In what many are calling the craziest day in competitive pinball history across the US, the IFPA held the culmination of the first State Championship Series with 28 simultaneous State Championships held from coast to coast. Over 440 players battled through elimination brackets until only 28 remained to earn the title of IFPA State Pinball Champion. By winning their respective State Championships, these players have earned the right to represent that state in the first ever IFPA US National Pinball Championship, scheduled for Sunday, May 18th, 2014 in Lyons, CO. Nearly $3000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs, along with the title of National Pinball Champion.

We would like to thank the countless number of IFPA volunteers that helped make something like the SCS even possible to pull off, and to all the participants for making it out to compete. We're excited to announce that the SCS will continue for the 2014 season, so look for standings to be updated soon. Full results for most of the states can now be found in the past results page, but here is the master list of the current IFPA State Pinball Champions!

IFPA SCS coverage continues in Missouri, where St. Louis Magazine interviewed IFPA President and Vice President [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] and [player]Zach Sharpe[/player], along with the IFPA Missouri State representative [player]Brian Bannon[/player]. [player]John Miller[/player], the #2 MO seed entering the championship emerged victorious, defeating #5 MO seed and former Illini Pinball League standout [player]Adam McKinnie[/player] in the final. Click HERE to read the article.

​More IFPA PCS coverage up in Vancouver where Xinhuanet published some pictures of the IFPA British Columbua Provincial Pinball Championships. Featured was the #9 BC seed [player]Sean Lind[/player] and #13 BC seed [player]Andrew Lum[/player]. Click HERE to view the pictures.

blog post courtesy of the Australian Pinball League

THURSDAY, 13 FEBRUARY, 2014,  6 PM
OFFICIAL OPENING PARTY OF PINBALL H.Q. AT COOGEE DIGGERS (FACEBOOK)
Cnr Carr and Byron Sts, Coogee, NSW 2034
The biggest pinball venue in Sydney is about to open next Thursday, February 13 at Coogee Diggers. The timing is not coincidental.  Sydney will have the highest concentration of pinball wizard masters coming from all around Australia and New Zealand and from as far as France. They’ll be sharpening their skills for the Grand Final of the Australian & New Zealand Pinball Open at Hard Rock Cafe, Darling Harbour on Saturday, February 22.

Come along to Pinball HQ opening party and have a game with Richard Rhodes, the highest ranked player in Australia and  Franck Bona from France, one of the world’s best pinball players. Enjoy a fantastic line up of ten pinball machines including the latest Star Trek,  Metallica Road Case, Avengers Premium, 24  but also some older classics of the nineties such as Revenge From Mars, Dirty Harry, Get Away, Tommy, Whodunnit and Fun House. It is not only the pinball to be revived, this special event will feature live Honky Tonk and Boogie Woogie Piano, popular music genres of the past and still exciting as ever.

SATURDAY, 22 FEBRUARY, 2014
AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND PINBALL OPEN – GRAND FINAL (WEBSITE, FACEBOOK)
Hard Rock Cafe, Darling Harbour, Sydney
The iconic Hard Rock Cafe in Darling Harbour will be hosting the Grand Final of the Australia’s first international pinball championship. Launched in June last year at PAX Expo in Melbourne, where thousands of predominantly young people could witness and participate in wildcard entry tournaments. The qualifying tournaments continued throughout the year in various locations around the country culminating in State Finals in November. The winners, the Australian State Champions will be flown to the Grand Final Sydney and their accommodation and airfare is paid for. Similar qualifying tournaments were also held in New Zealand. The Australians will compete with their New Zealand counterparts and with one of the world’s best pinball players, Franck Bona from France in undoubtedly the fiercest pinball competition ever held in this country. The stakes are high as the winner takes home a brand new Metallica pinball machine, one of the best musical pinballs ever made.

This major championship marks the resurgence of pinballs which is evident in Australia and around the world. This is our third national pinball championship in the last two years. The number of Australian players registered by the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA), grew rapidly from 4, about two years ago to 568 now,  placing Australia among the top seven countries in the world. We are bound to surpass United Kingdom and Canada within next few months and it is well within our reach to get in second place with only the USA ahead of us. Come along to support our players at the Hard Rock Cafe, on February 22. The Runners up competition starts at 9:30 a.m., the Grand Final starts at 11:30 a.m. All proceeds from the $5 entry fee will be donated  to Mission Australia Charity.

