The IFPA is pleased to announce that the following players saw the biggest jump in their world ranking based on their April 2013 tournament performance.

The biggest movers for April 2013 included [player]Tony Pierce[/player] from Thomasville, NC, who moved up 6318 spots by earning 2.97 WPPR points from his 10th place finish at the Outer Banks Pinfest, as well as .91 WPPR points from his 4th place finish at the April Lost Ark Monthly Pinball Tournament. This moved Tony up to the 3404th ranked player in the world. Currently Tony is sitting in 19th place in the IFPA North Carolina State Championship standings.

[player]Aaron Williams[/player] from Murfreesboro, TN moved up 5363 spots from his victory at the April session of the Middle Tennessee Pinball League. Aaron earned 5.02 WPPR points for the victory, which has moved him up to a rank of 2801st in the world. Currently Aaron is sitting in 2nd place in the IFPA Tennessee State Championship standings.

[player]David Spake[/player] from Atlanta, GA moved up 4913 spots from his 6th place finish at the Souther Fried Pinball Tournament. This netted David 9.55 WPPR points and boosted him into now being the 2043rd ranked player in the world.

Congratulations to Tony, Aaron and David, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their April tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for April 2013 is current World Pinball Champion [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player] from Italy. Daniele earned 172.82 WPPR points in April, including a victory at the Pre-Pinburgh Doublewide Grill tournament, and an insanely impressive victory at the inaugural PAPA Circuit Final. In addition, Daniele won one of the Classics Divisions at the Michigan Pinball Expo. With his performance during his trip out to the US, Daniele is actually qualified for both the IFPA Pennsylvania and IFPA Michigan State Championships, sitting in 2nd and 8th place respectively.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of April included [player]Cryss Stephens[/player] from Pennsylvania with 165.90 WPPR points, [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] from Chicago, IL with 150.07 WPPR points, [player]Joshua Henderson[/player] from Plainfield, IL with 134.74 WPPR points, and [player]Keith Elwin[/player] from Carlsbad, CA with 126.65 WPPR points.

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

To celebrate the launch of the Metallica Pro Pinball machine, Stern and the IFPA are teaming up to host 12 launch parties going on across the US!

There will be machines set up at each location on free play, with a cash prize tournament also being held throughout the party. Please see flyer for location information, and contact the IFPA at [email protected] should you have any questions.

We're looking to round up some volunteers to help us with hosting the Stern Metallica Launch Party tournaments.

The date Stern is targeting is Friday, June 7th.

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.

As one of the top 250 players in the World Pinball Player Rankings as of the end of 2012, [player]Tim Hansen[/player] from Sunnyvale, CA qualified himself for the IFPA's $tern Rewards Program. The $tern Rewards Program allows qualifiers to purchase a brand new Stern pinball machine at a special IFPA price. Tim redeemed his reward for an AC/DC Premium, which came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Gary Stern himself.

Tim finished ranked 49th in the world at the end of 2012, and has since moved himself up four spots to 45th with a victory at the Thirteen Thirteen Tournament back in January. With that performance along with a top 10 performance at the Battle of the Beach, Tim currently sits in 8th place in the IFPA California State Championship standings.

Congratulations to Tim, and remember if you're interested in qualifying for the $tern Rewards Program, check out the rules here.

The IFPA is excited to announce that the following players have been now qualified for the $tern Rewards Program based on their March 2013 IFPA endorsed tournament performance! These players have until August 15th, 2014 to exercise their reward option.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH – [player]Trent Augenstein[/player]
Trent earned 164.32 WPPR points in March, including a victory at the Ohio Pinball & Gameroom Festival and the Texas Pinball Festival (both the Main and Classics tournament). In addition, Trent had a 4th and 2nd place finish in the Main and Classic tournaments at the Louisville Arcade Expo, the final stop of the 2012 PAPA Circuit.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Debra Sea[/player]
Debra moved up 4980 spots by earning 1.21 WPPR points from her 4th place finish at the ACME Comics Monthly Pinball Tournament, as well as .40 WPPR points from her 7th place finish at the March Lost Ark Monthly Pinball Tournament. This moved Debra up to the 5095th ranked player in the world.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Joey Stroman[/player]
Joey moved up 4452 spots from his victory at the DFW Pinball and Arcade Club Tournament, 70th place, 31st place and 117th place finish in the Texas Pinball Festival's Main Tournament, EM Tournament and Modern Tournament respectively. In total, Joey earned 32.24 WPPR points, which has moved him up to a rank of 879th in the world.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Chad Hyatt[/player]
Chad moved up 3186 spots from his 33rd and 25th place finishes in the Louisville Arcade Expo's Main and Classics tournaments respectively. Chad also finished in 13th place in the March Lost Ark Monthly Pinball Tournament. This netted Chad 10.29 WPPR points and boosted him into now being the 1817th ranked player in the world.

