The IFPA is pleased to announce that after a 14 year hiatus, the IFPA
World Pinball Championship is back! It will be held March 28-30,
2008 in Las Vegas at the Pinball Hall of Fame. Assuming we fill the
field, the prize package will be over $13,000! Included in that prize
package is a New In Box Stern Pinball machine for the winner donated
by Stern Pinball, Inc.

HOW DO YOU QUALIFY TO PLAY IN IFPA 5?
Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place
over a couple of days, qualifying for IFPA 5 is taking place RIGHT
NOW! (and has been all year). Utilizing its World Pinball Player
Rankings, the IFPA will use the January 1st, 2008 rankings to
determine the qualifiers for IFPA 5. The tournament field will consist
of 64 players.
The top 2 ranked players from each country as of 1/1/2008 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. For players that cannot attend, spots will be filled by going
down the rankings list.

WHAT GAMES WILL BE USED IN THE TOURNAMENT?
Tournament games will consist of 16 EM machines (pre-1978), 16 Solid
State machines (1978-1990), and 16 DMD machines (1991-present). 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 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: 1-16-17-32, 2-15-18-31, etc, also 33-48-49-64, 34-47-50-63,
etc.
Session 3: 1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, etc, also 17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, etc.
Session 4: same as round 3
Session 5: 1-4-5-8, 2-3-6-7, 9-12-13-16, 10-11-14-15, etc.
Session 6: same as round 5
Session 7: 1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, etc.
Session 8: same as round 7
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 32-man bracket. Final round will
be a race to 4 win 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.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Entry fee is $150 per player, which would be prepaid prior to the
event. Players will also be responsible for the coin drop of the
tournament games. The coin drop will be donated to the Salvation Army
through the Pinball Hall of Fame, while all entry fees will be paid
back in cash prizes. We are hoping to land some sponsors that will
cover the cost of trophies and other incidentals, while possibly
increasing the prize pool even more without any additional expense
from the players.

PRIZE PACKAGE (based on a full field)
1st place - $1000 + NIB Stern game + title of IFPA World Champion
(approx $5000)
2nd place - $2500
3rd place - $1250
4th place - $750
5th through 8th place - $400 each
9th through 16th place - $150 each
17th through 32nd place - $75 each

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday –> 10am-midnight
Saturday –> 10am-midnight
Sunday –> 10am-2pm (Final 4 playoff – no breaks)

ASI SHOW
As an added bonus, all qualifiers for IFPA 5 will receive a free pass
into the ASI Show (http://www.asi-show.com) which takes place days
before the tournament. This is an industry wide trade show where coin-
op companies including Stern show their latest and greatest equipment.
This is an $85 value.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Please contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com with any questions or
comments you may have. There is still plenty of time and tournaments
left to qualify yourself for IFPA 5, so get out there and start
playing!