Tournament Info

UK Open Tournaments Overview

To play at any of the UK Open tournaments a UK Open main ticket must be purchased.We have a special early bird ticket is available with discount at £185, early bird tickets are available until 25th of August. After 25th of August the ticket price is £225 and comes with 3 cards but no t-shirts. Players who are 16 and under can enter the tournament for £60 and this includes 3 cards that can be used for any tournament.

14 and under can enter the junior tournament free of charge on Saturday afternoon, but if they wish to participate in the main tournaments it’s £60. There is also a volunteer discount ticket which is £145 and gives you access to special qualifying time on Saturday Morning at 8am but requires you to do 3x 1 hour volunteering sessions.

The tournaments at the UK Open consist of open card-based qualifying and match play final rounds and are open to all players attending the event. During open qualifying, each player may purchase as many cards as they like to attempt to qualify for the final rounds. A point system is used to rank each player’s score on each machine. Those who possess the highest ranking cards at the end of qualifying will participate in the match play final rounds. Note, restarting any game is not permitted – to combat this we have a new system in place to detect this those caught restarting a game will be disqualified from that tournament, repeat offenders will be disqualified from the entire event. 

This year we are using Matchplay. Please ensure you have a matchplay account with your IFPA number registered in it. 


If you have a smartphone or tablet it will make your enjoyment of the tournament greater and we strongly advise brining a smartphone. With Matchplay you can login to the tournament website and queue for games and analyse your own and your fellow competitors performance.  With matchplay you select the game you wish to play, you are placed into a queue and when you are next in the queue the scorekeeper will call you. Play your game and when complete put your hand up and a scorekeeper will take your score. At the end of a card you can tell the scorekeeper to submit the card or void it (note once a card is voided thats it its gone). If you are unable to queue, check that you are logged in, then check if you have any cards left. Cards can be bought at the front desk. 

In the final rounds, qualifying players play against each other in multiplayer games. A [different] point system is used to determine who advances to the next round and, ultimately, who wins the division. Full description of the formats can be found at the schedule section of the UK Open website. Once the final is completed we will hand out the trophies for that event. 

Please note no food is permitted in the main pinball area. Help us by placing all your rubbish in a bin.

Drinks are permitted we will also have bottles of water for sale at the main desk. 

Also the outside area at the rear of the room is off limits to everyone, we will have a zero tolerance policy on this and anyone found there will be asked to leave the event. This is a restriction the hotel has set and we will lose a holding deposit

Tournament Formats

There are 5 Tournaments at the UK Open

UK Open Main Tournament – ECS qualifying, Stern Pro Circuit Event: 5 game card qualifying, PAPA Style Matchplay 3 game per round finals top 40 players for A final, Next 16 (that are appropriate) for B final. This is an IFPA Certified+ Tournament.

UK Open Classics Tournament – 5 Game card qualifying, top 32 plays for A final – PAPA style Matchplay 3 game per round finals. This is an IFPA Certified+ Tournament

UK Open – Pinball Republic Championship – 5 game card qualifying, top 24 players for PAPA Style Matchplay 3 game per round final.

UK Open – Ladies UK Open – 5 game card qualifying top 24 players for A Final Papa Style 3 game per round finals

UK Open – Juniors tournament – 14 and under Tournament – Free to enter.  

Tickets

Ticket purchases will open up Monday 1st July  @ 19:00 BST (14:00 Eastern 20:00pm EU) for general sales on Ticket Tailor. Tickets are not transferable. 180 spots are available. 

For the past two years the costs of running this have significantly increased, from transportation, to venue hire, Wifi access and this means an increase in prices:

  • 2025 UK Open Early Bird Entry – includes entry for all three days, Ltd T-shirt and Lanyard, 3 Cards for any tournament – £185
  • 2025 UK Open Early Bird Volunteer’s Entry – includes entry for all three days, Ltd T-shirt and Lanyard, 3 Cards for any tournament and access to the 2 hour volunteer qualifying segment – Note – this requires you to complete a 3x 1- hour scorekeeping session, if you do not complete this we will vacate your tournament results. £145
  • 2025 UK Open Kids 16 and under – Includes entry for all three days, Ltd T-shirt and Lanyard, 3 Cards for any tournament – £60
  • 2020 UK Open Full Price Ticket – After 25th August tickets costs £225.00 and include 3 cards but no T-shirt!

Cards for each tournament can be bought for £6 each or 10 for £56.


Refunds will be available until the 14th of August minus any banking or ticket fees, after this no refunds will be available and tickets are not transferable. Unplayed cards will not be refunded so please plan accordingly. 


The full UK Open rules are based on INDISC and IFPAPA rules and can be read on the UK Open website under the Rules section. Tournament directors decision is final.