We are excited to announce the sixth annual Starfighters Pinball Festival (SPF26) will be January 8-11, 2026! Main event tickets go on sale September 27, 10am Pacific time.
Updates for 2026: Main Division A increased to 40 finalists and C to 16 finalists. Main format is updated to qualifying on Friday followed by finals on Saturday. Classics and Women’s qualifying will continue through Saturday evening and finals will be on Sunday. Classics additionally will now have 40 finalists.
This festival of tournaments includes 5 opportunities for IFPA-sanctioned events from Thursday, January 8–Sunday, January 11, 2026, in Mesa, AZ including three certified events!
- Main certified plus tournament Friday–Saturday, January 9-10, 160 players maximum. Group matchplay qualifying Friday, Finals Saturday. New for 2026, all players will play 21 games across 7 tiered swiss rounds to determine finalists. The 2026 event will have 24 more finalists than 2025, and all finalists receive cash prizes! Entry fee is $150 per player, registration opens Saturday, September 27, 10 am Pacific at www.starfightersarcade.com.
- Classics certified (potential for certified plus if 128 rated players participate) tournament, Thursday evening to Sunday, January 8-11. Unlimited qualifying on a bank of 15 classic games, best 10 games count, top 40 finals Sunday (increase from 32 finalists in 2025). Classics Finals is concurrent with Women’s finals - players qualifying for both will play concurrently. Entries $3 each, 4 for $10 or 10 for $20.
- Women’s certified (with min. 48 players participating) best game tournament, Thursday evening–Sunday January 8-11. Unlimited qualifying on a bank of 9 games, best 6 games count, top 24 in finals (top 16 in finals if fewer than 48 players). Finals Sunday concurrent with Classics—players qualifying for both finals will play concurrently. Entries $3 each, 4 for $10 or 10 for $20.
- Max Match Play tournament, Thursday, January 8. 10 matches followed by top 16 group elimination finals with one game per round, 120 max players, $20 per player. Tournament will be held on the Main bank of games.
- Sunday Strikes tournament, Sunday, January 11, 5 fair strikes. $20 per player, held concurrently with Classics and Women’s finals.
Full draft rules will be posted on the website prior to main tickets on sale date and will be marked final in December after IFPA confirms all WPPR rule changes for 2026. www.starfightersarcade.com. Follow along on social media at Starfighters Pinball Festival.