Information about the World Pinball Player Rankings

The World Pinball Player Rankings, created by the International Flipper Pinball Association are issued the first day of each month, following the completion of the previous month's tournaments from around the world. At the end of the calendar year, the player with the most WPPR points will be crowned the World's Greatest Pinball Player for that particular year.

All officially endorsed events are taken into account and points are awarded according to the players finishing positions. The points awarded are generally related to the strength of the field based on the number and ranking of the Top-50 World Ranked players. However, 6 Major Championships (3 in the US and 3 internationally) are rated separately to reflect the higher quality of the events. The current Major Championships in the US are IFPA, PAPA and California Extreme. The current Major Championships internationally are the European Pinball Championships, Dutch Pinball Open and the Stockholm Pinball Open.

The World Pinball Player Rankings points for each player are accumulated over a three year 'rolling' period with the points awarded in the most recent year worth full value ranking points will then decline in year intervals (75% after 1 year, 50% after 2 years and eliminated altogether after 3 years). Although players earn points at all events, the offical rankings are based on each player's best 15 events over the last 3 years.

All non-major endorsed tournaments start with a base value of WPPR points available.

This base value consists of the following:
  1st place - 25 WPPR points
  2nd place - 15 WPPR points
  3rd place - 10 WPPR points
  4th place - 5 WPPR points

A majority of tournaments have a qualifying round. Players that advance through this qualifying round will receive 1 WPPR point. They will receive an additional 1/2 WPPR point for each round advanced in the finals. For those tournaments without explicit rounds of play, the IFPA recognizes a round of play every time half the field is eliminated, such as 16 to 8 players, 8 to 4, etc. In addition, players that finish in the top 50% of the field, but fail to qualify for the finals of that event will receive 1/2 a WPPR point (NOTE: The top 50% only qualifies for events that can provide a final standings that includes all entrants to the IFPA). Participants that finish in the bottom 50% of the field will receive 1/4 a WPPR point.

Often times an event will offer side tournaments to accompany the main one. This is most often in the form of a Classic's Division, but can be other formats which must also be endorsed by the IFPA to be included in the rankings. These side tournaments are given 50% weight compared to the main tournament at the same event.

These base values are adjusted based on the number of times per year the event is played, and on the strength of the field that played in the event. For example, a tournament held twice a year is divided by 2, while monthly tournaments are divided by 12.

The strength of the field at any given event is used to calculate the Tournament Value Adjustment (TVA). The TVA is based on the number of Top 10 and Top 50 players that participate at any particular tournament. The current month's WPPR standings are used to determine those TVA values for that month (March 1st, 2007 rankings will be used for all March 2007 tournaments). For any player ranked in the Top 10 that participates in a tournament, 2 TVA points will be factored into the calculation. Any player ranked 11th through 50th will add 1 TVA point to the calculation. The TVA will increase these base values for the tournament (up to 160% of the Base Value which is 40 WPPR points for the winner.)

TVA Breakdown:
  4 TVA Points = 105% X Base Value
  5 TVA Points = 110% X Base Value
  6 TVA Points = 115% X Base Value
  7 TVA Points = 120% X Base Value
  8 TVA Points = 125% X Base Value
  9 TVA Points = 130% X Base Value
  10 TVA Points = 135% X Base Value
  11 TVA Points = 140% X Base Value
  12 TVA Points = 145% X Base Value
  13 TVA Points = 150% X Base Value
  14 TVA Points = 155% X Base Value
  15 TVA Points = 160% X Base Value

There are some exceptions where tournaments will not follow this base value format. This includes all the Major Championships, PinBrawl and side tournaments that include a doubles or team event.

Unlike the non-major events, players accumulate points from qualifying and advancing through rounds of play instead of simply being awarded points for where they end up. Qualifying in these events are worth 2 WPPR points, with players earning an additional 1 WPPR point for each round they advance through the tournament. Those players that finish in the top 50% but do not qualify will receive 1 WPPR point. For those tournaments without explicit rounds of the play, the IFPA recognizes a round of play every time half the field is eliminated (16 to 8 players, 8 to 4 players). In addition, the top 4 places will earn an additional 50, 30, 20 and 10 WPPR points accordingly.

Pinball Expo Flip-Out qualifiers will receive 4 WPPR points, with players earning an additional 2 WPPR points for each round they advance through the tournament. This is due to the limited number of qualifying spots available at this Major Championship. In addition, the top 4 places will earn an additional 50, 30, 20 and 10 WPPR points accordingly.

PAPA qualifiers will receive 8 WPPR points, with players earning an additional 4 WPPR points for each round they advance through the tournament. This is due not only to PAPA's lucrative prize package, but also the fact that many of the best US and International players show up to the event. In addition, the top qualifier will earn 10 WPPR points, and the top 4 places will earn an additional 100, 60, 40 and 20 WPPR points accordingly.

PinBrawl and other events that are team oriented can be counted in the WPPR if the format allows for the IFPA to determine individual performance at these events. Those team events that incorporate the '7-5-3-1' point structure in their match play makes this tracking of individual performance possible. These .MVP Points. as used in PinBrawl, are accumulated over the course of a tournament and then a percentage of those points (20% in PinBrawl) is used to calculate the WPPR point total. Additional points at PinBrawl are rewarded for teams that finish in 1st place.

The IFPA has the right to grant exceptions to this base value calculation should a tournament's format dictate that an alternative point structure more accurately represents that tournaments value.

It is important to remember that the IFPA only recognizes Open divisions of play to be included in the World Pinball Player Rankings. If certain players are prohibited from playing in a certain division, those results will not be counted. This includes B-divisions, Novice divisions, Women's divisions, etc.

The World Pinball Player Rankings system is constantly evolving, any changes that are applied to the system will be annouced on the main page.