IFPA Women’s European Pinball Championship – Registration opens January 10 at noon!

The IFPA is proud to announce that registration for the inaugural IFPA Women’s European Pinball Championship opens soon! 

This event is the series final for the 2025-2026 Women’s European Championship Series. Drawing from the 2025 WECS rankings, a field of 16 players will compete for the title of IFPA Women’s European Champion. The tournament will take place in Lund, Sweden, on April 10.

Registration opens January 10 and closes January 18.

Players who finished in the top 30 (and have a registered IFPA profile) will receive a personal invitation email. Please note that qualified players must have a registered IFPA profile to be eligible for the championship.

For more details (including 2025 WECS standings), please see the event page and the WEPC registration page.

If you have any questions about the qualifying process or the championship itself, please reach out to IFPAwomen@gmail.com.

 

🔥 Ignite the Playfield: Give Your Lineup a Championship Glow this New Year! 🏆

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New Year, new high scores. ☄️ Whether you’re grinding for IFPA WPPR points or preserving a priceless classic, your machine deserves more than just “standard” lighting—it deserves a visual overhaul.

At Hyuga Pinball, we’ve engineered the ultimate LED upgrade to swap out those tired, hot incandescents for precision-tuned brilliance. It’s time to unlock the “New Year Glow” and see your game in a whole new light. 💡✨

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  • Zero Ghosting, Total Focus 🚫👻 Say goodbye to annoying flickers. Our 6.3V AC/DC non-ghosting bulbs are precision-engineered to eliminate “ghosting” artifacts, keeping your eyes on the ball and your mind on the jackpot.
  • Vintage Soul, Modern Tech 🕯️⚙️ Love that warm, nostalgic glow? Our LEDs are color-matched to mimic the classic aesthetic of original filaments, ensuring your 80s and 90s legends look exactly as they should—only better.
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2025-26 IFPA North American Championship Series – Registration is OPEN!

Qualifying results for the 2025-26 IFPA North American Championship Series are still coming in, but we wanted to take the opportunity to open up registration in advance to give players more time to respond to their invitations.

There will be 49 different IFPA State Championship finals (plus Washington DC) along with 8 different Province finals in Canada. These finals will all be held simultaneously on January 17th, 2026, with 1200 finalists competing for their share of nearly $170,000 in cash, a State or Provincial title, along with a spot in the IFPA North American Pinball Championship.

The IFPA Women’s North American Championship Series will be held January 18th, 2026, with 896 finalists competing for their share of over $16,000 in cash, a State or Provincial title, along with a spot in the IFPA Women’s North American Pinball Championship.

View the live NACS registration page HERE.

The WNACS registration page is available HERE.

IFPA State/Provincial Representatives should be sending out emails shortly, although most have already done so with our short registration period. It is important to note that if you do not have a registered IFPA player account, you are INELIGIBLE to participate. If you feel you should have received an invitation to one of the IFPA State Championships and did not, contact the IFPA immediately at ifpapinball@gmail.com, or click HERE to register your profile.

Registration closes on January 7th at 8pm CST for both the NACS and WNACS. Any player that has not accepted their invitation by that time will be ineligible to participate.

Remember that no player is allowed to compete in multiple IFPA State/Provincial Championships. Players that qualify for more than one IFPA State/Provincial Championship will have to make their choice during this open period of registration. This will mean that many states/provinces will go far past the top 16 players in order to fill all 16 spots (or 24 players for any Super State/Province).

Any questions about the NACS, or anything IFPA related, please contact us at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

2025 – IFPA State of the Union

With the 2025 pinball season officially wrapping up tonight, the World Pinball Player Rankings continues to show no signs of slowing down within the competitive pinball community. We wanted to take a quick look back at the growth we saw during 2025.

We’re proud to say that the total number of IFPA sanctioned events for 2024 was 14,038.  This represents a 10% growth from the end of 2024 where we had 12,776 IFPA sanctioned events on the calendar. Total player attendance at those events was 318,576, up 9% from 2024.

