Why so cynical? If you "belong" in C, why worry about WPPRs anyway?

Competitive pinball is not "stacked". Everyone has the same chance at PAPA. The divisions keep less-experienced players from facing the top guys. Play in "C" for a year or two, then B, then work your way up to "A". No one really shows up at their first PAPA and blows up the "A" division winning a bunch of WPPRs and cash. Put the effort in and work your way up to it rather than criticizing it.

If you want WPPRs, try local / regional tournaments too....not just the world pinball championship.

One entry in Classics is a 4-game ticket. You play one game on 4 different machines in the classics bank. Finishing in the bottom half of the field will earn you less than one wppr point. Bottom 1/4 of the field will get you 0.3 points or so.

PAPA world championships is probably not your best choice for chasing WPPRs. But, you take with you the experience competing, play a bunch of games you haven't before, meet many pinball enthusiasts, watch some of the top players on the monitors, etc...and if you happen upon a wppr or two, all the better.

If you're really after wppr points, check out ifpa's calendar of events....there's something somewhere every weekend and the points are a lot easier to come by than at PAPA.

In "C" you'll likely need one strong game (top 5) and two decent games (top 20) minimally on a ticket. Keep an eye on the scores on the big screen or on your smart phone and see which ones are easier for you to achieve. Most folks require many attempts to get a good ticket but sometimes your best ticket is your first.

The scoring is all automatic and you really don't make decisions, just play and then see where you stand, repeat, repeat, .....

Classics tournaments run Thurs, Fri, and Sat and they all start and end within the same day. They are open to all skill levels so there's no A, B, and/or C. Many of the A players play classics (so the competition is tough!) and there are usually rather long waits so a card takes a while to play. These games are more random than the modern games (equalizing the skill levels a bit)though so give it a try and see how you do.

You pick whatever 5 games you want out of the 9 or 10 in the bank and play them. Some people stick with their favorite 5 every ticket, others mix it up some. And yes, you could play "defensive" tickets where you try for high scores on games not on your good ticket. This is usually only a good ideaif you're just at the qualifying line (say 15th or 16th place) with not much time left (Saturday night). Don't waste money with this tactic early on as scores change greatly throughout the weekend. Play the games you are best at is generally good advice. If you're good (or bad) at all of them, pick the more obscure games as they may get less play.

Yes, B is harder for sure than C. If it's your first PAPA, and you do not have a lot of other tournament experience with at least decent results, I'd recommend C. Better odds of playing on Sunday. And if you do play on Sunday, try B next year.