This year, the 2026 Pin-Masters returns to The Carpool Pinball Proving Grounds in Southlake, Texas!
The 2026 Carpool Pinball Pin-Masters is the premiere Pinball Golf event for the Southwestern United States, as a Satellite Tournament for the 2027 IFPA Pin-Masters Championship*.
This year's event features a BIGGER prize pool - at least $22.50 from every paid entry will go into the prize pool and ONLY the top 4 in each, A & B Division get paid.
That means, if we have 50 players, the winner will get $410 and the likely total prize pool would be $1200. More players = bigger prize pool!
Cash prizes in both the A Division and the B Division.
This two day tournament will run Saturday August 29 and Sunday August 30, 2026.
Tickets will be on sale on SATURDAY AUGUST 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM (Noon).
Pin-Masters is the IFPA Sanctioned Pin-Golf World Championship!
This event is a qualifier for the 2027 IFPA PIN-MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP!*
This event is eligible for a maximum TGP value of 200% under the IFPA rules, meaning MORE WPPR POINTS available for the players.
Its a PARTY first, with a little pinball mixed in! Come have some fun us!
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Limited to 96 Players Total / Half in the AM Group and half in the PM Group
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DATES:
Pre-Registration / On-sale Date and Time:
Saturday August 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM (Noon)
Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-2026-carpool-pinball-pin-masters-tickets-1993033366450
Once I receive your payment, I will add you to the RSVP list on next.matchplay.events ...
To see if you are registered (since I am manually adding you) go to the matchplay link and click on the registrations tab.
Matchplay event link:
(WILL POST WHEN I BUILD IT) - COMING SOON!
Please remember, I am MANUALLY adding you to Matchplay so give me a little time before questioning.
If you have issues with the RSVP process after registration opens, please reach out to LOUIS MARX via direct message on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter (X), or via email through the league website at http://dfw-pinball-league.com/
Qualifying:
Saturday August 29, 2026
There will TWO tee time available:
9:30 AM Check in required for 10:00 AM tee time
4:30 PM Check in required for 5:00 PM tee time
Finals:
Sunday August 30, 2026
9:30 AM Check in required for 10:00 AM start time
BOTH Divisions must check in prior to 10:00 AM even though the A Division will be started before the B Division is started.
You can warm up AFTER checking in on both days -
During warmup, please limit time per machine to 30 seconds so EVERYONE has time to check out all of the machines.
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SPECIFIC PRIZE DETAILS:
? First place player wins $100 off their entry into the 2027 IFPA Pin-Masters Championship* (plus the top cash prize)
? A Division will have Top 4 payouts
? B Division will have Top 4 payouts
? Payouts depend on how many people sign up, but we are putting $22.50 per paid entry into the prize pool.
? If we sell out, the total cash paid out will be $2160.
? B Division is restricted to players outside of the IFPA TOP 1000 so ANYONE can win!
? The 'Asterisk' above (*):
Note that, separate registration for the 2027 IFPA Pin-Masters Championship is still required once made available by the IFPA (this is not automatic).
If the winner fails to register for the 2027 IFPA Pin-Masters Championship when registration becomes available, then the winner's $100 discount will be lost (no cash value).
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ENTRY:
Tournament Entry is $45.00 per person (plus eventbrite fees).
If this event does not sell out cash entries will be accepted at the door on the day of the event.
Details on WAIT LIST and REFUNDS will be covered later in this text.
All games at this venue are set for FREE PLAY so no coins are needed (no coin drop).
All games at this venue will be set for 5 BALLS PER GAME for this event.
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QUALIFYING:
? In each of two tee times, all players/groups will start at the same time, just starting on different hole numbers.
? For example: one group will start on hole 1, another on hole 2, another on hole 3, et cetera....
? If you start on hole 3, make sure you record that as hole 3 on your scorecard - accurate scoring is very important.
