About Pinburgh

[formerly] the largest pinball tournament in the world

Pinburgh is Back!

In 2024, Pittsburgh Pinball, in collaboration with the Replay Foundation, proudly relaunched the iconic Pinburgh Match-Play Tournament — a beloved event in the global pinball community.

The tournament’s roots go back to 1998, when the Steel City Pinball Association hosted the very first Pinburgh. It was a modest event, but a big success. By 1999, the competition had grown, moving to the Beehive Coffeehouse in Oakland, and offering a top prize of $1,185 in the A Division.

As word spread, so did the scale of the tournament. In 2000, it moved to a larger venue, welcomed new sponsors, introduced a revamped scoring system, and guaranteed prize packages — all of which helped Pinburgh thrive. From 2001 to 2003, it found a temporary home at the Best Western Parkway Center Inn, which offered great perks but limited room for continued growth.

In 2004, the tournament took a new turn, evolving into the PAPA 7 World Pinball Championships, and the Pinburgh name was put on pause. But not for long.

In 2011, Pinburgh was reborn with a fresh match-play format — first hosted at the PAPA Headquarters, and later featured as the headline tournament at Replay FX in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The format was a hit, and Pinburgh quickly became the world’s largest pinball tournament. In fact, by 2020, over 1,200 players were expected to compete — a world record in the making.

Then came the pandemic, and like many events, Pinburgh went quiet. But the passion never faded.

Now, with the full support of the Replay Foundation — the official owners of the Pinburgh and PAPA trademarks — Pittsburgh Pinball is thrilled to bring Pinburgh back to life. The flippers are flipping once again, and we can’t wait to welcome players from around the world to celebrate the game we all love.