The 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Thursday, October 12 to Sunday, October 16. The event will feature 32 MPO and 20 FPO competitors.
Like it has most every year since the DGPT began in 2016, the format of the DGPT Championship has changed for 2023. To find out how it will work this year, click or tap a section below.
- Course for the 2023 DGPT Championship
- 2023 DGPT Championship qualification
- 2023 DGPT Championship seeding system
- How the 2023 DGPT Championship works
- Likeliest 2023 DGPT Championship winners
- All DGPT Championship winners
What Course Is Being Used for the 2023 DGPT Championship?
All rounds of the 2023 DGPT Championship will again be played at Nevin Park Disc Golf Course (also the event's host in 2022), a jewel of a track in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the best disc golf cities in the United States.
Those who loved the woods golf at Charlotte's Hornets Nest – which hosted the DGPT Championship from 2019-2021 – found plenty to like at Nevin last year in 2022. Like Hornets Nest, Nevin produced tight, drama-filled competition.
How Do Players Qualify for the 2023 DGPT Championship?
Players can qualify for the 2023 DGPT Championship in two ways:
- Winning an eligible PDGA Major or DGPT Elite, Elite+, or Playoff Event
- Spots not filled by winners of those events go to the players with the most 2023 DGPT points
In MPO, 32 players will qualify for the 2023 DGPT Championship. In FPO, the total is 20. If a player within either division's cut line declines to compete, the next player in line by points then qualifies.
Players earn can earn DGPT points in 2023 based on their finishes at DGPT events, three PDGA Majors, and six selected PDGA Euro Tour events throughout the season. To fully understand the points system, give our post "How Disc Golf Pro Tour Points Work & Why They Matter" a read.
It's extremely unlikely but technically possible that up to 18 spots in a division's field could be taken by event winners who are not among their division's top point earners.
How Does Seeding for the 2023 DGPT Championship Work?
Seeding at the DGPT Championship is based entirely on tour point standings. The qualifying competitor with the most points from the 2023 season is the #1 seed, the qualifying competitor with the second most tour points is the #2 seed, and so on.
How Does the 2023 DGPT Championship Work?
What makes the DGPT Championship most interesting is its unusual structure, which has always included player elimination and scores being reset to zero from one round to the next. Those elements still exist in 2023, but for the first time in the competition's history, cumulative scores over two rounds will be used to decide who moves on from a phase of the competition and who wins.
In 2023, the DGPT Championship will happen in four rounds separated into two, two-round phases: the Semifinals and Finals. Unlike in previous years, no players will receive automatic byes to a later stage. The winner will have played all four rounds of the competition.
The play-in concept tested at the 2022 DGPT Championship will not be used in 2023.
Tap or click below to learn more about each phase or take a look at our nifty overview of the entire event:
- 2023 DGPT Championship Semifinals explanation
- 2023 DGPT Championship Finals explanation
- 2023 DGPT Championship simple overview (Semifinals + Finals)
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Semifinals Work
The Semifinals will be two rounds, and every player in both divisions (seeds 1-32 in MPO and seeds 1-20 in FPO) will play both rounds. In lieu of byes, the DGPT is giving higher seeded players "starting strokes" that they can subtract from their cumulative throw totals following the Semifinals' two rounds. Since seeds are given out based on tour points standings (more points equal a better seed), these strokes are meant to give an advantage to those who performed best at tournaments awarding 2023 DGPT points.
Tap or click to see how many starting strokes each seed at the 2023 DGPT Championship gets.
The 12 MPO and 8 FPO players with the best cumulative scores from those two rounds move on to their divisions' Finals.
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Finals Work
The Finals will also be two rounds, but this time there are no "starting strokes" and better seeds have no advantage. Players' scores are reset to zero, and whichever player turns in the lowest cumulative score from the two rounds of the Finals will be their division's champion.
In the event of a tie for first, there will be a sudden-death playoff. Again, better seeds have no advantages in the Finals.
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Works: Overview
| HOW THE 2023 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: MPO | ||||
| Phase | Semifinals | Finals | ||
| Round | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of players | 32 | 32 | 12 | 12 |
| Who plays? | All 32 MPO players | All 32 MPO players | The 12 who advanced from the Semifinals | The 12 who advanced from the Semifinals |
| Who moves on? | No elimination following this round | The 12 players with the best cumulative scores from the Semifinals' two rounds. Players with seeds 1-24 will have "starting strokes" that affect their cumulative scores. |
No elimination following this round | The player with the best cumulative score from the two Finals rounds is the winner of the 2023 DGPT Championship. In the Finals, no players receive "starting strokes." |
| Tiebreaker | N/A | The player with the better seed moves on. | N/A | Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter) |
| 2023 Payout | N/A | TBA | N/A | 1st TBA 2nd TBA 3rd TBA 4th TBA |
| HOW THE 2023 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: FPO | ||||
| Phase | Semifinals | Finals | ||
| Round | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of players | 20 | 20 | 8 | 8 |
| Who plays? | All 32 MPO players | All 32 MPO players | The eight players who advanced from the Semifinals | The eight players who advanced from the Semifinals |
| Who moves on? | No elimination following this round | The 8 players with the best cumulative scores from the semifinals' two rounds. Players with seeds 1-12 will have "starting strokes" that affect their cumulative scores. |
No elimination following this round | The player with the best cumulative score from the two Finals rounds is the winner of the 2023 DGPT Championship. In the Finals, no players receive "starting strokes." |
| Tiebreaker |
N/A | The player with the better seed moves on. | N/A | Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter) |
| 2023 Payout | N/A | TBA | N/A | 1st TBA 2nd TBA 3rd TBA 4th TBA |
How Many Starting Strokes Does Each Seed in the 2023 DGPT Championship Get?
The better a player's seed at the 2023 DGPT Championship, the more "starting strokes" they're awarded. These starting strokes will be subtracted from competitors' cumulative scores from rounds one and two of the Semifinals but do not apply in the Finals.
| DGPT Championship Starting Strokes by Seed: MPO | |
|---|---|
| Seed | Starting Strokes Awarded (Valid Only During Semifinals) |
| 1 | -6 |
| 2 | -5 |
| 3-4 | -4 |
| 5-8 | -3 |
| 9-16 | -2 |
| 17-24 | -1 |
| 25-32 | 0 |
| DGPT Championship Starting Strokes by Seed: FPO | |
|---|---|
| Seed | Starting Strokes Awarded (Valid Only During Semifinals) |
| 1 | -5 |
| 2 | -4 |
| 3-4 | -3 |
| 5-8 | -2 |
| 9-12 | -1 |
| 13-20 | 0 |
Who's Likeliest to Advance and Win at the DGPT Championship?
Using the stats that power UDisc's Win Probability model for pro disc golf, we are able to calculate how likely it is that players will advance and win at the 2023 DGPT Championship.
Once the field for the 2023 DGPT Championship is set, you'll be able to find win probabilities right here.
All DGPT Championship Winners
Here are all DGPT Championship winners, their prizes, what seeds they were, and where they won:
| 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.
Follow the 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour
You can see all the shot-by-shot scores and stats from the 2023 DGPT (as well as every other major professional tournament series) on UDisc Live.