Offline Backgammon Tournaments
The lack of an international organization of backgammon makes very difficult to organize all tournaments that take place throughout the year. However, when it comes to prestige and prizes, any backgammon player has four tournaments in mind.
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Find a concise description of four of the major backgammon tournaments in the world and learn about their origins and rules.
American Backgammon Tour (ABT)
The ABT is a master-point competition that takes place annually. Players can earn master points throughout different tournaments, and these points are awarded for good. Points are awarded according to the different divisions of players set. There are three divisions: The Highest Division (1 point), the Second Division (0.50 points), and the Lower Divisions (0.25 points). Since there is no international backgammon organization, the ABT aims to unify the tournaments in the U.S.A.
Pro-Am Doubles Backgammon Championship
The original event took place in the Bahamas. Prince Alexis Obolensky organized the first international tournament in 1964. Later on, the tournament was called Obolensky Cup but it did not have continuity. In 1999, Lewis Deyong, a British backgammon promoter, organized the Pro-Am Doubles Backgammon Championship in Las Vegas. In this tournament, 16 teams formed by an amateur and a professional player.
The World Cup
Among all the prestigious events listed here, the World Cup Backgammon Tournament is the most important one. It takes place in Dallas in the summer. The level of difficulty and the length of the games, make of winning this tournament the dream of most players and a real possibility only to professional players.
The World Championship
This event is the second in importance after the World Cup. It takes place in Monte Carlo one month before the World Cup begins, that is, in July. Most participants come from Europe, although each year more American participants take part. Its difficulty is not that great as that of the World Cup and luck plays an important role.