The IFPA is excited to announce that the following players have been now qualified for the $tern Rewards Program based on their September 2014 IFPA endorsed tournament performance! These players have until August 15th, 2015 to exercise their reward option.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD – [player]Frank Romero[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Larry Paquette[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Paul Hawkins[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Matti Beramsingh[/player]

The $tern Rewards Program rewards dedicated players by providing them with the opportunity to use their rewards to purchase new Stern Premium games and other Stern merchandise at special IFPA prices.

In addition to AC/DC Premium, both Star Trek Premium and Metallic Monster Premium have been added to the lineup of eligible games available for purchase under the program. All games purchased through the $tern Rewards Program will include a custom certificate and t-shirt exclusive to the program.

Qualifying participants will also be eligible for discounts at the Stern online store which features a wide range of Stern and $tern Rewards Program merchandise exclusive to the IFPA rewards program.

Pinball players around the world can qualify for the program by participating and performing in IFPA-sanctioned pinball events. Top-ranked players, most-improved players, and player-of-the-month earn rewards points in the annual program.

The eligibility requirements for 2014 have been expanded to include players that finish in the top 1000 of the IFPA’s World Pinball Player Rankings at the end of the calendar year.

To learn more about the $tern Rewards Program, visit the IFPA website at www.ifpapinball.com/SternRewardsProgram

The IFPA is pleased to announce that the following players saw the biggest jump in their world ranking based on their September 2014 tournament performance. 

The biggest movers for September 2014 included [player]Larry Paquette[/player] from Lisbon, ME, who moved up 11,132 spots from the following results:
Boston Pinball Association Tournament
Main Tournament – Finished 4th – (4.92)
The Maine Pinball Equinox
Main Tournament – Finished 23rd – (0.25)        
Larry moved up to a rank of 3634th in the world, and 34th in the Maine SCS.

[player]Paul Hawkins[/player] from Wallingford, UK moved up 10,349 spots from the following results:
Pinburgher BBQ in the Rain
Main Tournament – Finished 28th – (1.12)
Side Tournament – Finished 9th – (2.98)
Paul moved up to a rank of 4771st in the world.

[player]Matti Beramsingh[/player] from London, UK moved up 6889 spots from the following results:
London Pinball League
League – Finished 35th – (0.16)
Pinburgher BBQ in the Rain
Main Tournament – Finished 23rd – (1.52)
Side Tournament – Finished 33rd – (0.36)
Matti moved up to a rank of 3774th in the world.

Congratulations to Larry, Paul and Matti, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their September tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for September 2014 is [player]Frank Romero[/player] from Rockland County, NY. Frank earned a total of 96.59 WPPR points in September. This included the following results:

Super Pingolf Summer At Yestercades
Finishing Position (original point value)
Main Tournament – Finished 1st – (30.90)
Side Tournament – Finished 1st – (15.46)

NYCFSA Bi-Borough Pin-Golf Classic
Finishing Position (original point value)
Main Tournament – Finished 3rd – (6.70)
Side Tournament – Finished 1st – (15.06)

PRE-Rock Fantasy League Periodics
Finishing Position (original point value)
2014-09-25 – Finished 1st – (7.50)

Super Pingolf Fall at DBA
Finishing Position (original point value)
Main Tournament – Finished 3rd – (2.92)
Side Tournament – Finished 5th – (0.61)

Super Pingolf Summer at Upright Brew House
Finishing Position (original point value)
Main Tournament – Finished 2nd – (8.66)
Side Tournament – Finished 2nd – (4.33)

Super Pingolf Summer at Raccoon Lounge
Finishing Position (original point value)
Main Tournament – Finished 4th – (1.95)
Side Tournament – Finished 2nd – (2.50)

Frank is currently the top ranked player for both the New Jersey and New York SCS, and is also currently qualified for Connecticut (8th).

The rest of the top 5 for the month of September included [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] from Delaware, OH with 93.93 WPPR points, [player]Steven Bowden[/player] from Franklin Township, NJ with 70.36 WPPR points, [player]Lukasz Romanowski[/player] from Poland with 68.43 WPPR points, and [player]Dave Stewart[/player] from Carnation, WA with 67.35 WPPR points.

