The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for August 2013 is 6-Time "World's Greatest Pinball Player" [player]Keith Elwin[/player] from Carlsbad, CA. Keith earned a total 136.11 WPPR points in August, over 107 of which came from his PAPA 16 2nd place finish in the A division, along with an 11th, 10th and 6th place finishes in the Classics tournaments.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of August included 5-time World Pinball Champion [player]Bowen Kerins[/player] from Salem, MA with 119.78 WPPR points, current World #1 [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] from Chicago, IL with 107.75 WPPR points, [player]Donavan Stepp[/player] from Lakewood, CO with 101.00 WPPR points, and 2-time World Pinball Champion [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player] from Italy with 81.39 WPPR points.

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

After 6 months of qualifying sessions, the Chicagoland Pinball League had their finals this past weekend (July 13th, 2013). 24 out of the 36 players qualified for the A, B and C finals.

In the C division, [player]Mike Vinikour[/player] (ranked 1609th in the world) defeated [player]Bryan Jozwiak[/player] (ranked 1038th in the world) for 1st place. [player]Chuck Czygrn[/player] (ranked 1567th in the world) finished 3rd.

In the B division, [player]Brian Lamug[/player] (ranked 1782nd in the world) defeated [player]Jason Weibel[/player] (ranked 1608th in the world) for 1st place. Proud new father [player]Steven Perotti[/player] (ranked 1504th in the world) finished 3rd.

In the A division, [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] (ranked 15th in the world) defeated [player]Dave Hegge[/player] (ranked 101st in the world) for 1st place. Regular season champion, and current world #1 [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] finished 3rd.

Full results of the regular season can be found HERE. Final standings can be found HERE. Video footage of the final match between Josh and Dave was also recorded. That footage can be viewed HERE.

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for June 2013 is World Pinball Champion Jörgen Holm from Sweden. Jörgen earned 197.05 WPPR points in June, 130.66 of which were from his victory at the IFPA10 World Pinball Championship and 3rd place finish in the Charity Challenge. In addition, Jörgen finished in 3rd place in the Main tournament of the Stockholm Open, as well as winning the Classics division.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of June included [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] from Chicago, IL with 170.02 WPPR points, [player]Cayle George[/player] from Seattle, WA with 102.66 WPPR points, [player]Robert Gagno[/player] from Canada with 100.94 WPPR points, and [player]Tim Hulin Bouard[/player] from France with 100.12 WPPR points.

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

In the history of the World Pinball Player Rankings, through the evolution of the formula that we've used to track the best pinball players in the world, only 3 players had ever actively been ranked in the top spot. Those players were [player]Jorian Engelbrektsson[/player], [player]Daniele Celestino Acciari[/player] and [player]Keith Elwin[/player].

The IFPA is excited to announce that following a sweep at the NW Pinball Championships in both the Open and Classics divisions, [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] has jumped both Acciari and Elwin to join those two gentleman in the prestigious club of being able to say they are the top ranked pinball player in the world.

Since becoming an Uncle to the toddler-to-be-future-hopeful-champion Colin Sharpe, Zach has been on quite a hot streak, earning victories at the following events: 2013 NW Pinball Championships (Main and Classics), 2013 Lyons Pinball Spring Classic (Main and Side tournament), 2013 Michigan Pinball Expo (Main and Classics II), 2013 Strawberry Hill Strike Out (Main and Classics), 2013 Amusement Expo IFPA Championships, 2013 Rose City Showdown, 2013 Pinball at the Zoo (Classics), 2012 Pinnesota National Championships (Charity Division), 2012 GameWorks Chicago Tournament of Champions (both Spring and Fall edition), 2012 Pre-Expo Gameworks Fall Classic, 2012 PinWars Tournament, and the 2012 Midwest Gaming Classic. In addition, Zach finished as runner up at the IFPA10 World Pinball Championship, along with earning a 3rd place finish in the A-division at the PAPA 15 World Pinball Championships, having won both the Classics I and Classics III divisions during the PAPA weekend.

No single tournament result will ever propel a player to the #1 ranking in the world, so a huge congratulations to Zach for this solid and consistent performance, as it's the only way to ever reach the top of the World Pinball Player Rankings mountain.

With plenty of pinball action to go in 2013, including both the PAPA World Pinball Championships in August, and the European Pinball Championship in September, the race for the 2013 "World's Greatest Pinball Player" has never been closer, or included more players! At this point it's safe to say it's a four man race between Zach, Keith, Daniele and current IFPA World Pinball Champion Jörgen Holm, who currently sits in the #4 spot.

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for May 2013 is [player]Franck Bona[/player] from France. Franck earned 91.87 WPPR points in May, including a victory at the Tilt-Up Warehouse tournament. In addition, Franck had a top 10 finish in both the LNJF League and the Rodenbach Pre-IFPA Tournament.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of May included [player]Jan Anders Nilsson[/player] from Sweden with 85.48 WPPR points, [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] from Delaware, OH with 65.39 WPPR points, [player]David Grémillet[/player] from France with 64.12 WPPR points, and [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] from Chicago, IL with 63.73 WPPR points.

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

Coverage of the upcoming IFPA10 World Pinball Championship takes us to Chicago, where the RedEye talked with brothers [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] (ranked 15th in the world) and [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] (ranked 3rd in the world). Both Josh and Zach will be representing the USA at the inaugural Epstein Cup prior to the kickoff of IFPA10. Check out the article HERE.

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!

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!

Last week we announced who will be representing Team Europe in the inaugural Epstein Cup. With IFPA10 registration now officially closed, we're excited to announce that the roster for Team USA has now also been finalized.

Representing Team USA at the 2013 Epstein Cup will be IFPA8 World Pinball Champion and team captain [player]Cayle George[/player] (ranked 3rd in the world), [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] (ranked 4th in the world), [player]Trent Augenstein[/player] (ranked 6th in the world), [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] (ranked 12th in the world), [player]Joshua Henderson[/player] (ranked 15th in the world), [player]Andrei Massenkoff[/player] (ranked 24th in the world), [player]Lyman Sheats[/player] (ranked 22nd in the world) and [player]Jason Werdrick[/player] (ranked 36th in the world).

21 players competed in the February 2013 edition of the Gameworks Monthly Pinball Tournament. [player]Zach Sharpe[/player] (ranked 4th in the world) emerged victorious earning himself $45, and enough WPPR points to move him into 2nd place in the IFPA Illinois State Championship standings.

Zach first defeated [player]Chad Gates[/player] (ranked 4337th in the world) on AC/DC, followed by a victory over [player]Jack Danger[/player] (ranked 2226th in the world) on Avengers. In the semi-finals Zach defeated [player]Scott Danesi[/player] (ranked 1934th in the world) on Family Guy. This led to a final against brother [player]Josh Sharpe[/player] (ranked 12th in the world), and unlike Super Bowl XLVII where older brother John defeated younger brother Jim, Zach came out on top on Soprano’s. Scott Danesi finished in 3rd place defeating [player]Steve Kordek[/player] (ranked 4140th in the world) on Ironman.

Full results can be found HERE. Updated standings for the IFPA Illinois State Championship can be found HERE. The Gameworks Monthly Pinball Tournament is held the first Tuesday of every month, with the next edition scheduled for March 5th.