Split Flipper Tournaments

Events
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I’m beginning work on plans for a split flipper tournament in 2018. I’ve only played in one and had a great time but wanted to get some feedback from others who have played or hosted this format on what you like best to help my planning.

The one I played in was a 3-strikes knockout and machines were 3 or 5 balls and required players switch sides each new ball. What other details are good to plan for in a split flipper tournament? If you’ve run one, did you require co-ed teams, or have a minimum combined WPPR rating to try to even out the groups? Do you require people register as a team or match people up if they show up solo?

I’ll probably want to run a set number of rounds of match play for this event rather than a knockout but I want to make sure I take advantage of any innovations people have implemented out there when running split flipper events. I know this won’t be for WPPRs so I want to maximize the fun! Thank you for the help!

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The couple I’ve ran I just did random teammates. Can’t do this for WPPRs so I’d concentrate on getting people paired up with people they don’t know.

I say make them play same side for each game. They can change sides each game start, but not during the game.

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My local league does one of these at the end of the season. They pair up people based on seeding (low seed to high seed, second low to second high, etc.) and the seeding is based on performance in the league season. Players choose whichever side they want but stay on that side for the whole game. It’s one of my favorite tournaments period. The team play element adds something new to pinball and you end up having a bond with your partner over the course of the night, with lots of pep talking each other, high fives, etc.

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Oh, and I forgot to mention, we most often use a round robin format.

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