The IFPA is excited to announce that the following players have been now qualified for the $tern Rewards Program based on their December 2016 IFPA endorsed tournament performance! These players have until August 15th, 2017 to exercise their reward option.

TOP 1000 RANKED PLAYERS
Any eligible players that finished in the top 1000 for the end of the year World Pinball Player Rankings.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – Benedict Bauer
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – Sylwia Krzyszton
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – Matt Walton

Detailed rules for the $tern Rewards Program, including an updated list of qualifiers, and updated list of rewards available can be found HERE.

The IFPA is pleased to announce that the following players saw the biggest jump in their world ranking based on their December 2016 tournament performance.

The biggest movers for December 2016 included Benedict Bauer from Germany, who moved up 15,616 spots from the following results:

Benedict moved up to a rank of 8713th in the world.

Sylwia Krzyszton from Ottawa, Canada moved up 12,363 spots from the following results:

Sylwia moved up to a rank of 9210th in the world.

Matt Walton from Eugene, OR moved up 7740 spots from the following results:

Matt moved up to a rank of 8778th in the world.

Congratulations to Benedict, Sylwia and Matt, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their December tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for December 2016 is John Delzoppo from Cleveland, OH. John earned a total of 165.15 WPPR points in December. This included the following results:

John will be the top seed in the upcoming Ohio State Pinball Championship.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of December included Steven Bowden from Franklin Township, NJ with 140.92 WPPR points, Chris Chinn from Seattle, WA with 122.81 WPPR points, Greg Poverelli from New York with 102.68 WPPR points, and Francesco La Rocca from New York with 100.13 WPPR points.

Congratulations to John and the other top WPPR point earners of the month!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2016 is Steven Bowden from Franklin Park, NJ. Steven racked up an incredible 1377.00 WPPR points during 2016. Steven currently sits as the #6 ranked player in the world.

Steven was the IFPA Player of the Month in August of 2016 having won 24 of the 55 tournaments he played in during 2016, and finished in the top 4 in 47% of them.

Steven’s highlights during 2016 included 1st place finishes at the Pittsburgh Pinball Open and Pinvasion, along with a 5th place finish at Pinburgh. Steven also won 7 out the 12 Modern Pinball NYC Super League tournaments during 2016, racking up 506.42 WPPR points in the process.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Steven on all of his success throughout 2016, and for being one hell of a podcast co-host.

Breaking News…Tim Zollner wins “Rob Zombie’s Spookshow International” Translite and T-Shirt!  Tim is also awarded an Invitation to the FWTG Cooper’stown Final Pinball Showdown to compete for a NEW Pinball Machine!

Next week’s FFC Giveaway is for another great Spooky Pinball package – a “America’s Most Haunted” Translite and T-Shirt….Thanks Spooky!!!

In addition to the Spooky “America’s Most Haunted” Package, next week’s drawing (Thursday January 19th 8 PM CST) will also include an Invitation to the FWTG Cooper’stown Final Pinball Party to compete for a Brand New Pinball Machine!

Check out Pictures from last season’s Cooper’stown party with Alice Cooper – Click HERE

Additional upcoming prizes to be awarded randomly to FFC Members include-

• 20 Invitations to Alice & Coach’s Final Super Bowl / Pinball Tournament Party Event at Cooper’stown Sports Bar (Phoenix, AZ) to compete for a Brand New Pinball Machine.
• Reconditioned Pinball Machine
• Alice Cooper Autographed “Hollywood Vampires” CD
• Limited Edition Alice Cooper & Coach Ditka Collector Medallions
• Vintage Casino Slot and/or Video Poker Machines (for home game room use only)
• Rock & Roll Memorabilia
• NOS Pinball Translites
• Autographed Football Collectibles

To join the Fantasy Football Club and become eligible for This and ALL upcoming giveaways – Click HERE

A quick reminder – There are TWO components of the Flippin’ With the Greats Campaign… Details at www.gridironsupport.org

1) The “Fantasy Football Club” – A club where Pinball Enthusiasts can support their favorite NFL teams (and win GREAT Stuff!) by simply buying and Creating a PERSONALIZED IFPA/FWTG Medallion to include the player’s name, IFPA #, and the NFL Team they support. Great prizes will be distributed to Club Members throughout the season. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – A Nationwide series of tournaments to be scheduled throughout the NFL season culminating in the SUPER BOWL Pinball Party at Alice Cooper’stown in Phoenix, AZ. Click HERE for more details.

