Prize schedule
$50,000 Prize Pool Headline
Skillhouse Masters — main Skillhouse Amateur Chess Open 2026. Main entry $115. Three tournaments (Ascend I, Ascend II, Main).
Tournament V2 prize breakdown: main placement (Top 8), class prizes (Tiers A/B/C), and special awards. The official Terms of Service govern legal effect.
All amounts in USD. Skillhouse Masters main event prize pool headline: $50,000Breakdown: $28,000 main placement + $12,500 class prizes + $9,500special & merit awards. Eligibility, taxes, and releases are governed by the official Terms of Service.
Section I
Main placement prizes($28,000)
Meaning. Awarded based on your final place in the overall official standings at the end of the 9-round Swiss filter (the "Swiss" or "Swiss Filter"). These are the "open" placement prizes: any registered participant in good standing may win, subject to the event rules. Final order (1st through 8th) follows the published pairings, results, and standings. All tiebreaker methods for the Swiss phase will be determined automatically through the Chess.com tournament software.
Ties: If the published tie-breaks still leave players tied for a given rung, the cash amounts for those rungs are combined and split equally among all players tied to that rung. If a tie would span more than one rung in the table, the total dollars for those rungs are pooled and divided by the number of players in the combined tie.
| Finish | Award | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cash | $10,000 |
| 2nd | Prize (cash) | $5,000 |
| 3rd | Prize (cash) | $3,000 |
| 4th | Prize (cash) | $2,000 |
| 5th | Prize (cash) | $2,000 |
| 6th | Prize (cash) | $2,000 |
| 7th | Prize (cash) | $2,000 |
| 8th | Prize (cash) | $2,000 |
Main placement winners (1st–8th) are not eligible for class prizes in Section II but remain eligible for special awards in Section III.
Section II
ELO class prizes ($12,500)
Meaning. You compete against others in the tier that matches your verified starting ELO (Rapid, as used for this event, confirmed at the registration or check-in deadline the Organizer publishes). You are automatically slotted into that tier. You are not eligible for a prize in a tier with a LOWER ELO cap than your starting rating (you cannot "win down" in a class below you). Within each tier, 1st / 2nd / 3rd are the best, second, and third final Swiss results among all players in that tier only (the same 9-round Swiss, standings filtered to the tier, excluding players who finished 1st–8th overall). If a tier has fewer than three members, only available places pay; unawarded funds do not roll to other tiers except as the Organizer may publish for empty brackets.
Boundaries: Tier A is 1101–1600 ELO inclusive. Tier B is 801–1100 ELO inclusive. Tier C is 800 and below ELO (through 800 inclusive). Each entrant is placed in exactly one tier from verified starting Rapid rating. Any rounding rule for reported ratings is as published in the official event packet.
| Place in tier | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st in tier | $1,500 |
| 2nd in tier | $1,000 |
| 3rd in tier | $1,000 |
| Place in tier | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st in tier | $2,000 |
| 2nd in tier | $1,500 |
| 3rd in tier | $1,000 |
| Place in tier | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st in tier | $2,000 |
| 2nd in tier | $1,500 |
| 3rd in tier | $1,000 |
Ties in tier:A two-way tie for 1st in tier combines the 1st- and 2nd-place amounts and splits. A three-way tie for 1st pools 1st+2nd+3rd in that tier and splits in three. Other partial ties use the same "pool the affected places" approach so no duplicate amounts are double-paid.
Section III
Merit & special awards($9,500)
Meaning. Special recognition for standout play or demographics, using the same Swiss and official data unless otherwise noted. Each is a single cash award for the 2026 event.
Top Female
Special award
$2,000
- Awarded to the best final Swiss place among all female participants, per registration and any verification the Organizer requires.
- Single winner. Ties: same as main Swiss, within this group only.
- May be won in addition to a main placement or class prize.
The "Giant Slayer"
Special award
$2,000
- Awarded to the game with the single largest ELO-gapped upset: a win (not a draw) where the winner was lower-rated than the opponent at pair time.
- Up score = opponent’s listed pre-game rating minus the winner’s listed pre-game rating (same rating list the Organizer used for the pair on the match card), maximized across all games.
- Ties: same gap → later round wins; if still tied, the win against the higher opponent ELO wins; if still tied, the earlier game number in the event wins.
- One award: $2,000 cash per event.
Top Senior
Special award
$2,000
- Awarded to the best final Swiss place among all senior participants as of the tournament start date.
- Eligibility criteria are as published in the official event packet and registration materials.
- Single winner. If two seniors share the same place, tie-breaks are the same as the main Swiss, restricted to eligible seniors only.
- May be won in addition to a main placement or class prize.
Underdog
Special award
$2,000
- Awarded to the best final Swiss place among underdog-eligible entrants.
- If more than one underdog-eligible entrant shares the same place, main Swiss tie-breaks apply between those players only.
- One award: $2,000 cash per event.
- May be won in addition to a main placement or class prize.
The "Brilliancy" prize
Special award
$1,500
- Solely selected by the Fair Play & Analysis Team for the single most tactically superior and aesthetically strong game, weighing soundness, depth, and broadcast clarity.
- This award is judgment-based. There is no appeal of the Team’s selection or of subjective artistic judgment. A long list may be internal only.
- One award: $1,500 cash per event.