See pinball wizards prove their skills at the upcoming World Pinball Championship

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The pinball festivals and competitions just keep on coming and this month it’s International Flipper Pinball Association’s turn to host a world-class tournament. They do so every year, with last year’s event taking place in London, UK and this year the championship is headed to Cokato, Minnesota USA. I’ll let some of the press release do the talking about the event:

This will be the stage when the IFPA7 World Pinball Championship showcases the best of the best from around the world in what will be a true pinball marathon; a test of wills and endurance over two and a half days of battle against the whims of that little silver ball. Can Josh Henderson of Plainfield, IL at the age of 12 (and the youngest player) meet the challenge. Or will 55- year old, Bob Matthews of Thousand Oaks, CA (the oldest competitor in the field) withstand the pressure. Will the more than 8,400 miles of travel that Sunao Kono and Tatsunori Naruke of Japan have to endure, affect the precision necessary to take the top prize. Will anyone stand in the way of possible history in the making with Bostonian Bowen Kerins attempting the unfathomable as three-peat World Champion?

With a prize package of over $14,000, including a brand new pinball machine from Stern Pinball, IFPA7 promises to be a transformative event in the ongoing remarkable history of pinball. From Japan to Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom; from Sweden and The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Italy and Brazil to Canada and, of course, the United States–these elite players will descend upon the state of Minnesota to claim the title of “World Pinball Champion”.

Sounds to me like it can shape up to be a battle of epic proportions – perhaps not as legendary as the battle over the Donkey Kong high score but epic nonetheless. Hit the post break for the full press release. Here is a link to the IFPA website which also includes a participants and games list.

Big Pinball tournament coming to Gameworks in Ohio next month

Back in November we posted about Gameworks beginning to hold some large tournaments at different locations and with one tournament under their belt in December, one is being planned for February at the Gameworks in Columbus Ohio. This will be a three day pinball tournament starting on the 13th of Feb. with the finals happening that Sunday. To help lend some extra credence to the tournament, it has been approved by the IFPA (the International Flipper Pinball Association) and the games players will compete on will be: High Roller Casino, Simpsons Pinball Party, Sopranos, and NASCA. The first place winner will land an $800 prize along with 4 4hr. play cards for Gameworks; up to the 4th place winner will win some cash and the top 16 players will win a play card. Hit the post break for all of the juicy details and discuss it on the forum.

One planet under pinball article about Pinball championships in Vegas

(Picture by Steve Marcus of main competitors Bowen Kerins and Neil Shatz after Kerins won the IFPA Championship)

One thing I missed while at ASI was the IFPA Pinball Championships that were held in conjunction with the ASI show in Las Vegas this past weekend although I did see at least two people there for the championship as they had Rio Pinball Clube shirts on from Brazil (I’ve mentioned their website before) and were talking in Portuguese.

So how did it all go? The Las Vegas Sun comments not only the Championship but on the state of pinball and how players feel about it in current times. It’s a pretty good article that shows how some of us still have a good outlook on pinball despite the fact that it is not the fad that it once was. I believe that it will take more kids getting hooked on the game to increase the base of players as well as interest but that can be difficult in these times as some just don’t get it.

[One planet under pinball article @ Las Vegas Sun] [Discuss on the Forum]

IFPA’s March Pinball Madness

One of the competitions to be featured in conjunction with this year’s ASI event is the International Flipper Pinball Association’s World Pinball Championship. The tournament will be taking place at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas on March 28th-30th and will be offering a prize package of over $14,000 along with a brand new pinball machine from Stern. Competitors will be coming from 12 different countries to compete and spectator’s are welcome.

While a lot of kids these days probably wouldn’t understand the appeal of watching people compete in pinball tournaments, I think it would be great to watch some of the best players in the world duke it out. There is always something cool about watching someone play a pinball or arcade game when they are really good at it.

For more information visit the IFPA site or pinballhall.org

[Via Play Meter Magazine News]

IFPA's March Pinball Madness

One of the competitions to be featured in conjunction with this year’s ASI event is the International Flipper Pinball Association’s World Pinball Championship. The tournament will be taking place at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas on March 28th-30th and will be offering a prize package of over $14,000 along with a brand new pinball machine from Stern. Competitors will be coming from 12 different countries to compete and spectator’s are welcome.

While a lot of kids these days probably wouldn’t understand the appeal of watching people compete in pinball tournaments, I think it would be great to watch some of the best players in the world duke it out. There is always something cool about watching someone play a pinball or arcade game when they are really good at it.

For more information visit the IFPA site or pinballhall.org

[Via Play Meter Magazine News]