I. Quick Overview

The Epstein Cup is an annual pinball competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is organized by the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA), and is contested every year in conjunction with the IFPA World Pinball Championship.

The tournament consists of 8 players from each side, competing in a set of 3 games. Players earn points for their team based on their finishing positions on these games, with 32 points needed to win the Epstein Cup.

II. Competition Details

1. How to qualify

Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place over a couple of days at the tournament site, qualifying for the Epstein Cup is based on results from all the IFPA endorsed tournaments held over the past 3 years. Utilizing its World Pinball Player Rankings, the IFPA will use the January 1st rankings of the current year to determine the qualifiers for Team USA and Team Europe. The tournament field will consist of the top 8 ranked players on each side out of those players competing at the IFPA World Pinball Championship. Should any eligible player choose not to participate, we will move down to the next ranked player to fill the spot for the respective teams.

For purposes of the Epstein Cup, players from Canada will be eligible to compete for Team USA, while players from Japan and Australia will be eligible to compete for Team Europe.

2. Fees

No entry fee is required from players to compete in the tournament.

3. Prizes

The 8 players from the winning team will each receive a plaque courtesy of the IFPA, with the highest ranking player on the winning team taking home the Epstein Cup until the following year’s match.

III. Machine Selections

Following the IFPA World Pinball Championship practice session, the home team (when IFPA is held in Europe, Team USA will be considered the visiting team, and vice versa) will choose an OLD-MID-NEW game from the list of games to be used in the IFPA World Pinball Championship. The visiting team will have the chance to veto one of those choices. The home team will then make a replacement choice. The home team will then choose in which order they want the machines to be played.

IV. Format of Matches

The teams will play a 4-player, 4-ball game with all 8 players from each side playing a single ball each. The visiting team will play in player positions 1 and 3 while the home team will play in player positions 2 and 4.

Scoring for each game will be as follows:
1st place = +7 points
2nd place = +5 points
3rd place = +3 points
4th place = +1 point
Total Team Score = +5 points

21 points will be scored in total per game, with a maximum of 17 points available to either team.

This same scoring system will be used for all 3 games. Ultimately 63 points will be awarded, so it will take 32 points to win the Epstein Cup.

V. Rulings and Malfunctions

All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the IFPA World Pinball Championship.

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As part of the WPPR v5.7 changes made for the 2022 season, the IFPA added rules to the sanctioning of IFPA Leagues that impacted leagues that played across multiple locations.

Pinball leagues have long been a staple of growing the competitive pinball scene in local communities. To support this activity, we wanted to offer a new tier of league with the addition of IFPA Premier Leagues. This Premier League status is meant to highlight those leagues that are going above and beyond with respect to their involvement in spreading the gospel of competitive pinball within their local communities.

The IFPA would like to thank members of the New England Pinball League (NEPL) and Free State Pinball Association (FSPA) who were instrumental in helping create both the list of perks along with the list of eligibility requirements for leagues to get Premier League status.

IFPA Premier Leagues will be allowed to forego all current IFPA League rules for one season per calendar year, with the ability to run whatever format they feel works best for their community of players. These leagues can include all players that participate in at least one session in the results submitted to IFPA.

Eligibility requirements:
– Minimum of 100 active players in the league.
– Discord or Slack channel to encourage communication among league members (IFPA Directors must be allowed access to these channels upon request).
– A minimum of 10% of the league players must be first-time new players to the league.
– Sanctioning fees are $10 per player for this Premier League season (instead of $1 per player).

For more details and to apply for Premier League status, please have the President of your league contact us at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

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April 2nd update . . .

The feedback from this announcement lead to many discussions with various NEPL and FSPA league members yesterday around the importance of WPPR points. We were made aware of the potential negative impact that the focus of WPPR points can have on a league community, making for an environment that is too focused on competition and not focused enough on fun.

We followed up with a survey to NEPL and FSPA league members asking them if WPPR points were important to them with respect to their interest and participation in those league seasons. Results came back with only 3.8% of players saying that WPPR points were meaningful and important. We try to be an association that listens to a majority of our player base, so based on that feedback we’re going to delay the launch of this IFPA Premier League campaign for now. No need to rock the boat with leagues like NEPL and FSPA already flourishing within their existing communities. The rate at which WPPR points are awarded currently seem to help with the balance of fun/competition and we would hate to tip the scale and make things too hyper competitive with these changes.

