1. Quick Overview

The IFPA Australian Pinball Championship is an annual pinball competition organised by the IFPA. As part of the prize package for each IFPA State/Territory Pinball Championship, the Top 4 or 6 finalists receive an invitation into the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship. If any of the Top 4 or 6 finalists are unable to attend the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship, the next finalist(s) from the State Championship will be allowed to participate and serve as the representative(s) of that state, down as far as the 8th placed finalist. The 2025/26 IFPA Australian Pinball Championship location is yet to be determined, however will be in early 2026 (exact dates and times TBC)

All mentions of “State” below also refer to Territory winners.

  1. Competition Details

How to qualify

There are two ways to qualify for the IFPA Australian Championship.  The main way is to be one of the Top 4 or 6 finalists after the completion of an IFPA State Pinball Championship.

The other way to qualify is to be one of the top WPPR point earners (best 20 results) over the calendar year after State Championships have been completed.  The actual number of players who qualify via this route will depend on how many players will qualify via each IFPA State Pinball Championship.

Once all State Championship finalists have been determined, and the top WPPR point earner positions have also been finalised, the 2025/26 IFPA Australian Championship will run with a field of 64 players.

Fees

Entry fee for the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship will likely be approximately $40-$50 per player however, will be confirmed closer to the event. This entry fee will go towards any associated costs for the host venue, with the remainder to go towards the event’s prize pool.  In addition, the 25% of the fees collected through the endorsement of events within Australia will also go towards the prize pool for the event.

Prizes

The tournament features a guaranteed package of cash prizes. In the event of an overrun beyond expenses, tournament revenue will be retained to finance the next IFPA event. In the event IFPA discontinues its events or is disbanded, any such retained revenue will be donated to charity.

The prize package will be determined based on the endorsement fees collected. All participants who make the final 24 in the IFPA Australian Pinball Championship will be paid out. Here is the prize pool breakdown:

  • 1st place – 22% of the prize pool + Trophy + Title of “IFPA Australian Pinball Champion” + 1 of 2 Country Exemption spots for the 2024 IFPA World Championship
  • 2nd place – 15% of the prize pool + Trophy
  • 3rd place – 11% of the prize pool + Trophy
  • 4th place – 8% of the prize pool + Trophy
  • 5th through 8th place – 5% of the prize pool each
  • 9th through 16th place – 2% of the prize pool each
  • 17th through 24th place – 1% of the prize pool each

Schedule

All qualifying rounds will be done on one day, with the finals to take place the next morning.

Actual times are still yet to be determined, and will be communicated once known.

III. Format of Matches

Seeding of finalists

Once all participants are finalised, the players will be seeded based on their WPPR rank at the end of the calendar year.

Machines Chosen

The Tournament Director will notify all finalists of an eligible machine list at least 1 week prior to the event taking place.

Qualifying Rounds

The qualifying stage will consist of 4-player matches. 7-5-3-1 scoring in each match.

 

Players will be split into three pools, according to the final WPPR standings from 2025:

  • Pool A: 1,8,9,16,17,24,25,32,33,40,41,48,49,56,57,64.
  • Pool B: 2,7,10,15,18,23,26,31,34,39,42,47,50,55,58,63.
  • Pool C: 3,6,11,14,19,22,27,30,35,38,43,46,51,54,59,62.
  • Pool D: 4,5,12,13,20,21,28,29,36,37,44,45,52,53,60,61.

 

There will be 5 rounds with 3 matches per round.

 

Each player will be grouped with each other player in their pool exactly once.

 

The top 6 players from each pool will advance to the elimination stage, with the top 2 players in each pool receiving a first-round bye in the finals.

 

Ties for meaningful qualifying positions will be resolved by a one game playoff on the Saturday afternoon/night, immediately following the completion of qualifying rounds.

 

Finals

 

Players are expected to arrive no later than the advertised check-in time.  Anyone failing to arrive in time will be ineligible to compete and the next available reserve will be called.

 

The elimination stage will consist of best-of-seven (7), head-to-head matches in a single elimination bracket (or race to 4 wins). The loser of a match is eliminated.

 

Players will be ranked by most pool stage points, then by original ACS seed.

 

At the start of the match each player will choose an ‘OLD’, ’MID’ and ’NEW’ machine. The lower seeded player will choose the first machine, followed by the higher seeded player choosing the second machine. This picking order will continue until all 6 games have been chosen. A machine may not be picked more than once in the same match. Once a player verbally makes any choice regarding machine or position, they are locked into that decision.

The higher seed will first choose whether they want to start on one of their own choices, or one of the lower seed’s choices. Position will be based on who originally selected the machine before the match started. The player that did not have the machine as a part of their three choices will have choice of position on that particular machine. The match will alternate between machines chosen by each player, until all 6 games are completed. Should a player reach 4 wins before all 6 games are completed, no further games should be played. If the higher seeded player chooses to start on one of their machine choices, they will choose game number 1, 3 and 5 in the match (from their 3 picks). The lower seeded player would then be choosing game number 2, 4 and 6 in the match (from their 3 picks).

There will be a preference to only pick next games from what is available at the time of play.  This will be communicated to finalists during briefing.

Each player will have the opportunity for 20 seconds of practice time before starting every game of every match. This is to ensure that both players have a chance to get familiar with the machine.

A 3rd & 4th place consolation final will be played in a best-of-three match.

This process will continue until there is one remaining player in the tournament, who will be declared the winner.

Winners

Winners will receive cash prizes as cash during an awards ceremony shortly following the conclusion of all final rounds. All decisions by tournament officials regarding winners and prizes are final.

First Place will also receive the title “IFPA Australian Pinball Champion”. This title remains in effect until the next annual IFPA Australian Championship Series, or will expire after two years if the IFPA Australian Championship Series is discontinued.

The winner will also earn one of the Australian Country Exemption spots for the 2026 IFPA World Championship, wherever it will be held.

  1. Rulings and Malfunctions

All rulings and malfunctions will be based on the rules for the IFPA World Pinball Championship. Those are available HERE, starting at Paragraph V. Please ignore any sections above this as that relates to the format of the World Championship.