We are pleased to announce an exciting initiative to boost the number of UK players at Monte Carlo 2025, which is the brainchild of UK captain Chris Rogers. Chris has been the last remaining Brit over the last two years (4th and 9th respectively), whilst, only in his opinion, probably not being in the top 10 UK players!
At Monte Carlo 2024 the UK only had nine representatives compared to 36 from the USA and more from other nations! Part of the UKBGF’s mission should be to find the next UK World Champion, and to this end we need more representation in Monte Carlo.
The dates of the Monte Carlo World Championship Masters Division 2025 are 31st July to 3rd August (four days). The side events and other competitions run from 26th July onwards.
As such, the UKBGF intends to run a series of month-long, 32-player, five-round straight knock-out satellites to find one winner each month, who will win an all-expenses paid trip to Monte Carlo to compete in the 2025 World Championships!
The entry fee for the satellite is £110 with a £10 discount for UKBGF members. The prize pool will be £3,200 (€3,840 at today’s exchange rate). There is ZERO rake if you are a UKBGF member! All of the prize pool goes to the eventual winner in the form of a “Monte Carlo Package”, i.e. the €1,800 entry paid for plus approximately €2,000 towards flight and accommodation costs (depending on the exchange rate next summer). These €2,000 or so expenses are at the discretion of the individual how to spend. It is an ample amount for decent flights and accommodation, so if they have any surplus funds, that is theirs to keep.
The main proviso is that the winnings are used to play in the Masters Division of the 2025 World Championships (€1,800 entry). In exceptional circumstances, this prize could be deferred to 2026, but beyond that the prize would be lost.
As the initiative is to encourage NEW players to Monte Carlo and not necessarily to be a prize to existing players who are likely to attend anyway, there would be a proviso that if a UK player who has attended Monte Carlo and played in the Masters Division in either 2023 or 2024 wins a satellite, they can sell their seat to someone that likely wouldn’t have gone in 2025, but is now more inclined to do so if in possession of this package. This way, we potentially get two representatives from the UK whereas otherwise there would be only one.
Matches are to be played on the Hub platform (although may be played on Heroes by mutual consent – although the result must be reported on Hub), with each round likely being randomly drawn. There will be approximately six days to schedule/play each round. Match length will be 13 points for the first three rounds, 15 points for the semi-final and 17 points for the final. Time bank one minute per point, with a 10 second delay.
The first satellite starts on Saturday 30th November and runs until Tuesday 31st December 2024.
Subsequent satellites will run from the start of each month to the end of the month from January through to June – so a total of seven satellites.
Please register your interest for the December satellite as soon as possible by contacting Chris Rogers at chrisrogers72@yahoo.co.uk
We would like to also run a similar satellite (with a lower entry fee) for the Intermediate Division. Anyone who would like to play should register their interest by sending an email to martin@ukbgf.com
Agree with Steve, great idea.
Great idea