1. I)  Quick Overview

The IFPA Australian Championship Series is an annual pinball competition with players qualifying throughout the entire calendar year. At the end of each calendar year, the top 16 or 24 ranked players with the most WPPR points from each state will qualify for the playoffs, where they will play for the title of IFPA State/Territory Champion within that area.

From there, these champions, along with the other Top 4 or 6 finalists from each State/Territory final, will be invited to play for the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship, details of which can be found below. The remaining portion of the field of 64 will be filled by the top WPPR earners (best 20 results) throughout the calendar year.

All mentions of “State” below also refer to Territory winners.

1. II)  Competition Details

How to qualify

Unlike most tournaments where the qualification process takes place over a couple of days at the tournament site, qualifying for the IFPA State Championship Series is based on results from all the IFPA endorsed tournaments held throughout the year in each eligible state. Utilising its World Pinball Player Rankings, the IFPA will be tracking results based on where those IFPA endorsed tournaments are held, maintaining separate state rankings made up of those filtered results.

For example, the Queensland State Rankings will be made up of IFPA endorsed tournaments including the Brisbane Masters, Empire Pinball Tournaments, Sunshine Coast Pinball, Park’n’Plunge, Planet Pinball, etc. Those 16 or 24 players that earn the most WPPR points based only on these subset of events, will qualify for the IFPA Queensland State Championship. Similar to the World Pinball Player Rankings, only a player’s best 20 events within that state will count towards their standing.

No player will be eligible to play in more than one IFPA State Championship, so it is likely that the IFPA will have to move down the state/territory rankings list to find 16 or 24 eligible qualifiers to participate in the State Championship. It is possible to qualify for an IFPA State Championship within a state that player does not live in, and it is even possible for players that live outside Australia to qualify for an IFPA State Championship should they earn enough WPPR points within a state to qualify.

It is the player’s responsibility to make sure they have an email address on file with the IFPA, or they run the risk of not being contacted for participation in any State Championships they are qualified for. Please fill out an IFPA profile to ensure we have a way to contact you. If you see a green check within your profile information on your IFPA profile page, it means there is a registered email address on file for you.

While all States will have a minimum of 16 players that qualify for the State Championship, certain states will be eligible to expand their qualifying field to 24 players. Any States that have a minimum of 200 unique players and 50 events held within that state during the calendar year will be eligible for that expanded 24 player final.

Fees

An endorsement fee of $1 per player, per event will now be required for events to be endorsed by the IFPA and award WPPR points within Australia.

Tournament Directors are responsible for submitting payment to IFPA after results are approved. WPPR points will not be posted until payment has been received by the IFPA.

The fees collected will be allocated to the prize pool of that state (60%), prize pool of the Australian Championship (25%), mandatory prize pool for IFPA World Championship (5%), with the remaining 10% of the fees being withheld to cover processing fees related to those payments.

III)  Format of Matches

Seeding of finalists

Once all participants are finalised, the 16 or 24 players will be seeded based on their State rankings position at the end of the calendar year. In the event that any players are tied with the same amount of In-State WPPR points, we will look at the overall WPPR rank of those players as of the end of that calendar year. Any players tied on the qualifying bubble with the same State ranking position will result in a play-in tiebreaker game to determine who joins the field of finalists for the State Championship. Game and position will be pulled at random by the TD.

Machines Chosen

With each IFPA State Championship being held at a different location, each will have a different set of games available for the tournament. Please check with the IFPA State Representative for details on the game list once the location has been finalised for that particular IFPA State Championship.

Head-to-Head Single Elimination Format

Players will be placed in a single elimination bracket once seedings have been completed.  

First round pairings (based on 16 entrants) are as follows:

1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13,
5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9

Second round pairings are as follows:

1/16 winner vs. 8/9 winner, 2/15 winner vs. 7/10 winner,
3/14 winner vs. 6/11 winner, 4/13 winner vs. 5/12 winner

Third round pairings are as follows:

1/8/9/16 winner vs. 4/5/12/13 winner,
2/7/10/15 winner vs. 3/6/11/14 winner

Fourth round pairing are as follows:

Two winners of round 3 play for the State Championship
Two losers of round 3 play in the Consolation Final for 3rd/4th place.

