Today starts March Madness in the NCAA world, but also in the pinball world.

The 3rd annual IFPA US National Pinball Championship and inaugural IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship but kick off today. Practice starts at 10am Vegas time, with matches starting at 11am until we crown our champions.

Check out the action LIVE at http://www.twitch.tv/iepinball!

Nationals Bracket is available to follow HERE!

Women’s Bracket is available to follow HERE!

Best of luck to all the finalists!

We’ve been so busy with IFPA related activities that we forgot to mention that February 27th, 2016 marked the 10 year anniversary since the rebirth of the International Flipper Pinball Association.

On that day in 2006 the AMOA assigned the rights of the then defunct IFPA over to Steve Epstein and Roger Sharpe to see if they could elevate the awareness and visibility of pinball across the globe.

The World Pinball Player Rankings now has over 39,000 players from 41 countries, and the events being run by the IFPA continue to expand. Country Championship Series have started in Australia, Austria, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, to go along with the continued series in the US and Canada.

This week will kick off an insane month with the inaugural IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship, 3rd annual IFPA US National Pinball Championship and the 3rd annual IFPA Pin-Masters. Shortly thereafter the 13th annual IFPA World Pinball Championship will be taking place in Pittsburgh featuring the 4th annual Epstein Cup.

Thanks to everyone for the continued support, but most importantly to the hundreds of volunteers that help the IFPA truly cover the globe in competitive pinball 24/7. We’re looking forward to seeing where we can take things in the years ahead!

Team USA currently holds the Epstein Cup for another month before it is once again up for grabs at IFPA13 in Pittsburgh. 8 players per side earn the right to represent their country in this prestigious event, so let’s take a closer look at the rosters for both sides.

Team USA includes current PAPA World Champion Keith Elwin from Carlsbad, CA, current Pinbugh Champion Zach Sharpe from Chicago, 1-time Major Finalist Robert Gagno from Burnaby, Canada, 1-time Major Finalist Trent Augenstein from Delaware, OH, 2-time Major Finalist Sean Grant from New York City, current IFPA European Pinball Champion Cayle George from Seattle, WA, 2-time Major Finalist Andy Rosa from Flint, MI and Super League extraordinaire Francesco La Rocca from New York City. The 8 members of Team USA 2016 have accounted for 11 Major Championships along with 34 Major Championship Top 4’s.

Team Europe includes current European Pinball Champion and 2015 World’s Greatest Pinball Player Jorian Engelbrektsson from Sweden, current IFPA World Pinball Champion Daniele Celestino Acciari from Italy, 1-time Major Champion Jörgen Holm from Sweden, 3-time Major Finalist Mats Runsten from Sweden, 1-time Major Champion Roy Wils from the Netherlands, 1-time Major Champion Paul Jongma from the Netherlands, 1-time Major Champion Robert Sutter from Switzerland and 1-time Major Finalist Markus Stix from Austria. The 8 members of Team Europe 2016 have accounted for 10 Major Championships won along with 32 Major Championship Top 4’s.

For more details on the event, click HERE.

We’re less than a week from the 3rd annual IFPA US National Pinball Championship. Out of the 42 potential players, we’re currently expecting 38 to participate. This is definitely subject to change, but here is a preliminary list of the first round matchups:

(7)Jason Scheffelmaer-KS vs. (26)Pierce McLain-DC
(8)Kevin Stone-VA vs. (25)Travis Maisch-WA
(9)Will McKinney-AZ vs. (24)Brett Emerson-OK
(10)Brian Dye-WV vs. (23)Sal Ayoob-NV
(11)John Kremmer-BC vs. (22)Dominic Nardini-RI
(12)Josh Tidmore-TX vs. (21)Joe Kosack-MD
(13)Adam Kiesler-QC vs. (20)Jody Jodon-NJ
(14)Andy Cobb-OR vs. (19)Barry Brdar-ON
(15)Timothy Enders-WI vs. (18)Atticus Palmer-FL
(16)Brian Hill-OH vs. (17)Eric Fisher-GA
(32)Matt Wenger-MA vs. (33)Todd Baumeister-VT –> winner plays (1)Jason Werdrick-IN
(31)Doug Parsons-NS vs. (34)Adrienne Black-LA –> winner plays (2)Karl Deangelo-CA
(30)Kevin Kuntz-NC vs. (35)Heath Ashley-SC –> winner plays (3)Lyman Sheats-IL
(29)Luke Nahorniak-MN vs. (36)Drew Donohue-KY –> winner plays (4)Adam Lefkoff-CO
(28)Jake Erskine-ME vs. (37)Ryan James-AB –> winner plays (5)Greg Poverelli-NY
(27)Jeff Douglas-MO vs. (38)Ethan Bent-SK –> winner plays (6)Joe Lemire-NH

Pinball Sales Australia, the Sole Importer and Distributor of Jersey Jack Pinball Machines from the USA to Australia conducted an interview with IFPA President Josh Sharpe. Click HERE to read the article.

Press of Atlantic City newspaper had an article on the 2014-15 New Jersey State Pinball Champion Ken Rossi. Click HERE to read the article.

The IFPA13 field is nearly set, with 62 out of the 64 players locked in. The IFPA European Championship Satellite spot is being determined right now, while the IFPA US National Championship Satellite spot will be decided in a few short weeks.

18 countries will be represented, a record for a US-based IFPA World Pinball Championship. This includes Thailand which will see its flag on the World Pinball Champion trophy for the first time.

IFPA13 shattered the previous world record for the cut line for at-large bids into any IFPA World Pinball Championship. At rank #52, Adam McKinnie from the US became the last player above the cut line, shattering the previous US-based IFPA record of rank #79 set at IFPA11 in Denver and the Europe-based IFPA record rank of #66 set at IFPA10 in Germany. The cut line has since moved a bit as we’ve had 3 players cancel since IFPA13 registration closed.

IFPA13 also breaks another record by featuring 15 players in the field that have won a Major Championship at some point in their career.

The full field of participants is available HERE.

The IFPA is excited to announce that we are partnering with Jersey Jack Pinball, Tokens & Tankards and This Flippin Podcast to host a launch party and tournament for JJP’s The Hobbit pinball machine.

Below is a release from Tokens & Tankards out in Mount Prospect, Illinois which is where the party will be held:

Big news! As many of you know, we are pleased to have a copy of The Hobbit pinball from our friends at Jersey Jack – the only one in the Midwest!

Join us on Friday, March 11th, as we celebrate the release of Jersey Jack’s The Hobbit, with an official IFPA tournament!

Tokens & Tankards, Chicagoland’s first Gastrocade, is pleased to host this unique event, celebrating Jersey Jack’s amazing new pinball game.

OnWisconsin Magazine is a quarterly magazine published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni Association. This quarter they focused on PAPA co-founder and IFPA Chairman Roger Sharpe. Click HERE to read the article.

Back in November 2015, Twin Galaxies, in close partnership with the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) has jointly decided to open the all-new adjudication process to the pinball community as an exciting experiment to see if competitive leaderboard pinball can once again take place successfully on the Twin Galaxies scoreboards!

MILLIONS entered . . . but only one could earn the World Record!

Okay so millions didn’t enter, but ONE PERSON did submit a video for the Twin Galaxies, and that person was the artist formerly known as “Jon from Pittsburgh”.

Jon scored  208,715,140 on a Walking Dead LE. Check out the submission video HERE.

We congratulate Jon on this incredible achievement, and will do our best to pay him his $100 in all pennies.