PAPA (Professional and Amateur Pinball Association) is a major competitive pinball tournament organization based in Pittsburgh that has been foundational to modern pinball competition since at least the 1990s. Known for hosting the prestigious Pinburgh tournament and PAPA World Championships featuring classic and modern games, PAPA pioneered tournament streaming infrastructure and established partnerships with Stern for the Pro Circuit. The organization was historically independent but has since been subsumed into the IFPA (International Federation of Pinball Associations), though it continues to operate tournaments and maintain significant influence in competitive pinball culture.
No aliases
PAPA tournament in Pittsburgh ran from 8 AM to 3 AM (19-hour format)
PAPA World Championship 2025 raised over $60,000 for 988 Foundation for Suicide Awareness
The Papa/Bowen instructional video on Taxi is approximately 12-15+ years old and features Mr. Kearns on audio/commentary
PAPA card requires 5 consecutive games; failure on 5th game voids card
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; tournament event where Daniel Spolar met Dean Grover in 2011
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association, held World Championship 2025 at Enterrium in Illinois in early September
Pinball streaming/broadcast company; providing state-of-the-art streaming rig to cover NYCPC finals live
Major pinball tournament; appears to be cancelled or suspended in near future; contributes to shortage of major events
Pennsylvania Pinball Association tournaments whose points are decaying as of April 9th
Major pinball tournament that Todd attended regularly (no longer happening as mentioned)
No linked glossary terms
PAPA and Banning arcades have closed, reducing access to rare pinball machines
PAPA discontinued tournaments and sold its entire pinball collection due to COVID-19
Papa survived a 2004 flood that destroyed 232 machines and recovered within one year for Papa 8 championships
PAPA's Pittsburgh tournament sold out 1,000 player spots in approximately 6 seconds with 500 on waitlist
PAPA broadcast booth was torn down and temporary booth established in back room
PAPA 21 has been postponed and there is approximately 99% chance it won't happen this year
PAPA tournament will become part of the Stern Pro Circuit starting in 2018
PAPA A Division first prize is $7,000 this year, down from previous $10,000
Playing 100 games in A Division would cost approximately $300
A Division best-score qualifying uses 6 out of 12 games
PAPA A Division in 2016 achieved the highest strength-of-field tournament rating ever recorded
Papa tournament Funhouse finals featured top-4 world player scores of 60-65 million, while 26 million is easily achievable on Pinball Arcade
PAPA hosts two public annual events: main tournament in August and Cupids & Canines Casino Night charity fundraiser
PAPA facility is 30,000 square feet
PAPA had been offline for seven years before Kevin Martin's involvement
PAPA 2004 flood destroyed 233 pinball games; 2005 tournament rebuilt and drew 275 players
Referenced tournament format used for Emerald City Cup finals (Papa-style: top seed picks games)
Papa World Championship pinball tournament for which Claytor illustrated t-shirt for PAPA 19
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; organizes Pinburgh tournament and Pro Circuit Finals; website crashed during IFPA number lookups for Pinburgh registration
Public location with Quicksilver on display; sold out 'in one second' in podcast discussion context
Supplied all tournament games for NYC Pinball Championships; partnership or sponsorship indicated by bringing games to event
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; referenced in context of pinball tournaments and community organization
Pinball tournament organization that Steve Bowden discovered and competed in
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; tournament series where custom ROMs first appeared; provides tournament director guidance
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; associated with Pinburgh tournament; Derek references as potential future host if PAPA collection becomes available
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; legendary tournament organization with Pinburgh tournament; referenced as gold standard venue
Tournament series referenced as historical comparison point; Heavy Metal Meltdown is noted as 'fan favorite from PAPA days'
YouTube channel with instructional pinball videos; Bowen created Taxi gameplay tutorial referenced throughout episode
Tournament (Papa Pinball) that Keith Elwin enjoyed greatly; its closure around 2016 contributed to his reduced competitive participation.
