IFPA9 World Pinball Championship qualifier and host, Todd MacCulloch was recently interviewed on 750AM The Game, sports radio in Seattle. Todd talks about his battles with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which led to the end of his NBA career, the start of his competitive pinball career, and the challenge of getting his house in shape to host the IFPA's most premiere pinball event.

Listen to the interview HERE.

When you think about reaching the pinnacle in one's sport, it doesn't take long to link that to the trophy associated with that achievement. In the National Hockey League players yearn for the chance to win the NHL Championship and hoist the Stanley Cup over their shoulders. In the National Football League players dream of reaching the Super Bowl and getting a chance at putting their fingers on the legendary Vince Lombardi trophy. These trophies represent what it means to have become a champion.

Over 20 years ago, Steve Epstein and Roger Sharpe, the founders and then organizers of the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) set out to create such a trophy for the world of competitive pinball. What emerged became known as simpy the "Space Jet", and it was what players battled over during the various PAPA leagues and PAPA World Championships held in the 90's. The last known Space Jet in existence was awarded to Lyman Sheats, following his victory at the PAPA 7 World Pinball Championships back in 2004. What followed was the complete devastation of the PAPA facility due to flooding, and the Space Jet was lost forever . . . until now.

With the help of Mark Steinman from PAPA, some small quantity of Space Jets were recently able to be recovered. Through a gracious donation to the IFPA, we are proud to say that the Space Jet has come home to Epstein and Sharpe. We are also extremely proud to announce that the winner of the upcoming IFPA9 World Pinball Championship will be awarded one of these iconic Space Jet trophies as reward for their achievement of becoming the next IFPA World Pinball Champion.

In addition, through 3D scanning, stereolithography printing technology, and some volunteering hours courtesy of Raw Thrills engineering, the IFPA was able to recreate the iconic Space Jet trophy so it can continue to be produced after the remaining stock of the original Space Jets are exhausted.

Who will be the first player in nearly a decade to hoist the Space Jet above their shoulders? We're 1 month away from finding out.

Special thanks again to PAPA and Raw Thrills for helping make this a reality.

As we get ready for IFPA World Championship Week out in Seattle, we are pleased to open pre-registration for both the Shorty's and Full Tilt tournaments. Pre-registration will be open until May 28th. While you can show up the day of to participate, there is a $5 discount on the registration fee for those that pre-register ($20 versus $25 at the door).

Registration is available here:

These Pre-IFPA Tournaments both start at 1pm, with check in starting at noon. Shorty's will be Tuesday, June 5th, with Full Tilt being Wednesday, June 6th.

Full details for the Shorty's Pre-IFPA Tournament are available HERE.

Full details for the Full Tilt Pre-IFPA Tournament are available HERE.

Any questions, please contact the IFPA directly at ifpapinball@gmail.com

Seattle's Pinball Zine, Skill Shot recently published an article in Skill Shot 23 about the IFPA's World Pinball Player Rankings. Check out the article HERE.

Players interviewed included current IFPA World Pinball Champion, and #2 ranked player [player]Cayle George[/player], [player]Jeff Gagnon[/player] (ranked 92nd), [player]Raymond Davidson[/player] (ranked 68th), [player]Julie Gray[/player] (ranked 134th) and [player]Maka Honig[/player] (ranked 69th).

All 5 of these players will be competing in IFPA9, the upcoming World Pinball Championship being held just outside Seattle starting 6 weeks from tomorrow.

The Denver Westword just wrote an article on the upcoming Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown. Featured is show organizer [player]Dan Nikolich[/player] (ranked 1096th in the world). The 2012 Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown, now in it's 9th year is one of the nearly 350 IFPA endorsed tournaments where players can earn World Pinball Player Rankings points to qualify for the World Pinball Championship. To view the article click HERE. For more details on the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown, click HERE.

In celebration of the upcoming World Pinball Championship this June, the IFPA will be taking over Seattle with a WPPR point bonanza of tournaments for flipper fanatics to enjoy!

World Championship Week starts with the NW Pinball Championships, the official IFPA Satellite event for IFPA9. Taking place June 1st-3rd in Maryville, WA, tournament directors [player]Cayle George[/player] and [player]Eden Stamm[/player] have created an event of the highest quality, offering one of the largest prize pools available in the US. As the official IFPA Satellite event for IFPA9, there is ONE spot available to get into the field of 64 players and play for the right to be crowned World Pinball Champion. Full details of the NW Pinball Championships can be found HERE.

After allowing players a chance to recover on Monday, the IFPA will be back in action Tuesday, June 5th with the Pre-IFPA Shorty's Tournament. Held at the famous Shorty's arcade in the heart of downtown Seattle, IFPA Canada Country Director [player]Eden Stamm[/player] will be serving as tournament director. Full details including schedule, format, entry fees, prizes will be available soon. Learn more about Shorty's HERE.

