Northwest Pinball Championships 2023

[hisokajp]

Last year return of our event following the long COVID break was a smashing success! We had more players than ever had in our 15 years of events and an amazing support from our sponsors.

This year we are running TWO MASSIVE IFPA CERTIFIED+ events (potential 300% total value), part of 5 total IFPA events across the weekend.

We also continue to be part of the Stern Pro Circuit
https://sternpinball.com/stern-pro-circuit/

2023 updated changes:
New schedule for events, please refer to the website scheduling page for latest details.
MORE FINALIST for the OPEN event with TOP 40 making the finals.
MORE FINALIST for the CLASSIC event with TOP 24 making the finals.
HIGH STAKE event is now limited to 80 players to TOP 8 making finals.

Details:
NW Pinball Championships 2023
September 8th to 10th (Qualifying Fri noon-midnight / Sat 10am-midnight, Finals Saturday for Women’s and Classic, Sunday for Open and High stake tournaments)

Registration (limited to 140 players max) will open on 6/8 at Noon PST on the website.

100% of the tournament tickets/cards money is paid back to the players as prizes, topped with generous contributions from our sponsors. Over $28,000 was paid out in prize last year (including trophies)!

We are continuing to receive great feedback about our new venue of the past 3 events and we are happy to announce we will be returning to the Lynnwood Bowl & Skate for 2023!

More at http://www.nwpinballchamps.com/

We take great pride in having an extremely dialed and enjoyable lineup and overall providing a world-class tournament experience.

The OPEN division qualifying will continue with the “card of 5 games” format this year, however top TOP 2 cards will now count toward your ranking. The bank will be expanded to 10 games this year.
The CLASSIC tournament qualifier will be “Best game/Herb” format, with all 6 games scores counting, TOP 2 scores on each machine.
The WOMEN’s tournament qualifier will use the same format as the OPEN division, with a “card of 4 games” out of a bank of 5, TOP 2 cards will count.
The HIGH STAKE division will use the same format as the OPEN division, with a “card of 5 games” out of a bank of 5, TOP 2 cards count.
The SUNDAY REVENGE tournament will be a 4 player group Knockout tournament on the Classic bank.

We will be streaming the finals on Saturday and Sunday all day. We will also stream the qualifying on Friday and Saturday (depending on availability). All this thanks for our partnership with GeekGamer.TV

The Northwest Pinball Championships is open to players of all skill levels and ages. It is a multi-day qualifying tournament followed by a day of finals. During qualifying on Friday and Saturday players purchase cards for OPEN/HIGH STAKE (5 games per card), WOMEN (4 games per card) or individual tickets for CLASSICS to play on the tournament machines. Players may purchase as many cards or tickets as they like but there will be lots of opportunities for free tickets (Volunteering, pre-tournaments…).

To help us cover our location rental cost a $30 registration fee which will includes 5 free tickets for the Classics division.

OPEN/AMATEUR division cards (5 games per card) will be 1 for $20.
CLASSICS/AMATEUR division individual tickets (1 game per ticket) will be 1 ticket = $5, 5 tickets = $20, 10 tickets = $35
WOMEN’S division cards (4 games per card) will be 1 for $15.
HIGH STAKE division cards (5 games per card) will be 1 for $40.
The SUNDAY CONSOLATION event will be a Group 3 strike classic revenge tournament, limited to 40 players. $10 sign up, anyone is welcome (registered for NWPC main event or not), registration open at 10:30AM (first come first served), trophy for winner, pay out to top 4.

Combo #1 - 1 Open Cards, 5 Classics entries, and 1 High Stakes Card for $70.
Combo #2 - 2 Open Cards, 15 Classics entries, and 2 High Stakes Card for $150.

Each player’s best score on each machine is tracked in a computer and those scores are ranked against all the other competitor’s scores on that machine. Players then receive an aggregate of their machine rankings (on a card or through all their best individual tickets) to determine their overall qualifying position in their division.

Anyone making it to a final on Sunday will get cash prizes! All top 4 finalist will get trophy/plaques to take home!

There will also be several activities including charity drive, swag raffles and more…!

We will have more announcement in the future as well as the banks line up!

[hisokajp]

Reminder that the registration will open tomorrow (Thursday 6/8) at Noon Pacfic Time, the form on the main page will be as shown below, you can submit up to 2 players per form, limit of 140 players total:

[BMU]

Can you clarify something regarding Classics? One listing shows top 24 for finals; another shows 24 but “includes 8 amateurs”. Will the Primary (not rank restricted) Classics playoffs be 16 or 24 players? And if there’s now an amateur or “B” playoffs for Classics, what’s the cutoff criteria?

[hisokajp]

Top 24 finalist for classic + 8 amateurs, i think i saw where the old language was, and it should be updated now.

[hisokajp]

Get ready to flip, nudge, and tilt, because the much-awaited Northwest Pinball Championships are back for 2023, and this time, it’s bigger (with 140 players registered) and better than ever before! Prepare for an electrifying showdown of skill, precision, and a whole lot of competition as pinheads from across the country fight for the win.

