DE PERE, Wis. (WBAY) – Eighty of the world's top pinball wizards, representing 20 countries, are coming to De Pere for the 21st annual IFPA World Pinball Championship.
The International Flipper Pinball Association bills it as “the ultimate test of endurance, stamina, hand-and-eye coordination, and concentration.â€
IFPA World Pinball Championship
The tournament runs June 5-7 at the District 82 Pinball Arcade, 800 O'Keefe Rd. Last year's tournament was held in Austria.
Competitors play on the newest LCD and dot-matrix pinball machines as well as memorable electromechanical classics — all with one thing in common: a 2.6 ounce silver ball.
The competition begins in earnest Friday morning. The top 32 scorers from the first round will be entered in a seeded bracket for single-elimination games. The champion will be crowned Sunday at 3 p.m. The complete schedule is on the IFPA website.
District 82 says the tournament is closed to the public but will be livestreamed by Fox Cities Pinball Steam on Twitch.
‘The Pinball Ryder Cup'
Thursday night, before the world tournament begins, Team USA and Team Europe will a battle for the 12th IFPA Epstein Cup.
Eight of the best pinball players in the U.S. will defend their possession of the “The Pinball Ryder Cup†against eight of Europe's best in the competition from 8 to 10 p.m.
The Epstein Cup is named for Steven Epstein, the late co-founder of the IFPA, who was one of the preeminent pinball players.
The world's best
The IFPA is the world's leading pinball tournament governing body. Qualifiers are determined by the official IFPA World Pinball Player Rankings.
Players qualified for this tournament by competing throughout the year.
The IFPA has over 150,000 ranked players around the world, competing in over 14,000 leagues.
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