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[BobTheFork]

It's time once again for the top pinball players in the world to come together and get salty.

Every year, the IFPA brings together the world's top ranked pinball players to a 2 day sloberknocker to determine who is the world champion. This year, luckily enough, it's being held in beautiful, pot-smokey Denver Colorado. So Finally I can watch this happen without having to travel.

Here are the details:

World Championship Week starts with the Lyons Spring Classic, the official IFPA Satellite event for IFPA11. Taking place May 16th-18th in Lyons, CO, the Lyons Spring Classic is an event on the 2014-15 PAPA Circuit. As the official IFPA Satellite event for IFPA11, there is ONE spot available to get into the field of 64 players and play for the right to be crowned World Pinball Champion.

The IFPA will be back in action starting Monday, May 19th with the Pre-IFPA 1up Lodo Tournament in Denver.

World Championship Week continues Tuesday, May 20th when the IFPA moves on to Pinball Jones in Fort Collins, where we will be hosting the Pre-IFPA Pinball Jones Tournament.

Wednesday, May 21st, we head back to Denver to the 1up Colfax. The IFPA will be hosting the PreIFPA 1up Colfax tournament.

The IFPA will also be crowing the first IFPA US National Champion, which is the culmination of the first SCS on Sunday, May 18th. The 2nd edition of the Epstein Cup where the 8 best players from Europe battle the 8 best players from North America will happen Thursday night, May 22nd. Finally, Sunday, May 25th, IFPA's World Championship Week concludes with the crowning of the new World Pinball Champion.


IFPA is invite only and only the best player get the call. They take the top two players in every country that hosts IFPA events and then send invites to the top ranked players until 63 entries are filled. Why only 63?!?!?!?!?


The Warm-up

Every Year LYONS CLASSIC PINBALL in Lyons Colorado hosts an annual event called The Spring Classic. THIS year, it's an official event and there is a free spot up for grabs to be the 64th player in IFPA. THIS IS HUGE! Even I technically have a chance to be in the World Finals.

Pictures of the Best Pinball Spot!

Here are some videos I shot today.

- http://youtu.be/rCqLTZhSdjM A walk through of the main Lyons floor. Most of the pictures were taken in the basement where the other games are.

- http://youtu.be/gZWYa1p93c4 Matt Cheremy playing Captain Fantasic

-http://youtu.be/5esrT10yzXQ Donovan Stepp playing some World Cup




This tournament also hosts 64 players. Many of them are players in town for IFPA. Over a hundred people are entered but only the top 64 will make it. Personally, it would be huge for me to even qualify for THIS tournament and get a chance to win the last IFPA spot.

Spring Classic Details:
The format has been revised to feature a 9+ hole Pingolf qualifier on Friday, May 16, which leads to a 64-player double-elimination tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore there is no cap to the number of players who may register for the event. Please note, however, that only 64 players will make the cut from Friday to the weekend.

On Saturday, the first round of match play will be best-of-three, and from then on, the winners’ bracket will play best-of-five, while the losers’ bracket will play best-of-three. The higher seed in each match gets choice of game or position for game 1, and then choice proceeds to the loser of each subsequent game in a match. There will be over 40 games to choose from, spanning the years 1966 to 2013, and no player may select the same game more than once during the entire tournament (of course, if an opponent chooses a game you’ve already played, you will play it again).



I'm going to play my qualifying run tomorrow morning, early. I'm in one of the first groups and I won't know if I make it until that night. If I play like shit, then I'll know I'm out : )

Here is my official IFPA ranking picture:

THE MAIN EVENT!!!!!

IFPA will be hosted at The Game Exchange in Denver.
It starts late next week. There will be small tournaments every day until then. I will post mroe about those when they happen.

Click this link to see the players - Five or six of them are from here in Denver.
http://ifpapinball.com/ifpa11_players.php



The Rules

FIRST ROUND OF PLAY
The first round will consist of 8 sessions. Players will be divided into groups of 4 and will play one machine chosen at random from each era. First grouping will be 1/32/33/64, etc. Scoring will be 7-5-3-1 for all matches. Following each session players will be put into new groups based off of the most up to date standings.
Starting with session #2 through session #8, groups will be divided by the following:
Session 2: same as round 1
Session 3: 1-16-17-32, 2-15-18-31, etc, also 33-48-49-64, 34-47-50-63, etc.
Session 4: same as round 3
Session 5: 1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, etc, also 17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, etc.
Session 6: same as round 5
Session 7: 1-4-5-8, 2-3-6-7, 9-12-13-16, 10-11-14-15, etc.
Session 8: 1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, etc.
At the conclusion of the 8th session, 32 players will advance to the final round.
MATCH PLAY MADNESS
The top 32 players from the First Round will be seeded based on their 8 session point total, and put into a bracket. Players seeded 1-8 will receive 2 byes, while players seeded 9-16 will receive 1 bye through the initial match play round. Players seeded 17 through 32 will battle in the initial round to see who advances to play those players seeded 9 through 16. Final rounds will be a best 4 out of 7 single elimination tournament. Each player will choose an EM, SS and DMD machine. Should the match be tied after these 6 games, the match will move to ‘Sudden Death’. This will be a best of 3 match where any of the remaining machines are available to be chosen. The higher seeded player will have choice of machine or position for the 1st game, with the loser of each subsequent game having choice of machine or order. Winner advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday
6pm-7:30pm –> Practice Session
8pm-10pm –> The Epstein Cup

