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52 Years and Over $121,000,000 in Prize Money
The White Marlin Open is a 52-year-old deep-sea fishing tournament held annually in Ocean City, Maryland. Long known as the “World’s Largest Billfishing Tournament,” the Open has awarded over $121 million for catches of the gamefish that migrate up the Gulf Stream each summer. The first tournament was held in 1974 and drew 57 boats, 150 anglers, and paid $20,000 in prize money. The 2025 event drew 282 boats, over 3,000 contestants, and awarded over $7.24 million dollars in prize money, including the top individual prize of $3.9 million dollars.
2025 Summary
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New Six Day Format Announced
The White Marlin Open, the world’s largest and richest billfish tournament, is introducing a major update to its 2026 format. For the first time in tournament history, participants will now be able to fish three out of six days – with the additional fishing day added to the end of the week — Monday, August 3 through Saturday, August 8, 2026.
Traditionally structured as a 3-out-of-5-day event, this change is in response to recent offshore weather challenges that have forced last-minute schedule adjustments. By formally adding Saturday as an optional fishing day, tournament organizers aim to provide greater flexibility and certainty for anglers and crews alike.