ACO Tournament Guides Entry Fees, Prizes, and Payouts

ACO Tournament Guides Entry Fees, Prizes, and Payouts. This guide explains all the different tournaments and events hosted by the American Cornhole Organization (ACO).

From local competitions to major championships, entry fees to prize money – we cover everything you need to know about ACO cornhole tournaments.

Where to Find Cornhole Tournaments and Events?

You can find cornhole tournaments and events happening nearby, major tournaments, the World Championships in July, and fun cornhole parties and events in between. This is where you can find information about your next opportunity to participate!

Upcoming Events Page

If you prefer finding upcoming cornhole tournaments and events on Facebook, we list them all there too.

Check Facebook for Events

What are the different types of ACO (American Cornhole Organization) tournaments and events?

ACO Festivals and Fun Events: ACO organizes annual festivals and parties focused on cornhole with fun activities and prizes. They also partner with music festivals and other special events to create cornhole parties.

Regional Tournaments: These are local cornhole events organized by ACO officials in their area. Players compete to earn world ranking points and prizes.

ACO Majors: These are bigger tournaments organized by the ACO corporate team. Players from all regions come together at one location to compete for points and prizes.

ACO PRO Series: This is a tournament series for professional ACO players, held on Fridays at select ACO Majors during the season.

ACO State Championships: At the end of each season, tournaments are held to determine the best player in each state. Winners receive the coveted State Champion jersey.

ACO World Championships: This is the biggest cornhole event of the year, a five-day party in July that crowns the best cornhole players in the world.”

What is the typical schedule for an ACO Major tournament?

ACO Major tournaments are two-day events. They start at 8AM on Friday and end on Saturday night. The exact schedule of when different tournaments begin changes slightly each season. To see the current updated schedule for upcoming ACO Major tournaments, you should check the ACO Majors webpage.

I’m new to ACO Majors. What can I expect at my first one?

When you first arrive, go to the registration table. Make sure to bring your phone with you to register.

Next, you’ll want to warm up and get ready to play. You need to bring your own cornhole bags to use.

These may seem like obvious things, but if you’re brand new, you might not know you need to bring your own bags and warm up before competing.

Check the ACO Majors schedule online to see the detailed schedule for the upcoming Major you’ll be attending.

What divisions are played at ACO tournaments?

Big tournaments like the World Championships and Majors will have all divisions, while smaller regional tournaments may not have every division.

These are the divisions you can compete in to become a World Champion:

• Singles: This is the division to crown the best individual cornhole player, the King of Cornhole.
• Doubles: This division crowns the top doubles team in the world.
• Women’s: This division finds the top female cornhole player in the world.
• Seniors: This division crowns the best senior (older) player in the world.
• Juniors: This division is for the top youth/junior player in the world.
• Coed Doubles: A doubles division where each team must have one male and one female player.
• Hampton Farms Blind Draw: This is a crazy doubles tournament where partners are randomly assigned for a cash prize!

At Majors, there are also “walk-up” tournaments open to the public that don’t require pre-registration:

• Blind Draws: Like the Hampton Farms one, but with no cash prize – partners randomly assigned.
• BYOP (Bring Your Own Partner) Quads: You and a partner get teamed up with another doubles team to form a quad team.

Which divisions can I play in?

As an ACO (American Cornhole Organization) member, you can enter any division that you qualify for based on the requirements.

Each division has its own entry fee and rules on who can play:

• Singles – Open to all ACO members
• Doubles – Open to all ACO members
• Women’s – Only open to female ACO members
• Seniors – Only open to ACO members aged 55 and older
• Juniors – Only open to ACO members aged 17 and under

What are the entry fees for each division at ACO Major tournaments?

