The Badminton World Federation (BWF) organises several tournaments across different grades. In our last piece, we discussed the major badminton tournaments that come under the Grade 1 category.
But apart from this, there are Grade 2 competitions where the top-ranked players compete against each other. Now you must have heard of the BWF World Tour series.
This series is part of the Grade 2 system and has multiple levels. So what are the levels in the BWF Tour? And what do they offer to a shuttler?
In this piece, let’s glance at the different levels in the BWF Tour series.
World Tour Finals
The BWF World Tour Finals is at the top of the pyramid. It’s the Grade 2, Level 1 badminton tournament played in December every year.
The World Tour Finals wraps up the World Tour circuit calendar, which sees the participation of the top eight players/pairs across disciplines. Players have the opportunity to bag the most ranking points and the prize money.
The total prize pot is US$ 25,00,000, which gets distributed among the winners, runner-ups, semi-finalists, and all the participants.
The winners of the World Tour Finals earn 14,000 points, with runner-ups and semi-finalists getting 12,000 and 10,000 points, respectively.
Super 1000
The BWF World Tour Super 1000 is a Grade 2, Level 2 on the badminton circuit. There are four annual tournaments under this level.
The total prize money on offer is US$ 13,00,000, which will increase to US$ 14,50,000 in 2025. Speaking of the ranking points, the Super 1000 winners get 12,000 points, while the runner-ups and the semi-finalists earn 10,200 and 8,400 points, respectively.
The top shuttlers compete in these four Super 1000 tournaments: All England Open, China Open, Indonesia Open, and Malaysia Open.
Super 750
The Super 750 tournaments fall under Grade 2, Level 3 on the BWF World Tour circuit. Shuttlers compete in six Super 750 tournaments, which are China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open, Japan Open, India Open, and Singapore Open.
These Super 750 tournaments have a prize pool of US$ 8,50,000, with further increase to US$ 9,50,000 in 2025. The winners bag 11,000 ranking points, followed by runner-ups who get 9,350 points and the semi-finalists who receive 7,700 points.
Super 500
The Super 500 badminton tournaments come fourth in the pecking order. There are nine tournaments under the Grade 2, Level 4 system.
The Super 500 tournaments include the Arctic Open, Australian Open, Canada Open, Hong Kong Open, Indonesia Open, Japan Open, Korea Open, Malaysia Open, and Thailand Open.
These Super 500 tournaments offer 9,200 ranking points to the winners, 7,800 to runner-ups, and 6,420 to semi-finalists. Apart from that, the shuttlers can take a pie from the US$ 4,20,000 prize money.
Super 300
The Super 300 tournaments are on level 5 of the BWF World Tour system. There are 11 annual tournaments under this level.
The German Open, Hylo Open, Korea Masters, Macau Open, Spain Masters, Swiss Open, Syed Modi International, Taipei Open, Thailand Masters, US Open, and Orléans Masters are the Super 300 tournaments.
These Super 300 tournaments provide 7,000 ranking points to the winner, while the runner-up gets 5,950 points and the semi-finalists earn 4,900 points. Shuttlers also earn a share from the total prize pool of US$ 2,10,000.
Super 100
The Super 100 is the last level in the Grade 2 category, though it is not part of the BWF World Tour. Rather, it falls under the BWF Tour.
Many lower-ranked players participate in ten Super 100 tournaments in a year. The current Super 100 tournaments include Abu Dhabi Masters, Baoji China Masters, Guwahati Masters, Indonesia Masters I and II, Kaohsiung Masters, Malaysia Super 100, Odisha Masters, Ruichang China Masters, and Vietnam Open.
The Super 100 winners earn 5,000 points, runner-ups get 4,680 points, and semi-finalists receive 3,850 points. This helps them go up the BWF rankings. Moreover, there is US$ 1,00,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Conclusion
The BWF World Tour is a prestigious badminton series. Many top players look forward to participating in different levels of the tour, with mandatory participation in 12 tournaments (for the top 15 players/pairs) per year.
As top shuttlers participate, we get to witness intense matches. The ranking points on offer, along with prize money, help shuttlers climb the BWF World Rankings ladder.
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