The 2025 IFPA Women’s World Championship
Information about the event can be found below. This page will be expanded as further details are finalized.
I. Competition Details
- Date and location
March 29-30, 2025 at Port City Pinball, 1 Raynes Ave, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- How to qualify
Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place over a couple of days, qualifying for the IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship takes place all year. Utilizing its World Pinball Player Rankings (WPPR) and Women’s World Pinball Player Rankings (WWPPR), the IFPA will use the January 1st, 2024 rankings to determine the qualifiers for the 2024 IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship. The tournament field will consist of 32 players in total. For players that cannot attend, spots will be filled by going down the WPPR and WWPPR rankings lists. 16 players will come from the main WPPR rankings list, and 16 players will come from the WWPPR rankings list.
The standings used for qualification will be published here once the qualifying period is complete and standings are finalized.
- Fees
The entry fee is $50 per player, which is payable through the IFPA website at the time of registration.
Cancellations are refunded 50% of their registration fee. Any excess funds from player refunds will be added to the prize pool.
- Prizes
The following prizes are the base payout. Additional prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the event organizers.
1st place –> NIB Stern Game plus trophy!
2nd place –> $800 plus plaque!
3rd place –> $400 plus plaque!
4th place –> $200 plus plaque!
5th-8th place –> $50 each
The winner of the 2023 Women’s World Pinball Championship will also receive the title “Women’s World Pinball Champion.”
A spot to compete at the IFPA World Championship is reserved for the highest finisher at the IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship who did not qualify for the IFPA WC through the automatic bid process.
- Schedule
Saturday (Match Play)
8:00am – 9:00am → Check-in and announcements, warm-up period
9:00am – 10:30am → Session 1
10:30am – 12:00pm → Session 2
12:00pm – 1:30pm → Session 3
1:30pm – 3:00pm → Session 4
3:00pm – 4:00pm → Break
4:00pm – 5:30pm → Session 5
5:30pm – 7:00pm → Session 6
7:00pm – 8:30pm → Session 7
8:30pm – 10:00pm→ Session 8
Sunday (Single Elimination)
8:30am – 9:00am → Check-in for qualified players
9:00am – 11:00am → Round 1, Best of 7 (Seeds 9-16)
11:00am – 1:00pm → Round 2, Best of 7 (Seeds 5-8 join)
1:00pm – 3:00pm → Round 3, Best of 7 (Seeds 1-4 join)
3:00pm – 5:00pm → Round 4, Best of 7 (Top 4)
5:00pm – 7:00 pm → Finals and Bronze Match
Rounds will always start as soon as possible in an attempt to keep ahead of the above schedule.
II. Tournament Overview
- Seeding of finalists
Once all participants are finalized, the players will be seeded based on their WPPR/WWPPR rank at the end of the calendar year. Players qualifying based on open events will be the odd-numbered seeds (1, 3, 5, etc.), while players qualifying based on women’s events will be the even-numbered seeds (2, 4, 6, etc.). Players who qualify under both systems will be assigned their highest possible seed.
- Machines
Tournament games will be divided into three categories designated as “OLD”, “MID”, and “NEW”. Each player group will be assigned 3 games at random (1 OLD, 1 MID and 1 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.
- First Round: Four-Player Match Play
The first round will consist of 8 sessions. Players will be divided into groups of 4 and will play a designated bank of 3 machines. 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.
Groups for Session 1 will be based on initial seeding of qualifiers: 1-16-17-32, 2-15-18-31, 3-14-19-30, 4-13-20-29, 5-12-21-28, 6-11-22-27, 7-10-23-26, 8-9-24-25
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 Session 1, based on Session 1 performance rather than initial seeding
Sessions 3 & 4: 1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, 3-6-11-14, 4-5-12-13, 17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, 19-22-27-30, 20-21-28-29
Sessions 5 & 6: 1-4-5-8, 2-3-6-7, 9-12-13-16, 10-11-14-15, 17-20-21-24, 18-19-22-23, 25-28-29-32, 26-27-30-31
Sessions 7 & 8: 1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, 9-10-11-12, 13-14-15-16, 17-18-19-20, 21-22-23-24, 25-26-27-28, 29-30-31-32
At the conclusion of the 8th session, 16 players will advance to the final round.
- Second Round: Head-to-Head Single Elimination
The top 16 players from the First Round will be seeded based on their 8 session point total, and put into a bracket. Players seeded 1-4 will receive 2 byes, while players seeded 5-8 will receive 1 bye through the initial match play round. Players seeded 9 through 16 will battle in the initial round to see who advances to play those players seeded 5 through 8. Final rounds will be a single-elimination tournament.
Each match will be a race to 4 wins. 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 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. If the higher seed wants to start with one of the lower seed’s choices, the lower seed will then select which of their three chosen machines they want to start with. Choice of 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 choice of position on that particular machine. The match will alternate between machines chosen by each player until one of the players reaches 4 wins.
In the event of a 3-3 tie, a 7th game will be played to decide the match. The higher seed will have choice of machine or position. Any available tournament machine that hasn’t already been played in the match can be selected.
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.
- Winners
Winners will receive cash prizes as cash or check during an awards ceremony shortly following the conclusion of all final rounds. Winners need not be present to receive prizes; prizes will be supplied via postal mail if necessary. All taxes are the sole responsibility of winners. Certain tax forms may need to be completed, as directed by tournament officials. All decisions by tournament officials regarding winners and prizes are final.
First Place will also receive the title “Women’s World Pinball Champion”. This title remains in effect until the next annual IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship, or will expire after two years if the IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship is discontinued.
III. Rulings and Malfunctions
All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the PAPA/IFPA ruleset. Those are available HERE.
IV. Potential Games List
TBD
