2026 IFPA Pin-Masters: World Pin-Golf Championships – Registration scheduled for November 1st!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on October 11, 2025

The IFPA Pin-Masters will be held March 6th-8th, 2026 at ORD Pinball in West Chicago, IL.

Registration will open on Saturday, November 1st at 10:00 AM CST.

Please take this opportunity to solidify your spot in next year’s IFPA Pin-Masters, which is limited to 144 players.

Entry fee is $250 per player. Any refunds will be paid back at 50% of the registration fee. The additional funds will be added to the prize pool.

Please note spots will be RESERVED for any player that qualifies for the IFPA North American Pinball Championship. Do NOT register if you only intend to participate should you qualify for the IFPA North American Pinball Championship.

Full details of the event are available here:
https://www.ifpapinball.com/tournament_pages/pinmasters/

Should you have any questions about our qualifying process or to find out more information about the tournament, please contact the IFPA at ifpapinball@gmail.com.

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Scorbit at Pinball Expo 2025!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on October 11, 2025

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Stern Pro Circuit – Final Call for 2026 Applications – deadline October 31st

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on October 04, 2025

We announced back in August the opportunity for tournament organizers to add themselves to the eligibility list for inclusion on the Stern Pro Circuit for the 2026 season. Organizers have until October 31, 2025 to apply. Click HERE for those details.

Currently here is the top 5 list as it stands at the moment for events to be added to the Stern Pro Circuit next season:

1 SSS4 Main Event: Target Matchplay (105.96 WPPR average)
2 Past Times Mega Matchplay (Spring) (100.54 WPPR average)
3 Sweeper City Pinball Championships (90.28 WPPR average)
4 ABILENE SHOWDOWN (90.14 WPPR average)
5 TITAN PINBALL CHAMPIONSHIP (82.91 WPPR average)
6 Past Times Mega Matchplay (Fall) (70.87 WPPR average)

Please note this list can change based on events that apply before the deadline.

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Lumberjack Johnny’s presents 2026 WPPR Chopper – May 28th, 2026

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 29, 2025

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Start Date: May 28th, 2026
End Date: May 31st, 2026
There will be two tournaments for this event, both Hybrid Best Game qualifying with Matchplay finals.
This tournament is planned to coincide with the IFPA World Pinball Championship being held the following week at District 82 in DePere, WI. For those competing we hope you can make the most of the trip and participate in many Tournaments.
Lumberjack Johnny’s Tournaments May 28-31
District 82 Event Tuesday June 2nd
IFPA Worlds at District 82 June 5th – 7th
WPPR Chopper (This is a change to win a New In Box Stern Pinball machine.)
Little Chopper (Previously called Secondary Tournament)

Tickets go on sale January 18th at noon

Location:
Lumberjack Johnny’s – APPLETON, WI
2701 N. Oneida Street
Appleton, WI 54911

Registration opens January 18th at noon.
$150 registration fee
REFUND POLICY – Registration can be refunded minus a $10 service fee up to one week before the event start, no refunds within one week of event start. For more information please e-mail dave@escaperoomwisconsin.com
Event details available HERE.
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Stern Rewards Program – King Kong Myth of Terror Island Pro/Premium added!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 25, 2025


The IFPA is excited to announce that Stern has added King Kong Myth of Terror Island Pro and Premium to the rewards program! These are currently in stock and ready to ship!

Detailed rules for the Stern Rewards Program, including an updated list of qualifiers and updated list of rewards available can be found HERE.