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

The IFPA is proud to announce that registration for the 2015 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 108 players.

The 2015 IFPA Pin-Masters: World Pin-Golf Championships are scheduled for March 27th-29th, 2015 at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. The Pin-Masters coincides with the Amusement Expo held Wednesay 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 will also move to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, and take place Thursday March 26th. This will include all the various State and Provincial Champions currently battling it out in the 2014 SCS and PCS (Canada).

The Flippin' With the Greats Grand Final will also be held as part of the Pin-Masters. The best finisher amongst the Flippin' With the Greats finalists will win a NIB Stern pinball machine.

Should you have any questions about our qualifying process or to find out more information about the tournament, please contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

The IFPA / FWTG League courtesy of Rich Gannon gave away a pair of tickets to the Seattle Seahawks game last week. FWTG member Kevin Birrell won the tickets, and fellow top 40 ranked player Raymond Davidson joined him to check out the action. 

The raffles continue with the FWTG League, and the December fundraiser tournaments are also being added to the IFPA Calendar daily. Check out the IFPA calendar for the FWTG Tournament nearest you, and join the FWTG League to start getting involved in chances to win all these great prizes. Over $50,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs!

Please make sure to "Like" Gridiron Support and the IFPA on Facebook as well!

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin' With the Greats campaign:

1) The LEAGUE – This is fantasy football meets pinball. Sign up and join the team of your choosing. All the WPPR points you have earned in 2014 will go towards helping that team in the standings. We will be raffling off prizes the rest of the year to league members, including NFL memorabilia, pinball memorabilia, spots into the Grand Final, and actual pinball machines. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – This will be the IFPA's December charity fundraiser campaign supporting the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund. There will be 32 tournaments held in the various NFL cities, along with Coach Ditka Wild Card tournaments available for cities outside of the NFL markets, where players can donate to the cause, and play for a chance to advance to the Grand Final and win other prizes. Click HERE for more details.

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.

Get behind Coach Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund and "LIKE" Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org.

The IFPA / FWTG League couresy of Rich Gannon gave away a pair of tickets to the NY Jets vs. Buffalo Bills last week. Rich is doing it again this upcoming weekend, offering a pair of tickets for the upcoming Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders game. These tickets will be waiting at will call for one lucky FWTG member. To be eligible simply contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com to be included in the drawing. All current FWTG members are eligible, as well as anyone that signs up between now and 12pm EST this upcoming Saturday. We will then contact the winner shortly after via random draw.

Remember, you MUST join the FWTG League to win.

Most importantly, your participation in FWTG League directly benefits Coach Ditka's Charity…Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.

Please make sure to "Like" Gridiron Support and the IFPA on Facebook as well!

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin' With the Greats campaign:

1) The LEAGUE – This is fantasy football meets pinball. Sign up and join the team of your choosing. All the WPPR points you have earned in 2014 will go towards helping that team in the standings. We will be raffling off prizes the rest of the year to league members, including NFL memorabilia, pinball memorabilia, spots into the Grand Final, and actual pinball machines. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – This will be the IFPA's December charity fundraiser campaign supporting the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund. There will be 32 tournaments held in the various NFL cities, along with Coach Ditka Wild Card tournaments available for cities outside of the NFL markets, where players can donate to the cause, and play for a chance to advance to the Grand Final and win other prizes. Click HERE for more details.

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.

Get behind Coach Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund and "LIKE" Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org.

blog post courtesy of Bob Matthews

CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN TRANSLATION

The new WPPR system presents a challenge for tournaments that want to obtain full value.  Not all events can or should seek full value; your tournament’s goals are your own to choose.  If high value is one of them, though, here’s an overview of various current formats, what happens to them under WPPR 5.0, and some options for change.  This does NOT address the need to have 64 players for full value; here, I’m just looking at the factor for the Tournament Grade Percentage [TGP] to be applied to your event and how to get the most out of it.