Be sure to join the 2016 IFPA FWTG Series (Group) on Facebook. For more up to the minute information Click HERE

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF) is a non-stock, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, providing financial grants and “pro bono” medical assistance to retired NFL players in dire need. The organization focuses on the humanitarian side of post-football related issues, which include coordination of social services to retired players who are in need due to a variety of reasons including inadequate disability and/or pensions. Learn more at www.gridirongreats.org

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also. Solid Rock’s primary mission is to make an everlasting difference in the lives of teens by helping them meet their spiritual, economical, physical, and social need. Alice Cooper’s Rock Teen Center offers a safe, engaging environment during non-school hours –a time when they are most vulnerable to drugs, violence, and gangs. Maintaining a teen’s worst enemy is too much time on their hands Solid Rock provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, self-expression, and creativity. Learn more at www.alicecoopersolidrock.com.

Support and Follow our 2016 Flippin’ With the Greats Pinball Campaign and please “Like” Gridiron Support on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org

Just a reminder that registration for the 2016-17 State Championship Series closes on Saturday, January 14th at 7pm CST. Any player that has not accepted their invitation by that time will be ineligible to participate.

If you are having trouble connecting with your IFPA State Representative, feel free to email your selection to [email protected].

As State Representatives alert us to who is attending, we will be updating the registration page HERE.

For our Canadian friends, the PCS registration page is available HERE.

With the 2016 pinball season officially behind us, the World Pinball Player Rankings continues to show no signs of slowing down within the competitive pinball community. We wanted to take a quick look back at the growth we’ve seen during 2016.

We’re proud to say that the total number of players the IFPA is now ranking at the end of 2016 is 46,949. This represents a 21% growth from the end of 2015 where we had 38,651 players. In addition, the number of players that played in an IFPA endorsed tournament during 2016 was 17,174, up 4% from the number of players that were active during 2015.

We’ve also seen continued growth in the number of tournaments popping up all over the world. Total number of events for 2016 was 3532, up 28% from last year.

The IFPA wishes to thank everyone in the competitive pinball community for continuing to support everything we do to spread the world about our incredible sport to the masses.

Become a part of pinball history at the IFPA – Pinball FX2 CE Open 2017 in Dallas, TX!

San Francisco, CA – January 9, 2017 – Zen Studios, Pinball Factory and the International Flipper Pinball Association are proud to announce that they are teaming up for an exciting new tournament to celebrate the launch of Pinball FX2 Championship Edition, Zen’s arcade cabinet version of its hit digital pinball experience, Pinball FX2. Taking place from March 16 to March 18 at Fun Billiards in Dallas, Texas, the IFPA – Pinball FX2 CE Open 2017 invites players from all over the world to test their pinball mettle for a chance to win their very own Pinball FX2 Championship Edition home cabinet!

At the IFPA – Pinball FX2 CE Open 2017, players are invited to face off on Zen Studios’ original Wild West Rampage table, achieving the highest three minute score that they can. The entry fee is $30.00 for those who preregister by March 1, a savings of $20!