Event Date: September 8th through 10th
Event Time: Noon-Midnight on Friday, 10 AM-Midnight on Saturday and 8:30 AM to 10 PM on Sunday (Full schedule https://www.nwpinballchamps.com/schedule-1)
Location: Lynnwood Bowl & Skate, 6210 200th Street Southwest Lynnwood, WA

Machine line up:
Open (10):
Alien Poker
Black Knight Sword of Rage (Pro)
Black Rose
Congo
Excalibur
Foo Fighters (Premium)
Hoops
Dialed In!
James Bond 60th
Mystery Castle

Women/High Stake (6):
Beatles
Demolition
Iron Man
Meteor
Prospector (EM)
Rush (Pro)

Classic/Revenge knockout (6):
Flash
Hot Tip (EM)
Mata Hari
Outer Space (EM)
Stars
Viking

Free Play (2):
Nine Ball
Gold Wings

Can’t make it in person? No worries! GeekGamerTV is your virtual front-row seat to all the action. We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be streaming the entire Northwest Pinball Championships live on Twitch once again (https://www.twitch.tv/geekgamertv). Whether you’re a pinball enthusiast, a casual player, or just someone looking for some high-stakes entertainment, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

Northwest Pinball Championships

[GeekGamerTV]

Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to pass along the schedule for the biggest pinball tournament in the northwest!

See you all this week!

[hisokajp]

Thank You for Your Incredible Support at the Northwest Pinball Championships 2023!

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals and players who made the Northwest Pinball Championships 2023 possible. Your unwavering support and trust in our event are what make it thrive!

This year’s OPEN tournament boasted 135 players, marking a remarkable 13% growth compared to our 2022 event. Meanwhile, our Women and CLASSIC competitions maintained their popularity, with participation levels matching those of 2022. The CLASSIC competition, in particular, pushed the limits of our back room with its 12 machines, which are already operating at maximum capacity.

The HIGH STAKES competition saw an uptick in interest, reaching its cap of 80 players on Saturday due to its new format, limited to the top 8 finalists. The Revenger Sunday Classic tournament also saw enthusiastic participation, with 40 players vying for prizes, WPPRs (World Pinball Player Rankings points), and a coveted trophy.

We extend special thanks to both our local supporters from the greater Seattle area and participants from Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, California, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Alberta, and more.

This year’s event recorded nearly 700 card entries, resulting in a staggering 3,480 games played in the OPEN tournament. The Classic bank witnessed almost 2,200 games played, with the Women’s division reaching around 600 games and the High Stakes bank totaling approximately 1,370 games played. In sum, an astounding 7,650 games of pinball were played during qualifying, marking a more than 10% increase from 2022, translating to over 3.8 games per minute from Friday to Sunday!

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the growth in attendance, we awarded cash prizes totaling over $35,000 this year—a 40% increase from last year. We also added over $6,000 to augment the prize pool after covering expenses such as trophies, plaques, rent, and moving costs.

We eagerly welcome your feedback and comments to improve this event year after year. You can reach us at info@nwpinballchamps.com. Additionally, we’ll be sending anonymous surveys to those interested in providing feedback. Our dedicated volunteers and limited resources drive our efforts, and we hope everyone had a fantastic time!

Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to our INCREDIBLE volunteers, sponsors, and partners. While we can’t list everyone by name, we want to express our gratitude to the core NWPC organizing team, our exceptional pinball moving team, those who manned the registration desk, scorekeepers, software developers, and all last-minute volunteers who stepped in to help.

We’d like to give massive kudos to GeekGamer.TV, who returned for our fourth year and consistently provided professional-quality coverage, improving with each passing year.

We also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to local collectors who loaned us their games for the event—your contributions are invaluable.

A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Lynnwood Bowl and Skate for hosting us this year. We received numerous compliments from players about the location and the staff’s hospitality. It’s hard to imagine running our event anywhere else now. They were exceptionally accommodating with our extended schedule, allowing us to add another final event and return on Monday to clear the space.

The core NWPC team performed exceptionally well this year, with special commendation to Eden Stamm, who played a pivotal role in organizing the event. We’re thrilled to welcome Ashley Weaver and Richie Terry as core team members, with Lonnie Langford and Cayle George continuing to contribute tirelessly.

Last but not least, our sponsors have been instrumental in making this event possible. From local sponsors like 8-bit Arcade, Shorty’s, and Another Castle Arcade Edition: Edmonds, to Premium sponsors including Georgetown Pizza and Arcade in Georgetown, The Ice Box Arcade, Waterland Arcade, Admiral Pub West Seattle, Olaf’s, and Event sponsor Zen Studios, Captains Auction Warehouse, Jersey Jack Pinball, Flip N Out Pinball LLC, CoinTaker Pinball, Comet Pinball, and American Pinball—your support is greatly appreciated. Special mentions go to Stern Pinball, Spooky Pinball LLC, Pinball Life, and Seattle Pinball Services as well!

As we stow away the banner for now, we look forward to seeing you all next year!