SEATTLE — Local competitors are flipping out for a chance to face off in this weekend's International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) State Championships.
Washington's top players are vying for the opportunity to qualify for the North American Championship, which will feature the best of the best from 47 states and the District of Columbia.
Washington State Tournament Representative Germain Mariolle has been competing in pinball for nine years. The 41-year-old Redmond resident isn’t just helping to facilitate the tournament, The North American Champion Series has Mariolle listed as the number one ranked pinball player in Washington with five wins in 20 tournaments.
“It’s very competitive in Seattle so that’s just my seeding going into this tournament and it’s the first in several years due to the pandemic so this is like a double tournament with bigger prizes,” said Mariolle.
This weekend has competitors playing for fun and for their share of the $170,000 prize pool.
The tournament will be held at Ice Box Arcade in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Owner Alex Singleterry says he prefers Pinball to his previous occupation, plumbing.
“I had my own plumbing company for 16 years and then I bought this place and it got so busy I didn’t have time to do both. Besides I’m more passionate about this than plumbing!” laughed Singletary.
The International Flipper Pinball Association is celebrating 16 years of encouraging, supporting and endorsing competitive pinball throughout the world.
“Pinball has managed to stay relevant as a major part of leisure time entertainment,” said Josh Sharpe, President of the IFPA.
There are over 95,000 ranked players who compete in more than 8,400 events staged annually. This year also marks the IFPA’s first annual IFPA Women’s State Championship series finale with over 500 women representing 40 states.
Ashley Weaver says she only got into competitive pinball when she moved to Renton and saw an advertisement for a charity tournament.
“I thought, it’s for charity and doesn’t matter if we suck so we entered and were immediately hooked.”
Weaver just won first place in a local competition where she bested a field of 60 pinball players. This weekend she will be among the field of players celebrating the Washington State Pinball Championships. The winners advance to the North American Championship in March.