Nashville to Host "The Champions," Bass Fishing's Richest-Ever Event with $3.25 Million on the Line
Nashville is officially on the map for competitive bass fishing. World Bass Enterprises (WBE) has named the Music City region as the host for The Champions, a brand-new tournament that organizers say will offer the biggest payout the sport has ever seen.
The event will gather the top 25 anglers from the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series and the top 25 from Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour, putting the best in the game head-to-head. They'll be chasing a total purse of $3.25 million, with $1.25 million going to the single winning angler.
The Champions runs five days, from October 28 through November 1, 2026, at Old Hickory Lake's Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Beyond three days of on-the-water competition, the schedule includes live music, a 150,000-square-foot expo, family activities, and other fan experiences meant to draw visitors from around the country to the Nashville area.
To pull it off, WBE has teamed up with Go West Creative and Cumberland Hospitality Group (CHG), the local operator behind well-known Music Valley spots including The Nashville Palace, Scoreboard Bar & Grill, and Bootleggers Inn. WBE founder and CEO Brian Bird pointed to those local ties, along with Excel Sports Management's big-event track record, as the foundation for what he expects to be a world-class production.
Country music will be part of the festivities too. Grammy winner Lee Greenwood is set to perform at the opening ceremonies on October 28 and will sing the national anthem the next day as competition kicks off.
For more details and updates, visit World Bass Enterprises' official website.
Source: Country Rebel, reporting by Amanda Tubbs.
