How the DGPT Championship Works, Likeliest Winners, & More

A large check for $35,000 — The DGPT Championship has become known for its huge paychecks. Photo: Disc Golf Pro Tour

The 2022 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship was in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Wednesday, October 12 to Sunday, October 16. The event offered the largest purse in disc golf history: $302,000. All of the 32 MPO players who qualified for and played the main event left with a minimum $2,500 payday, and for the 16 FPO competitors, the minimum was $3,000.

The winners each walked away with $35,000.

Of course, what mattered most for fans was watching the competition unfold, and, as in previous years, the DGPT Championship featured a unique format that produced tension and drama throughout every round. 2022 also included the first-ever DGPT Championship play-in event.

Learn everything you need to know about the 2022 DGPT Championship (click/tap to jump to a section):

The course for the 2022 DGPT Championship
DGPT Championship qualification
How the DGPT Championship play-in event works
DGPT Championship seeding system
How the DGPT Championship works
Likeliest 2022 DGPT Championship winners
All DGPT Championship winners

What Course Is Being Used for the 2022 DGPT Championship?

All rounds of the 2022 DGPT Championship were played at Nevin Park Disc Golf Course, a jewel of a track in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the best disc golf cities in the United States.

A tightly wooded disc golf fairway — Photo of a typically tight fairway at Nevin Park Disc Golf Course uploaded to UDisc Courses by toddcoffelt

Those who loved the woods golf at Charlotte's Hornets Nest – which hosted the DGPT Championship from 2019-2021 – weren't disappointed by the venue switch. If anything, many lines at Nevin were even tighter and less forgiving.

The DGPT cited a "large infrastructure project at Hornets Nest park" as the reason for moving the event to Nevin in 2022.

How Did Players Qualify for the DGPT Championship?

Outright qualification for the DGPT Championship was based entirely on DGPT points standings. Players earned tour points based on their finishes at DGPT events and most PDGA Majors throughout the season. To fully understand the points system, give our post "How Disc Golf Pro Tour Points Work & Why They Matter" a read.

In MPO, 30 players qualified outright for the DGPT Championship. In FPO, the total is 14. If a player within either division's cut line declined to compete, the next player in line by points then qualified.

Each division featured two more players who earned spots in a six-person play-in event.

How Does the DGPT Championship Play-In Event Work?

To learn more about the DGPT Championship play-in, check out our post "How The DGPT Championship Play-In Event Works & Likeliest To Advance."

Did Any Qualified Player Decline to Compete in the DGPT Championship?

Eagle McMahon, who sat out much of the 2022 season due to injury, could have competed in the play-in event based on his Major win at the European Open. However, he declined the invitation.

Due to his suspension, Nikko Locastro could not take advantage of qualifying for the play-in event.

How Does Seeding for the DGPT Championship Work?

Seeding at the DGPT Championship is based entirely on tour point standings. The competitor with the most points is the #1 seed, the competitor with the second most tour points in the #2 seed, and so on.

Players also have seeds in the play-in event based on the same criteria.

How Does the DGPT Championship Work?

What makes the DGPT Championship most interesting is its unusual structure. Instead of a typical tournament where players' scores accumulate over multiple rounds, at the Tour Championship all players are even at the start of each new round, and every round means elimination for most and advancement for just a few.

Two women fill out scorecards at a picnic table — Pros Lisa Fajkus and Holly Finley fill out scorecards at the 2020 DGPT Championship. Photo: DGPT

In the round one of MPO competition, seeds 17-30 and the two play-in winners (16 players) play a single 18-hole round (on cards of four players each). Out of those players, only the four with the best scores during that round move on to the quarterfinals. The other 12 players are eliminated from the tournament.

On the next day, what those four remaining players scored during round one doesn't matter. They start over again at zero, now competing with seeds 9-16, who received byes to the quarterfinals. Again, only the four players with the best scores during this single round move on to compete in the semifinals with seeds 1-8, who received byes through the tournament's first two rounds. The four players with the best scores in the semis play for the title in the finals of the DGPT Championship.

The same system governs how FPO works, but there are fewer players in the division and just three rounds instead of four.

Importantly, during every round but the finals, ties for moving on are broken by who has the better seed. So having a higher seed (i.e., having more tour points) is like having an extra birdie to throw on your scorecard if things are tight at the top.

