The Ron and Don Show on 97.3FM in Seattle interviewed [player]Adam Jenkins[/player] (ranked 1553rd in the world), [player]Evan McBride[/player] (ranked 4103rd in the world), [player]Mark Lutsock[/player] (ranked 11014th in the world) of Pinheads Pinball. Click HERE to listen to the interview.

Wisconsin Public Radio's "Central Time" radio show recently did a piece on pinball. Featured on the broadcast was [player]Tim Enders[/player](ranked 529th in the world) and [player]Steve Tully[/player](ranked 2156th in the world). Click HERE to listen to the show.

The inaugural IFPA European Championship Series is now through Event #10 out of 17, after the United Kingdom host the 2014 UK Pinball Open. Full results of the UK Pinball Open are available HERE.

An incredible 795 players have taken part in at least one ECS tournament, with [player]Michael Trepp[/player] continuing to sit at the top of the standings, with 2-time World Champion [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player] sitting roughly 40 points behind. The current ECS standings are available HERE.

The next ECS event takes players to Sweden, where the 2014 Borås Pinball Open will be taking place September 18th-21st. Details of that event are available HERE. The entire ECS schedule can be found HERE.

We're looking to round up some volunteers to help us with hosting the Stern The Walking Dead Pinball Launch Party tournaments.

The date Stern is targeting is October 17-19th weekend, or the weekend after.

If you are interested in helping serve as an IFPA representative for a launch party in your city, please send me an email (ifpapinball at gmail dot com) including the city you live in. We'll then get that information to Stern to try and find a distributor/operator/location owner in your area to match you up with to get the party set up.

IFPA representative duties would include game setup at the site, along with running the tournament portion of the party.

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

PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD – [player]Roy Wils[/player]
Roy earned a total of 205.76 WPPR points in August. This included victories at the Pre-PAPA Kickback Tournament (Main and Classics) and Pre-PAPA Slovak Club Main Tournament. Roy also had a top 4 finish in both the Main and Classics tournaments at the Pre-PAPA New Great Valley Lanes Tournament, and a 10th place finish in the PAPA 17 World Pinball Championships A division, along with a 7th place finish in the Classics III division. Roy is currently the 5th ranked player for the Pennsylvania SCS, and is also currently qualified for Ohio(12th).

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Jason Clark[/player]
Jason moved up 7185 spots by winning the August 2014 Fox Cities Pinball League. This netted Jason 2.34 WPPR points and moved him up to a rank of 5737th in the world. Jason also sits in 100th place in the Wisconsin SCS.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Tyler Huntington[/player]
Tyler moved up 6039 spots from his 8th place finish at the Brampton Pinball Extravaganza. Tyler earned 2.57 WPPR points which moved him up to a rank of 5326th in the world. Tyler also sits in 52nd place in the Onatiro PCS.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Ryan Pankratz[/player]
Ryan moved up 5701 spots from his performance at the Blainbrook, Mortimers and Silverball Saturday tournaments in August. These results netted Ryan 1.97 WPPR points for August, which moved him up to a rank of 5939th in the world. Ryan also sits in 31st place in the Minnesota SCS..

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 August 2014 tournament performance. 

The biggest movers for August 2014 included [player]Jason Clark[/player] from Greenville, OH, who moved up 7185 spots by winning the August 2014 Fox Cities Pinball League. This netted Jason 2.34 WPPR points and moved him up to a rank of 5737th in the world. Jason also sits in 100th place in the Wisconsin SCS.

[player]Tyler Huntington[/player] from Canada moved up 6039 spots from his 8th place finish at the Brampton Pinball Extravaganza. Tyler earned 2.57 WPPR points which moved him up to a rank of 5326th in the world. Tyler also sits in 52nd place in the Onatiro PCS.

[player]Ryan Pankratz[/player] from St. Paul, MN moved up 5701 spots from his performance at the Blainbrook, Mortimers and Silverball Saturday tournaments in August. These results netted Ryan 1.97 WPPR points for August, which moved him up to a rank of 5939th in the world. Ryan also sits in 31st place in the Minnesota SCS.

Congratulations to Jason, Tyler and Ryan, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their August tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for August 2014 is [player]Roy Wils[/player] from the Netherlands. Roy earned a total of 205.76 WPPR points in August. This included victories at the Pre-PAPA Kickback Tournament (Main and Classics) and Pre-PAPA Slovak Club Main Tournament. Roy also had a top 4 finish in both the Main and Classics tournaments at the Pre-PAPA New Great Valley Lanes Tournament, and a 10th place finish in the PAPA 17 World Pinball Championships A division, along with a 7th place finish in the Classics III division. Roy is currently the 5th ranked player for the Pennsylvania SCS, and is also currently qualified for Ohio(12th).

The rest of the top 5 for the month of August included [player]Cayle George[/player] from Seattle, WA with 139.64 WPPR points, [player]Steven Bowden[/player] from Franklin Township, NJ with 136.28 WPPR points, [player]Cryss Stephens[/player] from Pittsburgh, PA with 134.03 WPPR points, and [player]Chris Basler[/player] from Illinois with 119.79 WPPR points.

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

The FWTG League will be raffling off a 1972 Bally 3 Coin "Jackpot Only"  Vintage Casino Slot Machine (courtesy of Peters Billiards) to one lucky player selected from the fastest growing division, beginning now and ending Thursday Sept 18th at 9pm CST. The machine is all shopped out and works great (see picture).

Starting after the previously raffled prize, we will be tallying new entrants into each division. All players within the fastest growing division will be eligible to win the Vintage Slot Machine! Winning player will be responsible any shipping charges (we will help line up a wholesale carrier), or the machine can be available for pick in the Minneapolis or Chicago areas. As an alternative prize, Gridiron Support is offering a set of 5 GGAF medallions with matching numbers if the winner declines the slot machine as their prize.

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 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 Wall Street Journal released an article on the current pinball renaissance. Included in the release is a radio and video spot as well. Featured in the article is [player]Jessie Carduner[/player] (ranked 1200th in the world), [player]Mark Steinman[/player] (ranked 209th in the world), [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] (ranked 17th in the world), [player]Michelle McCleester[/player] (ranked 785th in the world), [player]Marvin Ortscheid[/player] (ranked 924th in the world), [player]Matt Quirk[/player] (ranked 1392nd in the world), [player]Chris Flohr[/player] (ranked 2503rd in the world) and [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] (ranked 10th in the world). Click HERE to read, watch and listen.

Seven Days newspaper out in Vermont wrote a piece covering the Vermont chapter of the New England Pinball League. Featured in the article is [player]Matt Barewicz[/player] (ranked 2113th in the world), [player]Todd Baumeister[/player] (ranked 9279th in the world) and [player]Steve Daniels[/player] (ranked 621st in the world). Click HERE to read the article.