QUALIFYING
Pricing -
Main cards are $20 each, 3 for $50, each card is used to play 5 games.
Classics tickets are $10 for 4, $20 for 9, 1 ticket is used per game.
Tickets must be bought at the front desk, not the tournament area..
Tournament ticket sales cut off at 5 PM Saturday
No refunds
Ranking -
Main
Players will play a “card” of 5 games. All those scores will be ranked together as a single card, or be voided together as a single card.
Each game score is translated to a qualifying score based on rank (1st 200, 2nd 195, 3rd 190, 189, 188, 187…), and the 5 game scores are totalled up to be the score for that card.
Each players best cards are ranked against each other to determine the ranking.
Submitting new cards will not invalidate your old scores.
Classics
Classics uses a “best game” format where your best 5 games will make your qualifying rank.
Each game score is translated to a qualifying score based on rank (1st 200, 2nd 195, 3rd 190, 189, 188, 187…), with the top 5 qualifying scores being totaled up to determine a player’s positioning.
Only your best score on each game counts in the rankings.
Top 24 players qualify for main division playoffs, with the top 8 qualifiers getting a bye through the first round of playoffs.
Top 24 players qualify for main division playoffs, with the top 8 qualifiers getting a bye through the first round of playoffs.
Players can check qualifying status at https://neverdrains.com/clepin2025
Schedule -
Qualifying will take place all day Thursday From 5 pm to Midnight, Friday 10 am to Midnight and Saturday 10 am to 6:30 pm.
Players who help scorekeep as well as players who purchase VIP admission to the show will be able to start qualifying an hour early each day.
Cut off for starting games in main division is 6:30 PM on Saturday night.
Any significant ties for main division (to make it into finals or to get an additional bye) will be played off at 7 PM.
Round 1 of Finals for main division will begin at 7:30 PM. Round 2 will start Sunday morning at 10 AM.
Round 1 of Finals for B division will begin at 7:30 PM. Round 2 will begin immediately after round 1 completes.
Classics qualifying times are the same, although it ends at 1 pm on Saturday, with classics finals starting at 1:30 pm.
Catastrophic malfunction cut off is Friday at 4 PM. If a game must be replaced after this cutoff then scores from the previous game still stand in the rankings.
Queuing -
The Cleveland Pinball Show will use a virtual queuing system available at https://neverdrains.com/clepin2025
Players may add themselves to queues through either their own device, or the designated queuing computer in the tournament area.
There will be a chair behind each game. If a player is next on a game then they are encouraged to sit in the game’s respective chair. When a game opens up the next player will be called, if they are not present then the individual is removed from the queue and the next player is called.
The tournament must keep moving, and score keepers will not wait for a player who is in the queue but isn’t present.
Ties -
Significant ties (either to make it into finals or to receive a bye) will be played off on a randomly selected game, with the winner of that game being the winner of the tie breaker. Whoever has the highest ranking in a qualifying score will get choice of play order (if highest rankings are tied, 2nd highest will be used, etc, if all are tied then a coin flip will decide)
Ties above the cut for other positions in main division will be determined by whichever player has the higher ranking on their highest qualifying game. (ex. One player in the tie’s best game rank was the second highest score on a game, and the other player’s best game was a 6th place score. The first player wins the tiebreaker).
If both players in the tie breaker have the same highest game rank, then it will defer down to their second highest game rank. If that is tied it will defer down again, etc.
In the extremely rare case that both players have the exact same rankings across all their qualifying games, the tie will be broken by a coin flip.
FINALS
General information -
Round 1 of the Main Division check-in begins at 7:00 PM on Saturday.
Round 1 of the Main Division finals begins at 7:30 PM on Saturday at the earliest, if Classics have not yet concluded then main will begin after they finish. Players must check in before 7:30 PM.
Round 2 of the Main Division finals begins at 10 AM on Sunday. Players must check in before 9:30 AM
Classics finals begin at 1:30 PM on Saturday. Players must check in before 1:30 PM.
If a player does not show up to check-in before finals begin then that player will be replaced with the next highest seeded qualifier. (The first alternate)
If a player does not show up for later finals round they will receive last place on each game in their group until they show up.
Finals are played in 4-player “PAPA Style groups”.
Four player games are scored with 1st earning 4 points, 2nd earning 2 points, 3rd earning 1 point, and 4th receiving 0 points.
Three-player games will be scored as if a nonexistent fourth player received the 4th place finish (i.e., 1st earns 4 points, 2nd earns 2, and last earns 1).
There are 3 games in each round (plus a tiebreaker if necessary).
Finals brackets can be found online at - http://neverdrains.com/clepin2025
Game Selection -
The highest seeded player in each group has choice of game or position.
If the highest seeded player of the group chooses game then the next seed in their group gets choice of position, all the way down.
If a player defers picking the game and chooses position instead, the next player down has selection of game or position.
Groups select starting with the group containing the highest seeded player, continuing down until all groups have chosen.
If a higher seeded group has already selected a game then other groups are locked out from picking it until their next selection.
One group can not play the same game multiple times in one match.
The same player can’t pick the same game two rounds in a row.
This rule does not apply to Classics finals and B division finals as players choices will already be more limited.
Ties -
Ties will be played off on a randomly selected game from the games that the tied players did not play in their round.
Highest seed has first choice of position.
Final Standings -
IFPA standings for people who were eliminated in the same round as each other will be determined by the players scores in the respective round.
Ties outside the finals cut will remain as ties in the final rankings.
Prize Pool -
Prize pool is based on tournament entries, less $1 IFPA fee per player, $5 Stern Pro Circuit fee per player, cost of trophies and other expenses the show may incur related to the tournament.
A division awards cash prizes to the top 24 finishers with 1st receiving 23%, 2nd at 15%, 3rd at 10%, 4th at 8%, 5th through 8th each at 5%, 9th - 16th each at 2%, and 17th-24th each at 1%.
1st
23%
2nd
15%
3rd
10%
4th
8%
5th - 8th
5%
9th - 16th
2%
17th - 24th
1%

B division awards cash prizes to the top 4 finishers. With 1st receiving 40%, 2nd receiving 25%, 3rd receiving, 20%, and 4th receiving 15%.
1st
40%
2nd
25%
3rd
20%
4th
15%

Classics will award cash prizes to the top 16 finishers with 1st receiving 25%, 2nd at 16%, 3rd at 11%, 4th at 8%, 5th through 8th each at 5%, and 9th - 16th each at 2.5%.
1st
25%
2nd
16%
3rd
11%
4th
8%
5th - 8th
5%
9th - 16th
2.5%

Actual values will be determined on-site after tournament expenses have been deducted and are subject to rounding to the next higher or lower $5 increment.
All other rules and procedures for anything gameplay related are based on PAPA rules (ex. malfunctions, interference, stuck balls, etc.)
Full rule documentation available here - https://www.ifpapinball.com/rules/