Below are easy guides to how the DGPT Championship works for MPO and FPO:

HOW THE DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: MPO
	Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Number of players	16	12	12	4
Who plays?	-Seeds 17 to 30 -2 play-in winners	-The four players with the best scores in Round 1 -Seeds 9 to 16	-The four players with the best scores in the Quarterfinals -Seeds 1 to 8	The four players with the best scores in the Semifinals
Who moves on?	The four players with the best scores	The four players with the best scores in this round	The four players with the best scores in this round	The player with the best score in this round is the 2022 DGPT Champion.
Tiebreaker	The player with the better seed moves on.	The player with the better seed moves on.	The player with the better seed moves on.	Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter)
2022 Payout	$2,500	$3,500	$5,500	1^st $35,000 2^nd $20,000 3^rd $14,000 4^th$9,000

HOW THE DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: FPO
	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Number of players	12	8	4
Who plays?	-Seeds 5 to 14 -2 play-in winners	-The four players with the best scores from the Quarterfinals -Seeds 1 to 4	The four players with the best scores in the Semifinals
Who moves on?	The four players with the best scores in this round	The four players with the best scores in this round	The player with the best score in this round is the 2022 DGPT Champion.
Tiebreaker	The player with the better seed moves on.	The player with the better seed moves on.	Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter)
2022 Payout	$3,000	$5,000	1^st $35,000 2^nd $20,000 3^rd $14,000 4^th$9,000

Who Was Likeliest to Advance and Win at the DGPT Championship?

Using the stats that power UDisc's Win Probability model for pro disc golf, we calculated how likely it was that players would advance to each round of the 2022 DGPT Championship as well their chances of winning the event.

Two photos, one of a male player raising fists in triumph and one of a female player smiling and holding a trophy — Kristin Tattar (left) and Ricky Wysocki (right) were favorites at the DGPT Championship. Photos: DGPT

Note that we calculated these probabilities prior to the play-in event, and not just every round of the tournament but every throw changed the percentages. This is because our model recalculates probabilities throughout events. To see the most up-to-date probabilities for any round at any point, click or tap "Win Probability" at the top of UDisc Live.

Additionally, higher seeds winning all tiebreakers was factored into win probability, so higher seeds got a boost to their percentages.

PROBABILITIES OF ADVANCING & WINNING AT THE 2022 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP: MPO
Seed	Name	Actual 2022 Finish	Winning Prob.	Prob. to Reach Finals	Prob. to Reach Semis	Prob. to Reach Quarters
1	Ricky Wysocki	2022 Champion	18.6%	55.2%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
2	Paul McBeth	Finals - 4th place	18.5%	54.6%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
3	Calvin Heimburg	Semifinals	10.3%	42.1%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
4	Gannon Buhr	Finals - 3rd place	11.1%	42.1%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
5	Chris Dickerson	Semifinals	9.3%	38.8%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
6	Simon Lizotte	Semifinals	6.1%	30.8%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
7	Joel Freeman	Semifinals	4%	24%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
8	Matthew Orum	Semifinals	10.4%	38.7%	bye to semifinals	bye to semifinals
9	Kyle Klein	Semifinals	3.1%	14.6%	52.3%	bye to quarterfinals
10	Corey Ellis	Quarterfinals	1.2%	8.4%	41%	bye to quarterfinals
11	Kevin Jones	Quarterfinals	1%	6.9%	39%	bye to quarterfinals
12	James Conrad	Quarterfinals	1.5%	8.9%	42.1%	bye to quarterfinals
13	Chris Clemons	Quarterfinals	0.8%	5.8%	34.9%	bye to quarterfinals
14	Ezra Aderhold	Quarterfinals	0.5%	4%	29.2%	bye to quarterfinals
15	Isaac Robinson	Finals - 2nd place	1.6%	9.3%	41.3%	bye to quarterfinals
16	Aaron Gossage	Semifinals	0.2%	2.4%	23.4%	bye to quarterfinals
17	Adam Hammes	Round 1	0.2%	1.4%	9.5%	34.5%
18	Drew Gibson	Quarterfinals	0.3%	1.6%	10.6%	36.7%
19	Bradley Williams	Quarterfinals	0.2%	1.1%	8.1%	31.6%
20	Alden Harris	Round 1	0.1%	1%	6.5%	28%
21	Anthony Barela	Round 1	0.4%	2.3%	11.9%	37.3%
22	Mason Ford	Quarterfinals	0.1%	0.5%	5%	23.3%
23	Garrett Gurthie	Round 1	0.1%	0.6%	5.6%	25.3%
24	Väinö Mäkelä	Round 1	0.1%	0.6%	5.8%	25.6%
25	Niklas Anttila	Semifinals	0.4%	2.1%	10.9%	34.6%
26	Gregg Barsby	Round 1	0.1%	0.7%	5.3%	23.8%
27	Brodie Smith	Round 1	<0.1%	0.2%	2.4%	15.4%
28	Emerson Keith	Round 1	<0.1%	0.2%	2.6%	15.7%
29	Linus Carlsson	Round 1	<0.1%	0.3%	3.1%	17.3%
30	Andrew Marwede	Round 1	0.1%	0.5%	4.1%	19.7%
BELOW THIS LINE: PLAY-IN COMPETITORS
31	Andrew Presnell	Play-in	0.1%	0.1%	1.1%	6.4%
32	Jeremy Koling	Round 1	<0.1%	0.1%	0.5%	3.7%
33	Albert Tamm	Play-in	<0.1%	0.1%	1.3%	6.4%
34	Chandler Kramer	Play-in	<0.1%	<0.1%	0.1%	3.2%
35	Thomas Gilbert	Round 1	<0.1%	0.1%	0.8%	5.1%
36	Jake Hebenheimer	Play-in	<0.1%	0.2%	1.3%	6.4%