Each match will be a best-of-7 series, or race to 4 wins. The higher seeded player will have a choice of machine or position for the 1st game.  For every game thereafter in the same match, selection of machine or order will go to the loser of the previous game, and will continue until someone has won 4 games. Players must select from whichever machines are available for play at the time of selection, however a machine may not be played more than once in the same match (unless less than 7 machines available). If less than 7 machines available, only after all machines have been chosen can either player select that game to be played for a second time within the same match. Once a player verbally announces their game choice, or chooses position, that decision will be locked in and cannot be changed.

Each player will have the opportunity for up to 20 seconds of practice time before starting every game of every match. This is to ensure that both players have a chance to get familiar with the machine.

The winner of the match advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.

The 3rd/4th place Consolation Final will be played as a best-of-three instead of a best-of-seven like all other rounds, using the same rules. It is up to the IFPA State Representative as to whether matches will be played out to determine 5th through 16th (or 24th) place.

For any state that is eligible for the expanded field of 24 finalists, the top 8 players will receive a bye, with the 9th through 24th seeds playing in an opening round. The rest of the bracket will play out as per usual.

Winners

Winners will receive cash prizes as cash during an awards ceremony shortly following the conclusion of all final rounds.. All decisions by tournament officials regarding winners and prizes are final.

Any state with 16 finalists will have the following payout structure:

1st place – 25% of the prize pool
2nd place – 17% of the prize pool
3rd place – 13% of the prize pool
4th place – 9% of the prize pool
5th through 8th place – 5% of the prize pool each
9th through 16th place – 2% of the prize pool each

Any state with 24 finalists will have the following payout structure:

1st place – 22% of the prize pool
2nd place – 15% of the prize pool
3rd place – 11% of the prize pool
4th place – 8% of the prize pool
5th through 8th place – 5% of the prize pool each
9th through 16th place – 2% of the prize pool each
17th through 24th place – 1% of the prize pool each

First Place will also receive the title “IFPA State Pinball Champion” for the state being contested. For example, the winner of the IFPA Queensland State Championship will receive the title of “IFPA Queensland State Pinball Champion”. This title remains in effect until the next annual IFPA State Championship Series, or will expire after two years if the IFPA State Championship Series is discontinued.

1. IV)  Rulings and Malfunctions

All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the IFPA/PAPA unified ruleset, available HERE.

1. V)  IFPA Australian Championship

As part of the prize package for each IFPA State Championship, the Top 4 finalists (or 6 for any State final with 24 entrants) will be invited to the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship. If any of those Top 4 or 6 finalists are unable to attend the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship, the next finalist(s) from the State Championship will be allowed to participate and serve as the representative(s) of that state, down as far as the 8th placed finalist.  If there are less than 4 finalists from the Top 8 from a particular state, that spot will be given back to the National WPPR rankings.

The IFPA Australian Pinball Championship will be held at a venue TBC, with exact dates and times in early 2026 also TBC.

Sep 4th 2025 10:00am – Sep 7th 2025 8:00pm

Enterrium, 2 Woodfield Mall Unit A, Schaumburg, IL 60173

PAPA 22 is four full days of open competitive pinball play welcoming players of all ages and skill levels. Enterrium will be hosting a total of 3 tournaments over the course of the 4 day event including the PAPA 22 World Pinball Championships. Enterrium will also be hosting the Women’s Championships and Classics Championships. Logo courtesy of Ryan Claytor!

Event passes are available HERE. The number of players will be capped at 300. Event passes will go on sale at noon CST on April 5th.

Charity Donation/Raffle tickets are available HERE. Anyone that purchases a PAPA 22 pass by noon CST on April 12th will receive one free raffle ticket. The raffle will be run by Project Pinball this year. Additional raffle tickets are $150. 100% of additional raffle ticket sales will go towards the charity, and you can buy as many as you want. Raffle passes will go on sale at noon CST on April 5th.

Details of the event are available HERE.

Tentative game list available HERE.

4-Day Event Pass – $150 with 2 free Main Division entries for players who register by 11:59pm CST on August 4th, 2025. Anyone playing in the Women’s Division will also receive 2 free Women’s Division entries as well.

Event passes will also be available at the door.

All tickets and entry fees are non-transferrable.

Ticket Refund policy:

• 100% (minus Stripe processing fees) for players who register by 11:59pm CST on August 4th, 2025.
• 50% (minus Stripe processing fees) from August 5th, 2025 to August 31st, 2025.
• No refunds after August 31st, 2025.

