WIN A TRIP TO CHICAGO PINBALL EXPO! – Pre-Pinball Expo Flip-Off Tournament – October 6, 7, and 8, 2017

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This rule set was originally posted on this site on August 12th, 2017.
The Tournament Dates are October 6, 7, and 8, 2017.
This rule set may be updated before the tournament starts.
Refer to this page for the current rule set, policies, and payout structure.

tl;dr:

The tournament structure is similar to the last one held in May of this year.
16 Main Division players will win prizes.
- The winner of the Main Division will receive the trip to Pinball Expo.
- 15 other Main Division players will win cash and prizes from the prize pool.
- There will be a 100% payout of the prize pool since there is no charity contribution.
8 B Division players will also win prizes.
The tournament is set to end one hour earlier to give more time to determine and notify the Finalists.

The winner of the tournament will receive The Pinball Expo Prize Package!

The Expo Prize Package includes: Paid admission for total access to Pinball Expo 2017 with Banquet, Paid admission to the Pinball Expo Flip-Out Tournament, $300.00 toward flight accommodations to Chicago and $400.00 toward your hotel stay at the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel.

The following is the rule set for the:

Pre-Expo Flip-Off Tournament
Morristown Game Vault
22 South St., Morristown, NJ
October 6, 7, 8, 2017

Morristown Game Vault Spring Fling Tournament Rules

Entry:

Admission into the Morristown Game Vault will cost $15.00 per tournament player.
- At the time of admission, a player must purchase additional entries.
  - Entries will cost $5.00 for 3 tickets or $10.00 for 7 tickets.
- A player who is ready to begin a tournament game will hand a ticket to a scorekeeper before starting play.
- Competitors may purchase additional tickets and enter as many times as they wish for the qualification period.
- Qualification closes and all games must be played by 11:00 PM on Saturday October 7th.
- The tournament is set to end one hour earlier to give more time to determine and notify the Finalists.

Qualifying:

There will be 10 games available during the qualification period

Ghostbusters
Metallica
Gorgar
Star Trek (Bally)
Pin*Bot
Time Machine
Space Shuttle
Earthshaker
Amigo
FunHouse
The Simpsons (Backup Game)

Games are subject to change before the start of the tournament

Main Division
- To qualify for the Main Division finals, a player must get a score ranked in the top four*** on any of the 10 games.
  - If a player gets a top-four*** score on multiple games, the highest ranked score will count.
    - For example: If a player gets a first place score on Ghostbusters and a second place score on Metallica, the first place score on Ghostbusters will count.
  - If a player gets top-four*** scores on multiple games of the same rank, one of them will be randomly selected as the qualifying score.
    - For example: If a player gets first place scores on Gorgar, Space Shuttle and Earthshaker, one of these scores will be randomly selected as the player’s qualifying score.
  - The other scores achieved by that same player in other games will be skipped, and players below will move up to fill that spot.
    - For example, the fifth ranked score on a game in this situation would now be the fourth ranked score and so on.
  - 40 players or the top 50% (whichever is less) will qualify for the final round.
    - The seeding for this tournament will use the Unlimited Best Game qualifying format.
    - All 10 games will count toward the Best-Game standings
      - PLAY AS MANY OF THE GAMES AS POSSIBLE TO GET THE BEST SEED THAT YOU CAN!
      - The most qualifying points you can score to determine your seed is 1000 points!
      - PLAY ALL OF THE GAMES TO GET THE BEST SEED THAT YOU CAN!
      - PLAY ALL OF THE GAMES!
    - On each game, scores will be ranked.
      - 100 points for a first place score, 90 points for a second place score, 85 points for a third place score, 84 for a fourth place score, then 83, 82, 81, and so on down to 0 points for fifth place and below.
        Seeding for the first round of Finals will be determined by the total points earned on all games in the qualifying period.
  - *** If less than 80 total players participate in qualifying, the amount of qualifiers will need to be lowered to accommodate the IFPA 50% qualifying rule.
    - If between 60 and 79 total players participate, the top 3 scores on each game will qualify so that 30 players advance to the Finals.
    - If between 40 and 59 total players participate, the top 2 scores on each game will qualify so that 20 players advance to the Finals.
    - The Finals groups will be adjusted to accommodate this if necessary.
B Division
- In addition to the Main Division qualifiers, ten additional players will qualify for the B Division Finals.
  - The players with the fifth place score on each game will advance to a Best 2-out-of-3, single elimination bracketed finals.
    - *** Depending on the number of qualifiers in the Main Division, the B Division qualifiers may be taken from the 4^th place scores or the 3^rd place scores on each game.

