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Episode 353: Josh Sharpe and the 2023 IFPA changes

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday43 min listen
From the creator

The “president” of the IFPA discusses how receiving 100% just isn’t enough. Josh explains the many changes to the IFPA rankings and tourneys moving forward in 2023. These should improve leagues...

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Highlights

  • The 200% event value expansion allows tournaments and leagues to double their scoring value if they follow specific criteria
  • There are currently only three active major championships, though five are on the books (Pimberg and Papa would be granted major status if they returned)
  • Tournaments with unlimited best game qualifying and 20+ hours of qualifying time will have qualifying games counted double in value
  • Multi-match play will no longer receive the time bonus previously given to 3-4 player games versus 2-player games
  • Certified Plus events (128+ players) get 150% boost; regular certified events get 125% boost with no player minimum
  • Josh Sharpe plays roughly double the amount of tournaments compared to the average top 1,000 ranked player
  • IFPA entry fees are now being standardized with unified pricing
  • IFPA spent most of 2022 working with country directors on prize money and fund allocation issues for international events

Notable quotes

“I am wildly overranked due to the benefits that I have and the opportunities that I have given myself to play up there. There's no explaining my way out of that.”
Josh Sharpe
“I find it weird to throw out someone's best and worst because... I've just never seen that done in pinball.”
Jeff Teels
“this difference in opportunity thing, especially... everyone in the US compared to everyone, and US and Europe compared to anyone that's outside of Europe and the US, it's widening the gap of accessibility for sure. That's just fact.”
Josh Sharpe
“if it's the most fun and the fun is the most important thing of the event... we're not killing it. Run it.”
Josh Sharpe
“You were basically multiplying everything times two and nerfing this by half. So you were actually killing it twice.”
Jeff Teels
“Does he focus his time on going to events that be triple in value? That the piece that we learn I think in this upcoming year is the player behavior.”
Josh Sharpe
“I successfully negotiated my 11-day hall pass to Germany.”
Josh Sharpe
“Well, I'll be the first to sacrifice myself as someone who is undeserving of the rank they have.”
Josh Sharpe

Entities

  • European Pinball Championships· event
  • InDisc· event
  • Papa World Championships· event
  • Pimberg· event
  • Pinball Expo· event
  • Texas Pinball Festival· event
  • World Championships (IFPA)· event
  • IFPA· organization
  • Pinball Profile· organization
  • Amanda Sharpe· person
  • Andreas Mellström· person
  • Becker· person
  • Brian Shepard· person
  • Colin Sharpe· person
  • Eric (District 82 operator)· person
  • Jeff Teels· person
  • Josh Sharpe· person
  • Zach Sharpe· person
  • District 82· venue
  • Kickback· venue
  • The Dojo· venue

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