Pricing for tournament cards, only available during the event, are as follows:

Main: $20 for 1 Card (5 games)
Classics: $10 for 4 entries (each entry is one machine)
Women’s: $15 for 1 Card (5 games)

Unplayed / Incomplete cards will not be refunded—please plan accordingly.

Location

Enterrium
2 Woodfield Mall Unit A, Schaumburg, IL 60173

REGISTERED PLAYER LIST (last updated 7/15/25):1 Adam Becker
2 Adam Lefkoff
3 Adam McKinnie
4 Alex Harmon
5 Alex Kelley
6 Alex Lecky
7 Alysa Parks
8 Amber Christ
9 Amber Woods
10 Andrei N Massenkoff
11 Andrew E Wilkening
12 Andrew Foard
13 Andrew Rosa II
14 Andy Bagwell
15 Andy Dill
16 Andy Pickens
17 Andy Rosa
18 Anna Neal
19 Ariel Dutton
20 Armando Rodriguez
21 Augustus Eustis
22 Becky Meyer
23 Ben Simmons
24 Beth Howell
25 Bill Mason
26 Bob Caldwell
27 Bob Matthews
28 Bob Twichell
29 Bowen Kerins
30 Brendan Laughlin
31 Brian O’Neill
32 Brian Shepherd
33 Carlo Esoldo
34 Carlos DeLaSerda
35 Carol Walker
36 Cayle George
37 Charles Jackson
38 Charles R Jackson
39 Charlie Hornett
40 Chris King
41 Chris OBrien
42 Christine Doherty
43 Christopher Habrelewicz
44 Clayton Prinster
45 Cody Webb
46 Colin krawcyk
47 Colin Sharpe
48 Conner Silverstein
49 Connor Mulberry
50 Corey Hobe
51 Corey M Meyers
52 Cory Carl
53 Cory Casella
54 Dagmar Haecker
55 Dale Schiltz
56 Dan Nulton
57 Daniel B DeGregorio
58 Daniel White
59 Darren Mungerson
60 Dave Hegge
61 Dave Oshefsky
62 David Hoskins
63 David Slaymaker
64 Dawnda Durbin
65 Dennis Keppy
66 Derek Fugate
67 Derek Thomson
68 Dominique Rabideau
69 don coons
70 Donavan Stepp
71 Dori Zielinski
72 Drew Cedolia
73 Dustin Goldbarg
74 Dwain Marchant
75 Ed Giardina
76 Emil Assily
77 Emily Anderson
78 Emily Cosson
79 Emily Sweeney
80 Eric Muska
81 Eric Stone
82 Eric Wagensonner
83 Erin Reinders
84 Erin Seiden
85 Escher Lefkoff
86 Ethan Bent
87 Frances Mai-Ling
88 Gabe da Silveira
89 Galvin Morgan
90 Gary hartzgcj
91 Germain Mariolle
92 Greg Durant
93 Greg Pitner
94 Greg Poverelli
95 Gregory Kennedy
96 Guilherme Paes
97 Hadi Seyed-Ali
98 Harold VanPatten
99 Howard Dobson
100 Jack Nebraska
101 Jack Slovacek
102 Jaclyn Tingco
103 Jacob Gragg
104 James Hudson
105 Jane Verwys
106 Jared August
107 Jared Garvey
108 Jared Schmidt
109 Jasmijn de Jong
110 Jason Magnuson
111 Jason Werdrick
112 Jason Zahler
113 Jay Gross
114 Jeannie Rodriguez
115 Jeff Madar
116 Jenni Tucker
117 jeremy weaver
118 Jim Piarowski
119 Joe Bayer
120 Joe Sharpe
121 Johan Gehlin
122 John Armstrong
123 John Severin
124 Jon Rangel
125 Jonathon Lents
126 Jonny Chase
127 Jordan Dechaine
128 Joseph Blasi
129 Josh Riggle
130 Josh Sharpe
131 Josh Slaunwhite
132 Josh Ussery
133 Kathleen Davis
134 Kathryn Strinic
135 Kayla Bivens
136 Kenneth Grant
137 Keri Wing
138 Kristen Gregory
139 Kyle Ingrelli
140 Kyler Dittbenner
141 Leslie Ruckman
142 Lewis Paul Bevans
143 Liam Bradley
144 Lilly Muska
145 Logan Foley
146 Logan Henderson
147 Lucas Sheahan
148 Luke Piarowski
149 Mark Sarna
150 Mark Seiden
151 Mark White
152 markus virtanen
153 Martin Frei
154 Matt Faulkner
155 Matt Galbraith
156 Matt Greaves
157 Matt Peace
158 Matt Reinders
159 Matt rowbottom
160 Matt Salefski
161 Matti Kinnunen
162 Maureen Urbanski
163 Maurice Smith
164 Max Davidoff
165 Mayumi Roehm
166 Michael Bender
167 Michael Bradley
168 Michael Urbanski
169 Michael Weyenberg
170 Mike Felumlee
171 Mike Kolman
172 Miles Bradley
173 Miles Drew
174 Nate Grant
175 Nathan Bartz
176 Nathan stellhorn
177 Nathan Zalewski
178 Neil Graf
179 Neil McRae
180 Nic Stein
181 Nick Campbell
182 Nick Daniel
183 Nick Elliott
184 Nick Kennedy
185 Nick mueller
186 Nick Starkey
187 Noah Sicard
188 Paul Swanland
189 Penni Epstein
190 Petar Strinic
191 Peter Roarke
192 Phil Harmon
193 Preston Currie
194 Rabih Dahdouh
195 Rachel Karlic
196 Rachel Ristow
197 Randy Nelson
198 Raymond Davidson
199 Reed Silverstein
200 Regi Bradley
201 Richard A Morgan
202 Richie Terry
203 Ricky Bryant
204 Roger Sharpe
205 Roland Nadeau
206 Ruthanne Bagwell
207 Ryan Belisle
208 Ryan Spindler
209 Sanjay Shah
210 Sarah Swanland
211 Scott Slifka
212 Sean Campbell
213 Shannon Ducharme
214 Shelley Sharpe
215 Stanley Sowa Jr
216 Stephanie Davidson
217 Stephanie Wysocki
218 Stephen Chappell
219 Sterling Mitoska
220 Steven Bowden
221 Steven Walker
222 Steven Zahler
223 Stoller Schiltz
224 Ted Brockly
225 Terrence Carl
226 Tiffany Han
227 Tiffini Sarver
228 Tim Hansen
229 Todd Rafacz
230 Tom Graf
231 Tom Knorst
232 Tom Menge
233 Tom Miller
234 Tommy Vernieri
235 Trae Vance
236 Trent Leach
237 Tyler Becker
238 Tyrus Eagle
239 Victor Evans
240 Vincent poudrier
241 Vincent Vitiello
242 Wesley Johnson
243 Will cooper
244 Winnie DeGregorio
245 Zac wollons
246 Zach McCarthy
247 Zach Sharpe
248 Zachary Parks
249 Zak Bowers