In addition, the number of unique players that played in an IFPA sanctioned tournament during 2025 was 42,936, up 10% from the number of players that were active during 2024. This included 11,827 players that participated in their first IFPA sanctioned event during 2025.

The IFPA wishes to thank everyone in the competitive pinball community for continuing to support everything we do to spread the world about our incredible sport to the masses.

Arvid Flygare – IFPA’s 2025 Player of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2025 is 17 year old Arvid Flygare from Lund, Sweden. Arvid competed in 45 events during the 2025 season racking up an incredible 4243.41 WPPR points. Arvid currently sits as the #4 ranked player in the world.

Arvid was the IFPA Player of the Month in January and November, having won 10 of the 45 tournaments he played in during 2025, while finishing in the top 4 in 53% of them.

Arvid’s highlights during 2025 included earning three more Top 4 finishes in Major Championships, finishing 3rd place at the Pinburgh Match Play Championships, 3rd place at the 2025 European Pinball Championship, along with a 3rd place finish at the IFPA20 World Pinball Championship.

The IFPA wishes to congratulate Arvid on all of his success throughout this 2025 season!

James Chalki – IFPA’s 2025 Rookie of the Year!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Rookie of the Year for the 2025 season is James Chalki from Australia. This award is given to the player that earns the most WPPR points in their first year of active play.

James played in 36 events during the 2025 season earning a total of 376.99 WPPR points. James participated in his first IFPA sanctioned tournament on March 1st at the  Beercade 5. Since entering the World Pinball Player Rankings at that time, James has seen his rank increase to 758th in the world.

James’ greatest achievement of 2025 was finishing in 7th place at the Australian Pinball Open Main Tournament, netting himself 61.26 WPPR points from that finish. Overall, James placed in the top 4 at 58% of the 2025 events he played in, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to James, our 2025 IFPA Rookie of the Year!

Jason Zahler – World’s Greatest Pinball Player for 2025!

The IFPA is proud to announce that Jason Zahler has finished at #1 on the World Pinball Player Rankings, thus earning IFPA’s top honor as the 2025 “World’s Greatest Pinball Player”. No single tournament victory will ever secure this title for a given year. Only consistent play at the highest level over the course of multiple years leads to players reaching the pinnacle of the World Pinball Player Rankings. This is the second time that Jason has been crowned the World’s Greatest Pinball Player and one of seven players in history to receive this award (Keith Elwin (7), Jorian Engelbrektsson (3), Raymond Davidson (3), Zach Sharpe (2), Johannes Ostermeier (1) and Escher Lefkoff (2) being the other six).

Jason played in 12 IFPA sanctioned events during the 2025 season. His greatest achievements of 2025 were winning TWO Major Championships in the same season, both the IFPA World Pinball Championship and the Pinburgh Match-Play Championship, earning him 713.64 WPPR points for just those two events. Overall, Jason won 75% of the 12 events he played in, while placing in the top 4 at 92% of his 2025 events, a truly remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to Jason, and best of luck to everyone on the upcoming 2026 season in the race for #1. Jason will receive his WGPP trophy at the IFPA21 World Pinball Championship in Wisconsin in June.

FLIPPER FRIENDS™: ALL-LEGENDS TOURNAMENT SERIES | SEASON 1: WEEK 9

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🌊⚔️ Legends players, it’s tournament time! 🌿

Dive into the depths, battle through fantasy realms, and explore the wilds of the rainforest as we kick off the new year together on your Legends 4K™, HDP™, or HD device!

