Illawarra Pinball open 2026
Thursday 6th of August
IPO Free Play Session
📅 Thursday, 6th 0f August
🕕 Approx. 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
💲 Buy-In: Free
Format
Join us for a relaxed free play session following venue setup. This is a great opportunity to check out the tournament machines, catch up with fellow players, and get some practice in before the competitive action begins over the weekend.
Whether you're arriving early, helping with setup, or simply keen to get some games in, everyone is welcome to attend.
Friday 7th of August
IPO Pinawarra:
📅 Friday, 7th of August
🕕 Approx. 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
💲 Buy-In: $40
Tournament Format: Group Matchplay
Rounds: 8 rounds of group match play, 2 games per round.
Scoring: IFPA, linear scoring, no bonus points to the winner.
4 Player Group
1st place: 7 Points
2nd place: 5 Points
3rd place: 3 Points
4th place: 1 Point
3 Player Group
1st place: 7 Points
2nd Place: 4 Points
3rd Place: 1 Point
Seeding: Random, players are seeded randomly at the start of the tournament
Player pairing: Balanced pairing, players will be randomly paired with previously unfaced opponents.
Playing order: Random, players will be randomly assigned a play order.
Arena assignment: Arena banks (balanced) 1 modern, 1 older.
Tiebreakers: In case of a tie, an additional game will be played on a randomly selected machine, with randomly generated playing ordered.
Finals Structure:
*Depending on the number of attendees the
Finals can range from Top 16 to Top 24 finals.
Best of 2 match each round, the highest 2 scores from each group advance.
The top seed picks the bank
Saturday 8th of August
Illawarra Pinball Open Qualifying:
📅 Saturday, 8th of August
🕕 Approx. 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
💲 Buy-In: $60
Tournament Format: Group Matchplay
Rounds: 7 rounds of group match play, 3 games per round.
Scoring: IFPA, linear scoring, no bonus points to the winner.
4 Player Group
1st place: 7 Points
2nd place: 5 Points
3rd place: 3 Points
4th place: 1 Point
3 Player Group
1st place: 7 Points
2nd Place: 4 Points
3rd Place: 1 Point
Seeding: Random, players are seeded randomly at the start of the tournament
Player pairing: Balanced pairing, players will be randomly paired with previously unfaced opponents.
Playing order: Rotating player order
Arena assignment: Arena banks (balanced).
Tiebreakers: In case of a tie, an additional game will be played on a randomly selected machine, with randomly generated playing ordered.
Sunday 9th of august
Illawarra pinball open Finals:
📅 Sunday, 9th of August
🕕 Approx. 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
The top 24-32 players will advance to the finals.
Finals will feature single-elimination head-to-head matches, played in a Best of 5 series (First to 3 wins)
The best-seeded player will have the privilege of selecting the first arena, while the opponent decides the player order. For subsequent games, the loser of the previous match will select the next arena, and the previous winner selects the player order.
If an arena is already being played, you may wait until it is available if they are on the last ball, otherwise another arena must be selected. An arena cannot be selected multiple times in the same head-to-head series.
Once a player verbally announces their game choice or position, the decision is final and cannot be changed.
IPO Strikes:
📅 Sunday, 9th of August
🕕 Approx. 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
💲 Buy-In: $30
Tournament Format: Strikes
Strike system: Players accumulate strikes based on their performance in each round. The goal is to avoid strikes.
Strikes Allocation: Fair strikes
4 Player Group
1st place: 0 Strikes
2nd place: 1 Strike
3rd place: 1 Strike
4th place: 2 Strikes
3 Player Group
1st place: 0 Strikes
2nd Place: 1 Strike
3rd Place: 2 Strikes
Elimination: Players are eliminated once they accumulate a total of 7 strikes.
Rounds: 1 game of 3 or 4 player group match play per round.
Seeding: Random, players are seeded randomly at the start of the tournament
Player pairing: Swiss pairing, players will be paired against players with the similar win-loss record.
Playing order: Random, players will be randomly assigned a play order.
Arena assignment: Balanced, attempts will be made to assign an arena that has been played the fewest times by all opponents.
IPO Free Play Session
📅 Sunday, 9th 0f August
🕕 Approx. 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
💲 Buy-In: Free
After a weekend of competition, join us for the official Illawarra Pinball Open Closing Party. Relax, unwind, and celebrate the conclusion of the tournament with an evening of free play and good company.
*Games list subject to change*