With playoffs only a couple weeks away I wanted to take a moment and clarify how the division structure works for playoffs.  We have had allot of new people join the league in recent years and information on the B division of the TOPL playoffs hasn’t really been made clear recently.

It’s all written down in our official rules:

http://topl.ca/topl-rules/

But I know it’s a LONG read so I figured I would offer up an FAQ on the B division so people can make a more informed decision this playoffs on which Division they would like to play in.

What is the B Division?

The B division is a separate division we offer to members during the playoffs to give lesser skilled and more casual players an opportunity to compete amongst themselves for cash/prizes.

Who is eligible to play in the B Division?

Everyone that has a valid percentage is eligible for the B division assuming that they have not won cash in the A division in the last 3 years and they have not won the B division at the previous playoffs.   Anyone who does not have a valid percentage is automatically slotted into the A division.

Doesn’t the A Division get more money?

Not specifically, at the end of the year we tally up all the fees that have been taken in.  We then subtract out league expenses (Web hosting costs, giveaway expenses, food for playoffs, etc) and that gives us a final value.  We then divide that value by the number of players we have had in the current season.  That gives us a “player value”.  That player value follows you to your division.

So if there are more people in B division then there are in A the B division will have the larger prize pool

So what’s the difference between A and B then?

The only difference is who is eligible to play in the B division and WPPR points.  Everyone that plays in the A division will be ranked higher than anyone who plays in B.  So while everyone will get some WPPR points to contribute to their Provincial Championship eligibility:

http://www.ifpapinball.com/rankings/custom_view.php?id=109

The last place person in A will be ranked higher than the first place person in B.  So if you care about trying to make the Ontario PCS or your ranking in general A division would be where you want to play, otherwise feel free to play B.

So this all sounds great, how do I play in the B division?

At the start of the playoffs on the 29^th one of the SLO’s will come around and ask every eligible person which division they would like to play, A or B.  The player then makes the choice for themselves and assuming we have 6 people or more a B division will be run.  The playoffs still play exactly the same, but in the Standings for the match play a player in B division will be marked with a B and will be ranked separately from the other players.

I don’t want to play in B, I want to play in A what will that do to the prizes in A?

Nothing really, the only difference might be the number of positions we are able to pay out in the A division.  The previous few years we have been able to pay out down to 8 spots.  If we ran a B division those extra spots of payout in A would then go to the B players.

Hopefully the above makes things more clear on what the B division at playoffs is, how it works, and who is eligible to play.  But if you have any other questions, feel free to speak to Adam, Chris or Luch at the next league night or respond here.

Thanks

Your TOPL Leadership Team

Adam, Chris, Luch

Thanks to Jim for hosting this week!  With only a couple of weeks left Mike is getting close to overtaking John for 2nd, although at this point I think it’s impossible for anyone to catch Adam for overall points.  Luch has also maintained a lead on Most Improved, so it’s likely he’ll hold on to it.  Full scores are up on the PAPA site. 

Just a reminder that playoffs are Nov 29th at Luch’s place in Newmarket.  The tournament is open to anyone who wants to come out, so feel free to bring friends or pass along the details.  We’re aiming for an 11 AM start again for match play, so it should be a good day of pinball. 

See everyone at my place next Monday, and have a great week!

Thanks to Adam for hosting this week.  Not only did we get to play some new machines this time out, but everyone got to see the progress on the new pinball building.  Still a ways to go, but things are really coming together.  This week though, we had 29 players out for week 12.  Scores are up on the PAPA site, and Adam has now won the High Score trophy for the season.  Luch has also retaken the Most Improved lead, but there’s still room for those standings to change, so it’ll be another few weeks before that’s decided.  We also gave away two more pairs of headphones (thanks Myles!) to Julian and Jack as with a Mystery Score giveaway. 

We’re back out to Jim’s place next week, so hope see everyone there.  Have a great week!

Thanks to Nick for hosting this week!  As we get into the last third of the season, Adam has a 14 point lead on the points total, with 5 players between 95 and 100 points.  Adam has also almost clinched the high score title for the season, with a current lead of 21 to 8.  Luch has also moved into the lead for most improved for the season.  A lot can still happen in the last few weeks though, so we’ll see where things end up after the next four Mondays.

Next week we’re back up to Adam’s place-have a great week everyone!