Friday
9am – 9:30am –> check in for players
9:30am – 10am –> Announcements/group picture/getting things started
10am – Noon –> Session #1
Noon – 2pm –> Session #2
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> Session #3 (this will start 1 hour after the last group finishes Session #2)
5pm – 7pm –> Session #4
7pm – 8pm –> Dinner
8pm – 10pm –> Session #5 (this will start 1 hour after the last group finishes Session #4)
10pm – Midnight –> Session #6
Saturday
9:30am – 10am –> check in for players
10am – Noon –> Session #7
Noon – 2pm –> Session #8
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> First Round (seeds 17 through 32 play)
5pm – 7pm –> Second Round (Seeds 9-16 play the winners of the first round)
7pm – 8pm –> Dinner
8pm – 10pm –> Third Round (Seeds 1-8 play the winners of the second round)
Sunday
9:30am – 10am –> check in for players
10am – Noon –> Elite 8
Noon – 2pm –> Final 4 and 5th through 8th match
2pm – 3pm –> Lunch
3pm – 5pm –> Championship, Consolation final
5pm – 5:30pm –> Awards and wrap up
Rounds will always start as soon as possible in an attempt to keep ahead of the above schedule.

D: I mean I love Pinball, but that is a grueling schedule. I've been to some 3 days events before and you just get so burned out by the end it's crazy.



That's the gist of it. I'll answer any questions and I'll be posting some pictures and video of the Tournaments as they happen over the week.

I LOVE that Denver has been getting gaming events like this. The Kong-off was here two years in a row and now we get World class pinball.


I'll post some links of line-ups and play for IFPA, but I'm not sure if they are streaming this like they did PAPA.

My current world rank is around 250 in the world, so I've come a long way. I would have to play the nest pinball of my LIFE to even stand a chance against these beasts.

 

[BobTheFork]

Ok, that's a bit better for now. I'll try to update each day with what happened.

 

[sefskillz]

man, Lyons looks great! that's one hell of a pinball collection they've got going.

best of luck in your pingolf round tomorrow!

 

[BobTheFork]

man, Lyons looks great! that's one hell of a pinball collection they've got going.

best of luck in your pingolf round tomorrow!

Thanks. I'm nervous as hell. I'm playing my round with my roommate and Keith Elwin, by far the #1 player in the world. He just had a CNN interview recently. I want to look good.

It's funny, I never feel like I can control how I play. I practice and show up ready; sometimes I play great and very often I play terrible. I never know which it will be until I start playing.

It's going to be HARD to to this. I don't think I can get a hole in one on any of these games and with so many players, there are going to be lots of people with the same strokes.

 

[baphomet]

Wait, I'm confused. Can I head over to 1up(Colfax is actually 2up isn't it) on the 21st and watch this in person?

Edit - me and my girlfriend decided were going to head to Lyons tomorrow and check it out. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[BobTheFork]

Wait, I'm confused. Can I head over to 1up(Colfax is actually 2up isn't it) on the 21st and watch this in person?

Edit - me and my girlfriend decided were going to head to Lyons tomorrow and check it out. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Watch? You can compete like anyone else if you want. The entry fee will only be 5 or 10 bucks and there will be lots of local people there.

They 'changed' the name. It was the 1 up and 2 up but the guys who own both spots found that people didn't realize both spots were owned by the same people so they re-branded a bit.

Now it's the 1up LoDo (The 1up) and the 1-up Colfax (The 2-up)

Edit: Tomorrow the format is really cool. Groups of 4 will start playing every 20 minutes from 11am until 9pm that night. I think they are closed to the public until 3pm tomorrow (just the players) and then a 3, people can play anything but the 9 games we are using for the rounds. I'll be teeing off at 1240.

Oh, just to be clear, the tournaments at the 1up and Pinball Jones are open to anyone. The one tomorrow was a signup a few weeks ago.

