The REVA Halle Eissport in Vöcklabruck, Austria, transformed from an ice rink into a vibrant hub for pinball enthusiasts from May 13th to 17th, 2026, for the inaugural Austrian Pinball Festival (APF). Building on the resounding success of the 2025 European Pinball Championship (EPC) held at the same venue, organizers spearheaded by Stefan Riedler of RS-Pinball aimed to establish an annual celebration of the classic amusement game. This five-day event, featuring a comprehensive schedule of tournaments, seminars, and a vast free-play area, successfully captured the growing momentum of the pinball community in Austria and beyond.

From Championship to Festival: The Genesis of APF

The transition from the one-off European Pinball Championship in 2025 to the Austrian Pinball Festival in 2026 was a direct response to the overwhelming positive reception of the previous year’s event. The significant support and enthusiasm demonstrated by attendees fueled the ambition to create a recurring gathering. The APF was conceived as a slightly more focused, yet equally engaging, annual showcase, designed to foster community, competition, and appreciation for pinball in a dedicated festival format. The REVA Halle Eissport, a versatile venue that transitions from hosting winter sports like ice hockey and curling to becoming a sprawling 1,800 square meter exhibition space from late February onwards, provided the ideal setting for this ambitious undertaking. The transformation of the hall, from the melting of ice to the laying of a new floor, symbolized the shift in focus and the anticipation for the pinball spectacle.

Venue and Amenities: A Welcoming Atmosphere

The festival grounds offered a comprehensive experience for attendees, starting even before entering the main hall. RS-Pinball’s innovative mobile mini-arcade, a fully equipped promotional vehicle, greeted visitors. This self-contained unit, capable of being driven directly onto show floors, featured a rotating selection of pinball machines, multi-game video arcade cabinets, and skill-based games. For the APF, it showcased popular titles such as Pokémon, Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye, Queen, and Halloween, offering a taste of the diverse pinball offerings within.

Adjacent to the entrance, the catering facilities ensured attendees were well-fueled throughout the five-day event. A dedicated food truck offered rotisserie specialties, while a main catering team provided classic fair like burgers, fried chicken, and fries. Inside the venue, the bar served a range of beverages and offered items such as schnitzel rolls and hot pizzas, prepared to order in a bank of pizza ovens. Recognizing the need for a comfortable dining experience, numerous tables and benches were strategically placed near the bar area, with the added convenience of drink tags for attendees to identify their beverages. For those seeking a wider variety of refreshments, the Maximarkt supermarket was a short walk away across the car park. The festival’s organizers noted a logistical lesson learned from the previous year, emphasizing the importance of checking local public holidays, as the store’s closure on a public holiday during the event impacted some attendees’ plans.

Event Structure and Pricing

The Austrian Pinball Festival was structured as a five-day event, commencing with a Warm-Up Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. This set the tone for a packed schedule that included eight distinct tournaments, culminating in the finals of the High Score Tournament on Sunday evening. Entry to the free-play area was priced at €25 per day, with weekend passes available for €45 and a full five-day pass for €75. Family day tickets were also offered at €60 for two adults and two children. Options for combined entry and tournament packages, as well as individual tournament entries, were available, catering to a wide range of participation preferences.

The Free Play and Vendor Areas: A Pinball Wonderland

The central section of the REVA Halle Eissport was dedicated to the free-play area and vendor stalls, organized into eight distinct rows. This layout provided an immersive experience, with a mix of modern and classic machines, as well as a showcase of homebrew creations and manufacturer displays.

Key Vendor Highlights:

• Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP): Showcased a significant collection of their popular titles, drawing considerable attention from attendees eager to experience their feature-rich games.
• Turner Pinball and Haggis Pinball: Both manufacturers presented their latest offerings, highlighting the innovative designs and craftsmanship emerging from smaller, independent pinball companies.
• Vincent Mods: Displayed an impressive array of high-quality toppers and themed modifications designed to enhance the aesthetic and gameplay of various pinball machines.
• Hexa Pinball: Featured their new prototype, The Three Musketeers, alongside their previous Space Hunt models, offering a glimpse into their unique manufacturing processes and playfield technology.
• SteelShot Pinball: Presented beautifully restored and converted pinball machines, including Lupin The 3rd (based on Diner), Hokuto No Ken (based on Rollergames), and They Call Me Trinity (a conversion of Dirty Harry). Their stand also offered a variety of decorative and functional pinball parts.
• Pinball Parts: Provided a valuable resource for attendees, stocking hard-to-find components essential for pinball machine maintenance and restoration.
• American Pinball: Showcased their range of titles, demonstrating the company’s growing presence in the pinball market.
• Spooky Pinball: Presented their full lineup, including the highly anticipated Beetlejuice, Halloween, and Ultraman, underscoring their commitment to licensed themes and innovative gameplay.
• Homebrews and Custom Designs: A significant portion of the free-play area was dedicated to the burgeoning homebrew scene. Notable examples included:
  • Black Knight 3000, a modern take on a classic with enhanced display and rules.
  • Tales of the HTL Kapfenberg, an impressive educational project by Sandro Ablasser and Dominik Pliso, featuring a steel playfield.
  • Buddy, a unique pinball designed to teach about the digestive system.
  • Stefan Mader’s creative contributions: Deep Blue Rage, Tree House Club, and the striking black-and-white coffee table machine, Spectra 6.
  • Alessandro Cacciola’s SteelShot Pinball conversions.
  • Geiger’s German-made conversions such as Miss World (based on Bally’s KISS) and La Retata (based on Williams’ High Speed).
  • Arkon’s Sexy Girl, a semi-original design building on Bally’s Playboy layout with integrated projection.
  • The Pinball Power Up Controller (PPUC), an open-source project enabling custom rule sets and graphics for Williams and Data East/Sega/Stern games, was demonstrated on machines like Flash and Time Warp.