Thanks to Luch for hosting this week-we had a good turnout, and some new games to try out, some of which didn’t make it into rotation due to issues.  Everything should be up and running for the playoffs at the end of November though, so at least people got a chance to try everything out.  Scores for this week are up on the PAPA site.  As expected, Adam has pulled way ahead in the points and high score totals, but it’s still theoretically possible for someone to catch him.  The rest of the standings are pretty close too, so there’s lots of room to shift for WPPR points.  We also had two more Mystery Score giveaways this week, with Kirk and Mike C each winning a pair of the headphones that Myles donated (thanks again Myles!). 

Next week we’re back out at Nick’s place-have a great week!

It’s not very often that we get to put a new host into the rotation, and this week was different because it was our first public location since the Pinball Cafe closed down.  Many thanks to Dan and the whole crew at 3030 for having us out.  Good beer, good food, and good pinball.  Hopefully everyone enjoyed the change of pace.  We also picked up a few new players this week, so hopefully this will be a good way to convert some more regulars to the league. 

Scores for this week are up on the PAPA site, and the standings are still pretty tight.  Adam has a 10 point lead on John, but there’s also a bunch of people in the 70s that could still catch up.  Also, keep in mind that there are WPPR points for season standings, so even if you’re not topping the list, higher standings do affect your overall ranking (including for the Provincials next year).  Luch is still holding on to most improved by a percentage point, so we’ll see how that holds for the rest of the season. 

We’re taking next week off for Thanksgiving, and then the week after we’re at Luch’s place on the 19th.  Enjoy the long weekend, and remember that the election is on the 19th, so if you’re planning on going straight from work to pinball, you might want to detour to go vote, or get it taken care of ahead of time.

Thanks to Kim for hosting everyone this week!  We had one new member this week, so welcome to Anthony!  Scores are up on the PAPA site.  Luch is back in the lead for most improved, and Mike Capocci is close to edging out John for second place in the overall points total. 

Next week, we’re at 3030 downtown for our first public location since the Pinball Cafe closed down.  Remember that there is no host fee for this location, but that games are on coin drop (everyone is responsible for paying for their own league games), and food and drink is your own responsibility.  Fortunately, 3030 has a good variety of both available, so you should be covered.  See everyone there!

Scores for this week are up, and while Adam and John are still in the 1/2 spots, Mike and Steve M have both moved up a little.  Barry has also jumped to the lead for Most Improved.

For this week’s Mystery Score challenge, Adam J and Chris B each won a pair of headphones courtesy of Myles.  We’ll be giving away two sets of premium earbuds each week until we’re done with them.

See everyone at Kim’s next week!

TOPL is putting the TO back in the PL by finally heading back downtown again to visit 3030 for a league night on Oct 5th.

As this is a public venue there will be no host fee for the night, but you will be responsible for coin drop at the location. Also 3030 has a great selection of food and beer so make sure you come hungry/thirsty!

For new players who can’t make it out to our more rural locations, this is an opportunity to give Canada’s longest standing pinball league a try. League fees are waived for new members if you have never attended a league night before.

Also as a reminder a Williams Disco Fever will be given away at our playoffs at the end of this season, and just by attending on Oct 5th that gets you another shot to win this machine!

Finally we will also be doing a Mystery Tshirt draw on that night and giving away one of the TOPL Grey Colored TShirts!

For anyone not familiar with our regular league nights, players are put in the groups of 3 or 4 so we need players to show up before 8pm to sign in as groupings will be created at 8pm sharp and play will begin as soon as sheets have been completed.

Look forward to seeing everyone at 3030!

Mike, Adam and Chris
Your TOPL Leadership Team

Want to take a moment and recognize some new sponsors to the league!

First Kim Darwoski, Kim donated a Tshirt to the league that was misplaced but $30 has been provided to make up the cost of the misplaced shirt. Once the run of white shirts has been sold out, we have plans to do another run of color TOPL shirts and at that time we will purchase a shirt with Kim’s donation to giveaway as part of our Mystery Score Giveaway! So thanks very much for that Kim.

Next Myles Cameron has graciously donated 10 sets of headphones to the league! We will be giving these away 2 sets per week for the next 5 weeks again via Mystery score. Thanks very much to Myles for the donation!

Finally Mike Luciani has donated another $100 to the league again to increase the food available at the league Playoffs!

Thanks to each and every one of our sponsors! Your support is very much appreciated.

If you have something you would like to donate to the league, please let myself, Luch or Chris know and we will work with you to see it best benefit everyone in the league!

Chris, Mike and Adam
Your TOPL Leadership Team