Illawarra Pinball Open 2026
Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th of August · Tap an event below for full format details.
A relaxed free play session following venue setup, a great chance to check out the tournament machines, catch up with fellow players, and get some practice in before the competitive action begins.
Whether you're arriving early, helping with setup, or just keen to get some games in, everyone is welcome.
Format
Group match play, 8 rounds, 2 games per round. IFPA linear scoring, no bonus points to the winner.
| Group Size | Scoring |
|---|---|
| 4-player | 7 / 5 / 3 / 1 |
| 3-player | 7 / 4 / 1 |
Seeding & Pairing
- Seeding: Random
- Player pairing: Balanced, paired with previously unfaced opponents
- Playing order: Random
- Arena assignment: Balanced banks (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
Depending on turnout, finals range from Top 16 to Top 24. Best of 2 each round, the highest 2 scores from each group advance. The top 2 seed picks the arena.
Format
Group match play, 7 rounds, 3 games per round. IFPA linear scoring, no bonus points to the winner.
| Group Size | Scoring |
|---|---|
| 4-player | 7 / 5 / 3 / 1 |
| 3-player | 7 / 4 / 1 |
Seeding & Pairing
- Seeding: Random
- Player pairing: Balanced — paired with previously unfaced opponents
- Playing order: Rotating
- Arena assignment: Balanced banks
- Tiebreakers: In case of a tie, an additional game will be played on a randomly selected machine, with randomly generated playing ordered.
This is the qualifying round for Sunday's finals, see the Illawarra Pinball Open Finals card below for how the field is cut.
The top 24–32 players from Saturday's qualifying advance to the finals.
Format
- Single-elimination head-to-head matches, played as a Best of 5 series (first to 3 wins)
- The higher-seeded player picks the first arena; their opponent picks the play order. From there, the loser of the previous game picks the next arena, and the previous winner picks the order
- If your chosen arena is in use, you may wait if it's on the last ball, otherwise, pick a different one. An arena can't be selected more than once in the same head-to-head series
- Once a choice is announced, it's final and can't be changed
Format
Players accumulate strikes based on performance each round, the goal is to avoid them. One game of 3- or 4-player group match play per round.
| Group Size | Strikes |
|---|---|
| 4-player: 1st | 0 |
| 4-player: 2nd | 1 |
| 4-player: 3rd | 1 |
| 4-player: 4th | 2 |
| 3-player: 1st | 0 |
| 3-player: 2nd | 1 |
| 3-player: 3rd | 2 |
Players are eliminated once they accumulate 7 strikes.
Seeding & Pairing
- Seeding: Random
- Player pairing: Swiss, paired against similar win-loss records
- Playing order: Random
- Arena assignment: Balanced, priority given to arenas played fewest times by the group
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.