Single Elimination Match Play

Unless you’re doing best-of-5 or best-of-7, this format will not get full value for typical size fields.  Even a 64-player field, playing best-of-three, only grades out to 72%.  Basically, it’s not the format to use if full value is a goal.  If you combine it with a qualifying phase prior to match play, that might work.

Double Elimination Match Play

This format fares well.  A double elimination event with best 2-of-3 in both winners and losers bracket will grade out full with 9 or more players.  Events with 2-of-3 winners and a single game in the losers’ bracket will grade out full with 33+ players and at 96% with 17+ players.

Two Strikes

If it’s one game, one strike, then no tournament yet held would get 100%.  You need 65+ people just to get to 60%.  Two strikes only grades full for typical size fields when it’s best 2-of-3.  In that case, just 9 players gets you there.

Three Strikes

Three strikes is almost always done as single game, not best-of-3, due to how long it takes in the latter case.  Best 2-of-3 grades out full for just 5 players, while single game doesn’t grade full until you reach 129.

HERB-style Qualifying plus PAPA-style Playoffs

First, note that HERB or any other unlimited qualifying format will not reach 100% unless at least 20 hours of qualifying takes place.  This is because the new method only gives 80% value to the games played [GP] factor in these cases.

The most common versions of unlimited qualifying grade out in the 50-90% range.  Most HERB events use 4-9 machine scores, 2 or 3 rounds of 3-game PAPA-style playoffs, and at least 12 hours of qualifying.  That works out to 10-18 games played, or 40% to 72% value.  Add the 12% to 20% for hours of qualifying and you get 52% to 92% total.

Since most events of this type have chosen their playoff format to accommodate their schedule, it will often be impractical to increase the number of playoff games to raise the TGP value.  Tournament directors then have two primary choices to improve value:  change the playoff format to get more games played in the same number of available hours, or count more of the qualifying games towards making the playoffs.

Counting more qualifying games is easy; just take a player’s best 2 scores on each machine, or best 10 results across all machines, things like that.  [I would suggest limiting the number of best scores taken to 2 or 3 per machine; it wouldn’t do to have someone make the playoffs by having the top 10 scores on just one machine!]  For those using software, it would need to be rewritten, but that’s doable.

Let’s look at the other option, playoff formats, with respect to the time needed.  PAPA-style playoffs take about twice as long for the same number of “games played” as regards TGP as does match play.  It’s simple math:  if there a 4 players in a PAPA playoff group and an average game played takes N minutes, it takes 4N minutes to get one value game played in PAPA game.  In match play, with 2 players, the same value game played requires only 2N minutes.  So you can roughly double your GP with the switch to ether single or double elimination match play.

HERB-style Qualifying plus Match Play Playoffs

As long as the match play is double elimination best 2-of-3, this will make it to full value with even 4 machines used if 8 people or more are in the playoffs.  For single elimination, match play is worse off than PAPA-style if it’s single game.  If the matches are best 2-of-3, single elimination match play adds 3 games played compared to PAPA-style.  So if you take 16 to the playoffs, [or take 12 with the top 4 getting byes], you can just make it to 100% if you have 20+ hours  of qualifying and count 8 or more qualifying games:

20% for20 hours qualifying

32% for 8 qualifying games played

48% for 12 playoff games [4 match play rounds of 3 games each]

Limited Qualifying plus Match Play

Like HERB, most limited qualifying events use 4-9 machine scores, for 16% to 36% value.  With no hours value, most of the total value comes from the playoffs.  For the single elimination format commonly used with limited qualifying, a large number of rounds using best 2-of-3 is needed.  For 4-6 machine scores, you’d need to take 65+ players to the playoffs, so the total field would need to be 130+ players to meet the 50% reduction rule.  For 7-9 machines scores, you need to take 33+ players to match play and have a beginning field of 66+.

PinGolf

Pingolf alone needs 25 holes to work, regardless of whether the holes are in qualifying or playoffs [so long as the playoffs, if any, cut the field by at least 50%].  PinGolf as qualifying followed by other playoff formats works so long as the playoffs add enough value:

18-hole PinGolf plus PAPA-style makes it with 3 rounds of 3-game PAPA playoffs; 2 rounds of playoffs get you to 96%.

