Tournaments

For TPF2025, Wizards will have a one-time fixed price of $112, excluding processing fees. Note: because show admission is required to play in this tournament, it will be bundled with your tournament entry purchase and processing fees for a total cost of $205.

Purchase Ticket

Approximate cash prize percentage pay outs. Actual payouts are determined by player participation, net of trophy and fixed case prize expenses, and tournament expenses.

A Division

1st place – 25% of Net Prize Purse + trophy
2nd place – 15% + plaque
3rd place – 10% + plaque
4th place – 6% + plaque
5th-8th places – 3% each
9th-16h places – 1.5% each
17-32nd places – 0.625% each

B Division

1st place – 4.3% of Net Prize Purse + trophy
2nd place – 3% + plaque
3rd place – 1.7% + plaque
4th place – 1% + plaque

Novice Division

1st place – $200 + trophy
2nd place – $100 + plaque
3rd place – $60 + plaque
4th place – $40 + plaque

Friday, March 20th: 8:00am – 9:00am for both qualifying groups

During the warm-up period, we invite players to warm up on the tournament games. The purpose of this warm up period is to find any last minute problems with the games before the tournament begins. All players are required to limit their warm-up to around 30-60 seconds on each machine to give other players a chance on the machine. We ask all players participating in the warm-up period to please record and report any issues with the tournament pins to the TD’s using the sheets provided. Players are not guaranteed warm-up on all or any games. There will be no warm-up or practice allowed on tournament pins outside of this period.

Ending times are approximate, and may end earlier.

Friday, March 20th: Early group 9am – 4pm, Late group: 5pm – 12am
Saturday, March 21st: Early group 9am – 2pm, Late group: 2pm – 7pm

View the Tournament Schedule

Each qualifying group will play a total of 10 rounds comprising 2 games in each. Groups will consist of 4 players, with 7/5/3/1 points awarded for each game finish for 1st-4th position. Each group will play 6 rounds (12 games) on Friday, and 4 rounds (8 games) on Saturday.

After Qualifying has ended, the top 16 players in each qualifying group will advance to finals for a total of 32 players in A division final. Beyond the top 32, the next 8 highest ranked players whose rank is 501+ in the IFPA World Pinball Player Rankings (WPPR) standings* will advance to the B Division Finals. The next 8 highest ranked players whose rank is 3001+ in the IFPA WPPR standings* will comprise the Novice Division Finals.

* Note: The cutoff date to determine a player’s WPPR/IFPA ranking is the latter of March 1st, 2026 or the date the player registers for the Texas Wizards Tournament.

** All Finals begin on Saturday, March 21st at 8pm. and players are required to check-in by 7:30pm, or they forfeit their Finals spot. Players must be present to check in. Please do not be late.**

Finals will be played using a modified “PAPA style” format. Each round, finalists will be placed into groups of 4 players based on qualifying seed, in “slaughter” seed groupings. They play 3 games. At the beginning of each round, the top seed in each group gets to the pick the pin (from available pins) or their playing position for each of the three pins to be played during that round by their group, but each group must play one pin from each Era for their 3-game match. Note that each group choosing all three pins at the beginning of each round is different than the PAPA World Championship rules, but the rule of only one group being allowed to play a particular pin as Game #1, etc. of each round still applies. A player may not pick a pin that the player picked during the prior round, including any tie-breaker pin selection.

Each game’s scoring is 4-2-1-0 for the four positions of each game. After 3 games, the top 2 players from each group advance based on total game points. Significant tiebreakers will be resolved on an additional game, according to PAPA rules. For the Final Four, final placement will be determined by game points. Eliminated players’ finishing positions are determined by the round they are eliminated, and then by game points scored during that round. More information on PAPA style finals can be found in Section V of: https://www.indisc.com/tournament-rules/

A Division Finals

Qualifiers 1-32 in the Texas Wizards Tournament,

B Division Finals

Qualifiers 33-40 in the Texas Wizards Tournament, if not ranked in the top 500 on the IFPA world rankings*, will compete in the B Division Finals. If a player is ranked in the top 500, they will be skipped and the next eligible player will be included in the finals.

B Finals format is identical to A Division, but with only 8 players. For each game, B Division pin selections will take place after A Division groups have selected their pins, with the same restriction of only one group being allowed to play a particular pin as Game #1, etc. of each round, regardless of division.

Novice Division Finals

The eight top qualifiers in the Texas Wizards Tournament who are not ranked in the top 3000 on the IFPA world rankings* and who are not competing in another division’s finals will compete in the Novice Division Finals.

Finals format is identical to A Division, but with only 8 players. For each game, Novice Division pin selections will take place after B Division groups have selected their pins with the same restriction of only one group being allowed to play a particular pin as Game #1, etc. of each round, regardless of division.

