The first year for Illinois Zach and were the only two guys that were able to attend Nationals.
Going in it was intense knowing we had to reach the Championship match to earn our spot . . . we finished 3rd and 4th respectively and Illinois had no representation that first year 
The bracket was updated per Josh/IFPA: Alabama dropped out. Iâll keep it updated and try to post the update details here.
Update now that youâre out?
Wound, meet salt.
I gave Josh the login info for the account I used to create the bracket. He can give this info to anyone who wants to keep the bracket updated.
I havenât removed myself yet because Iâm still attempting to fly standby and get there. There are exactly 4 non-canceled flights that might work, all scheduled between 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm today. Small silver lining if and when it doesnât work out is that the airport is 3 minutes from the Pinball Co-op, and Team Pingolf League is tonight.
The bracket should be updated by late tonight one way or the other.
i hope you make it!
Thanks.
Do you believe in somewhat unlikely outcomes?
I came to the airport today to try to fly standby, but they were able to book me on an actual flight. Assuming my connection works and neither flight is delayed too much or canceled, Iâm going to Dallas and Iâll be there late tonight!
My first flight to Newark got canceled after getting delayed a bunch of times. The earliest I can re-book is mid-Friday. So Iâm staying home after all. Sorry everybody, especially to the 13 people who liked the last update. 
Josh is re-doing the bracket using the IFPA account so it can get linked to their web site. Stay tuned for details.
Anyone know what stream this is going to be on yet? Link?
Just drove by the site and the road was under major construction. Lanes closed on their side, traffic being routed into one lane each direction on opposite side lanes. Very slow and congested ⌠last half mile took 11 minutes. Allow extra time if itâs still like this tomorrow. Also not sure best way to get into back parking lot under the circumstances.
I can understand the motivation for the âTop 2 Onlyâ rule, but Iâm personally not a fan due to the impact it can have on players during the SC tournaments.
IMO, any given competitive pinball event should be structured as to maximize playersâ motivation to win or to place as highly as possible. However, the âTop 2â rule places a unique shadow over any player approaching the top ~4 that is not 100% sure that they would be able to attend the national event.
Do you continue to play your best knowing that you may end up essentially killing a spot in the nationals that someone else (probably a friend given that itâs the SCS) would have been able to fill? Or maybe a trip to nationals isnât really in your budget but you end up going anyway because you feel pressured to take advantage of a opportunity that would be otherwise lost to all. I feel like that any rule that puts players into situations like that is fundamentally problematic.
This very dilemma was under active discussion throughout most of Ohioâs SCS event and I think it sucks for anyone who ends up in that position.
I wouldnât play in the SCS unless I fully intended to attend nationals should I get lucky enough to win.
Things always come up last minute, but yeah.
So youâre saying people should willingly give up the opportunity to be crowned the best player in their state if they donât have the free time or money to be able to travel to a national competition?
That seems like something I donât agree with. I think âseriousâ competitive pinball is already significantly financially prohibitive. Obviously at the lower levels this isnât really the case, but for top 100 players youâre basically forced to travel around the country and if someone canât make that work, the response is âoh well thatâs too bad, guess weâll never know if theyâre that goodâ. I donât really think thereâs much to be done about that given the current state of pinball, but why further discourage time/money restricted people from giving their all to be the best in their state?
I shouldnât try my best because someone else has more money than me and the rules are shitty? No thanks.
EDIT: Spelling.
No Iâm not saying that people should do anything. Iâm just saying what I would do. I know the rules of the tournament before agreeing to play. I would just feel bad if I played knowing the rules and also know that I couldnât play in nationals, then get second and have 1st place back out of nationals and Iâm the reason why 3rd place canât go.
Iâm not saying I agree with how itâs set up currently just that I understand what the rules are and that could lead to me choosing not to play in my stateâs SCS.
I want to win KYâs SCS more than any other tournament I play in. Almost all of that drive is to be able to go to nationals and represent my state. Again, Iâm just speaking for myself though.
Okay, sorry I kinda jumped down your throat. It just frustrates me when it seems like some people think itâs a motivation issue or something like that as the reason a lot of people donât end up traveling around.
But I wouldnât feel bad if I won states and stopped someone else from going. Play better. Thatâs kinda the end of the story for me I guess.
Itâs cool and I totally get what your saying. Iâm lucky enough to be able to drop everything to travel to something like nationals so it sucks that someone wouldnât be able to go because of the money factor alone.
I also canât get too mad at how the SCS rules work because if they were different I wouldnât have even been able to play in the KY SCS the past two years. Haha