World Championship Week continues Wednesday, June 6th the IFPA moves on to Full Tilt Ice Cream in Ballard, where we will be hosting the Pre-IFPA Full Tilt Tournament. Top 10 world ranked player [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] will be volunteering as tournament director for this event. Full details including schedule, format, entry fees, prizes will be available soon. Learn more about Full Tilt HERE.

Saturday, June 9th, the Northwest Pinball & Gameroom Show will be hosting an IFPA tournament with qualifying from 10am through 4pm, and finals to follow right after. Full details of the tournament is available HERE. Full details about the Northwest Pinball & Gameroom Show are available HERE.

Finally, Sunday, June 10th, IFPA's World Championship Week concludes with the crowning of the new World Pinball Champion. Hosted by former NBA great [player]Todd MacCulloch[/player] and sponsored by Stern Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball, AAMA, AMOA, Marco Specialties, Pinball Life, Gameworks, Play Meter Magazine, Raw Thrills, Betson, Pinball Center, Farsight Studios, Zen Studios and Planetary Pinball Supply, the IFPA9 World Pinball Championship will feature the most competitive field of participants in pinball tournament history from 12 countries, including 7 former World Champions. IFPA9 will be happening all day on Friday and Saturday as we work the field down from the 64 qualifiers, to the 8 finalists that will be competing Sunday morning for the World Championship. Full details for IFPA9 are available HERE.

For any questions regarding any part of IFPA's World Championship Week, contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

NBC affiliate KING5 in Seattle profiled Canada's top ranked pinball player [player]Robert Gagno[/player]. Robert recently qualified to represent Canada at the upcoming World Pinball Championship held outside Seattle later in June. Click HERE to see the video.

The IFPA will be screenprinting the official IFPA9 World Pinball Championship t-shirts in a couple of weeks. In honor of our IFPA9 host [player]Todd MacCulloch[/player], our shirts this year will feature the purple and gold of the University of Washington Huskies, which is Todd's alma mater.

If you would like to purchase a t-shirt, please contact us at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

The shirts are $20 each, plus $5 if shipped within the US. For international shipping, please contact us for details.

We will also be able to deliver shirts to the Northwest Pinball Championships at no additional shipping charge, which is the official satellite event for the IFPA9 World Pinball Championship where one lucky player will earn the final spot into the field of 64.

This month the Seattle Pinball League held a tournament at the house of [player]Todd MacCulloch[/player]. During the tournament, [player]Maurizio Gagno[/player], father of Canada’s top ranked player [player]Robert Gagno[/player] had a chance to capture about 10 minutes of footage. Check out that video HERE.

This amazing venue will be the place where 64 of the world's greatest pinball players do battle in determining who will become the next World Pinball Champion.

Besides playing host, Todd's miraculous play during the 4th quarter of the pinball season secured Todd one of the final spots amongst the field of 64. Entering the weekend of October 23rd, 2012, Todd was ranked 216th in the world, with little hope of being able to represent Canada at the World Championship. With his victory over six of the world's top 10 players, including a finals victory over former multiple World Pinball Champion, [player]Lyman Sheats[/player] at Chicago's Pinball Expo Flip Out Tournament, Todd started his trek up the World Pinball Player Rankings.

Following his trip to Chicago, Todd flew back to Seattle where he captured victory at the Stern Transformers Launch Party that same week. The conclusion of the VRPA League in December saw Todd earn a 2nd place finish, along with over 20 additional WPPR points. Last but not least was the Freezing Fingers Christmas Classic out in Vancouver. Todd finished in 7th place in the main tournament, with a 2nd place finish in the Classics Division, netting him nearly 10 additional WPPR points.

In total, Todd earned over 90 WPPR points in the final two months of 2012, shooting him up to the 103rd ranked pinball player in the world, and earning him a seat amongst the world's best and a shot at the title. With Todd being extremely familiar with home court advantage during his years of battling for an NBA World Championship, will his home court advantage help bring him a World Pinball Championship title?

All these questions will be answered June 8th-10th!

Registration is now closed for IFPA9, and we couldn't be more excited about the field of participants!

12 countries will be represented at the World Championship this year, including the current IFPA World Pinball Champion, [player]Cayle George[/player], current PAPA World Pinball Champion, [player]Andrei Massenkoff[/player], as well as previous IFPA and PAPA World Pinball Champions [player]Keith Elwin[/player], [player]Jorian Engelbrektsson[/player], [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player], [player]Bowen Kerins[/player] and [player]Lyman Sheats[/player]. No tournament in competitive pinball history has featured more World Pinball Champions under one roof, so the competition will be fierce. Will one of these 7 add to their respective legacies, or will a new World Pinball Champion be crowned? This answer will come in a few short months.

The full field of participants is available HERE.

A reminder that there are 1 more spot is still available at the IFPA Satellite Tournament, the 2012 NW Pinball Championship. Full details available HERE.