Texas Wizards Tournament

Texas Wizards Tournament | Women’s Tournament | Kids’ Tournament

*** Major format change for 2025 – see below ***

The Texas Pinball Festival is excited to once again present the Texas Wizards Tournament, a high quality and prestigious competition where players in the will have the opportunity to play on a variety of titles, ranging from vintage electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machines to modern era pinball machines, in an attempt to win cash prizes, trophies and WPPR points.

In addition to being a Stern Pro Circuit event, the Texas Wizards Tournament qualifies as an “IFPA Certified PLUS” tournament, meaning that its WPPR values will receive a 50% boost over normal points earned.  Because the base TGP value of TPF Wizards in 2025 will be 200%, the boosted total value will be 300%! Get ready for some Texas-Sized WPPRS.  The IFPA registration for this tournament can be found here.

Tournament entries for the Texas Wizards Tournament must be purchased in advance of the show in our online store. Tickets will go on sale November 02, 2024 at 12:00pm CST. There is a maximum of 160 players for this event, and the limited tournament entries sold out quickly last year.  Follow and subscribe to TPF’s social media pages to know what date and time they go on sale.  Once all 80 tickets are sold out in one qualifying group, players may only purchase their entry from the remaining qualifying group.  Once all 160 tickets are sold, a wait list marker will be made available in the store. Players may add themselves to the wait list, which will cover both groups.  If a position becomes available for a plyer in one group, it will be offered to that player.  If they do not reply within 48 hours, the next person on the wait list will be contacted.  If they do reply, but state that they can only play in the other group (late or early), they will NOT lose their spot in the wait list queue.  We will continue to offer the current spot to the next player(s) on the wait list until the spot is filled.  There is no guarantee that spots will open in either specific group.  Spots are offered as they become available.

*** Format Change ***

To address player concerns about long lines, machine malfunctions, and lack of time to enjoy the rest of the TPF show, we’ve made a major change in the format of the Wizards tournament.

There will be two unique qualifying groups (Early & Late), each playing a 10-round (20-game) match-play format. Each qualifying group will play 6 rounds on Friday, and 4 rounds on Saturday. Each round, competitors will be placed in groups of four and play on two machines from randomly assigned banks. Players will earn points based on how many opponents they beat in the round (7, 5, 3, or 1). Points will accumulate across the ten rounds to determine each player’s overall qualifying score. Players may only play in one qualifying group.

The top 16 qualifiers from each qualifying group (32 total) will compete in the finals for trophies and cash prizes. During finals, players will be placed in groups of four and will play three games. Players will score points on each game based on finishing position (4-2-1-0 scoring). After three games, the two players from each group with the most points will advance to the next round.

There will be a 1-hour open practice session on Friday morning from 8am-9am open to all players from both qualifying groups. A division final round 1 and quarterfinals will be held on Saturday evening for the 32 qualifying players (no byes), and B and Novice finals will be held in entirety with 8 qualifying players each. A Division Semi-finals and Finals will be held on Sunday morning.

View the Wizards Players / Waiting List.

Cost

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 $200.

Prizes

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
8th-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

Warm-Up Period

Friday, March 21st: 8:00am – 9:00am fpr 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.

Qualifying

Ending times are approximate, and may end earlier

Friday, March 21st: Early group 9am – 4pm, Late group: 5pm – 12am
Saturday, March 22nd: 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 1^st-4^th 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 24, 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, 2025 or the date the player registers for the Texas Wizards Tournament.

A Division Finals

** All Finals begin on Saturday, March 22nd 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, includding 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/

B Division Finals

Qualifiers 25-32 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.

Tiebreakers:

In the event of a tie to qualify for finals or for a bye in finals, the tie will be broken on a pin selected by tournament officials, while significant finals’ tiebreakers will be settled on a pin chosen by the highest seed that was not played by his/her group during that finals round. Tiebreaker games for qualifying for finals will be held immediately following the end of Qualifying. 

Ties for seeding will be broken using a simple method of how many 1st place games each player had, followed by 2nd, 3rd, and finally 4th.  If ties still exist, we’ll select a random game between all games played by tied players, and highest score receives the higher seed.

Other Rules:

• Finals will use the same pins as Qualifying except in the case of a malfunction rendering a pin unplayable. Unplayable pins may be substituted at the Tournament Directors’ discretion.

• There will not be any warm-up period for Finals. However, if a new pin is required to be substituted into the bank of pins, then each player will be provided 30 seconds of warm-up on any substitute pin to which their group is assigned.

• An “available pin” in Finals means one not already chosen for the same Nth Game played during the round by any higher seed or higher division. For example, if one group is playing a given pin as their first Game, a second group may choose to play that same pin as their second or third Game.

• If a Finals group doesn’t have an available pin from Era(s) they have yet to choose (or play), the order of that group’s Games and selected pins will be adjusted, if possible, to allow an available pin from all Eras. If that is not possible, then for that Game # with an unavailable pin, they will wait until the first pin from the appropriate Era opens up due to another group finishing their game, and immediately begin play on that pin. If there are two or more such groups in this situation, then the higher group will be assigned to the first available pin, and so on.
• There may be both photography and streaming of this tournament. By registering for and playing in the tournament, each player grants TPF, PinEvents LLC, and its media partners permission to use the player’s photographic/video image in streams, advertising, promotions, or other publications without payment or compensation to the player.

All other rules (such as malfunctions, stuck balls, player conduct, etc.) will be governed by the PAPA/IFPA Competition ruleset. Any differences between those rules, the PAPA/INDISC Finals rules, and the Texas Wizards Tournament will be governed by the Texas Wizards Tournament rules.

Waiting List:

Once the maximum of 160 players is reached, a waiting list will be created. Any spots that open up before the start of the tournament will be awarded to those on the waiting list in the order they were added. To sign up for the waiting list, purchase a free Texas Wizards Tournament Waiting List Marker in our store.  Due to the fact that the Wizards tournament is so popular, the waiting list is limited to only 50 people.  Historically, we have less than 10 people a year from the waiting list who end up with tickets to the tournament.

View the Wizards Players / Waiting List.

Refunds and No Shows:

Tournament tickets and accompanying TPF show passes are refundable if there is a standing waiting list and according to the following refund schedule:

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 that are not bundled as part of a tournament ticket are not refundable.

No-shows for the Wizards Tournament will not be refunded. Waitlist players will only have the opportunity to register if and when a registered player notifies the TPF of their withdrawal. There are no “walk-up” opportunities for Waitlist players at the beginning of the Qualifying period, as registered Wizard players are allowed to begin their qualification games at any point during the Qualifying period.

Collectors and Exhibitors will be refunded their Show Admission when they arrive at the show with their game.

*Fees include, but are not limited to, applicable Processing Fees.