4-Day Event Pass – $150 with 2 free Main Division entries when purchased before August 5th, 2025.

All tickets and entry fees are non-transferrable.

Ticket Refund policy:

• 100% (minus Stripe processing fees) Prior to August 5th, 2025.
• 50% (minus Stripe processing fees) from August 5th, 2025 to August 31st, 2025.
• No refunds after August 31st, 2025.

Louis Marx’s interview with Tournament Director:
Tommy Bizzi

Interviewer:
Louis Marx, Owner/Director, DFW Pinball League (Rowlett, Texas).

Hello again! As I said last time, I am glad to be back writing again. Oh, there are a few articles on the IFPA website that I have written, ‘here and there.’ However, I choose to leave my name off those articles. I want it to be about the pinball, not me. I only put my name on these Tournament Director interviews because I have been asked to. I do hope you enjoy!

If you are interested in telling your story or you have suggestions for questions that you’d like included in these interviews, you can reach out to me Facebook (privately or through the DFW Pinball League page), at LMA574 on Pinside, or through the IFPA. I’d be happy to hear from you.

So, for my next conversation, I had a great phone call on February 3, 2024, with Tommy Bizzi. He’s most known for his time in Cleveland, even though he doesn’t live there anymore. This was a great conversation. It went very LONG because we both wandered into “side-stories”, all about pinball. This is a good thing as we both enjoyed the stories that we each had to tell. As a pinball enthusiast, Tommy is amazing and it was my honor to get to speak to him.