? All groups will proceed in order (please do not skip holes). This means, there may be a short wait if the prior group has not completed the your group's next hole.
? Each player may only attempt to qualify once.
? On Qualifying Day, there will be 18 total holes/games.
? By IFPA rule a player must compete in 9 or more holes/games to be eligible for any WPPR points.
? There are no automatic tiebreakers - Significant ties will be broken by the players with choice of game/position going to either the highest seeded player OR if they are tied to enter the playoffs (no seed advantage), those ties will be broken as follows:
Tournament Official picks 3 random games using the matchplay randomizer.
The tied parties then vote on which game to play.
If there is a tie in the vote, this process will repeat.
After 3 tries, if we are still tied, the tournament officials can choose an alternate method to choose the tiebreaker game.
? Each Pin-Hole will consist of a pinball machine with a TARGET SCORE. As in any golf event, a lower tournament Pin-Strokes score is better. The number of balls it takes for the player to reach that target score will represent the number of Pin-Strokes earned for that hole. Should a player not reach the target score after a full game is completed, a stroke value will be determined based on how close the player was to the target score at the end of their game.
For example, with a target score of 10 million points. A player will continue playing the game until he/she reaches 10 million points. If reached, the number of balls it took to reach that score will be recorded for that Pin-Hole. If the player fails to reach the target score after 5 balls are played, they will be awarded a score based on how close they were to that target:
7,500,000 – 9,999,990 points = 6 strokes
5,000,000 – 7,499,990 points = 7 strokes
2,500,000 – 4,999,990 points = 8 strokes
1,000,000 – 2,499,990 points = 9 strokes
ZERO ( 0 ) – 999,990 points = 10 strokes
Again, this is an example, and not guaranteed to be the actual distribution.
? The players with the lowest Pin-Stroke total after the qualifying round will advance to the Playoffs / Finals
? Spotters will be watching on the floor for cheating. The player must make sure they enter the CORRECT score on their scorecard. Anyone caught cheating by a spotter will be immediately disqualified with NO REFUND.
? Pictures are REQUIRED for every hole. When submitting your scoresheet, you will be required to show 2 random photos by a tournament official.
If both photos match the player's scoresheet, then the player is done.
If neither of the photos matches the player's scoresheet, the player will be disqualified with NO REFUND.
If one matches but the other does not, the tournament official will ask for a third random photo. If the third photo does not match, with two fails, the player will be disqualified with NO REFUND.
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PLAYOFFS / FINALS:
Check-in for Playoffs starts at 9:30 AM.
Playoffs will begin at 10:00 AM.
PLAYOFFS / FINALS will be a Pin-Golf / Group Elimination tournament played in 4 player groups.
Each four-player game will be played and scored using the same Pin-Golf scoring used in the qualifying rounds. Each round will consist of 5 games played.
Tournament officials have the right to use game banks or game grouping instead of specific games. So, in addressing the choice of game/machine the reference will remain the same whether referring to a single machine or a bank/group of machines.
The group that contains the highest-seeded player gets first choice of machine and order of play. The highest-seeded player within each group may choose either the machine to be played, or the order of play. If the highest-seeded player chooses order of play, the remaining players may choose their order, in descending order of seeding, and choice of machine then goes to the next highest-seeded player in the group. Conversely, if the highest-seeded player chooses the machine to be played, then the next highest-seeded player chooses the order of play, with the remaining players choosing order of play in decreasing order of seeding. Once a player verbally announces their game choice, or chooses position, that decision cannot be changed. If at any point a high-seed player declines to make a choice, the choice is deferred to the next highest-seeded player, as appropriate. The affected group still retains its order of choice among groups. If choice of machine falls to the lowest seeded player in a given group, that player must choose the machine to be played. At no time does a player’s seeding change from round to round; therefore the advantage of qualifying in first place can be significant.