Beyond pinball, the festival also featured four amusement machines, including a popular table football (foosball) table, a dance machine, and skill games like Lucky Bowl and Beer Fest, providing alternative entertainment options.

Tournament Schedule and Results

The APF hosted a variety of IFPA-sancredited tournaments, alongside several more casual competitions.

Warm-Up Tournament

The festival kicked off on Wednesday with the Warm-Up Tournament, attracting 175 participants. The competition comprised seven rounds of four-player groups, with a point system rewarding success. Viggo Löwgren emerged as the top qualifier, followed by Dominique De Cock, and a tie for third between Arno Nöbl and Trond Vegard Olsen. The playoff rounds culminated in a thrilling final between Viggo Löwgren and Lukas Ott. After a hard-fought best-of-three series, Viggo Löwgren secured the victory, with Lukas Ott taking second place and Dominique De Cock finishing third.

Main Austrian Pinball Masters Tournament

This flagship tournament involved a multi-stage qualification process held on Thursday and Friday. Players competed in their respective blocks and groups, playing a single game against each opponent within their group. The top four players from each group advanced to the playoff rounds on Saturday. The 64 qualifiers included a diverse field of top players from across Europe. The Main Tournament playoffs featured best-of-seven head-to-head matches. Arvid Flygare and Theodor Kristensen reached the final after navigating challenging semi-final encounters. In a dramatic best-of-seven final, Theodor Kristensen ultimately triumphed over Arvid Flygare in a deciding game on NBA Fastbreak, with a final score of 4-3. Timber Engelbeen secured third place by defeating Jakub Tkacz.

High Score Tournament

Running concurrently with other events, the High Score Tournament allowed participants to achieve their best scores on 16 designated machines over 30 hours of qualifying. Players’ top 12 scores, with a maximum of two per machine, contributed to their overall ranking. Timber Engelbeen topped the qualifying leaderboard, followed closely by Lukas Ott and Joshua Iles. The playoff rounds, which spanned Saturday night and Sunday, saw Arvid Flygare emerge victorious in a closely contested final against Lukas Ott, winning 3-2. Erik Palfi claimed third place, defeating Benjamin Kispal.

Women’s Tournament

A dedicated Women’s Tournament began on Friday evening, preceded by a social quiz designed to foster camaraderie among participants. Shirin Doppler emerged as the overall winner, demonstrating consistent performance across the three final games, Radical!, Pinbot, and Laser Cue. Sabine Ramsner secured second place, with Elli Paschalis and Irene Mayrhofer rounding out the top four. The tournament concluded very late on Friday night, with trophy presentations held the following morning.

Classic Tournament

The Classic Tournament focused on vintage pinball machines, employing a group-based, rotating game format. Eight rounds of play determined the top twelve qualifiers, with the top four receiving byes into the final stages. Viggo Löwgren continued his winning streak, defeating Michael Trepp in the final with a clean 3-0 sweep in matches played on Arena, Warlock, and Pinbot. Michael Trepp secured third place by defeating Bart Volman.

Other Competitions and Awards

Additional informal tournaments included a Children’s Tournament, won by Simon, with Paul and Marlon securing second and third respectively, and a highly creative Lego Tournament held on Rolf Brisberger’s unique Schoko 42 Lego pinball machine. Simon Wodok took first place in the Lego Tournament, with Arvid Flygare in second and Martin Wodok in third. The Team Tournament also took place, with trophy presentations held for the top three teams. A special award for the Best Homebrew Game of the Show was presented to Stefan Mader for his Deep Blue Rage, earning him a new pinball cabinet and backbox for future projects.

Seminars and Industry Insights

The main stage hosted several insightful seminars featuring prominent figures from the pinball industry. Alice Lemoine of Hexa Pinball provided details on their manufacturing processes and the development of The Three Musketeers. Aaron Davis (FAST Pinball) and Brian Madden (Mission Pinball Framework) shared guidance on building custom pinball machines, encouraging aspiring creators. Eric Meunier, lead designer of Jersey Jack Pinball’s Harry Potter, discussed the inspiration and challenges behind creating the popular title. These presentations were live-streamed and later uploaded to Pinball News’ YouTube channel, offering valuable content to a wider audience.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

The inaugural Austrian Pinball Festival was widely hailed as a significant success, demonstrating the passion and dedication of the pinball community. The meticulously organized tournaments, diverse range of machines, engaging seminars, and welcoming atmosphere created a memorable experience for all attendees. While the APF will not be held in 2027 due to the German Pinball Association’s expanded GPA Expo, organizers are already planning for its return in 2028, with aspirations for an even larger and more impactful event. The success of the 2026 festival has undoubtedly cemented its place as a key event on the international pinball calendar, promising an exciting future for the sport in Austria and beyond.