Main Division Finals:

The following example is based on a 40-player Final. The matchups will be adjusted if there are less qualifiers allowed into the Final Rounds.

Round of 40 (opening round, the top eight players receive a bye)

40 qualifiers will advance to the Main Division Finals.
- The players with the top eight seeds will receive a bye for the first round of the Finals.
- The remaining 32 players (seeds #9 through #32) will play in 8 groups of 4 players in PAPA-style finals.

Opening Round – 32 Players (8 byes)
Group 1	#9, #24, #25, #40
Group 2	#10, #23, #26, #39
Group 3	#11, #22, #27, #38
Group 4	#12, #21, #28, #37
Group 5	#13, #20, #29, #36
Group 6	#14, #19, #30, #35
Group 7	#15, #18, #31, #34
Group 8	#16, #17, #32, #33

Players will select game or order based on their seeds from the qualifying round
- The best seed in each group will select first, followed by the next best and so on.
Players will not be allowed to wait for games before making a decision.
Each round will be a 3-game series. For each game:
- 1^st place will receive 4 points.
- 2^nd place will receive 2 points.
- 3^rd place will receive 1 point.
- 4^th place will receive 0 points.
After 3 games, the top 3 players from each group will advance to the next round.
Seeding for the next round will be determined by the amount of points earned in the previous round.
- In cases where players earn the same amount of points, the original qualifying seeds will be used to break ties.

Round of 32 (Top eight seeded players join the finals)

32 players will advance to the next round in 8 groups of 4 players for another PAPA-style round.

Round Two- 32 Players
Group 1	#1, #16, #17, #32
Group 2	#2, #15, #18, #31
Group 3	#3, #14, #19, #30
Group 4	#4, #13, #20, #29
Group 5	#5, #12, #21, #28
Group 6	#6, #11, #22, #27
Group 7	#7, #10, #23, #26
Group 8	#8, #9, #24, #25

The top eight players who received a bye in the opening round will receive seeds #1 through #8.
Seeds #9 through #32 will be determined by the amount of points earned in the previous round.
Players will select game or order based on their seed.
After 3 games, the top 2 players from each group will advance to the next round.

Round of 16

16 players will advance to the next round in 4 groups of 4 players for another PAPA-style round

Quarterfinals – 16 Players
Group 1	#1, #8, #9, #16
Group 2	#2, #7, #10, #15
Group 3	#3, #6, #11, #14
Group 4	#4, #5, #12, #13

Players will select game or order based on their seeds from the previous round
This round will be conducted in the same manner as the previous round
After 3 games, the top 2 players from each group will advance to the next round.

Round of 8

8 players will advance to the next round in 2 groups of 4 players for another PAPA-style round

Semi-Finals – 8 Players
Group 1	#1, #4, #5, #8
Group 2	#2, #3, #6, #7

Players will select game or order based on their seed.
This round will be conducted in the same manner as the previous round.
After 3 games, the top 2 players from each group will advance to the next round.
The four players eliminated in the Semi-Final will be awarded 5^th through 8^th place based on their total points.