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 March 2013 tournament performance.

The biggest movers for March 2013 included [player]Debra Sea[/player] from Greensboro, NC, who moved up 4980 spots by earning 1.21 WPPR points from her 4th place finish at the ACME Comics Monthly Pinball Tournament, as well as .40 WPPR points from her 7th place finish at the March Lost Ark Monthly Pinball Tournament. This moved Debra up to the 5095th ranked player in the world. Currently Debra is sitting in 16th place in the IFPA North Carolina State Championship standings.

[player]Joey Stroman[/player] from Longview, TX moved up 4452 spots from his victory at the DFW Pinball and Arcade Club Tournament, 70th place, 31st place and 117th place finish in the Texas Pinball Festival's Main Tournament, EM Tournament and Modern Tournament respectively. In total, Joey earned 32.24 WPPR points, which has moved him up to a rank of 879th in the world. Currently Joey is sitting in 13th place in the IFPA Texas State Championship standings.

[player]Chad Hyatt[/player] from Morganton, NC moved up 3186 spots from his 33rd and 25th place finishes in the Louisville Arcade Expo's Main and Classics tournaments respectively. Chad also finished in 13th place in the March Lost Ark Monthly Pinball Tournament. This netted Chad 10.29 WPPR points and boosted him into now being the 1817th ranked player in the world. Currently Chad is sitting in 14th place in the IFPA North Carolina State Championship standings.

Congratulations to Debra, Joey and Chad as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their March tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for March 2013 is [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] from Delaware, OH. Trent earned 164.32 WPPR points in March, including a victory at the Ohio Pinball & Gameroom Festival and the Texas Pinball Festival (both the Main and Classics tournament). In addition, Trent had a 4th and 2nd place finish in the Main and Classic tournaments at the Louisville Pinball Expo, the final stop of the 2012 PAPA Circuit.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of March included [player]Bob Matthews[/player] from Thousand Oaks, CA with 110.28 WPPR points, [player]Joshua Henderson[/player] from Plainfield, IL with 108.51 WPPR points, [player]Jason Werdrick[/player] from Park Ridge, IL with 91.21 WPPR points, and [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] from Chicago, IL with 87.76 WPPR points.

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

Our brothers at PAPA are creating an online programming channel dedicated to pinball. PAPA TV will broadcast live coverage of pinball tournaments with the professional quality of other sports, including multiple camera angles, live commentary, and interviews. With PAPA TV, they will create a highly visible and entertaining production, bringing pinball to a new and substantial audience worldwide. While the project has already been funded, we strongly encourage players to continue to donate as best they can. The more stretch goals reached, the more resources PAPA will have at their disposal to make PAPA TV a true game changer for competitive pinball. The IFPA is proud to be a backer of the campaign and wish our brothers the best of luck at taking competitive pinball to the next level. For details on the Kickstarter, click HERE.

As one of the Biggest Movers in the World Pinball Player Rankings in March 2012, Kevin Stone qualified himself for the IFPA's $tern Rewards Program. The $tern Rewards Program allows qualifiers to purchase a brand new Stern pinball machine at a special IFPA price. Kevin redeemed his reward for an AC/DC Premium, which came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Gary Stern himself.

Kevin's journey up the WPPR charts has been incredible. Having played in his first tournament August 2011, which put him at a rank of 7857th in the world, Kevin has since moved himself up to 238th in the world in just over 20 months.

Congratulations to Kevin, and remember if you're interested in qualifying for the $tern Rewards Program, check out the rules here.