18-hole PinGolf plus single elimination match play works for best 2-of-3 playoff matches with 5+ people in the playoffs.

9 hole PinGolf plus double elimination best 2-of-3 works for 5+ players.

Disclaimer

I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible here, but in the end, the IFPA staff make the final determination as to an event’s value.  If you have any questions about your event’s value, you should probably contact IFPA before your event’s final rules are announced.  Thanks, and I hope I’ve helped.

The inaugural IFPA European Championship Series is now through Event #14 out of 17, after Finland hosted the K15 Open. Full results for K15 Open are available HERE.

An incredible 1050 players have taken part in at least one ECS tournament, with [player]Michael Trepp[/player] maintaining his lead by 21 WPPR points over fellow Swiss [player]Robert Sutter[/player] and 26 WPPR points over [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player]. The current ECS standings are available HERE.

The next ECS event takes players to Hungary (the Denmark event happened this past weekend), where the 2014 Hungarian Pinball Open will be taking place November 7-8. Details of that event are available HERE. The entire ECS schedule can be found HERE.

The IFPA is excited to announce that December will be Flippin' With the Greats month! We are teaming up with Gridiron Support to benefit Mike Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF).

Similar to the other fundraiser campaigns, the IFPA plans on treating each of these Flippin' With the Great fundraiser tournaments as a unique event, worth full value WPPR points, even if a particular location is already hosting another annual event in 2014. Get in touch with the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com if you're interested in setting up an event or submit to the IFPA calendar directly. We hope to set up events nationwide and use competitive pinball as a way to help raise funds for this great charity. The tournament must be scheduled to be played in the month of December to qualify.

A minimum donation of $30 is required to register for the FWTG tournament. This will go to Coach Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assitance Fund. Every player will receive a Gridiron Greats medallion as a memento of playing in the event and supporting the charity. Players are also responsible for the cost of the games to be played if applicable.

The winner of every FWTG tournament will represent that NFL team at the Grand Final. Should the same player win additional FWTG tournaments or have already advanced to the Grand Final through other ways, we will select the 2nd place player to advance to the finals in any of those additional cities. These 32 players will compete for the BRAND NEW pinball machine, additional prizes and WPPR points in the "Flippin' With the Greats – Grand Final".

Additionally, cities that do not have an NFL franchise to represent will be able to host an event as a "Ditka Wildcard" city. These winners will also advance to the Grand Final and a chance to win a BRAND NEW pinball machine.

Full details are available 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.

Get behind Coach Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund and "LIKE" Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org.

The IFPA / FWTG League is excited to announce that Rich Gannon has donated a pair of tickets for the upcoming NY Jets vs. Buffalo Bills game. These tickets will be waiting at will call for one lucky FWTG member. To be eligible simply contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com to be included in the drawing. All current FWTG members are eligible, as well as anyone that signs up between now and 12pm EST this upcoming Saturday. We will then contact the winner shortly after via random draw.

Remember, you MUST join the FWTG League to win.

Most importantly, your participation in FWTG League directly benefits Coach Ditka's Charity…Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.

Please make sure to "Like" Gridiron Support and the IFPA on Facebook as well!

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin' With the Greats campaign:

1) The LEAGUE – This is fantasy football meets pinball. Sign up and join the team of your choosing. All the WPPR points you have earned in 2014 will go towards helping that team in the standings. We will be raffling off prizes the rest of the year to league members, including NFL memorabilia, pinball memorabilia, spots into the Grand Final, and actual pinball machines. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – This will be the IFPA's December charity fundraiser campaign supporting the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund. There will be 32 tournaments held in the various NFL cities, along with Coach Ditka Wild Card tournaments available for cities outside of the NFL markets, where players can donate to the cause, and play for a chance to advance to the Grand Final and win other prizes. Click HERE for more details.

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.

Get behind Coach Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund and "LIKE" Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org.