The Virtual World Pinball Player Rankings, created by the International Flipper Pinball Association, are updated upon the completion of any IFPA sanctioned AtGames virtual tournament. All IFPA sanctioned AtGames virtual tournaments are eligible for Virtual World Pinball Player Rankings Points which are awarded according to the tournament’s strength of field, number of participants and the players’ finishing position.
Basic Rules
In determining the Virtual World Pinball Player Rankings, several basic rules were put into place to meet the needs and goals of the IFPA and for the players themselves.
- All IFPA sanctioned AtGames virtual tournaments are eligible for VWPPR points, with each player’s top 40 active events counting towards their world ranking. Note that for 2024, each player’s top 20 events count towards their world ranking. The value of each tournament will be calculated based on a few variables that we will go into detail about below.
- Every tournament event submitted will be individually calculated, graded and listed on a player’s resume.
- The value of a tournament is calculated from determining a Base Value, a Tournament Value Adjustment (TVA) based on the quality of the players participating, a Tournament Grading Percentage (TGP) based on the quality of the format of the tournament and the application of Event Boosters if any are available. Full details on each of those metrics are available below.
- VWPPR points distributed will be factored based on the number of people who competed in the tournament and where a player finishes. For example, a player might get 5 points for finishing 2nd in a 10 player tournament, but get 30 points for finishing 2nd in a 50 player tournament.
- The VWPPR System will weigh recent results over historical results. Points earned over the last year are worth 100% of their value. Tournaments one to two years old are worth 75% of their original value. Tournaments two to three years old are worth 50% of their value. Any tournaments over three years old are reduced to zero value.
- IFPA will not sanction events with less than 20 players. We also require that a single winner is determined for results to be accepted.
- Only Rated players will be included in the player count with respect to base value. A player becomes Rated after participating in 5 events lifetime. These unrated players will still be able to earn VWPPR points, and impact the distribution of the points from a tournament, but they simply won’t be counted towards the 1/2 point per player count for the base.
Base Value Calculation
The base value of a tournament is equal to 0.5 VWPPR points per Rated player up to a maximum of 32 max base points for any tournament with 64 or more players participating. For example, a tournament with 11 Rated players will have a base value of 5.5 VWPPR points. A player becomes an officially Rated player after participating in 5 IFPA sanctioned tournaments.
Tournament Value Adjustment (TVA)
As we mentioned earlier there are two strength indicators that we use to determine the TVA for a tournament. This includes a TVA based on player RATING, and a TVA based on player RANKING. These values are added to the base value of a tournament to determine the 1st place VWPPR point value for that tournament. The TVA takes into account the best 64 players participating in a tournament for each strength indicator. For the RATING strength indicator, the top 64 RATED players are taken into account. For the RANKING strength indicator, the top 64 RANKED players are taken into account.
- RATING FORMULA
The TVA based on RATING can be worth up to 25 additional VWPPR points for a tournament. The formula used to determine the VWPPR value that each player adds to the pot is:
(RATING * .000546875) – .703125
We consider a ‘perfect’ player to be rated 2000, so based on the formula that player would add .39 VWPPR points to the value of the tournament. 64 players with a rating of 2000 would amount to a 25 VWPPR point increase for that tournament. Any player with a rating of 1285.71 or less will have no impact on the strength of the tournament.
- RANKING FORMULA
The TVA based on RANKING can be worth up to 50 additional VWPPR points for a tournament. The formula used to determine the WPPR value that each player adds to the pot is:
ln(RANKING) * – .211675054 + 1.459827968
We consider a ‘perfect’ tournament to include the top 64 ranked players in the world participating. Based on the formula the #1 ranked player in the world would add 1.46 VWPPR points to the pot, the #2 ranked player in the world would add 1.31 VWPPR points to the pot, etc. In total the top 64 ranked players would equal an additional 50 VWPPR points in value for the tournament.
Tournament Grading Percentage (TGP)
Every tournament will have the Base Value + TVA multiplied by the standard 100% TGP to determine the final 1st place value of the tournament.
Event Boosters
In addition to the TVA and TGP metrics used in determining the overall value of a tournament, the IFPA also has Event Boosters available for tournaments that are either more prestigious in nature or utilize format characteristics that the IFPA feels are of the highest quality. For 2025, the World Championship tournament held in Chicago will receive an Event Booster of 200%.
Please note that the final value of the tournament will be the TGP Value multiplied by the Event Booster Value.
VWPPR Point Distribution
Calculation and distribution of VWPPR points for each tournament involves many steps:
- Set an entry ranking for first time players. Currently they are given the same ranking as the 10th percentile ranked person.
- Calculate the Tournament Base Value (per formula above).
- Calculate the TVA based on the RATING strength indicator (per formula above).
- Calculate the TVA based on the RANKING strength indicator (per formula above).
- Calculate the Tournament Grading Percentage (per formula above).
- Using the tournament base value and TVA from the RATING and RANKING strength indicators, multiplied by the TGP, calculate what the VWPPR point value is for the tournament winner.
- Two VWPPR point distribution values are then calculated for the rest of the field of participants.
One is a linear distribution value based on the number of players in the tournament.
(PlayerCnt + 1 – Finishing Position) * 10/100 * (1st place value / playerCnt)
The second value is a dynamic distribution value using the top half of the players in the field players of a tournament.
(power(( 1 – power((( Finishing Position -1) / min(RatedPlayerCnt/2,64)),.7)),3)) * 90 /100 * (1st place value)
These two values are what a player earns for a given tournament.
IFPA Rating Calculation
To help gauge the skill of a player we have incorporated a ratings system that leverages a players’ finishing order to “simulate” head to head play. This Rating is used as part of the TVA for the RATING strength indicator to help determine the value of each tournament.
- Glicko is being used as the foundation of the ratings system.
- To simulate head to head play, we are using the results of tournaments we already track. We know this isn’t true head to head, but that data is not available.
- For a given player in a tournament, any player finishing ahead of them is treated as a loss and everyone they finish ahead of is treated as a win. Ties are when a player finishes in the same position as other players.
- Until a player has played 5 tournaments, they will have a provisional rating of 1300. Starting with the 6th tournament, their rating will start to impact the value of tournaments.
- The IFPA Rating will only be adjusted based on the 32 players above and below a players’ finishing position for any given tournament result. For example, a player finishing 5th in a 60 player tournament will have their IFPA Rating impacted based on losing to the players that finished 1st through 4th, and beating the players that finished 6th through 37th.
- Our RD can be between 10 and 200 with a decay rate of about .3 a day.
Efficiency Percentage
The IFPA also calculates an Efficiency Percentage for each player based on the results in their active resume.
- The Efficiency Percentage is calculated based on the total VWPPR points earned by a player divided by the total VWPPR points available for 1st place at any IFPA sanctioned AtGames virtual tournament.
- All ‘active’ tournaments are included in this calculation. Any tournaments fully decayed (past 3 years old) are not included.
- For example, if a player finishes in 6th place earning 10 VWPPR points, and the value for first place was 50 VWPPR points, the Efficiency Percentage would be 20% for that tournament.
- Efficiency Percentage is used in the formula to calculate a player’s VWPPR-PRO ranking.
