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In competitive pinball, there are five annual competitions that are considered a cut above the rest, representing the pinnacle of play from the best players in the world. These tournaments are known as “The Majors”, and of them, the IFPA World Championship is easily the most prestigious. Held at the Flipnic in Badendorf, Austria from June 26 – 29, this year marked the 20th annual IFPA Worlds, drawing an elite field of players second to none. The tournament welcomes 80 of the world's top competitors spanning 20 different countries, with invites extended to national champions and top-tier pro players alike. Without fail, the IFPA World Championship produces stellar, edge-of-your-seat competition, and this year was no different. Every player pushed themselves to the limit, all vying for the validation of the championship crown. After an exhausting weekend of play with countless surprises and hard-fought victories, a new IFPA World Champion has emerged, forging their rightful place in the lineage of pinball's finest players.
Taking place on the eve of IFPA20, the Epstein Cup is a tournament that pits the top-ranked players of North America and Europe against each other in a three-game competition, with bragging rights going to the winning continent until the next IFPA World Championship. First held in 2013 in honor of coin-op legend Steve Epstein, the trophy has bounced back and forth between NA and EU in the decade since. As of 2024, Europe held five wins, equal to North America's five, making this year's competition all the more exciting. With the intercontinental series tied at 5-5, the 2025 Epstein Cup was an absolute slugfest, punctuated by some unbelievable late-game antics.
The Epstein Cup follows a unique format, rarely seen in other sanctioned competitions. Though the full rules are more complex, here's a basic rundown: games are set to four “players” with 4 balls each, for a total of 16 balls played. Each team occupies two player positions, with every competitor getting a turn, balancing overall scoring and position-specific scoring. At the end of each game, positions are finalized and points are awarded based on placement. Three games are played in total, and the team with the most points claims victory. In short, the format gives each player a chance to turn the tide in their team's favor, while also encouraging teamwork and long-game strategy. The Epstein Cup, along with the rest of the IFPA20 World Pinball Championship, was streamed live on Twitch by JDL_Pinball.
The first game of the set was Star Trek (Bally, 1979), which proved to be a punishing start. Most players opted to aim for the drop targets to ramp up their bonus multiplier, but outlane drains were common as the ball careened out of control, with nudging limited by an appropriately tight tilt. Despite the relatively low scores, there were some truly exceptional flipper mechanics on display, with far too many drop catches, shatz passes, and backflips to count. Thanks to a monster ball from two-time IFPA World champion Johannes Ostermeier, Europe took the lead at the conclusion of game one, with a total of 13 points to North America's 8.
The competition kicked into high gear with game two on Indianapolis 500 (Bally, 1995), with players prioritizing multiball play, even in the face of split-second ball saves. Early on, solid balls from Josh Sharpe and Jason Zahler put North America in the lead, but Paul Englert and Arvid Flygare answered back to keep Europe in the running. By the halfway point of game two, it was clear that players were finding their flow, and North America stayed strong to edge out a win. With both teams tied at 21 points total, it all came down to the final game.
AC/DC (Stern, 2012) served as the final arena, offering a stunning, high-stakes game to decide it all. Again, both North America and Europe employed the same strategy: starting the “Thunderstruck” song mode and focusing on multiball play to increase jackpot collects. Early players struggled to get the ball rolling, but Europe picked up steam toward the mid-game as Julio Soriano, Arvid Flygare, and Timber Engelbeen racked up major points. Europe basically had it in the bag, until Jason Zahler stepped up to play.
Starting with just 16 million points on the board, Jason needed over 100 million to give North America a fighting chance, a truly daunting task no matter the circumstance. No stranger to immense pressure as last year's IFPA World Champion, he tore through multiball after multiball, scoring over 80 million points and building up his song jackpot for a risky pay-off along the way. Fighting to keep the ball alive long enough to activate a playfield multiplier, Jason cashed out his song jackpot for a hefty 60 million points, blowing past Europe's combined score with one of the most satisfying shots of the weekend. The final game in the books, Team North America basked in a well-earned win, thanks to some seriously clutch play and nerves of steel.
Making it to the IFPA20 World Pinball Championship is an incredible feat, but once you're there, you still have to qualify for playoffs. Kicking off Friday morning, all 80 players competed in 24 games of Match Play qualifying, with four players per group. Depending on their finishing position in each game, players were awarded 7, 5, 3, or 1 points (for first, second, third, and fourth respectively), as everyone raced to accumulate enough points to speed past the cutline. With only 32 spots in the playoffs to fill, players gave it their all, but a total of 100 points was needed to advance. By Saturday afternoon, the 32 positions had been claimed, leading to an intense first few rounds of playoffs. Facing off in head-to-head matches, the field was cut over two more rounds, ultimately producing a stacked roster of top 8 competitors.