PROBABILITIES OF ADVANCING & WINNING AT THE 2022 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP: FPO
Seed	Name	Actual 2022 Finish	Winning Prob.	Prob. to Reach Finals	Prob. to Reach Semis
1	Kristin Tattar	Finals - 2022 Champion!	46.1%	87.9%	bye to semifinals
2	Paige Pierce	Semifinals	12.1%	59.9%	bye to semifinals
3	Catrina Allen	Semifinals	12.1%	58.8%	bye to semifinals
4	Ohn Scoggins	Finals - 2nd place	10.8%	56.1%	bye to semifinals
5	Valerie Mandujano	Finals - 4th place	3.8%	24%	53.3%
6	Missy Gannon	Finals - 3rd place	4.8%	27.9%	56.6%
7	Ella Hansen	Quarterfinals	1.1%	11%	36.6%
8	Kat Mertsch	Quarterfinals	0.5%	6.8%	28.5%
9	Natalie Ryan	Quarterfinals	0.4%	5%	24.6%
10	Sarah Hokom	Quarterfinals	1.2%	11.4%	36.2%
11	Eveliina Salonen	Semifinals	3.3%	20.4%	48%
12	Maria Olivia	Quarterfinals	0.1%	2.5%	15.6%
13	Holyn Handley	Semifinals	0.9%	8.4%	30.1%
14	Emily Beach	Quarterfinals	0.1%	2.4%	15.5%
BELOW THIS LINE: PLAY-IN COMPETITORS
15	Henna Blomroos	Play-in	2.5%	12.3%	29.4%
16	Alexis Mandujano	Play-in	<0.1%	0.4%	3.2%
17	Jessica Weese	Quarterfinals	0.1%	0.6%	3.8%
18	Macie Velediaz	Play-in	0.1%	1.8%	7.7%
19	Jennifer Allen	Play-in	0.1%	1.3%	6%
20	Hailey King	Quarterfinals	0.1%	1.1%	4.9%

All DGPT Championship Winners

Here are all DGPT Championship winners, their prizes, what seeds they were, and where they won:

If you're on mobile, swipe left to see the full tables.

ALL DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS: MPO
Year	Winner	Seed	Prize	Course	Location
2022	Ricky Wysocki	1	$35,000	Nevin	Charlotte, NC
2021	Nathan Queen	28	$30,000	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2020	Kevin Jones	7	$20,000	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2019	Chris Dickerson	24	$2,500	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2018	Chris Dickerson	18	$7,500	New World Disc Golf Course	Jacksonville, FL
2017	Ricky Wysocki	1	$10,000	New World Disc Golf Course	Jacksonville, FL
2016	Paul McBeth	5	$10,000	Fox Run Meadows	Smugglers' Notch, VT

ALL DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS: FPO
Year	Winner	Seed	Prize	Course	Location
2022	Kristin Tattar	1	$35,000	Nevin	Charlotte, NC
2021	Missy Gannon	3	$30,000	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2020	Hailey King	4	$20,000	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2019	Catrina Allen	2	$2,500	Hornets Nest	Charlotte, NC
2018	Sarah Hokom	1	$2,500	New World Disc Golf Course	Jacksonville, FL
2017	Paige Pierce	1	$3,000	New World Disc Golf Course	Jacksonville, FL
2016	Catrina Allen	2	$2,000	Fox Run Meadows	Smugglers' Notch, VT

These are some interesting takeaways from this chart served up with some tasty extras:

Why are prizes so much higher the last three years?
What immediately jumps out about these stats is the huge difference in prizes in recent years. In fact, in 2020, 2021, and 2022 the DGPT Championship set records for the largest overall purse in disc golf history at the time it was held. These purses became possible because the DGPT has gained many more partners in recent years.
2022 payouts help set single-season earning records in MPO & FPO
2022 DGPT Champions Kristin Tattar and Ricky Wysocki earned more money from disc golf tournaments than any players in history over the course of a single season.

The $35,000 grand prize for Tattar pushed her yearly earnings from competition to $103,141. This sum destroyed the FPO record of $67,529 set by Missy Gannon in 2021, which Tattar had surpassed before winning the 2022 DGPT Championship. It also put Tattar in second place all-time in single season earnings regardless of division.

Wysocki's win boosted his season earning totals up to $105,776. This is now the record for most tournament cash in a season for any player.
Dickerson's wins were amazing, but not as unexpected as Queen's
When Nathan Queen won the DGPT Championship in 2021, it was practically miraculous. Our predictions gave him less than a 1% chance of winning, and in a fan competition based on picking brackets, Queen was the only player in the entire field not be chosen by at least one person as the winner. When he came out on top, it was an underdog story for the ages.

In contrast, Dickerson's wins as a low seed actually weren't particularly surprising. Dickerson didn't tour nationally much during those seasons and so hadn't accumulated many points. Honing his skills by playing (and dominating) huge numbers of southeastern U.S. tournaments, Dickerson was one of the best in the world, and his Tour Championship wins weren't out of the blue.