 

[Affeinvasion]

I'm actually going on a pinball trip to st. Louis tomorrow. It's no tournament, but it is unlimited pinball for 15 bucks.

 

[BobTheFork]

I'm actually going on a pinball trip to st. Louis tomorrow. It's no tournament, but it is unlimited pinball for 15 bucks.

That's a good deal anywhere. Always good to here about a pinball spot. It's strangely come back and gotten much more popular in the last few years. When I starting playing 2 years ago, there were about 12k ranked players in the world. Now, the listing is up to 24k-

 

[baphomet]

Watch? You can compete like anyone else if you want. The entry fee will only be 5 or 10 bucks and there will be lots of local people there.

They 'changed' the name. It was the 1 up and 2 up but the guys who own both spots found that people didn't realize both spots were owned by the same people so they re-branded a bit.

Now it's the 1up LoDo (The 1up) and the 1-up Colfax (The 2-up)

Edit: Tomorrow the format is really cool. Groups of 4 will start playing every 20 minutes from 11am until 9pm that night. I think they are closed to the public until 3pm tomorrow (just the players) and then a 3, people can play anything but the 9 games we are using for the rounds. I'll be teeing off at 1240.

Very cool. Yea well be out there tomorrow to play a bit and check it out. I saw they have baby pac in the video you posted. Always wanted to try it out even though I hear its really tough. Good luck on your rounds.

 

[samman6]

I have been to all 3 of those places in Lyons and Denver, and all of them are excellent arcades, even for non pinball games, anyone who lives close should go. I wish I was still living in that area, damn, I will be playing pinball arcade this weekend in honor of this.

 

[HyperZone<3]

yeah, this is pretty cool.

good luck, and thanks for letting me know of another place that I really must visit.

 

[BobTheFork]

I have been to all 3 of those places in Lyons and Denver, and all of them are excellent arcades, even for non pinball games, anyone who lives close should go. I wish I was still living in that area, damn, I will be playing pinball arcade this weekend in honor of this.

Yeah I should point that out; Both 1up locations are great arcades in general. They have far more arcade games than pinball, but they still have a ton of great pins. Lyons has arcade games to, but they are next door at Oscar Blues Brewery.

 

[Shaneus]

Oh boy, what a grueling schedule. Woe is you, having to play all that pinball all day!

Spoiler

So jealous of people who don't have to fly 13,000km to partake in that sort of stuff

I'll be watching the streams as much as possible, for as long as possible. Shame the free Twitch app for 360 won't be available, will have to do the PC-TV thing.

Good luck!

PS. I created a thread for PAPA finals last year. If you like, feel free to borrow any of the content in the OP for this thread You may want to throw in a link for PAPA.tv, because I'd wager they're streaming the hell out of it.

 

[nicoga3000]

This seems rad. If I had the opportunity to compete in something like this, I totally would. Good luck man!

 

[Shaneus]

Have you played in any tournaments at all, nicoga? Even the smaller ones provide invaluable experience as far as how tournaments feel, the vibe and just how hard it is to control nerves. Almost all of my lowest scores on the machines I regularly play on have been in competition. Outside of comps, I normally do quite well.

The psychological side of a pinball comp fascinates the hell out of me. But dem nerves, though

Edit: Here's a "preview" of the 2012 IFPA finals, with Mark from Classic Game Room and Josh Sharpe, head of the International Flipper Pinball Association.

 

[BobTheFork]

Ok, I'm leaving to play my round.
I'll post some info about it when I get back.

 

[BobTheFork]

What a day!

Not really any picture to post; you played your round with your group and that's it. I didn't see many of the other players during that time.

Good news is a THINK I'll get in. I shot 33 (1 under par) for the day. I did however get a hole in one on the first hole! So I win any tie break I get stuck in. I really could have done better to. Several games I was set up to win on 1-2 balls and I drained out trying to hit the one shot I need

Here are the scores so far, they will get updated until late tonight.

http://www.lefkoff.com/lyons_spring_classic/results.htm

 

[Clydefrog]

cool update keep it up, man! GO BOBTHEFORK

 

[BobTheFork]

The final scores just got posted and I made it in!

I got 40th place out of 64 but hey it counts.


I'll have to play Jason Werdrick (#19 in the world), so we'll see how that goes.

It's 2 of out three game. He picks first, then the loser picks next game. I'm not sure what I would pick to play him on. I can always pick one of the older EM games. I have better results on older machines.

There is going to be a massive crowd there tomorrow.

 

[MikeDip]

The final scores just got posted and I made it in!

I got 40th place out of 64 but hey it counts.


I'll have to play Jason Werdrick (#19 in the world), so we'll see how that goes.

