The 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship was in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Thursday, October 12 to Sunday, October 16. The event featured 32 MPO and 20 FPO competitors.
Like it has most every year since the DGPT began in 2016, the format of the DGPT Championship changed for 2023. To find out how worked, use the post navigation below.
Click or tap a section below to learn about the 2023 DGPT Championship:
- The course for the 2023 DGPT Championship
- 2023 DGPT Championship qualification
- How the 2023 DGPT Championship works
-Simple overview of competition structure
-Semifinals explanation
-Finals explanation - 2023 DGPT Championship seeding
- MPO: Who's in the 2023 DGPT Championship finals, their win probabilities, and seeds in semis
- FPO: Who's in the 2023 DGPT Championship finals, their win probabilities, and seeds in semis
- All DGPT Championship winners ever (incl. 2023 champs)
What Course Is Being Used for the 2023 DGPT Championship?
All rounds of the 2023 DGPT Championship were again played at Nevin Park Disc Golf Course (also the event's host in 2022), a jewel of a track in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the best disc golf cities in the United States.
Those who loved the woods golf at Charlotte's Hornets Nest – which hosted the DGPT Championship from 2019-2021 – found plenty to like at Nevin the last two years. Like Hornets Nest, Nevin has produced tight, drama-filled competition.
How Did Players Qualify for the 2023 DGPT Championship?
Players qualified for the 2023 DGPT Championship in two ways:
- Winning an eligible PDGA Major or DGPT Elite, Elite+, or Playoff Event
- Spots not filled by winners of those events went to the players with the most 2023 DGPT points
In MPO, 32 players qualified for the 2023 DGPT Championship. In FPO, the total is 20. If a player within either division's cut line declined to compete, the next player in line by points then qualified.
Players earned DGPT points in 2023 based on their finishes at DGPT events, three PDGA Majors, and six selected PDGA Euro Tour events throughout the season. To fully understand the points system, give our post "How Disc Golf Pro Tour Points Work & Why They Matter" a read.
It didn't happen, but it was technically possible that up to 18 spots in a division's field could have been taken by event winners who were not among their division's top point earners.
How Did the 2023 DGPT Championship Work?
What makes the DGPT Championship most interesting is its unusual structure, which has always included player elimination and scores being reset to zero after each phase of the tournament. Those elements still existed in 2023, but for the first time in the competition's history, cumulative scores over two rounds were used to decide who moved on from a phase of the competition and who won.
In 2023, the DGPT Championship happened in four rounds separated into two, two-round phases: the Semifinals and Finals. Unlike in previous years, no players received automatic byes to a later stage. The winner played all four rounds of the competition.
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Worked: Overview
| HOW THE 2023 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: MPO | ||||
| Phase | Semifinals | Finals | ||
| Round | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of players | 32 | 32 | 12 | 12 |
| Who plays? | All 32 MPO players | All 32 MPO players | The 12 who advanced from the Semifinals | The 12 who advanced from the Semifinals |
| Who moves on? | No elimination following this round | The 12 players with the best cumulative scores from the Semifinals' two rounds. Players with seeds 1-24 will have starting strokes that affect their cumulative scores. |
No elimination following this round | The player with the best cumulative score from the two Finals rounds is the winner of the 2023 DGPT Championship. In the Finals, no players receive "starting strokes." |
| Tiebreaker | N/A | The player with the better seed moves on. | N/A | Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter) |
| 2023 Payout | N/A | Players eliminated in this phase receive $2,500 for participating | N/A | 1st $40,000 2nd $22,000 3rd $14,000 4th $10,000 |
On mobile? Swipe left/right on table to see all columns.
| HOW THE 2023 DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WORKS: FPO | ||||
| Phase | Semifinals | Finals | ||
| Round | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of players | 20 | 20 | 8 | 8 |
| Who plays? | All 20 FPO players | All 20 FPO players | The eight players who advanced from the Semifinals | The eight players who advanced from the Semifinals |
| Who moves on? | No elimination following this round | The 8 players with the best cumulative scores from the semifinals' two rounds. Players with seeds 1-12 will have starting strokes that affect their cumulative scores. |
No elimination following this round | The player with the best cumulative score from the two Finals rounds is the winner of the 2023 DGPT Championship. In the Finals, no players receive "starting strokes." |
| Tiebreaker |
N/A | The player with the better seed moves on. | N/A | Sudden death playoff in the event of a tie for first (seed does not matter) |
| 2023 Payout | N/A | Players eliminated in this phase receive $2,500 for participating | N/A | 1st $40,000 2nd $22,000 3rd $14,000 4th $10,000 |
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Semifinals Worked
The Semifinals were two rounds, and every player in both divisions (seeds 1-32 in MPO and seeds 1-20 in FPO) played both rounds. In lieu of byes, the DGPT gave higher seeded players "starting strokes" that they could subtract from their cumulative throw totals following the Semifinals' two rounds. Since seeds were given out based on tour points standings (more points equaled a better seed), these strokes were meant to give an advantage to those who performed best at tournaments awarding 2023 DGPT points.
Tap or click to see how many starting strokes each seed at the 2023 DGPT Championship got in MPO or FPO.
The 12 MPO and 8 FPO players with the best cumulative scores from those two rounds moved on to their divisions' Finals.
How the 2023 DGPT Championship Finals Worked
The Finals were also two rounds, but this time there were no "starting strokes" and better seeds had no advantage. Players' scores were reset to zero, and whichever player turned in the lowest cumulative score from the two rounds of the Finals was their division's champion.