Major pinball championship tournament where Lyman won three titles
Reference standard pinball tournament; INDISC being compared as 'the new PAPA' by Colin McAlpine for facility quality and organization
Pennsylvania Pinball Association; ran PAPA World Championship; facility no longer hosts tournaments but organization continues with online tutorials
International pinball championship organization; Asher is reigning PAPA world champion
Major pinball tournament venue in Pittsburgh, about 1 hour 15 minutes from show location; draws regional tournament players
Pittsburgh-based tournament organization mentioned as venue where Andy regularly competes in Fight Club and other tournaments
Major pinball tournament organization (mentioned in context of competitive machines, PAPA 22 reference).
Pinball organization; hosts Papa tournament and maintains Papa.org resource with rule sheets and playthrough videos
Historical competitive pinball tournament series, previously sourced older games for Stern Pro Circuit Finals
Major pinball tournament with A/B/Classics divisions, recently implemented app-based queue and entry system, filmed by HBO
Professional pinball tournament organization providing streaming equipment and three-commentator setup for Buffalo event
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association tournament, major event held at Replay Brewing Foundation facility; staging location for Pinburgh games
Pinball championship event (alongside Pinball Expo) where top competitive players met in the 1990s-2000s
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association tournament in Pittsburgh; Raymond first attended around 2011-2012 at age 18-19; best finish was second place; major competitive milestone
Professional/Amateur Pinball Association; host runs PAPA tournaments in Tucson, referenced in marketing flyers
Historical pinball tournament organization referenced as scale comparison point for INDISC's growth and current tournament structure
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, facility in Pittsburgh facing shutdown due to building sale, PAPA 20 and 21 tournaments mentioned
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, circuit provider for It Never Drains tournament
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; hosts tournaments referenced in content
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; 30,000 sq ft facility in Pittsburgh hosting major tournaments twice yearly; founded by Steve Epstein, now led by Kevin Martin; uses PARS ranking system
Pinball tournament organization founded/co-founded by Roger Sharpe; held events in New York tied to charities
Pinball tournament/venue where Project Pinball filmed testimonials from tournament players about therapeutic benefits of pinball
Pennsylvania Pinball Association; facility with 400 working machines; now closed but hosts ReplayFX tournament annually; formative competitive experience for Tim Sexton
Professional Amateur Pinball Association - the competitive pinball tournament organization where Sheets won the world championship
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; runs circuit tournaments and formats referenced by Davidson
Tournament organization; papa.org referenced for learning machine tutorials before tournament play
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association tournament; Jack Danger and Brad Smith competed, did not qualify for finals
Pinball tournament circuit; Jack Danger considering attending/streaming from Papa following WrestleMania stream week
Pinball arcade venue with strict no-swearing tournament rules
Pinball tournament (Pennsylvania Area Pinball Association implied), Jack attending caused exhaustion
Pinball league/tournament series where Jack Danger has competed multiple times; mentioned in multiple anecdotes
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; organizes Pinburgh tournament; headquarters in Pittsburgh
Professional pinball tournament organization; Jack discovered PAPA videos on YouTube and Twitch as inspiration for streaming rig setup
Pinball tournament venue in Pittsburgh where Newhart ran tournaments and donated a Wizard of Oz machine
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; provides free PAPA League Manager software (league.papa.org) used by ~15 leagues; hosts qualifying and invitational tournaments
Professional/amateur pinball tournament; Lyman won three PAPA championships; Jeff met Lyman and other world champions at PAPA 2016
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; predecessor tournament organization to IFPA; where Keith Johnson competed
Major national pinball championship; has entry fees ($75-$120); Mike estimates 9-20% chance of making A finals, <1% of winning
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; founded by Steve Epstein
Pinball tournament series featured extensively in Wizard Mode documentary; Robert Gagno won 2016 championship
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; headquarters flooded by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004; had recently revived operations after dormancy since 1998
Professional pinball tournament organization; hosts world championship competitions featured prominently in the documentary
Pinball tournament organization founded/organized by Kevin Martin
World pinball championship; 2004 venue damaged by flood (233 games destroyed); 2005 tournament rebuilt with 275 players in August
Pinball tournament organizer; Ryan Claytor created designs for PAPA 19 World Pinball Championship
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association, runs tournaments out of Scott Township facility near Pittsburgh with 400+ pinball machines
Tournament organization; LTG aspires to see ESPN coverage of PAPA events
Pinball tournament organization; Adam Ruben competed in two PAPA World Championships
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association - competitive/community organization
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; major competitive pinball tournament organization based in Pittsburgh; operates PAPA World Championships and PAPA Circuit
Pinball tournament/community organization; Kevin Martin associated with this group
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, established late 1970s by Sharpe and Epstein, now run by Kevin Martin, recognized as world's premier competitive pinball event
Professional pinball tour organization whose player number was auctioned; tournament format was adapted for this event
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association; organizer of Pinburgh tournament
Closed pinball venue; author notes its closure has elevated importance of places like Pinball Perfection for accessing rare machines
Defunct pinball tournament organization; their collection was liquidated and many machines acquired by Dojo
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association; based in Pittsburgh; discontinued tournaments and sold collection due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Pinball arcade venue that has closed; previously housed rare machines
Referenced as benchmark standard for pinball machine condition/quality (Pennsylvania pinball tournament/venue organization)
Papa World Pinball Championships; historically featured skill-based divisions (A/B/C) with dedicated game banks; abandoned this model for Papa 21 onward
Pinball title recently streamed by Tom Graff with 3.35M viewers and front-page placement on Twitch. Tom thanking Andy Bagwell, Penny Epstein, IFPA for cooperation.
