Are you trying to find out information about cornhole tournaments near you? Well, this article can be your go-to resource for finding cornhole tournaments all across the country.
Cornhole tournaments have exploded over the past couple of years. You should be able to find them all over the US, although the the Midwest and East Coast usually have a higher concentration of events.
I’ll first go over a few things you’ll want consider about these tournaments and then provide you with a list of tournaments across the country. If you’re looking to just start your own tournament and you need a bracket, click here for custom cornhole brackets.
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Cornhole tournament considerations
When looking at participating in a cornhole tournament you want to consider a few things:
Playing for points?
The ACO, ACL, and other cornhole leagues offer tournaments where you can earn points that help you qualify for major regional or national competitions.
It’s always a good idea to check ahead of time to see if your tournament will earning you points.
Entry cost?
The entry cost for these tournaments can vary wildly.
Some might be free or only charge an entry fee of $20 or do so while some of the more official tournaments might cost up to $300 per team.
Generally, the higher cost of entry, the better the cash prizes and often the better the competition.
Also, it’s pretty common for more expensive tournaments to offer you a beverage or two included with your ticket price.
Divisions
Now-a-days, you can find many different divisions for cornhole tournaments.
Some are based on experience and skill and you might see divisions like “competitive” and then “social” or “tailgating.” And others will be broken down based on age, gender, teams, etc.
Make sure you know which division you’re entering so you’re not caught off guard.
Book online
Some tournaments will allow you to book online but others will require you to register when you arrive. If it’s the latter, it never hurts to show up a little early to make sure that you can secure a spot.
Refresh the cornhole rules
If you’ve been out of the game for a good while or maybe if cornhole is a bit new to you, then it’s a good idea to to refresh on the rules of cornhole before you attend a competitive cornhole event. That way, you won’t be slowing anybody down and you’ll be able to look like you know what you’re doing.
Here’s my article on cornhole rules.
Keep in mind that some leagues might play a little different but for the most part, things should be pretty standard when it comes to things like scoring.
Cornhole tournaments
Here are all of the different types of tournaments that you can join.
American Cornhole Organization
The American Cornhole Organization (ACO) hosts many tournaments throughout the year.
- Non-Points earning Tournaments include: ACO Invitationals, ACO Qualifiers, ACO State Championships, and the ACO World Championships of Cornhole.
- Points Earning Tournaments include: ACO Regionals and ACO Majors
Regionals
A Regional is one of the two ACO points-earning tournaments that will earn you qualifying points for the World Championships of Cornhole in July.
In Regional Tournaments, players compete at a local level for World Ranking Points and prizes.
These tournaments are held once a month starting in September and ending in May. The tournaments are theme-based and are held in most regions of the US.
They are also broken down into divisions which may include:
- World Singles
- World Doubles
- Womens Singles
- Seniors Singles (55+)
- Juniors Singles (-17).
Each month’s Regional is identified by it’s unique theme name.
You can find out about the upcoming regionals here.
Majors
ACO Majors are two-day events and are the main points-earning tournaments for each Season to qualify for Worlds in July.
Major include:
- World Singles
- World Doubles
- Seniors Singles
- Womens Singles
- Juniors Singles
- The new Co-Ed Division
Of the Majors held throughout the season, a player/team’s three best finishes will count toward their World Ranking Points total. Once a player competes in his/her 4th Masters Series Major, their lowest score will be dropped from the list, and so on.
Here are some of the locations where majors were played in 2018:
- Charleston, WV
- Indianapolis, IN
- Livermore, CA
- Champaign, IL
- Concord, NC
- Monroeville, PA
- Knoxville, TN
- Las Vegas, NV
- Owensboro, KY
- Kenansville, NC
- Foley, AL
- Santee, CA
- Bentonville, AR
- Evansville, IN
- Kalamazoo, MI
- Tupelo, MS
- Appleton, WI
- Lake Charles, LA
- Peachtree City, GA
- Lynwood, IL
You can find out about registration for these majors online here.