Go here to register now: https://www.ifpapinball.com/pinballfx2/

Here is a breakdown of the event and prize packages:

Schedule

• Thursday March 16^th: Open qualifying 6pm-10pm
• Friday, March 17^th: Open qualifying 12pm-10pm
• Saturday, March 18^th: Open qualifying 12pm-4pm
• Saturday, March 18^th: Finals 5pm-6pm

Tournament Prize Package

• 1^st Place:
  • Pinball FX2 Championship Edition – Home Model ($5500 Value)
  • 40% Cash Payout
• 2^nd Place:
  • 30% Cash Payout
• 3^rd Place:
  • 20% Cash Payout
• 4^th Place:
  • 10% Cash Payout

“Pinball is a competitive game, so establishing the premiere event series for video game pinball competition is a huge step for us,” Mel Kirk, VP of Publishing at Zen Studios said. “The IFPA has been working hard to build competitive pinball tournaments, and it feels amazing to join their efforts to establish an eSport component that will drive the experience forward in new and exciting ways. Zen Studios has a long and storied pinball history, so this new chapter with the Pinball Factory and IFPA has everyone excited!”

“The IFPA is pumped to have Zen Studios and the Pinball Factory joining our effort to expand tournament pinball,” Josh Sharpe, IFPA President said. “We can’t wait to pioneer new avenues for people to enjoy the game of pinball and bring together generations of players in awesome new ways!”

First revealed in November 2016 at the IAAPA, Pinball FX2 Championship Edition is the official virtual pinball cabinet and video pinball game of the IFPA. The arcade game combines all of the amazing pinball action from the hit digital title with a state of the art arcade cabinet layout for a truly unrivaled experience. These cabinets will be everywhere you can find pinball games, so come and be one of the very first players to experience the next generation of arcade pinball and be a part of pinball history!

For more information on Zen Studios library of games, please visit blog.zenstudios.com.

About Zen Studios

Zen Studios is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for all major digital game platforms, and is recognized as one of the premiere independent gaming studios in the world. Zen is an internationally renowned publisher headquartered in Budapest, Hungary with offices in the United States.

Zen Studios has worked with some of the largest brands in the world of entertainment, including Marvel Entertainment, South Park, and LucasArts, as well as revered gaming properties like Valve’s Portal and TellTale Games’ The Walking Dead. Zen Studios’ CastleStorm franchise has also won the developer critical acclaim and commercial success, including the coveted Editor’s Choice awards from both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

About International Flipper Pinball Association

The objective of the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) is to elevate the awareness and visibility of pinball across the globe and generate media coverage and corporate backing to bring the sport of competitive pinball back into the spotlight. The IFPA has created the World Pinball Player Rankings (WPPR) to establish the first official rankings system of pinball players throughout the world. For more information, please visit: http://www.ifpapinball.com.

About Arcade Factory

Arcade Factory is an experienced arcade game hardware designer, manufacturer and distributor. The company uses their expertise in arcade game design, production and distribution to work with game developers in the creation and distribution of new arcade game machines. The company started as an arcade game operator in 1982 and began designing game cabinets during the early days of the universal JAMMA standard. As electronics continue to dramatically change, their hardware design expertise has kept pace by incorporating the latest cutting edge technology to create new arcade games with revolutionary features.

Zen Studios Contact: Steven Hopper // Zen Studios // [email protected] // 208.284.2937

The IFPA is proud to announce that registration for the 2017 IFPA Pin-Masters is now OPEN! For details on the IFPA Pin-Masters, check out the Overview page HERE.

To register, click HERE! Please note registration will be capped at 72 players.

The 2017 IFPA Pin-Masters: World Pin-Golf Championships are scheduled for March 17th-19th, 2017 at FUN! Billiards & Gameroom Superstore in Mesquite, TX. The Pin-Masters coincides with the Amusement Expo held Wednesday and Thursday of that week where any players that pre-register will receive a complimentary badge into the trade show.

In addition, the IFPA US National Pinball Championship and the IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship will also be held at FUN! Billiards, and take place Thursday, March 16th.

Should you have any questions about our qualifying process or to find out more information about the tournament, please contact the IFPA at [email protected].