 

This Week’s Tables:

🌊 Deep Ocean – included in Natural History Pinball Pack 2

⚔️ RASTAN SAGA™ – included in Taito Pinball Pack 1

🌿 Amazonia – included in Natural History Pinball Pack 1

 

Tournament Dates:

Starts: Friday, January 2 at 3:00 p.m. PT

Ends: Thursday, January 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT

 

Prizes For General FF:

🏅 10 Winners – $15 AtGames Gift Card

🎖️ 7 Winners – $10 AtGames Gift Card

 

Prizes For DPWR:

🥇 $30 – 1 player randomly selected from the Top 100

🥈 $20 – 1 player randomly selected from ranks 101–500

🥉 $10 – 1 player randomly selected from ranks 501+

 

⚠️ ATGAMES GIFT CARD NOTICE:

Gift Cards usable only on the AtGames eStore. On-device support coming in a future update. They never expire.

 

HOW TO JOIN:

1️⃣ Launch a selected table

2️⃣ Play until your last ball drains

3️⃣ Enter initials

4️⃣ Exit — score uploads automatically

 

Check your standings and the Top 50 leaderboard at:

https://www.atgames.net/leaderboards/schedule

Status Update from IFPA – January 2026

The IFPA staff has been working diligently on this Code of Conduct (found HERE). While we recognize it won’t address every issue immediately, it marks an important step toward making IFPA‑sanctioned events more welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable for all players. We have also expanded the IFPA Diversity and Inclusion Code (found HERE) to include a new Respect for Names and Pronouns policy. The IFPA staff remains committed to improving competitive pinball policies based on community feedback, and we sincerely appreciate everyone who has worked with us as these updates continue to evolve.

We have received questions regarding Women’s Division events for 2026 – there will be no change in the Women’s Division dollar fee or the system which tracks Women’s Division standings.

We have added multiple new staff members and are in the process of finding more, but we will not be creating another Women’s Advisory Board. We will announce new staff once they’ve finished onboarding and settled into their roles.

The amount of work and progress the WAB accomplished cannot be overstated, including increasing participation in our women’s division state championship series, creating the Women’s National Championships, running the Women’s World Championships for the last two years, and creating the initial IFPA inclusion policy. The WAB’s efforts have helped to shape women’s and open division pinball for the better.

That being said, both current and new staff members feel that the IFPA will be stronger and more effective as one entity with a diverse chorus of voices and opinions. We will be covering all of the duties that the WAB was previously responsible for. We will use the WAB as an example of dedication to growing women’s division pinball and to ensuring inclusiveness and fairness in both women’s and open divisions.

Comments Closed

FLIPPER FRIENDS™: ALL-LEGENDS TOURNAMENT SERIES | SEASON 1: WEEK 8

sponsored blog post

🌍🪲 Legends players, it’s tournament time! 🚀

Ring in the new year with nature, action, and adventure! Battle insects, take on high-rise chaos, and explore the African wilds — all while competing together on your Legends 4K™, HDP™, or HD device.

 

This Week’s Tables:

🪲 Insect World – included in Natural History Pinball Pack 3

🏢 Elevator Action™ – included in Taito Pinball Pack 2

🌍 Africa – included in Natural History Pinball Pack 1

 

Tournament Dates:

Starts: Friday, December 26 at 3:00 p.m. PT

Ends: Thursday, January 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT

 

Prizes For General FF:

🏅 10 Winners – $15 AtGames Gift Card

🎖️ 7 Winners – $10 AtGames Gift Card

 

Prizes For DPWR:

🥇 $30 – 1 player randomly selected from the Top 100

🥈 $20 – 1 player randomly selected from ranks 101–500

🥉 $10 – 1 player randomly selected from ranks 501+

 

⚠️ ATGAMES GIFT CARD NOTICE:

Gift Cards usable only on the AtGames eStore. On-device support coming in a future update. They never expire.

HOW TO JOIN:

1️⃣ Launch a selected table

2️⃣ Play until your last ball drains

3️⃣ Enter initials

4️⃣ Exit — score uploads automatically

Check your standings and the Top 50 leaderboard at:

https://www.atgames.net/leaderboards/schedule