State championships
These are non-points earning tournaments and are held in June and open to anyone residing in that state. You can click here to register.
Note that only about six states participate in these state championships (though others may join in in the future).
Currently there is only the:
- ACO Florida State Championships
- ACO Pennsylvania State Championships
- ACO Michigan State Championships
- ACO Missouri State Championships
- ACO Georgia State Championships
- ACO Wisconsin State Championships
Prizes
Prizes are given out for these tournaments and you can read more about these prizes here
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America Cornhole Association (ACA)
The America Cornhole Association (ACA) also lists several tournaments that you join here.
American Cornhole League (ACL)
The American Cornhole League puts on tournaments where winners walk away with substantial prize money. Some of these tournaments are broadcasted live on on ESPN.
The tournaments are broken down as follows:
ACL Pro
This is a series of National Events where players compete for prize money. These events are broadcast on the ESPN platform and other digital outlets.
ACL Championships
This is a year long points series that consists of local, regional, conference and national events for all ages and skill levels.
There are four skill level divisions:
- Advanced
- Competitive
- Social
- Tailgate
There are also divisions for Women, Seniors and Juniors. The ACL also puts on team oriented Crew Cup events.
ACL College
The National College Cornhole Championship crowns the best college team and college alumni team from around the country.
It provides scholarship money to students and donations to booster clubs.
The open format allows for any size college to participate and the ACL encourages colleges to develop cornhole as an intramural or club sport and develop strategies to leverage cornhole to raise funds for college athletics.
ACL Juniors
This is a dedicated series for Juniors to compete and earn scholarship money that can be used at any college.
WCO
The World Cornhole Organization organizes the sport for all ages and all skill levels in any country. The World Cornhole Cup is a team competition for the ACL Conferences and WCO organizations. The WCO is on a mission to make cornhole an Olympic Sport.
The ACL consists of 14 conferences across the country with players in each looking to finish top 16 in their conference. The Top 16 will qualify for the Conference Crew Championship.
You can find out more about these tournaments here.
They also have a list of individual events here. Some events will allow you to register online but others will require you to register on-site.
Texas cornhole tournaments
The Texas Cornhole League has a website currently under construction but you can follow the links to find out more information about Texas cornhole tournaments.
Bags Tournaments
You can also find a list of ongoing tournaments here.
Bags to Wishes
Some cornhole tournaments are put in place to raise money for special causes like Bags to Wishes.
All funds raised go directly to Make-A-Wish Central & Western North Carolina to grant the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions.
The Throw Down (California cornhole tournament)
The Throw Down is a big cornhole tournament event in Ventura, California.
The tourney offers over $36,000 in cash payouts. Only 192 teams play and the cost is $190 per team.
Here’s a list of the payouts
- 1st Place – $6,000
- 2nd Place – $3,000
- 3rd Place – $2,500
- 4th Place – $2,500
- 5th Place – $2,000
- 6th Place – $1,000
- 7th Place – $1,000
- 8th Place – $1,000
- 9th Place – $1,000
- 10th Place – $1,000
- 11th Place – $1,000
- 12th Place – $1,000
- 13th Place – $1,000
- 14th Place – $1,000
- 15th Place – $1,000
- 16th Place – $500
- 17th Place – $500
- 18th Place – $500
- 19th Place – $250
- 20th Place – $250
Mill Creek Brewing Co. (Tennessee Cornhole Tournament)
This tournament goes down in Tennessee.
The tournament is capped at 30 teams and the entry charge per team is $20, which includes one pint of beer per team member.
Here are the tournament prizes:
- 1st Place | Custom Cornhole Boards by Music City Boards
- 2nd Place | $50 Mill Creek Gift Card
- 3rd Place | Mill Creek Swag Bag
Atlanta cornhole tournaments
You can find tournaments going down in the ATL here.