Tournament organizer known for extremely difficult game setups forcing competitive players to train on hard machines; had 'dark period' in Stern's history alongside NBA/Avatar releases
Major pinball tournament revived in 2024; organized by Papa crew; compared unfavorably to Pinberg for player experience
Pittsburgh pinball organization with new storage/facility for Pinburgh machine preparation and Fight Club testing
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; major competitive pinball tournament series; historically held at Carnegie Hall; Jeff attended PAPA 21 event where he met elite players.
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; circuit events referenced in discussion; known for multi-tiered divisions accommodating all skill levels
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; operates from new Pittsburgh facility (moved January 2024); runs Papa Pinball TV YouTube show Tuesday nights
Pacific Pinball Association; one of three entities involved in Stern Pro Circuit governance alongside IFPA and Stern
Pittsburgh-based organization providing older game machines for circuit finals; known for professional tournament setup and broadcast crew
Papa tournament where Raymond finished 19th-20th in A division but top 12 in all classics events in April
Organization referenced for historical flood that destroyed pinball collection; parallel to Melissa's near-loss experience
Pittsburgh Area Pinball Association; organizer of Pinberg; dissolving/ended operations
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; held World Championships in New York; Koy Morris has attended all PAPAs since PAPA 3
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; founded by Roger Sharp and Steve Epstein; predecessor to modern IFPA
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; had women's division as early as PAPA IV (1990s); women's divisions reappeared at PAPA 19
Competitive pinball tournament that Levi has attended; referenced as PAPA 20
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; previously defunct; responsible for Pinburg, Replay FX convention, Pinball World Championships; announced 2024 comeback via YouTube
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; operates card-based tournament entry system requiring five consecutive games to qualify
Long-running pinball tournament series in New York City; Bowen participated early in career and created tutorial videos there
Pittsburgh-based pinball tournament organization; early pioneers of pinball streaming content alongside Jack Danger.
Largest annual pinball tournament in the world, Pittsburgh-based, returning in 2021 in a new venue
Major annual tournament ('Pinball University'); Johnny won C, B, A divisions; Papa 19 (2016) where Johnny infected multiple players with flu; Papa 20 (2017) where Escher won with Herb-style format; Papa 21 anticipated for 2021
Competitive pinball tournament organization; Jeff attended PAPA 18 or 19 where he encountered Lyman Sheets
Pittsburgh-based pinball facility hosting major tournaments; venue where David Yopp competed approximately 10 years ago after watching Special When Lit
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association tournament; one of original ~10 early IFPA events; established certified event precedent.
Pittsburgh-area pinball tournament organization (Pennsylvania Pinball Association or similar); provides machine selection, delivery, setup, breakdown, and space donation for Amy's charity events.
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, runs Papa format tournaments and championships
Tournament tribute to Lyman F. Sheets; returning in September 2025 at Interium in Chicago; taking 72 to finals plus 8 to B Division; no cap on entries; signup at LFS.Papa.org
Major pinball tournament returned in 2024 after absence; four-player group format; Raymond Davidson won in 2024; held in honor of Lyman Sheets.
