Let’s dive into the different Major League Fishing events that take place outside of regular season gameplay.
REDCREST
REDCREST is the most prestigious post-season event in Major League Fishing and is held in April of the following year. Only the best of the best in professional fishing get an opportunity to cast their lines in this tournament.
While this event is separate from the Angler of the Year (AOY) title, which is tabulated based on points accrued through Stages 1-7 of the regular season competition, AOY rankings do determine who qualifies for REDCREST. Of the 66 anglers on the Pro Tour, invitations to REDCREST are only given to the Top 50 pros of the regular season. It also offers pros an additional chance to win cash prizes based on their performance in the tournament.
Heavy Hitters Invitational
Heavy Hitters is MLF’s mid-season invitational, held each year in May. Anglers from the Pro Tour qualify for this invitation by fishing all seven Stages during the regular season and consistently catching the heaviest fish. Then, the Top 30 are selected based on the combined total weight of the largest bass caught in each stage.
Heavy Hitters spans six days of competition where anglers vie for a combined purse of $507,502 and a top prize of $100,000 (second place receives $25,000 and third place gets $20,000.
The highlight of this event is the Big Bass Bounty competition in addition to regular gameplay, which carries additional cash prizes. In each of the elimination and knockout rounds of the Heavy Hitters event, the angler who catches the heaviest fish is awarded $30,000, and second, third, and fourth place finishers are awarded $10,000 each. The Big Bass Bounty for the championship round is $100,000.
Team Series
The all-star series of MLF, the Team Series, differs the most from regular season competitions and other major tentpole events each season. Still, all weave together with regular-season events in some ways.
The most significant difference between the Team Series and other MLF events is that, instead of individual competitions, 12 teams of two anglers compete together in each Cup event.
The Team Series consists of four Cup tournaments held between late August and November:
- Challenge Cup – in late August
- Heritage Cup – held in mid-September
- Patriot Cup – held in late October
- Summit Cup – held in mid-November
While AOY rankings affect placement in the Team Series, finishes in these events do not affect AOY standings. Instead, Cup finishes come with additional cash prizes and an opportunity to participate in a televised competition, gaining name recognition and bragging rights – this season, the stakes are higher than ever, as the Team Series will air live for the very first time, exclusively on RFD-TV!
