Escher Lefkoff – IFPA’s 2023 Player of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2023 is Escher Lefkoff from Colorado. Escher enjoyed the fruits of the WPPR v5.8 rules and racked up an incredible 4,102.67 WPPR points during 2023.

This is where I typically list all of the achievements from the Player of the Year, however it’s the second time in IFPA history that the Player of the Year is also the player that won the World’s Greatest Pinball Player award. We’ll just leave that fact here and move on.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Escher on all of his success throughout 2023!

Casey Fowler – IFPA’s 2023 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Rookie of the Year for the 2023 season is Casey Fowler from Glen Burnie, MD. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play.

Casey played in 76 events during the 2023 season earning a total of 260.79 WPPR points. Casey participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament on January 24th at the Crabtowne’s Tuesday!. Since entering the World Pinball Player Rankings at that time, Casey has seen his rank increase to 1166th in the world.

Casey’s greatest achievement of 2023 was winning 7 of those Crabtowne’s Tuesday! events throughout the year, netting himself 81.73 WPPR points from those victories. Overall, Casey placed in the top 4 at 43% of the 2023 events he played in, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Casey, our 2023 IFPA Rookie of the Year!

IFPA18 World Pinball Championship field is almost set!

The IFPA18 field is nearly set, with 77 out of the 80 players locked in. The IFPA European Pinball Championship, IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship and IFPA North American Pinball Championship Satellite spots will all be up for grabs to fill the final 3 spots.

20 countries will be represented at IFPA18, along with 15 players in the field that have won a Major Championship at some point in their career (Keith Elwin, Daniele Celestino Acciari, Escher Lefkoff,
Raymond Davidson, Cayle George, Eric Stone, Arvid Flygare, Colin MacAlpine, Zach McCarthy, Johannes Ostermeier, Zach Sharpe, Robert Sutter, Andrei Massenkoff, Paul Jongma and Jim Belsito).

At rank #67, David Dahl-Hansson from Sweden became the last player above the cut line.

Check out the field HERE.

Viggo Löwgren – IFPA’s 2022 Player of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2022 is 16 year old Viggo Löwgren from Furulund, Sweden. Viggo competed in 104 events during the 2022 season racking up an incredible 2293.68 WPPR points. Viggo currently sits as the #7 ranked player in the world having moved up from the #17 ranking at the start of the year.

Viggo was the IFPA Player of the Month in January, March and November, having won 28 of the 104 tournaments he played in during 2022, while finishing in the top 4 in 59% of them.

Viggo’s highlights during 2022 included victories at The Swedish Championships and Borås Pinball Open main tournaments, netting him 138.78 WPPR points for those two first place finishes.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Viggo on all of his success throughout this 2022 season!

Matthew Harjo – IFPA’s 2022 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Rookie of the Year for the 2022 season is Matthew Harjo from Seattle, WA. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play.

Matthew played in 72 events during the 2022 season earning a total of 217.68 WPPR points. Matthew participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament on January 21st at the Ice Box Friday Night Live. Since entering the World Pinball Player Rankings at that time, Matthew has seen his rank increase to 625th in the world.

Matthew’s greatest achievement of 2022 was his 23rd place finish in the NW Pinball Championships Classics tournament, out of 115 players, netting himself 12.97 WPPR points. Overall, Matthew placed in the top 4 at 14% of the 2022 events he played in, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Matthew, our 2022 IFPA Rookie of the Year!

Arvid Flygare – IFPA’s 2021 Player of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2021 is 13 year old Arvid Flygare from Lund, Sweden. In the shortened 2021 season, Arvid was still able to rack up an incredible 665.14 WPPR points during 2021. Arvid currently sits as the #6 ranked player in the world having moved up from the #155 ranking at the start of the year.

Arvid was the IFPA Player of the Month in November and likely December 2021 after all results are finalized, having won 14 of the 42 tournaments he played in during 2021, while finishing in the top 4 in 62% of them.

Arvid’s highlights during 2021 included a sweep in both the Main and Classics tournaments from the Matchstick Pinball Open along with a top 4 finish at all five events at the Borås Pinball Classic Open, four of which were 1st place finishes.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Arvid on all of his success throughout this shortened 2021 season!

Mike Weyenberg – IFPA’s 2021 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Rookie of the Year for the 2021 season is Mike Weyenberg from Manitowoc, WI. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play.

With the shortened 5 month season of 2021, Mike was still able to play in 30 events. Michael earned 167.32 WPPR points from these 30 events. Mike participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament on August 7th at the D82 Pinball Lucky 13 Tournament. Since entering the World Pinball Player Rankings at that time, Mike has seen his rank increase to 344th in the world.

Mike’s greatest achievement of 2021 was his 3rd place finish in the District 82 Pinball December 2021 League, out of 63 players. Overall, Mike placed in the top 4 at 20% of the 2021 events he played in, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Mike, our 2021 IFPA Rookie of the Year!

Michael Bair – IFPA’s 2020 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Rookie of the Year for the 2020 season is Michael Bair from North, Canton, OH. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play.

With the shortened 3 month season of 2020, Michael was still able to play in 12 events. Michael earned 23.56 WPPR points from these 12 events. Michael participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament on January 10th at the Kidforce Friday Knockout. Since entering the World Pinball Player Rankings at that time, Michael has seen his rank increase to 3305th in the world.

Michael’s greatest achievement of 2020 was his 27th place finish in the Kidforce Collectibles Pinball League Winter Season, out of 165 players. Overall, Michael placed in the top 4 at 42% of his 2020 events, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Michael, our 2020 IFPA Rookie of the Year!

Eric Stone – IFPA’s 2020 Player of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2020 is Eric Stone from Fort Myers, FL. In the shortened 2020 season, Eric was still able to rack up an incredible 458.24 WPPR points during 2020 (which would put him in the top 50 in the world based on ONLY these 3 months of play). Eric currently sits as the #2 ranked player in the world having moved up from the #12 ranking at the start of the year.

Eric played in 10 events during the 2020 season, winning 6 of them, while finishing in the top 4 in 7 of them. Eric also finished as the IFPA Player of the Month for January 2020.

Eric’s highlights during 2020 included his first Major Championship title, taking 1st place at The Open – IFPA World Championship back in January. He also won the Classics II division at INDISC while finishing in 2nd place in the Classics I division.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Eric on all of his success throughout this shortened 2020 season!

Axel Blonde – IFPA’s 2019 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce a new award from the 2019 season, and that’s the Rookie of the Year award. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play. Our Rookie of the Year for 2019 is Axel Blonde from Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Axel racked up an incredible 366.09 WPPR points during 2019. Axel participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament in April 2019. Fast forward 8 months and Axel currently sits as the 226th ranked player in the world, and is the top seed in the upcoming 2019-20 IFPA British Columbia Provincial Championship.

Axel’s greatest achievement of 2019 was his 16th and 9th place finishes at the NW Pinball Championships Main and Classics events, one of the stops on the Stern Pro Circuit during the 2019 season. Overall, Axel won 27% of the 44 events he played in during 2019, while placing in the top 4 at 73% of his 2019 events, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Axel, our first IFPA Rookie of the Year! Best of luck to all the players that have yet to start competing on their journey to becoming IFPA’s next Rookie of the Year.