Quick Overview
The IFPA Australian Championship Series is an annual pinball competition with players qualifying throughout the entire calendar year. At the end of each calendar year, the top 16 ranked players (or 24) with the most WPPR points from each state will qualify for the playoffs, where they will play for the title of IFPA State/Territory Champion within that area.
From there, these champions, along with the other Top 4-6 finalists (number depending on how many participants) from each State/Territory final, will be invited to play for the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship, details of which can be found below. The remaining portion of the field of 48 will be filled by the top WPPR earners (best 20 results) throughout the calendar year.
All mentions of “State” below also refer to Territory winners.
Competition Details
- How to qualify
Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place over a couple of days at the tournament site, qualifying for the IFPA State Championship Series is based on results from all the IFPA endorsed tournaments held throughout the year in each eligible state. Utilizing its World Pinball Player Rankings, the IFPA will be tracking results based on where those IFPA endorsed tournaments are held, maintaining separate state rankings made up of those filtered results.
For example, the Queensland State Rankings will be made up of IFPA endorsed tournaments including the Brisbane Masters, Empire Pinball Tournaments, Yaboola Pinball Tournamets, Sunshine Coast Pinball, Park’n’Plunge, Coomera Classic, etc. Those 16 (or 24) players that earn the most WPPR points based only on these subset of events, will qualify for the IFPA Queensland State Championship. Similar to the World Pinball Player Rankings, only a player’s best 20 events within that state will count towards their standing.
No player will be eligible to play in more than one IFPA State Championship, so it is likely that the IFPA will have to move down the state/territory rankings list to find 16 (or 24) eligible qualifiers to participate in the State Championship. It is possible to qualify for an IFPA State Championship within a state that player does not live in, and it is even possible for players that live outside Australia to qualify for an IFPA State Championship should they earn enough WPPR points within a state to qualify.
It is the player’s responsibility to make sure they have an email address on file with the IFPA, or they run the risk of not being contacted for participation in any State Championships they are qualified for. Please fill out an IFPA profile to ensure we have a way to contact you. If you see a green check within your profile information on your IFPA profile page, it means we do have a registered email address on file for you.
While all States will have a minimum of 16 players that qualify for the State Championship, certain states will be eligible to expand their qualifying field to 24 players. Any States that have a minimum of 200 unique players and 50 events held within that state during the calendar year will be eligible for that expanded 24 player final.
- Fees
An endorsement fee of $1 per player, per event will now be required for events to be endorsed by the IFPA and award WPPR points within Australia.
Tournament Directors are responsible for submitting payment to IFPA after results are approved. WPPR points will not be posted until payment has been received by the IFPA.
The fees collected will be allocated to the prize pool of that state (60%), prize pool of the Australian Championship (25%), mandatory prize pool for IFPA World Championship (5%), with the remaining 10% of the fees being withheld to cover processing fees related to those payments.
Format of Matches
- Seeding of finalists
Once all participants are finalized, the 16 or 24 players will be seeded based on their State rankings position at the end of the calendar year. In the event that any players are tied with the same amount of In-State WPPR points, we will look at the overall WPPR rank of those players as of the end of that calendar year. Any players tied on the qualifying bubble with the same State ranking position will result in a play-in tiebreaker game to determine who joins the field of finalists for the State Championship. Game and position will be pulled at random by the TD.
- Machines Chosen
With each IFPA State Championship being held at a different location, each will have a different set of games available for the tournament. Please check with the IFPA State Representative for details on the game list once the location has been finalized for that particular IFPA State Championship.
- Head-to-Head Single Elimination Format
Players will be placed in a single elimination bracket once the seedings have been completed.
First round pairings (based on 16 entrants) are as follows:
1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13,
5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9
Second round pairings are as follows:
1/16 winner vs. 8/9 winner, 2/15 winner vs. 7/10 winner,
3/14 winner vs. 6/11 winner, 4/13 winner vs. 5/12 winner
Third round pairings are as follows:
1/8/9/16 winner vs. 4/5/12/13 winner,
2/7/10/15 winner vs. 3/6/11/14 winner
Fourth round pairing are as follows:
Two winners of round 3 play for the State Championship
Two losers of round 3 play in the Consolation Final for 3rd/4th place.
Each match will be a best-of-seven. The higher seeded player will have a choice of machine or position for the 1st game. For every game thereafter in the same match, selection of machine or order will alternate between the players, until someone has won 4 games. Players must select from whichever machines are available for play at the time of selection, however a machine may not be played more than once in the same match. This does not apply if there are less than 7 machines available. If that is the case, only after all machines have been chosen can either player select that game to be played for a second time within the same match. Once a player verbally announces their game choice, or chooses position, that decision will be locked in and cannot be changed.
Each player will have the opportunity for up to 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 played as a best-of-three instead of a best-of-seven like all other rounds, using the same rules. It is up to the IFPA State Representative as to whether matches will be played out to determine 5th through 16th (or 24th) place.
For any state that is eligible for the expanded field of 24 finalists, the top 8 players will receive a bye, with the 9th through 24th seeds playing in an opening round. The rest of the bracket will play out as above.
- 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.
Any state with 16 finalists will have the following payout structure:
1st place – 30% of the prize pool
2nd place – 18% of the prize pool
3rd place – 12% of the prize pool
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
Any state with 24 finalists will have the following payout structure:
1st place – 28% of the prize pool
2nd place – 16% of the prize pool
3rd place – 10% of the prize pool
4th place – 6% of the prize pool
5th through 8th place – 4% of the prize pool each
9th through 16th place – 2% of the prize pool each
17th through 24th place – 1% of the prize pool each
First Place will also receive the title “IFPA State Pinball Champion” for the state being contested. For example, the winner of the IFPA Queensland State Championship will receive the title of “IFPA Queensland State Pinball Champion”. This title remains in effect until the next annual IFPA State Championship Series, or will expire after two years if the IFPA State Championship Series is discontinued.
Rulings and Malfunctions
All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the IFPA/PAPA unified ruleset, available HERE.
IFPA Australian Championship
As part of the prize package for each IFPA State Championship, the Top 4 finalists (or 6 for any State final with 24 entrants) will be invited to the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship. If any of the Top 4 (or 6) 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. If there are less than 4 finalists from the Top 8 from a particular state, that spot will be given back to the National WPPR rankings.
The IFPA Australian Pinball Championship will be held in March 2024 (dates to be advised) in Perth, Western Australia.
