Is there a way to see the stats of the top 25 events for WPPRS over the past 3 years so i can see what it takes to be considered for a circuit event?
Thanks!
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According to this, there is no Louisville Arcade Expo tournament this year. Does anyone know if that is true?
I am not sure why it’s not a circuit event, but that is my understanding yes. No circuit event this year. They asked me to run the tournaments, but I don’t have time.
Whether there will be tournaments at all, I’m not sure.
That’s a bummer, one of the only SPC tourneys that was sort of driving distance for me. (5.5 hours each way.) Hopefully Cactus Jack’s makes the cut again this year. Such a fun event.
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Yeah this and Cleveland are the two closest to me. Well pinburgh is not a terrible drive either.
I’m going to try and make some of the other ones in 2019. Jacks, sanctum, city champ, etc.
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I am on board for TPF this year. I guess I will shoot for ClePin and maybe Expo as well.
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At the end of August we reached out to all SPC event Tournament Directors to make a commitment to have their 2019 event included in the SPC should the event qualify. The deadline for responding was September 30th.
Every TD from those 20 events responded back about inclusion, including the TD’s from LAX (which I believe was the PAPA crew).
Last week the TD’s from the 20 SPC events for the 2019 season received notice of their inclusion on the tour. We’ll make a more formal announcement soon, but with some of the events happening in under 30 days we wanted to get this process finalized so those events could advertise appropriately.
With that said . . . here’s the SPC events for the 2019 season:
No. Name Location
1 Pinburgh Pittsburgh, PA
2 INDISC Banning, California
3 Pinball Expo Flip Out Tournament Wheeling, IL
4 Cleveland Pinball & Arcade Show Independence, OH
5 Pittsburgh Pinball Open Pittsburgh, PA
6 IFPA Pin-Masters Las Vegas, NV
7 Danish Pinball Open København, Denmark
8 24 Hour Final Battle at the Sanctum Meriden, CT
9 City Champ San Francisco, CA
10 Texas Pinball Festival Frisco, TX
11 Vancouver Flipout Vancouver, BC, Canada
12 NW Pinball Championships Lynnwood, WA
13 OBX Flippers Fall Tournament Grandy, NC
14 Free Play Florida Orlando, FL
15 PinFest IFPA Tournament Allentown, PA
16 German Pinball Open MĂĽnchen, Germany
17 Silverball Rumble at Pintastic New England Sturbridge, MA
18 MagFest Oxon Hill, MD
19 Pinball at the 'Zoo Kalamazoo, MI
20 Austrian Pinball Open Badendorf, Austria
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Thanks for the updated list Josh. Looks like some major plan changes this year for me.
Be prepared to come to Delaware in 2020!
Which event do you hope to make the circuit? What will be your target 3 year WPPR average to hopefully get in?
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Of these I’ve chosen 5 I’d like to attend in 2019:
Pinburgh
PPO
City champ
Sanctum
CLE PIN
Pinball at the zoo is when I already have a vacation planned. Bummer.
I think if I can make it to at least 5, I’ll get a good idea if I can hang with the big kids. Haha
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Unfortunately being a newb to all of this I don’t really know what you are asking me 
We added a 24 hour event for 2019, and in 2020 we are toying with the idea of hosting a fall/winter pinball show with a tournament onsite.
I could be totally wrong, but I think the requirements are that to be in the stern pro circuit you need to be in the top 15 of all tournaments held during the year (WPPRs awarded).
Then the next best 5, drop off in favor of the next 5.
This WPPR value is based off a three year average so the event needs to be around for 3 years before consideration.
Is that right @pinwizj ??
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If you’re already on the tour for a given season, you need to be in the top 15 of those 20 to stay on.
If you’re NOT on the tour for the season in question, then you need to be in the top 5 of all events interested in applying for inclusion to the SPC.
The value we use is that WPPR 3-year average, so you’ll see on the spreadsheet where we track those values, certain events that are marked “not eligible” because the event hasn’t been held for 3 years up to that point.
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So if in 2018, you were event 1-15, you’re good for 2019.
Then after that it’s the top 5 of the remaining events that are invited?
So spots 16-20 aren’t necessarily up for grabs if they are the top 5 events outside of the locked in 15?
Unfortunately, no. CJ’s was the lowest of the 20 in 2018, so it had no chance to make it again for 2019.
@pinwizj: I suggest you rewrite the rules for Circuit selection based on what you did for 2019 (which I think makes sense – current-year circuit tourneys that declined participation in the next year were included in the 5 dropped tourneys, so it ended up only being the lowest 2 events that got dropped per the WPPR value rule).
Current language:
“The top 15 PAPA Circuit events held in 2017 with the highest average WPPR point value over the past 3 years will be invited to be on the Stern Pro Circuit for the following season. The lowest 5 events based on average WPPR point value will be dropped from the Stern Pro Circuit the following season, and replaced with the next biggest 5 events. Tournament Directors are welcome to pass on having their event included in the Stern Pro Circuit, in which case the next largest event will be selected until the schedule is filled.”
- Replace PAPA. Replace 2017 with the dynamic year reference so you don’t have to change it every year.
- The language above suggests that the lowest 5 events get dropped regardless of whether any Top 15 events decline next year’s participation, leaving it vague as to whether more than 5 “new” events would get added in the case when a current event declines participation.
Suggested rewrite:
“The top 15 Stern Pro Circuit events held in the current year’s Circuit with the highest average first place WPPR point value over the past 3 years will be invited to be on the SPC for the following season. Tournament Directors are welcome to decline their event’s inclusion in the SPC, in which case the next highest current year event will be selected (based on the same criteria above) until the top 15 events are filled. Five events will be dropped from the SPC for the following season, comprised of any events that decline participation and those current year events that have the lowest WPPR values (based on the same criteria). These 5 events will be replaced with the next biggest 5 events (using the same WPPR criteria) that were not part of the current year’s SPC and desire to be included in the following season. Should more than 5 current year events decline participation for the following season, then a corresponding number of next biggest events will be included for the following season.”
Correct . . . 5 events that were on the 2018 tour are guaranteed to NOT be on the 2019 tour.
As Colin mentioned, this is a combination of the lowest WPPR average events as well as any events that declined their invitation to be included in the 2019 tour season.
But for 2019. Whatever events are ranked 16-20. Do they have a shot to come back in 2020?
Absolutely. They will move to the bottom portion of the tracking spreadsheet. They would fall into this category:
If you’re NOT on the tour for the season in question, then you need to be in the top 5 of all events interested in applying for inclusion to the SPC.