No group may select a machine which has already been selected by a group in the same round, nor may they choose a machine on which they have already played in that round (unless machine malfunctions have made this unavoidable; tournament officials may choose to provide additional or substitute machines, however). If there are not enough machines for the above, duplicate machines may be chosen so long as they are played in a different order than the previous group selecting that game.
If the machine selected is currently being played by another group in a previous round of play, the group may wait for that round of play to be completed.
When all games have been completed by a group, each player will have a point total for the round. The players with the top two point totals from each group will advance.
Up to 32 Players (depending on number of entrants) will play in the A Division Finals. This DOES affect final standings. Top 4 will receive payouts.
Up to 8 Players (depending on number of entrants) may play in the B Division Finals. This does NOT affect final standings - B Division is playing for MONEY only. Top 4 will receive payouts.
B Division will either be played on different machines than A, or, if we need to use the same machines, A Division will be prioritized.
**** Anyone not checked in by 10:00 AM will be disqualified and replaced by the next highest seed present ****
The A Division playoffs will be started before the B Division playoffs. Even so, ALL check in times are the same (9:30 AM to 10:00 AM).
There will be NO exceptions to this unless there is a real emergency. Calling/texting/messaging will NOT work to check a player in.
BE ON TIME PLEASE!!!
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RULES ENFORCEMENT:
Please be respectful of all people around you, the facility, and the machines.
Yellow and Red card system will be used to enforce respectful play and behavior – that means in most cases you'll get one warning and then a second offense will result in ejection. However egregious Acts such as "coffin dropping" a pinball machine will result in immediate ejection.
Anyone ejected from the tournament may be asked to leave and will NOT receive a refund.
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WAIT LIST AND REFUNDS:
? Once all spots are sold, a WAIT LIST will be created.
? If a spot opens for a player on the wait list PRIOR to August 19, 2026, they will have 36 hours to respond to the message from Louis Marx / Eventbrite indicating that a spot is available.
? If a spot opens for a player on the wait list from August 19, 2026 until the day before the event, they will have 4 hours to respond to the message sent by Louis Marx / Eventbrite indicating that a spot is available.
? If a spot opens for a player on the wait list on the day of the tournament, will we offer to the highest wait listed player present first, then to all others who are not yet in the event and have indicated interest by checking in.
Please note that we are NOT responsible for a player's failure to receive the message, regardless of cause. We make every effort that we can to make contact.
Refunds will be allowed until August 19. After that, no refunds will be issued.
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ENTIRE TOURNAMENT:
Should a player earn an extra ball, they will play it as a continuation of the same Pin-Stroke on that particular Pin-Hole. So an extra ball earned on ball 2 will be a continuation of ball 2.
Tournament Directors and officials are human. We do our best to follow the rules and when in doubt we talk amongst ourselves and consult the IFPA rules. That said, we are all volunteers so please be respectful and, whether right or wrong, all decisions are final and will follow IFPA standard rules to the best of our abilities.
List of games (subject to change):
(This is a partial list -- more games will be published as the list grows)
EM
Cinema
Cleopatra
Doodle Bug
Pinball
Fortune
Sea Ray
Sing-Along
Sky Jump
Soccer
SOLID STATE
Diner
Mata Hari
Stellar Wars
MODERN
Foo Fighters Pro
Jurassic Park Premium
Ninja Eclipse
Rush Pro
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QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS:
You can reach out via email to Louis Marx, Tournament Director, at marx.pinball@gmail.com or send him a private message on Facebook.
Please note that YOU are responsible for your own health and safety!
While we do our best to be accurate in these event descriptions, EVERYTHING is subject to possible change without notice - everything listed is 100% intended and we deliver 95%+ of the time. However, things can change based on unforeseen circumstance so thank you for your patience and understanding.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-2026-carpool-pinball-pin-masters-tickets-1993033366450
https://www.facebook.com/groups/164360813769869/
http://dfw-pinball-league.com/
DFW Pinball League, LLC