There is a $30 entry fee to play in the tournament. Due to the format and number of available machines, entry is limited to 68 players.

New this year: TPF show admission is required to play in this tournament. It will be bundled with your tournament entry purchase and processing fees for a total cost of $115. If you have already purchased admission, a refund will be provided.

You may pre-register for the tournament in our Store. Once all 68 tickets are sold, we will make waitlist markers available through the store. Players will be transitioned to the Players Roster if and as movement occurs amongst the first 68 spots.

Purchase Ticket

Sunday, March 22, 2026: 8am – 8:45am.

Please check in at the tournament registration desk between 8am and 8:45am. After 8:45, any of the 68 guaranteed spots that are unfilled will be forfeited, and we will begin backfilling from the remaining players in the waitlist. Players with the highest spot on the waitlist who are present will be given the open spots first and their entry fees will be collected in cash before the tournament begins. All players should be in the tournament area at 8:45 for announcements and a group picture. The first round will begin immediately after announcements are made.

Sunday, March 22, 2026: 9am – Noon

View the Tournament Schedule

Each round players will be placed in four player groups. Depending on the number of players there may be three player groups. The software will attempt to ensure that all players in a group have been placed on the game an equal number of times, though this cannot be guaranteed. Players will be matched according to balanced pairing. This means that the software matches players with a random opponent they haven’t faced previously in the same tournament. At the end of each round, players will earn points depending on their finishing positions of each game (3, 2, 1, 0). Results will be submitted by players via the Next.Matchplay.events software.

New for 2025

Because the Wizard’s semifinals and finals will also be taking place Sunday morning, some games may be unavailable for some rounds. If Texas Takedown players are also in Wizards semifinals or finals, they will alternate between playing balls in the Women’s and Wizards game they are on if concurrently playing both, without any penalties to the player. Players registered for the Texas Takedown that qualify for semi-finals, may also opt to cancel their entry in the Texas Takedown for a full refund due to the overlap. The player must notify the tournament director of this withdrawal by 8:45am Sunday morning.

Finals begin on Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 12pm immediately following qualifying. **
The four players in the finals round will compete on three machines (vintage, classic, modern) randomly selected by the tournament directors using the tournament software. The tournament directors reserve the right to increase the number of finalists depending upon time restraints. At the start of the round, players will choose player order starting with the highest seeded player according to the points accumulated during the qualifying rounds. They will play in this order for the entire round. Players will earn points for each game depending on their finishing positions (4,2,1,0). Ties at the end of this round will be played on a single, randomly chosen game.

In the event of a tie:
Ties will be broken automatically by the number of first and second place finishes. If the software cannot resolve the tie, the tie will be broken by a single game on a random machine. Only critical ties will be broken such as those that determine advancing to finals.

Cash prize percentage pay outs are determined by player participation, net of trophy and fixed cash prize expenses, and tournament expenses.

1st place – 40% of Net Prize Purse + trophy
2nd place – 30% + trophy
3rd place – 20% + trophy
4th place – 10% + trophy

1Tournament tickets are refundable if there is a standing waiting list and according to the following refund schedule:

Refund Application
11/2/2024 – 12/1/2025 100% minus fees*
12/2/2025 – 1/31/2026 50% minus fees*
2/1/2026 – 2/28/2026 25% minus fees*

3/1/2026 -> No Refund

Tournament tickets may not be transferred. If a player is unable to compete and applies for a refund, we will offer that spot to the next person on the waiting list. TPF show passes are not refundable.

No-shows for the Texas Takedown Women’s Tournament will not be refunded. Fees include, but are not limited to, applicable Processing Fees.

1st Place: Trophy
2nd Place: Trophy
3rd Place: Trophy
4th Place: Trophy

• All participants must be 12 years of age or younger.
• The Texas Pinball Festival has the right to change or replace any of the prizes listed up to the end of each tournament.
• Any form of cheating will result in immediate disqualification from the tournament.
• Judges’ decisions are final.
• The tournament director has the right to modify these rules at any time.
• Participants must be present for their matches. Failure to appear within 5 minutes of your match being called will result in a forfeit.
• Sportsmanlike conduct is expected at all times. Any participant who displays unsportsmanlike conduct will be warned, and repeated offenses may result in disqualification.
• The use of electronic devices is not allowed during matches.
• Participants are responsible for any damage they cause to the machines.
• By participating in the tournament, you agree to allow the Texas Pinball Festival to use your name and likeness for promotional purposes.
• The tournament will be conducted in accordance with the official rules of the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA).
• All decisions made by the tournament organizers are final.
• The tournament organizers reserve the right to modify or cancel the tournament at any time.
• Entry fees are non-refundable.
• The tournament organizers are not responsible for any injuries or damages that may occur during the tournament.
• By participating in the tournament, you agree to abide by these rules and regulations.