Overview

Schedule:

The top 15 Stern Pro Circuit events held the previous season with the highest average WPPR point value over the past 3 years will be invited to be on the Stern Pro Circuit for the following season. The lowest 5 events based on average WPPR point value will be dropped from the Stern Pro Circuit the following season, and replaced with the next biggest 5 events. Tournament Directors are welcome to pass on having their event included in the Stern Pro Circuit, in which case the next largest event will be selected until the schedule is filled.

Some pinball tournaments will not be eligible for the Stern Pro Circuit. Examples of ineligible events would include the IFPA World Pinball Championship and The Stern Pro Circuit Final itself. In situations where larger events host multiple pinball tournaments, only one pinball tournament will be eligible for inclusion in the SPC. In these scenarios, the final determination of which tournaments will be included in the SPC will be made by Stern Pinball and IFPA staff.

Circuit Standings:

Competitive pinball players will participate in a circuit of 20 tournaments, with all results during the Circuit season contributing to their final qualifying point total. At the end of the Stern Pro Circuit season, the top 32 ranked players will be invited to compete in the Stern Pro Circuit Final tournament.

The Stern Pro Circuit Final is an invitation-only, no-entry-fee-required event where all contestants who qualify win prize money. The Stern Pro Circuit Final is a unique competitive event that pits each season’s best performers against one another in a last-man-standing tournament format.*

All players who participate in an SPC event will be awarded SPC points towards the overall standings. These points will be based on the WPPR points earned at those events.

Circuit Championship:*

Final Circuit standings will be determined promptly after the last Circuit event. Any player in the top 32 of the rankings will be invited to the Circuit Final.

Qualified players will be notified promptly by Circuit coordinators. If a player cannot attend, their opening will be filled by the next highest seeded available player who has participated in the Circuit. Players who do not attend will not receive any prize from the Circuit Final.

Players will be placed in a single elimination bracket based on the final seedings. Players seeded 1 through 8 will receive 2 byes, while players seeded 9 through 16 will receive 1 bye.

Each match will be a best-of-three. The higher seeded player will have choice of machine or position for the 1st game, with the loser of each subsequent game having choice of machine or order, until someone has won 2 games. Machines can only be selected ONCE per player for the duration of the finals until all available selections have been exhausted. A machine may also not be played more than once in the same match. Once a player verbally announces their game choice, or chooses position, that decision will be locked in and cannot be changed.

Each player will have the opportunity for 30 seconds of practice time before starting every game of every match. This is to ensure that both players have a chance to get familiar with the machine.

The winner of the match advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated.

The Circuit Championship features a guaranteed package of monetary prizes. The prize pool may be adjusted at any time based on additional event funds or sponsorship dollars received. The tentative prize pool is:*

1st place –> $5000 + New Stern Pro pinball machine + Stern Pro Circuit Belt
2nd place –> $2000
3rd place –> $1500
4th place –> $1500
5th through 8th place –> $1000 each
9th through 16th place –> $750 each
17th through 24th place –> $500 each
25th through 32nd place –> $250 each

The winner of the Circuit Championship will also receive a brand new Stern Pinball machine, the Stern Pro Circuit belt, and the title “Stern Pro Circuit Player of the Year”.

* Finals format, prize pool package, and location of championship final subject to change

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA)

STERN PINBALL

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

This limited software license Agreement (“Agreement”) applies to your use of Stern Pinball Software pre-installed on a Stern Pinball Machine and any Authorized Updates made available to you. BY USING YOUR STERN PINBALL MACHINE, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. If you do not agree to the terms of this Agreement, do not use your Stern Pinball Machine or any Authorized Updates. Please read this entire Agreement, which governs your use of the Stern Pinball Machine, Stern Pinball Software and all Authorized Updates. ADULT CONSENT TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MUST BE AN ADULT OF THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE. YOU ARE LEGALLY AND FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL ACTIONS USING YOUR STERN PINBALL MACHINE AND SOFTWARE AND ACCESSING OR USING ANY ONLINE GAMING PLATFORM, INCLUDING THE ACTIONS OF ANYONE YOU ALLOW TO USE AND ACCESS TO YOUR MACHINE AND ANY ASSOCIATED ACCOUNT. YOU AFFIRM THAT YOU HAVE REACHED THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY, UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY, YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN MUST CONSENT TO THIS AGREEMENT. DEFINITIONS.
  1. “Stern Pinball Machine” means a Stern Pinball arcade game machine.
  2. “Stern Pinball Software” means software (including but not limited to firmware) pre-installed in the Stern Pinball Machine, including all Authorized Content and any Authorized Updates that Stern Pinball may make available to You from time to time.
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LICENSE. Stern Pinball hereby grants You a nonexclusive, non-transferable, limited, and revocable right and license to use one copy of the Stern Pinball Software and Authorized Content and any Authorized Update solely for your personal use, or that of your patrons and customers if you are a commercial entity, for playing a single Stern Pinball Machine. The Stern Pinball Software, Authorized Content and Authorized Updates are licensed, not sold, to You, and no ownership rights are transferred by this Agreement. The Stern Pinball Software Authorized Content and Authorized Updates are protected by U.S. and international copyright. All rights not explicitly granted to you in this Agreement are reserved by Stern Pinball.
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    3. You will not create, develop, distribute or assist anyone else in creating, developing or distributing any Unauthorized Content or Unauthorized Software intended for use with a Stern Pinball Machine, whether to add to or modify the gameplay, any audio content (whether music, sound or voice), or any video content of any Stern Pinball Machine, or to gain advantage in any online or other game modes, or otherwise.
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    7. Stern Pinball may update the Stern Pinball Software from time to time without further notice to You, for example, to update any anti-piracy, security, and technical measure.
PRIVACY POLICY Your use of the Stern Pinball Machine, Stern Pinball Software and any Authorized Updates are subject to Stern Pinball’s Privacy Policy which can be found at https://sternpinball.com/privacy-policy/   WARRANTY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, THE STERN PINBALL SOFTWARE, AUTHORIZED CONTENT AND AUTHORIZED UPDATES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWABLE UNDER LAW, STERN PINBALL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, STERN PINBALL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT OPERATION OF THE STERN PINBALL MACHINE OR ANY ONLINE OR CONNECTED GAME NETWORK WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES STERN PINBALL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; ANY LOSS OF DATA, PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, OR PROFITS; OR ANY INABILITY TO USE THE STERN PINBALL MACHINE, STERN PINBALL SOFTWARE OR ANY AUTHORIZED UPDATE. THESE EXCLUSIONS APPLY EVEN IF STERN PINBALL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THESE DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. Some countries do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation or exclusion may not apply to You. These terms apply to the maximum extent permitted by law and unless prohibited by law. These terms do not change your rights under the laws of your country if those laws do not permit that change. TERRITORY AND CHOICE OF LAW This License is valid only in the country in which you purchased your Stern Pinball Machine. This License will be subject to and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, U.S.A., regardless of conflict of laws principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Cook County, Illinois, U.S.A. for the resolution of any dispute regarding this Agreement or the subject matter of this Agreement and to waive any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts. This Agreement may be updated by Stern Pinball from time to time with the current version posted at www.sternpinball.com/EULA. Your continued use of the Stern Pinball Software an Authorized Update after an updated Agreement has been posted constitutes your acceptance of all of its terms.
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