Major sponsors:  Australian Pinball League, Amusement Machine Distributors and Timezone Australia in partnership  with Timezone N.Z., Time Out N.Z., Coin Cascade N.Z., Hard Rock Cafe Sydney and PAX Australia.

SUNDAY, 23 FEBRUARY, 2014, 9:30 AM TO 2 PM
SYDNEY PINBALL SYMPOSIUM AND LUNCH (WEBSITE)
Hard Rock Cafe, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Learn interesting facts about the history and also about the presence and future of pinball at this ultimate pinball forum.  Get to meet with the Australian and New Zealand champions, pinball enthusiasts, collectors and the industry people. Among the guest speakers are Gary Stern, the President of Stern Pinball from Chicago, USA, pinball historians and authors of several books Marco Rossignoli and Michael Shalhoub and others. Despite the fact that both authors are well known overseas and celebrities in pinball circles around the world they are little known here. They are locals. Michael is from Sydney and Marco is from Newcastle.

blog post courtesy of Derek Fugate

The State Championship Series sanctioned by the IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association) concluded in states around the country on Feb. 8 crowning state champions, many of which will converge in Colorado later this year. Derek Fugate, currently ranked 52nd in the world and Kentucky's highest ranked player, held off competitors in stiff competition to claim the Kentucky State Championship.

Fugate, who qualified for the state championship series through tournaments held during 2013, was one of 16 players who were eligible to play for the crown, but winning Kentucky's first state championship didn't come easy.

Fugate was ahead three games to one in the best of seven finale, but third-seed Jim Seward came roaring back to tie the contest at three games apiece and appeared poised to steal the victory from the favored Fugate. In game seven, Fugate's first two balls drained harmlessly through the out-lanes, garnering few points, while Seward amassed what appeared to be an insurmountable advantage.

However, while Fugate appeared to be dead in the water, his final ball proved to be one of the best of the day drawing applause from fellow competitors. The remarkable effort pushed him well ahead. Seward from Columbus, OH, currently ranked 1073rd in the world, had one last chance and had a great ball, but not good enough to regain the lead.

Fugate, the No. 1 seed, had added pressure, first, by being "expected to win" and second, by hosting the event with his varied and comprehensive collection of modern and vintage machines. All in all it was a great afternoon of competition, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty, Fugate proved his ranking with the highly improbable victory.

The IFPA currently has 22,274 players from around the world and will hold its 11th annual World Pinball Championship in Denver, Colorado in May. Featuring 64 of the world's greatest players from over a dozen countries, the IFPA World Championship is the most prestigious event in competitive pinball. Fugate is grateful to be one of those who'll be competing for the world title.

FOX8 News in Cleveland dropped in on [player]Rod Lawrence[/player] who became the IFPA’s first Ohio State Pinball Champion this past Saturday. Rod defeated #1 OH seed [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] in the finals to take the title. Click HERE to read the article.

IFPA SCS coverage continues in Illinois, where The Lincolnshire Review spent the day at the inaugural IFPA Illinois State Pinball Championship.recently visited the host of the first ever IFPA Illinois State Pinball Championship. [player]Joshua Henderson[/player] was crowned the first ever IFPA Illinois State Pinball Champion, defeating former IFPA World Champion [player]Dave Hegge[/player] 4 games to 2 in the final. Click HERE to read the article.

​IFPA SCS coverage continues in Texas, where Time Warner Cable news in Austin released an article and video on the IFPA Texas State Pinball Championship. Featured in the piece is #2 TX seed [player]Marcus Trevino[/player]. Click HERE to watch the video and read the article.

​IFPA SCS coverage continues in Indiana, where CBS affiliate WLFI channel 18 spent the day at the inaugural IFPA Indiana State Pinball Championship. Featured in the piece are father/son duo [player]Bob Twichell[/player] and [player]Mike Twichell[/player] (seed #11 and #14 in IN respectively). Click HERE to watch the video.

​IFPA SCS coverage continues in Maine, where the Kennebec Journal spent the day at the inaugural IFPA Maine State Pinball Championship. Featured in the article is #5 ME seed [player]Michael Haycock[/player], #2 ME seed [player]Jay Ramey[/player], #11 ME seed [player]Theresa Nessel[/player], #3 ME seed [player]Matt Lodgik[/player] and #7 ME seed [player]Jake Erksine[/player]. Click HERE to read the article.