For WCNPC, the top seeds will be the Women’s provincial winners, followed by other provincial Women’s qualifiers. To round out the Women’s field of 24 will be a “zipper selection” of Women in the Overall Rankings, and Women in the Women’s Rankings.
3 sets of 8 machines will be available for the championship. One set will be designated “OLD”, one set “MID”, and one set “NEW”.
Players will be placed in a single elimination bracket once the seedings have been completed. Depending on the number of players, there will be byes for the top seeded players through the first round.
Each match will be a race to 4 wins (unless a match is tied 3-3 after 6 games where a sudden death tiebreaker will be played – see below). At the start of the match each player will choose an ‘OLD’, ’MID’ and ’NEW’ machine. The lower seeded player will choose the first machine, followed by the higher seeded player choosing the second machine. This picking order will continue until all 6 games have been chosen. A machine may not be picked more than once in the same match. Once a player verbally makes any choice regarding machine or position, they are locked into that decision.
The higher seed will first choose whether they want to start on one of their own choices, or one of the lower seed’s choices. Position will be based on who originally selected the machine before the match started. The player that did not have the machine as a part of their three choices will have a choice of position on that particular machine. The match will alternate between machines chosen by each player, until all 6 games are completed. Should a player reach 4 wins before all 6 games are completed, no further games should be played. If the higher seeded player chooses to start on one of their machine choices, they will choose game number 1, 3 and 5 in the match (from their 3 picks). The lower seeded player would then be choosing game number 2, 4 and 6 in the match (from their 3 picks).
Should the match be tied after these 6 games, the match will move to ‘Sudden Death’. This will be a single game where any of the remaining machines are available to be chosen. The higher seeded player will have a choice of machine or position for this ‘Sudden Death’ game.
Each player will have the opportunity for 30 seconds of practice time before starting every game of every match. This is to ensure that both players have a chance to get familiar with the machine.
The winner of the match advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.
The 3rd/4th place Consolation Final will be a best of 3. The higher seeded player having choice of machine or position for Game 1 & 3.