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In competitive pinball, the start of a new calendar year brings both relief and added pressure. On one hand, the hard work of the previous season has finally finished, and the yearly World Pinball Player Ranking points (WPPRs) are reset, putting everyone back on an even playing field. However, for those skilled enough to place high in their respective regions, January brings one of the biggest and most important tournaments of the year: the IFPA North American Championship Series State/Provincial Finals. For those talented players, this is a do-or-die moment, where they face off against the very best of their peers, all vying for a shot to play an even grander stage at the IFPA NACS Nationals in March.
After enjoying a bit of a vacation ourselves, we're back with the first 2026 edition of The Score Card to bring you all the big results of the IFPA State Finals. Additionally, the 2026 Stern Pro Circuit has already begun, marking the beginning of another challenging series of competitions with the first SPC event of the year, the Starfighters Pinball Festival. So, shake off that January sluggishness and prepare your flipper fingers, as the 2026 competitive season is now firmly underway.
Qualifying for the IFPA State/Provincial Championships is no easy feat. For many, it requires consistent high-level play across the year, as players journey around their state to at least 20 tournaments, all fighting over the same pool of WPPRs. After the final tournament of a given year, the points are all tallied up, and only the best players (usually the top 16 or 24, depending on total state player count) are invited to compete in their respective State/Provincial competition. Competing in head-to-head, best-of-7 battles, it's common to see surprising upsets and inspiring underdog stories, as the pressure to perform spikes high.
If you win, it's a ticket straight to Nationals. If you lose, it's back to the grind again, hoping for another shot at a States win. The 2025-26 NACS State Finals were as exciting as ever, with dozens of championship tournaments all commencing on January 17. Now that the dust has settled and the results have been finalized, we have the full list of winners to peruse. Barring any back-outs, this list also doubles as a competitors list for the 2025-26 NACS Nationals, as all winners will once again fight for the big podium finish.
Below, you'll find the first-place finishers from every North American State/Provincial competition, as well as the Women's North American State Finals, many of whom you will assuredly see in future editions of The Score Card. Congrats to all the players who brought home the gold and to everyone who competed!
The IFPA State Championships weren't the only big event of January, as earlier in the month, the 2026 Stern Pro Circuit officially began with the Starfighters Pinball Festival. Held at Starfighters Arcade in Mesa, Arizona, this annual event held multiple competitions, a “Max Match Play” tournament, Classics, Strikes, and Women's circuit tournaments, as well as the first Stern Pro Circuit tournament of the year. Qualifying for the SPC tournament utilized the group Match Play format, with 160 total players competing in 7 rounds of 3 matches each. The top 40 players made it into the A Division finals, with the next top 32 players occupying B and C Division finals.
The qualifying and playoffs action were all streamed live on Twitch thanks to atomicagepinball, giving us eager viewers a weekend of exciting pinball action. In the A Division playoffs, after preliminary rounds were wrapped up, four finalists competed in the grand finals: Steve Strom, Tim Hansen, Raymond Davidson, and Dustin Goldbarg.
Steve Strom started strong with a sizable win on Jurassic Park (Stern, 2019) in Game 1, but Tim Hansen fought back for his own victory in Game 2 on Airborne (Capcom, 1996). However, in the final game, Volley (Gottlieb, 1976), Raymond Davidison found his groove. After coasting by with a third and second place finish in previous games, Raymond had a spectacular performance on Volley, nearly rolling it twice, securing first place for the match and the competition at large, and claiming the first Stern Pro Circuit win of 2026.
The year has just begun, which means that there's a fresh calendar ahead, full of exciting pinball events to attend. If you're new to the world of tournament pinball, I highly recommend starting with a local IFPA pinball league, where you can learn the ins and outs of competition in a social setting. Many leagues kick off in February and March, so check your favorite location to see if any new leagues are starting soon. Of course, there are countless events to check out on the IFPA Calendar, ranging from weekly strikes competitions to one-off tournaments with unique rules.
For the more serious players looking to farm WPPRs and climb the ranks, now is a good time to get your pinball schedule in order. Most of the Stern Pro Circuit tournaments have official dates and locations, giving you plenty of time to pre-register and arrange your travel accommodations. The almighty INDISC returns February 26 – March 1 in Murrieta, California, while the IFPA Pin-Masters tournament can be attended in West Chicago, Illinois, from March 6 – 8. More festivals, conventions, and large-scale tournaments are being added regularly, so be sure to keep an eye on the calendar of upcoming events and plan accordingly, especially if you want a shot at next year's IFPA State Championships. We'll be back next month to recap all the latest happenings in the world of tournament pinball, but in the meantime, embrace the new year and get to flipping!
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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