Singles

• Early Online Registration: $40
• Late Online Registration: $60
• Walk-Up Registration: $80

Doubles

• Early Online Team Registration: $80
• Late Online Team Registration: $120
• Walk-Up Team Registration: $160

Women’s

• Early Online Team Registration: $30
• Late Online Team Registration: $45
• Walk-Up Team Registration: $60

Seniors

• Early Online Registration: $30
• Late Online Registration: $45
• Walk-Up Registration: $60

Juniors

• Online Registration: FREE

Coed Doubles

• Early Online Team Registration: $60
• Late Online Team Registration: $90
• Walk-Up Team Registration: $120

BYOP (Bring Your Own Partner) Quads

• Walk-Up Team Registration Only: $40 per team

Hampton Farms Blind Draw

• Walk-Up Registration Only: $20

What are the other tournaments played at the ACO World Championships?

In addition to the regular ACO divisions, the World Championships includes these special tournaments:

• Tailgator World Championships: A social tournament open to anyone not competing in the main World Championships. Bring your own partner to try and win the Tailgator trophy and jersey!
• The Slyder Cup: A team tournament with teams of 5 players. There is an Open Division for anyone, and a Non-Pro Division for non-professional players only.
• Blind Draws: Walk-up doubles tournaments where partners are randomly assigned.
• Certified Official Shootout: A tournament just for ACO Certified Officials to determine the best official.
• Lifetimer Championship: A tournament only for ACO “Lifetime” members with ACO tattoos.
• ACO Player of the Season Playoff: If there is a tie for the Singles Player of the Season standings, a playoff match determines the winner.

What kind of cash prizes and payouts can I win?

As you get better, you can start earning money from tournaments! The World Championships pays out the most, followed by Majors, then Regional tournaments.

Purse: This refers to the total cash prize money for a division, which is split among the top finishers.

Prizes: These are non-cash prizes like trophies and special jerseys.

Payouts: For walk-up tournaments, a portion (usually 50%) of the entry fees is paid out to the top finishers.

Note – Juniors cannot legally win cash, so they only get prizes, not purse money.

Typical purse amounts at Majors:

• Singles Division: $2,000 purse, trophy for winner
• Doubles Division: $2,000 purse, trophy for winners
• ACO-PRO Series: $2,500 purse, trophy for winner
• Women’s/Seniors/Coed: 50% of entry fees paid out, trophies for winners
• Juniors: Trophies for winners
• Blind Draws/Quads: 50% of entry fees paid out

There are also $500 bonus prizes for the Singles and Doubles winners if they are wearing an eligible ACO jersey.

Players can win special “Major Prize” purple jerseys for winning a division at any Major tournament that season.

Are there hotel discounts available for ACO tournaments?

Yes, there are discounted hotel rates for ACO tournaments.

For each ACO Major tournament, you can find the discounted hotel rates, tournament details, and other helpful information on that specific Major’s webpage. This can help you plan and book hotels at a discounted rate for that cornhole tournament weekend.

There are also special discounted hotel rates available for the ACO World Championships event. You can find and book these discounted World Championships hotel rates on the designated webpage.

Tournament Talk: What are all these tournament terms I hear at events?

There are different types of tournaments played in the ACO. Here’s how they work:

• Double Elimination: If you lose a match, you get another chance by moving into the Loser’s Bracket. Most brackets at the World Championships use this format.
• Pool Play: When there are many players in a division, pool play is used to sort players into different skill level brackets based on their performance.
• Mini Pool Play: Used at Worlds, these are small pool play brackets that advance the top finishers to the Championship Bracket, and others to different Tier Brackets. An example is the RPI.
• RPI (Ranked Players Invitational): A mini pool play bracket that advances singles players either to the Singles Championship Bracket or the Tier 2-4 Brackets.
• Tier Brackets: The final main, second, and third level brackets for each division. Only players in the Main Tier can advance to the overall division championship like Singles or Doubles. Each tier has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers.
• Best of 2 out of 3: Used only for championship matches. Players play 3 matches, and whoever wins 2 is the champion.

FAQ’s