Following the usual IFPA World Championship playoff format, the rounds in the Top 8 consisted of head-to-head matches, with victory going to the first player to reach 4 wins in a series. However, with a “sudden death” tiebreaker rule in place, if both players reached 3 wins each, the series would progress into a best-of-three contest. Picking from a bank of 50+ machines, players had to flex their skills on old, mid-aged, and modern games alike, but all machines were set up tough, with tight tilt settings and rubbers removed, leaving no room for error.
In the quarterfinals, there were several surprising upsets as top-seeded players were eliminated from the competition. Garrett Shahan and Cayle George competed in the longest series of the round, going a full 9 games before Garrett clinched the victory with calculated play on White Water (Williams, 1993). At the same time, Arvid Flygare eliminated Zach McCarthy in a 6-game set, closing out the series with a combo-laden performance on Venom (Stern, 2023). Viggo Löwgren also represented Sweden with impressive play, knocking out Paul Englert in a back-and-forth, 6-game series. Finally, last year's IFPA World Champion, Jason Zahler, struggled in the opening game of Rush (Stern, 2022) against Preston Currie, but quickly recovered with 4 consecutive wins to advance.
With the field cut down to just 4 players, the semifinals were exceptionally tense, but some thrived under pressure. Garrett Shahan faced off against Viggo Löwgren, and while Garrett played admirably, Viggo dominated the series with a 4-game sweep on Indianapolis 500, Pharaoh (Williams, 1981), Jaws (Stern, 2024), and Jackbot (Williams, 1995). Meanwhile, Jason Zahler and Arvid Flygare engaged in a heated contest. Arvid made an early push with wins on Indianapolis 500 and Firepower (Williams, 1980), Jason eventually found his groove, answering back with wins on Time Zone (Bally, 1973), Demolition Man (Williams, 1994), and Venom.
Not one to throw in the towel, Arvid rallied and picked up a win on Kiss (Stern, 2015) to tie the series at 3-3. Channeling his major comeback from the Epstein Cup, Jason took the fight to AC/DC and earned a crucial win over Arvid, putting the series at match point. On Whirlwind (Williams, 1990), Arvid dug deep for a massive comeback on ball 3, scoring a monstrous 8 million points. Still, Jason steeled himself for one final ball, surpassing Arvid's score and securing his spot in the finals.
For Viggo and Jason, it all came to a head in the finals. As Jason fought to defend his World Championship title, Viggo played with equal intensity, battling for a chance to claim his first-ever Major tournament victory. In their opening game on Pharaoh, both players stumbled, but Viggo came away with the win after a straight-down-the-middle drain cut Jason's ball 3 short. The next game, Firepower, basically boiled down to an alley-pass contest, as Jason out-shatzed Viggo to get his first win of the series. Viggo excelled on Indianapolis 500 with another win, but Jason continued his dominance of Demolition Man, scoring over a billion points and tying the series at 2-2.
With the championship just a few wins away for both competitors, the drama only heightened in the next game on Jaws, when a machine malfunction during Viggo's first ball caused a brief delay. He recovered well from the unexpected break, edging out a win over Jason to bring the series to 3-2 and match point. Viggo just needed one more win and the championship would be his. On Kiss, Viggo took an early lead and made some huge slide and shimmy saves to stay alive, but Jason refused to let the series end so soon, testing his luck against a sketchy scoop kickout to grab the win. With the series tied at 3-3, the IFPA20 World Pinball Championship finals entered sudden death, turning into a best-of-three contest to decide it all.
The first game of sudden death, Jackbot, seemed sharply in Viggo's favor. After all, it was the machine that had secured his spot in finals, while Jason had barely touched it all weekend. Yet, both players struggled to capitalize on their multiball play, and Viggo fell prey to a ball 3 tilt, putting Jason up 1-0. As the loser of the previous game, Viggo was granted choice of machine and selected Creature from the Black Lagoon (Bally, 1992). Now, the shoe was on the other foot, and Jason was just one win away from a back-to-back IFPA World Championship victory.
Jason flew ahead to an early lead with a massive first ball, maximizing “Move Your Car” and picking up a multiball jackpot to push his score over 400 million points. Both players faltered on their second ball, giving Viggo one last chance to bridge the gap. Despite two massive saves that almost tilted the machine, along with some exceptional multiball play, Viggo was unable to prevent a devastating straight-down-the-middle drain. With the final score at 233 million to 475 million, Jason defended his title with a 5-3 overall series finish, earning his trophy (and a brand new pinball machine) as the IFPA20 World Pinball Champion.
Now, the question remains: can Jason Zahler become the first person in pinball history to three-peat the IFPA World Championship? For that, we'll have to wait until next year, when IFPA21 returns to North America.
Matt Owen is a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend. He can often be found playing endless hours of games or watching an absurd amount of movies and television: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When he's not bingeing entertainment media, Matt enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing pinball, broadcasting, and attempting to cook.
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