KEY:
LM = Louis Marx
TB = Tommy Bizzi

LM: Let’s start with biographical info. Where are you from originally?
TB: Born and raised in Massachusetts

LM: I see your phone number is a Hawaii number, how many stops did you make before you got to Hawaii.
TB: That was it, Massachusetts to Hawaii, then Ohio, and then Arizona.

LM: Where do you live now, Arizona?
TB: Just outside of Phoenix, Arizona for almost 2 years.

LM: Where in Ohio were you before that?
TB:  I started in Cleveland, Ohio. I was there for 10 years. That is where I met all the people and my semi-professional career began.

LM: How long have you been Directing Tournaments?
TB: Started in about 2012. Starting helping and then moved on to being a Director. That actually, kind of happened on accident. It was like, ‘here, take over” and I just started helping out. But here’s the good part, the beginning. That’s where I had no idea about tournaments and this stuff was going on. I was doing a Google search for pinball machines. That’s where I found the Ohio Pinball Show in 2012. At the show they had a tournament. I was amazed at how many pinball machines were there and that something like the tournament even existed

LM: So you found the Ohio Pinball Show, who was the first person that you met, that your still friends with?
TB: Marvin Ortscheid and Mike Pacak who run the show. Then I met Donny Johnson through Mavin. Trent Augenstein and Andy Rosa were also running the tournament. I also met Joshua Henderson through the finals. I am still friends with all of them.

LM: You said that you started Directing and/or assisting in 2012. This was this pretty fast, after the show, so what happened?
TB: Immediate friendships that would be extended to working with Dony Johnson. We started helping him out at Kidforce Collectibles and doing directing there. We also went to Stone Hedge, which is now called Station 300. That was Marvin Ortscheid’s place. We all got together and it collaborated as a community. When I met Donny, he said “yeah you should come by.” Kidforce Collectibles started out with 5 pinball machines and today has 24. If it was not for Kidforce Collectibles’ owner, Joe Kiskis collaborating with Donny running the tournaments, the Cleveland Pinball Community wouldn’t be where it is today. The value of that collaboration is immeasurable. Kidforce Collectibles is where I started and they have the largest league in the country right now, regularly drawing 100 players.

LM: Tell me about the pinball experience in Hawaii.
TB: Went to Hawaii for ten years and there just wasn’t any pinball. So that was a 10 year hiatus of no pinball. So then going to Cleveland, within three weeks, I was “back on the mainland” and I found a pinball machine at a bar. I was like, “all right!”. It was literally a week after arriving from Hawaii that I found the Ohio show and was playing in a tournament. If you can imagine playing against the top players in the world, not knowing who they are, after a ten year hiatus of no pinball. That’s when my IFPA professional experience started.

LM: How many participants did you have at your first solo event?
TB: I have no idea. I think we started off pretty slow. I would think maybe 16. I think we only had 5 machines at the time so it couldn’t have been too many.

LM: Shifting gears a little bit, in Arizona for two years now, what kind of a pinball scene did you find when you got there?
TB: I’m semi-retired but I still don’t go out and do much because of family. So, I don’t play much. That said, there is a lot of pinball here. There are a LOT of places that have 30, 50, 70 games. I just do not get out there much. I still do the circuit events in Ohio and travel back from time to time. It was amazing how disconnected they were, in Arizona, in some aspects from knowing what’s going on in the national scene and not knowing the “known players”, but they have a ton of machines, tournaments, and players.

LM: So, if you were to walk in and want to organize a tournament for them (Arizona), what kind of reaction do you think you would get?
TB: They don’t know who I am. I’ve played in maybe 2 tournaments since I’ve been here and I hosted one since I’ve been here. That was for people from work and they were already running a tournament at the venue. They were amazed at how organized he was. They even gave me a prize to give away. It was surreal. Basically two tournaments were going on at once. They were amazed that I had my own tablet and that I knew the matchplay software already. They were kind of like, “Who is this guy?”

LM: Since moving Arizona, are there pinball regrets?
TB: No because I am starting to develop here a little bit – casual play and that one tournament. It still keeps me fresh. It was fun to jump into the scene out of nowhere after my first year and still be competitive. That comes from a lot of us that have been playing for so long, it just like riding a bike, it comes right back.

LM: Do you have any machines at home? If yes, how long have you been a collector?
TB: Not Now – I sold my machines when I moved here.

LM: Before you sold all your machines, how many did you have?
TB: I only had two here. I never leally had the capacity for much more.

