Stern is releasing a new pinball machine based on the Canadian rock band RUSH and we are having a tournament celebration!!!!

Tournament Details:
Doors Open: 11:00AM
Announcements: 11:45AM
Tournament Starts: 12:00PM
Tournament Format: 8 Rounds of Matchplay, Top 8 go to finals
Maximum # of Players: 36
Cost: $30 includes tournament entry, food, free play, and a few surprises
Ticket Pre-Sale: January 19th

Stern Pinball's brand new RUSH machine is on its way to Skill Shot so we are celebrating with major match play tournament. Come hang out, compete, enjoy pinball hospitality, and celebrate the release of a new silverball machine.

Like all events at Skill Shot, this is much more than a tournament. Players become internationally ranked pinball players, enjoy brunch and dinner, and get to battle it out on our curated pinball collection. All included in the cost of entry, we take care of our patrons. We may even have a few surprises throughout the day. At the conclusion of the qualifying portion of the event, players are invited to stick around and play as much pinball as they please while semi-finals and finals occurs.

Skill Shot is also partnering up again with Project Pinball, a charity that puts pinball machine in children's hospitals. There will be some side tournaments going on to raise money for Project Pinball during the event so bring your $1 bills for some added competition.

Entry Cost and Process:
The tournament will cost $30 per player. Pre-sale for the tournament will go on sale on January 19th at which point a pay link will be posted on the event page as well as the Skill Shot and Syracuse PINheads pages. All players who wish to compete must pay online in advance, spots will not be "held" for any participants without payment. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Qualifying Format:
The tournament is matchplay format, in 4 player groups, for a total of 36 players. There will be 8 rounds of qualifying in which groups of 4 will compete against each other. Groupings are determined by Matchplay.events which will be the software facilitating the tournament. At the end of each round, 1st place will receive 4 points, 2nd place will receive 3 points, 3rd place will receive 2 points, and 4th place will receive 1 point. At the end of qualifying, the top 8 players with the most points will go to semi-finals.

Finals Format:
The top 8 players in semi-finals will be separated into 2 groups, evens and odds based on qualifying. There will be 3 rounds of matchplay each consisting of 1 game. The top qualifier from each group will pick the first game and will have preference for play order. All subsequent rounds, the last place player will pick game and play order. Scoring will stay the same at 4,3,2,1.
The top two players from each group will go to a final 4 player group ranked by the scores in semi-finals. Top qualifier will pick first game and have preference for player order. All subsequence rounds, the last place player will pick game and player order. Player with the top score at the end of finals wins the tournament.
Prizes will be awards to the top 3 players.

Rules:
-All players agree to abide by the Skill Shot "Code of Conduct" and COVID Protocols
-Tournament Director and other official decisions are definitive and final.
-All ties will be broken with a single game on Gottlieb Row.
-If a game has a significant issue during a round, the group playing will be moved to a game on Gottlieb Row.
-Late arrival for any round will result in a last place finish for that round.
-Players can not play games used in the tournament in between rounds or during downtime once the tournament starts. Players are permitted to play arcade video games and $1 tournament games benefiting Project Pinball whenever their rounds are completed.

COVID Protocols:
Skill Shot is dedicated to the safety of its players. Masks that cover the nose and mouth will be required to be worn by all players at all times, unless one is eating, drinking, or outside the event space. Skill Shot will encourage physical distancing and has installed an air purification system that will be cleaning the air throughout the tournament.
More Questions? No problem, feel free to reach out to Ryan Zlomek, tournament director.