Round of 4 – Grand Finals

4 players will advance to a final PAPA-style round
- This round will be conducted in the same manner as the previous round to determine the players in 1^st through 4^th

Main Division Prize Pool

100% of the prize pool and additional prizes will be divided among the Top 32 players in the Main Division.
The top 32 Players will be awarded cash and or prizes based on their finishing position.
- 1^st Place will receive The Expo Prize Package!
  - The Expo Prize Package includes: Paid admission for total access to Pinball Expo 2017 with Banquet, Paid admission to the Pinball Expo Flip-Out Tournament, $300.00 toward flight accommodations to Chicago and $400.00 toward your hotel stay at the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel.
- 2^nd Place will receive 17.5% of the prize pool and a trophy.
- 3^rd Place will receive 12.5% of the prize pool and a trophy.
- 4^th Place will receive 10% of the prize pool and a trophy.
- 5^th – 8^th Places will receive 7.5% of the prize pool and a choice of a translite or a mini WOZ playfield.
- 9^th – 12^th Places will receive 5% of the prize pool and a choice of a translite or a mini WOZ playfield.
- 13^th – 16^th Places will receive 2.5% of the prize pool and a choice of T-Shirts.
- 17^th – 32^nd Places will receive a choice of T-Shirts.

If the winner is unable or unwilling to go to Pinball Expo, they will receive $700.00 in prize money. Second Place will then receive 17.5% of the prize pool and a $400 value for complete entry to Pinball Expo and all tournaments.

B Division Finals

The 10 players who qualify for the B Division Final will play in a best 2-out-of-3, single elimination bracketed series of versus matches.
- Seeds will be determined by the Best-Game standings from the qualifying period.
- In each match, the better seeded player will have the choice of game or play order. The other player will take the remaining choice.
- The loser of the first game will have the choice of game or order for the second game.
- The loser of second game will have the choice of game or order for the third game if necessary.
The Top 6 seeded players who qualify for the B Division Final will receive a bye for the first round. The remaining 4 players will play in the opening round.
The Top 6 B Division finalists will join the final in the second round with the two winners from the opening round to make 8 total players.
Playoffs will continue in this manner until we have a champion.
There will be a consolation match to determine the 3^rd and 4^th place finishers.

B Division Prizes

1^th – 4^th Places will receive trophies and gift cards to the Game Vault
5^th – 8^th Places will receive other remaining prizes

Rulings not covered here such as malfunctions, stuck balls, player conduct, etc. will be based on the rule set of the PAPA World Championships found at:

http://papa.org/competitions/papa-world-championships/

Final authority for any rulings rests with the Tournament directors, headed by Steve Epstein, IFPA Representative. Tournament directors are allowed to compete in this event. If a tournament director is involved in a game that needs a ruling, it will be addressed by one of the other tournament directors.

Some questions and answers:

Is it possible to qualify with just one entry?

Yes. If a player gets a top-four score on one entry, they will qualify. However that player will have a poor seed for the finals based on total points earned. Play more games to increase your Best-Game (“Herb Style) point total. PLAY ALL OF THE GAMES!
The most qualifying points you can earn to determine your seed is 1000 points! Play all games!

Is it possible to be ranked high on the Best-Game (“Herb Style) qualifying list and not qualify?

Yes. It is possible for a player to get all 7th place scores for example, and earn a significant amount of points in the Best-Game standings. However, that player will fail to qualify for the finals since they did not get a top four score.

Is it possible to not get a top four score during the qualifying period and still end up in the finals?

Yes. At the end of qualifying, people who have multiple top four scores of the same rank will only have one counted after a random selection. Scores that are skipped from other games will cause players who are below to move up in rank, as stated above in this rule set.
—
For example: If a player gets a score ranked #8 and the top four people on that game have already qualified on another game, it is remotely possible for your score to move up four positions into the top four. This is unlikely due to the random selection of which qualifying scores players will keep, so qualify as highly as you can.
—
Note that as players scores move up in this manner, the amount of Best-Game points they have earned will not change.

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