Competitive pinball scoring system created by Steve Epstein and Roger Sharp; foundational to modern competitive pinball culture.
Major pinball tournament with evolving format; transitioned from multi-game 'Papa style' runs to single-game play; includes classic/EM games in lineup
Major pinball tournament event where Zach won circuit event and Classics 1
Organization (likely Pinball Athlete Professional Association) that certified pinball contests contributing to Twin Galaxies leaderboards.
Tournament organization; Mike Primo works with PAPA team on production and streaming; hosts Monday night streams at headquarters with 12-person production group
Major pinball tournament where Julie Dorses won the women's championship
Pittsburgh-area pinball tournament venue hosting Sunday/Thursday tournaments, Monday Night Papa TV broadcasts
Pennsylvania Pinball Association annual tournament; mentioned as venue where Josh performs consistently well
Pop-a-ticket format tournament; historically high-stress, high-anxiety format; described as difficult for casual players
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; operates Pinburgh and other tournaments; closed original facility in January 2019 and relocated to new space with loading docks
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; based in Pittsburgh; maintains tournament rules and standards available to TDs; Pinburgh is PAPA's flagship event.
Professional Association of Pinball Players—scoring and ranking system created by Steve Epstein and Roger Sharp in 1970s, patterned after bowling's Peterson Point System. Introduced structured league play and World Championships at Broadway Arcade.
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; founded by Roger Sharpe and Steve Epstein in late 1970s after Valley Super Shooter Finals; now part of Stern Pro Circuit (as of 2018).
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association partnering on WIPT
Annual pinball tournament (Papa International/Pinball At Papa) where Jack and Dead Flip team reunite yearly to compete and support each other. One of earliest pinball streamers on Twitch.
Professional Amateur Pinball Association; major tournament circuit in 1990s-2000s; predecessor to IFPA; Keith competed in B-division at PAPA 3
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association tournament in Pittsburgh; influenced Chris Rhodes' game setup philosophy; games set up 'super hard but fair'; reference point for Wedgehead's tuning standards
Organization that ran Kickstarter-funded streaming (Papa TV) which traveled to Southern California in 2014, inspiring IE Pinball streaming startup
Professional And Amateur Pinball Association championships; Bowen won three times, most recently PAPA 16 with family present; tournament format emphasizes classic games
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association World Championships; inactive major tournament; Sharp believes it may return 'between now and forever'; held in Pittsburgh
Early pinball tournament where Roger Sharp witnessed Lyman's competitive play and skill; referenced as PAPA 2 or 3 era
Competitive pinball tournament organization; Josh Sharp won championship in 2020
Professional & Amateur Pinball Association World Championship 2025, held at Enterrium in Schaumburg, IL; last of five IFPA Majors for the year; part of Stern Pro Circuit
Pinball tournament organization where MacCulloch competed, finishing 17th in C Division first year, 7th/8th second year
PAPA tournament in 1993 was Sheets' first individual tournament win
Tournament organization (now subsumed into IFPA) that runs Flash Gordon as tournament game; host notes it no longer exists independently
Major tournament running 8 AM to 3 AM (19 hours); 72 participants; part of Stern Pro Circuit with 200% WPPR boost; raises funds for 988 Foundation
Professional And Amateur Pinball Association; competitive pinball organization mentioned as foundational to Robert's understanding of pinball community
Pinball tournament organization at Antarium; classics division mentioned; hosts significant EM machine competitions
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; Keith Elwin is six-time PAPA World Champion
Major pinball tournament that Tom streams. Recently experienced internet outage during broadcast.
Tournament organization where Colin competed in B and A divisions before focusing on Pinburgh
Pioneer organization for tournament streaming infrastructure; worked with Keith Elwin and Randy to establish early streaming setup
Tutorial video creator, Joe watched 'pretty much every single video' for rules learning
Organization running Pinburgh tournament; referred to as 'heroes of pinball' for volunteer-driven major event
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; runs Pinburgh tournament; partners with Stern on Pro Tour
Organization referenced through sale where Anna acquired Harlem
Referenced in historical context; streaming tournaments around 2010-2011
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association; hosted early tournament broadcasts with top-down cameras