LM: Most TDs have machines in their home and a lot of them are collectors. Its refreshing to see someone who really cares about the pinball passion, but doesn’t necessarily need machines at their house. So now that you’ve only played in two tournaments in your two years in Arizona, how do you get your pinball fix?
TB: I just go out and do casual play. Any random pinball machine anywhere will satisfy me. I am a “Grand Champ” monger. I want to be the Grand Champion on every machine that I see.

LM: What is your first pinball memory and how old were you?
TB: Definitely at the age of 4 years old. Just how old my daughter is now and she’s been playing since she was 2. I was at a bowling alley and saw machines there and I was hooked instantly. I don’t remember what the specific game was. That’s not counting seeing the movie Tommy. It’s like “Wait a second, there’s a movie?” I guess the first one I could remember by name was in the basement of my friend’s place. That was Strikes and Spares.

LM: Are there any unique memories that you want to share?
TB: The Ohio shows was the biggest memory. I didn’t know who Trent was and who Andy was, but at the time, they were at the top. I didn’t know anything about Josh and his dad. Josh’s Dad introduced me to the IFPA. It was amazing making it to the finals of that tournament and coming in third against all these great players, not knowing who they were.

LM: How different is it to run larger versus smaller tournaments for you? What stands out?
TB: Just the mass of it I would think. Everything is still run the same whether its small or large. The pinball community that I had in Cleveland was massive and we were all a great pinball area (Michigan and Pittsburgh too). Running the big tournaments, you get to see the big players that travel. That’s why the big shows are so fun. You’re seeing the big people that you haven’t seen in a year.

LM: A lot of people feel intimidated about the phrase ‘competitive pinball’. From what I’ve read, some people will go to their first tournament, but never go back because of feeling like an outsider. So what do you do or suggest to help new players feel welcomed?
TB: I have a strategy and I do seminars for the Cleveland Pinball and Arcade show. I teach Pinball 101. I teach basics on a machine and talk about tournament play and regular play. I encourage them to go play in the tournament that is currently running. By the end of the seminar, I take the group over to an event and am there for them. I’ll direct traffic so they know what games to go play and in what order. Its about getting over that hump. I generally try to get them to play two different ones. A few actually start buying tickets at that point. It breaks that fear. Yes there are pros, but there are also amateurs. You just have to go and enjoy it.

LM: Directing Pinball Tournaments can be a thankless job, especially when some players take it more seriously than others. So, do you have any regrets or second thoughts?
TB: No, not at all. It comes with the territory.

LM: What’s the craziest or most unusual ruling you’ve had to make as a director?
TB: Cleveland Pinball and Arcade show and the machine caught fire (it started smoking) and nothing was recorded at the time. Obviously, the ruling is easy, new machine, but its memorable. We did try fixing the machine, but that didn’t go so well. It was a Demo Man machine. It was smoking up a storm and we thought the sprinklers were going to activate for the venue. We were very happy when they didn’t.
Rulings are tough in general. One time the venue cut the power on us during the finals, one and half hours into the game. We had to call up Josh on that one. Ultimately we paid them some extra money to let us stay and turn the power back on.

LM: What is your preferred or favorite tournament format to run? Why?
TB: Pin-brew is by far my favorite one. That’s kind of our thing with me and one other guy. Pin-brew is variation of match play. A lot of our players enjoy that one because its more relaxing. Pin-brew is more designed for amateurs as it gives them better opportunity to compete with the pros.

LM: Is there a specific format you don’t like to run? Why?
TB: They are both equally great. That said, if I have to pick one HERB style because its demanding and tedious. I still do it for the love of pinball and am happy to do it for the promoters of the show. I am happy to do both types that I run.

LM: Do you have any partners in pinball that you need to recognize?
TB: Jeffrey Dixon – he’s my Co-Director. We do this together; He came on the scene during the Ohio show and started helping me. It developed into friendship and then doing tournaments together. We’ve been doing tournaments together for 8 or 9 years now.

LM: What haven’t I asked that you feel the IFPA World needs to know?
TB: Stay strong within the pinball community and let it grow. Its not just where you’re at. You’ll meet new people and new friends. The people I’ve met and played with, I cherish. The most important part is the community, the people. That brings me joy!
At one point in time, I had run more than 100 tournaments per year (both sanctioned and unsanctioned), usually submitted under the business name. I was told that I had more tournaments than any other to Tournament Directors in the world for a time. I may still hold the record, not sure.