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UK Open Tournaments, Pinball Profile Interview!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 23, 2025

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Wizard’s World on the road

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 18, 2025

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Join pinball enthusiasts and IFPA members in celebrating the vibrant community spirit that keeps our beloved game flipping strong! In this latest update from the road, The Wizard dives into Florida’s pinball scene, connecting with fellow fanatics and embarking on exciting outings. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a casual player, stories like this remind us why pinball unites us across generations.
The Villages Daily Sun
Monday September 15, 2025
By: Andrea Davis
Managing Editor Recreation and Community News
THE VILLAGES PINBALL CLUB
On Thursday, The Villages Pinball Club partnered with Wizard’s World Pinball Arcade, also known as Fort Wayne Pinball, an arcade in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a night of discussion with a guest speaker—Jonny Fairplay. Fairplay is known from the reality television show “Survivor,” where he gained notoriety in season 7 for lying about his grandmother dying, and the show “House of Villains.”
The club began the meeting with a discussion about pinball and the types of games they like most. Richard Boy, president of the club, said the group started just before COVID-19 caused the world to shut down.
“We started by playing a few games at Tom Wible’s house,” the Village of Pine Ridge resident said. “It was great because it was just a couple of people who loved pinball getting together to play.”
Before they introduced the club’s guest speakers Fairplay and Mike Burgess, of Wizard’s World Pinball—Wible threw some Wizard’s World merchandise out to club members.
Burgess said he recently moved to The Villages and was excited to learn there was a pinball club.
“I have been playing pinball since I was knee high,” the Village of Summerhill resident said.
When Fairplay came up to speak, he sported a name tag that said Wizard Jr.
“Burgess and I met because he sent me an email asking if I wanted to come to Indiana to play pinball,” Fairplay said. “I sent him an email back with my number and told him to call me. But no, seriously, I love pinball.” Fairplay explained that he got into pinball when he was young.
“I play with my fiancée and my daughters,” he said. “Pinball to me is a representation of my family. I love my family and I love pinball. When I play, it is a way to relax because it reminds me of times of when I play with my family.”
When it came to being on “Survivor,” he said he only briefly watched a few minutes of one episode before he was asked to be on it.
“I got asked and I was like ‘OK, whatever,’ and then I went on like eBay and bought every single episode on VHS,” he said. “I created the whole ‘dead grandma’ scenario before I even went out there.”
He said while some people may think it is horrible to lie about your grandma dying, his grandma thought it was funny.
“I did not expect them to go call for funeral details and her answering the phone,” he said with a laugh.
To learn more about The Villages Pinball Club, attend a meeting at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at Everglades Recreation.
For more information see our Facebook page:
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IFPA’s Player of the Month/Biggest Movers for August 2025!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 14, 2025

Here are the August 2025 IFPA winners for Player of the Month and Biggest Movers:

Player of the Month:
Zach McCarthy from Conifer, CO (713.60 WPPR’s – MAIN)
Summer Puente from Colorado (118.30 WPPR’s – WOMEN’S)

Biggest Movers:
Eric Capps from College Station, TX (+30,544 spots)
Andrew LaFica from Buffalo, NY (+29,182 spots)
Michael Gaddis from the US (+26,055 spots)

These players have now all qualified for the Stern Rewards Program for 2025. Congrats to everyone!

 

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Zach McCarthy wins 4th Major Championship!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 09, 2025

In the history of competitive pinball, very few (36 in fact) have had the chance to call themselves a Major Champion. Like professional golf or tennis, the opportunity to join this elite club only happens a handful of times every year. PAPA 22 brought together one finalist looking to add their name to this list (Gregory Kennedy) and three finalists looking to add to their already established legacies (Escher Lefkoff, Zach McCarthy and defending champion Raymond Davidson).

After qualifying as the #1 seed, Zach McCarthy won 2 out of the 3 games in the final round to capture his 4th Major Championship, becoming only the 8th player in competitive pinball history to do so.

With his 2nd place finish, Escher Lefkoff earned his tenth top 4 finish in Major Championships. 3rd place went to Gregory Kennedy who earned his first top 4 finish in Major Championships. 4th place went to Raymond Davidson who earned his ninth top 4 finish in Major Championships.

To view the most current list of Major Championship stats, click HERE.

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Get Ready for a Pinball Extravaganza at Pinball Expo 2025!

Posted By Josh Sharpe, on September 01, 2025

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