A new competitive fishing tournament planned for this fall is positioning itself as the “first-ever world bass fishing championship,” with an eye-popping purse to match. The new Champions Tournament will unite the two biggest pro bass leagues in the country under the organization of World Bass Enterprises, a new entity that launched today. The tournament will take place in late October on Tennessee’s Old Hickory Lake, where anglers will compete for a more than $1 million first-place payout.
In an interview with Outdoor Life, World Bass Enterprises CEO Brian Bird said the idea behind the Champions Tournament was to create a World-Series type event that brings together the sport’s top competitors. The field will be made up of the top 25 anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series and Major League Fishing’s Pro Bass Tour. Anyone who wins one of the major 2026 tournaments held by the two leagues will also qualify, according to Bird, so there’s an outside chance that more than 50 anglers will be invited to the tournament in late October.
This field of professional anglers will compete head-to-head on Old Hickory for a first-place payout of $1.25 million — the biggest cash prize in the sport’s history. The second-place finisher will receive $500,000, and third place will win $300,000. By comparison, the Bassmaster Classic pays out $300,000 for its grand prize, while MLF’s end-of-year championship, the REDCREST, pays $125,000 to the winner. It’s not immediately clear where the funding for this new tourney is coming from.
“Yeah it’s a lot of money. But these anglers have earned it, in my opinion,” says Bird, who acknowledges how hard bass pros have to work to stay competitive. “If we’re gonna have a true world’s best fishing tournament, we need the prize money to reflect that.”
Bird, who lives in Texas, says he’s always been a huge fan of B.A.S.S. and MLF, but that there hasn’t historically been a way for the top competitors from the two leagues to test their mettle against each other. In addition to crowning a “true world champion,” he hopes the Champion’s Cup trophy can help unify the industry. He says that organizers and competitors in both leagues have been supportive so far.
“There has always been friendly competition and banter between the anglers on each tour, but no way to actually settle the score on the water,” MLF Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year Jacob Wheeler said in a statement. “The opportunity to crown a true world champion across the entire sport is something our anglers have wanted for a very long time.”
The anglers won’t have to pay any entry fees, and they will have their travel paid for, including a free room at the Gaylord Opryland Resort for themselves and their family. Competitors will also receive a pre-loaded $3,000 credit card to cover fuel costs and other expenses. Bird says this is all part of creating a World Series-level event.
“You look at the top MLB players and NBA players, and when they go to their end of year championship, the red carpet is rolled out for them,” Bird says. “We’re trying to create that same atmosphere.”
The three-day tournament will utilize a traditional five-fish format, where each angler weighs their five biggest bass at the end of each day. This is how the Bassmaster Elite Series and most other bass tournaments function, but it differs from MLF’s total weight format.
Anglers will compete during two qualifying days, with the top 15 anglers advancing to the final day on Oct. 31. They’ll only be allowed to use forward-facing sonar during one of the qualifying days — a choice that each angler will make for themselves. During the final day of the tournament, FFS will be allowed for only half the day. Bird says this is a combination of the new FFS rules that have been implemented by the two leagues.
The public will be able to experience the Champions Tournament in person at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, where the main event will be based. Bird says the tournament will also be live-streamed internationally, “but we’re still figuring out what that will look like.” He says they’re currently marketing the event in other countries like Japan, Canada, and Australia.
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“The entire bass fishing community is energized to see who is the best of the best, and have the opportunity to chase a $1.25 million grand prize,” Brandon Palaniuk, a two-time Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year, said in a statement. “And while we will be competing individually for the purse, I know the rest of the anglers on the Elite Series will be fired up to try to bring home the first-ever Champions Cup to our tour.”
As for the location, Bird says they chose the Nashville area because it offers more than just quality bass fishing. The five-day Champions event will also feature an outdoors expo at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. And after the Champions Cup is awarded, World Bass Enterprises will hold a pro-am competition at Percy Priest Lake on Nov. 1, featuring the top 15 competitors paired with legendary anglers and other celebrities.
“I think there will be some pretty cool people there,” Bird says.
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