It's 2 of out three game. He picks first, then the loser picks next game. I'm not sure what I would pick to play him on. I can always pick one of the older EM games. I have better results on older machines.

There is going to be a massive crowd there tomorrow.

Congrats!!
Break a leg (or whatever the pinball equivalent is).

 

[baphomet]

I was out there today. Unfortunately the downstairs was closed off for the tournament. I did finally get to play some baby pacman and that shit was just as hard as everyone says.

Also I've never seen that massive Hercules machine before. It was pretty generic other than being huge.

Ate some really good BBQ next door at the brewery as well.

Probably go to 1up on wed to check that out as well.

 

[Sillution]

The final scores just got posted and I made it in!

I got 40th place out of 64 but hey it counts.


I'll have to play Jason Werdrick (#19 in the world), so we'll see how that goes.

It's 2 of out three game. He picks first, then the loser picks next game. I'm not sure what I would pick to play him on. I can always pick one of the older EM games. I have better results on older machines.

There is going to be a massive crowd there tomorrow.

Best of luck to you!

I'm terrible at pinball, but I sure do love it.

 

[BobTheFork]

I was out there today. Unfortunately the downstairs was closed off for the tournament. I did finally get to play some baby pacman and that shit was just as hard as everyone says.

Also I've never seen that massive Hercules machine before. It was pretty generic other than being huge.

Ate some really good BBQ next door at the brewery as well.

Probably go to 1up on wed to check that out as well.

Glad you same out. I was done and hanging out at the front around 3-5pm today. If you saw a guy in a big coat and I cubs hat, that was me.

 

[baphomet]

Glad you same out. I was done and hanging out at the front around 3-5pm today. If you saw a guy in a big coat and I cubs hat, that was me.

That's probably around the time I was there. Blue button up shirt, big earrings, and Mexican girlfriend. I'm pretty sure I saw you there.

 

[Shaneus]

Well done on the qualifying, Bob! We should totally compare IFPA pages so everyone can see just how much better you are (and how few local tournaments there are for me :/ ).
Here's mine:
http://www.ifpapinball.com/player.php?player_id=20983

Werdrick will be a tough nut to crack, he's played some stellar pinball on the streams that I've watched. But on any day, anyone can have a good or bad one. Former for you, latter for him... here's hoping

 

[BobTheFork]

Well done on the qualifying, Bob! We should totally compare IFPA pages so everyone can see just how much better you are (and how few local tournaments there are for me :/ ).
Here's mine:
http://www.ifpapinball.com/player.php?player_id=20983

Werdrick will be a tough nut to crack, he's played some stellar pinball on the streams that I've watched. But on any day, anyone can have a good or bad one. Former for you, latter for him... here's hoping

http://www.ifpapinball.com/player.php?player_id=12388

Here is mine. I made it up to about 250 last year but I've dropped. If they ever put up the points for that mustang tournament, I'll move up again.

 

[Shaneus]

You bastard. I'm stupid jealous of the amount (and quality) of stuff you've been to. I need to move to the US.

 

[BobTheFork]

Sorry for no updates over the weekend but I stayed up in Lyons over night. I only one 1 of my matches and lost the other two so I was out much sooner than I wanted to be.

It was a great weekend and it's still going. I got home last night so I'm not sure who ended up winning and getting the IFPA spot. I'll find out in a bit. There is a tournament at the ! up in about 3 hours. I'll snap some shots down there and see what's going on. This tournament is more for fun and points but there should be lots of people and money up for grabs.

 

[BobTheFork]

Update

So to fill the week, they are having several huge tournaments in the area. Today it was at the 1-up in Lodo. 65 people were there and it took a long-ass time.

After flailing this weekend, I had a great night. I got 5th overall, which is amazing considering the people playing. What gets me though is that if I'm one spot out of the money lol. I would have gotten lots for just 4th place. But, I'll get tons of points for this and I played really well.

I had a few bad games early but I had some huge wins on Lord of the Rings and Adams Family. There will be another one tomorrow at Pinball Jones in Fort Collins. I don't know if I'll make it up there tomorrow, but there will be another tourney at the 1-up Colfax on Wednesday.

A few pics. Sorry for the blurry ones. I couldn't use the flash.

The last pic is from an amazing game of Tron. He got 225 mill on just his first ball

 

[Clydefrog]

damnit, I want to play that South Park one

 

[DemurOnion]

Looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Shaneus]

South Park isn't a great one, but it's far from bottom-tier and definitely fun (even if for a short while).

FYI, the Pinball Arcade OT is basically the de facto thread for everything pinball, not just Pinball Arcade. Drop in there and say "hi"