Seeding at the 2023 DGPT Championship
Seeding at the DGPT Championship was based entirely on tour point standings and didn't matter in the Finals.
The qualifying competitor with the most points from the 2023 season was the #1 seed, the qualifying competitor with the second most tour points was the #2 seed, and so on. In 2023, there were no byes, but higher seeds were given more starting strokes that gave them an advantage over lower-seeded players in the Semifinals.
2023 DGPT Championship MPO: Who Was in the Finals & What Were Their Seeds?
| FINALS | SEMIFINALS | |||||
| Player | Win Prob. | Seed | Player | Starting Score | Prob. to Advance at Start of Semis | |
| Calvin Heimburg | 19% | 1 | Calvin Heimburg | -6 | 95% | |
| Eagle McMahon | 19% | 2 | Isaac Robinson | -5 | 87% | |
| Ricky Wysocki | 15% | 3 | Ricky Wysocki | -4 | 85% | |
| Gannon Buhr | 13% | 4 | Gannon Buhr | -4 | 82% | |
| Isaac Robinson | 8% | 5 | Eagle McMahon | -3 | 78% | |
| Kyle Klein | 7% | 6 | Matt Orum | -3 | 71% | |
| Joel Freeman | 6% | 7 | Simon Lizotte | -3 | 61% | |
| Niklas Anttila | 4% | 8 | Kyle Klein | -3 | 63% | |
| Anthony Barela | 3% | 9 | Anthony Barela | -2 | 39% | |
| Ezra Robinson | 3% | 10 | Cole Redalen | -2 | 29% | |
| Adam Hammes | 1% | 11 | James Proctor | -2 | 36% | |
| Cole Redalen | 1% | 12 | Ezra Robinson | -2 | 35% | |
| 13 | Alden Harris | -2 | 35% | |||
| 14 | Aaron Gossage | -2 | 32% | |||
| 15 | Chris Dickerson | -2 | 52% | |||
| 16 | Ezra Aderhold | -2 | 28% | |||
| 17 | Kevin Jones | -1 | 19% | |||
| 18 | Adam Hammes | -1 | 17% | |||
| 19 | Bradley Williams | -1 | 19% | |||
| 20 | James Conrad | -1 | 20% | |||
| 21 | Ben Callaway | -1 | 13% | |||
| 22 | Corey Ellis | -1 | 17% | |||
| 23 | Joel Freeman | -1 | 25% | |||
| 24 | Chris Clemons | -1 | 16% | |||
| 25 | Niklas Anttila | 0 | 15% | |||
| 26 | Väinö Mäkelä | 0 | 9% | |||
| 27 | Nikko Locastro | 0 | 9% | |||
| 28 | Emerson Keith | 0 | 5% | |||
| 29 | Andrew Presnell | 0 | 5% | |||
| 30 | Mason Ford | 0 | 7% | |||
| 31 | Paul Ulibarri | 0 | 3% | |||
| 32 | Parker Welck | 0 | 3% | |||
These probabilities were created prior to the start of the tournament's two phases and did and will change dramatically as it played/plays out. To see how, check out 2023 DGPT Championship Win Probability: MPO on UDisc Live.
The probability to advance takes into account how players have historically performed on holes of specific distances and difficulties and uses that information to come up with a predicted score for the holes they'll face at the 2023 DGPT Championship. It also takes into account the starting strokes they have and how their predicted performance matches up to the rest of the field.
2023 DGPT Championship FPO: Who Was in the Finals & What Were Their Seeds?
| FINALS | SEMIFINALS | |||||
| Player | Win Prob. | Seed |
Player |
Starting Score | Prob. to Advance at Start of Semis |
|
| Kristin Tattar | 65% | 1 | Kristin Tattar | -5 | >99% | |
| Ohn Scoggins | 12% | 2 | Missy Gannon | -4 | 92% | |
| Missy Gannon | 11% | 3 | Ohn Scoggins | -3 | 85% | |
| Hailey King | 5% | 4 | Holyn Handley | -3 | 79% | |
| Kat Mertsch | 3% | 5 | Ella Hansen | -2 | 61% | |
| Jennifer Allen | 2% | 6 | Kat Mertsch | -2 | 54% | |
| Ali Smith | 1% | 7 | Hailey King | -2 | 61% | |
| Stacie Rawnsley | <1% | 8 | Catrina Allen | -2 | 61% | |
| 9 | Sarah Hokom | -1 | 39% | |||
| 10 | Macie Velediaz | -1 | 32% | |||
| 11 | Jessica Weese | -1 | 28% | |||
| 12 | Ali Smith | -1 | 18% | |||
| 13 | Maria Olivia | 0 | 7% | |||
| 14 | Jennifer Allen | 0 | 22% | |||
| 15 | Stacie Rawnsley | 0 | 6% | |||
| 16 | Holly Finley | 0 | 6% | |||
| 17 | Lisa Fajkus | 0 | 10% | |||
| 18 | Lykke Lorentzen | 0 | 7% | |||
| 19 | Valerie Mandujano | 0 | 24% | |||
| 20 | Juliana Korver | 0 | 10% | |||
These percentages were created prior to the start of the event and will change dramatically as it plays out. To see how, check out 2023 DGPT Championship Win Probability: MPO on UDisc Live.
The probability to advance takes into account how players have historically performed on holes of specific distances and difficulties and uses that information to come up with a predicted score for the holes they'll face at the 2023 DGPT Championship. It also takes into account the starting strokes they have and how their predicted performance matches up to the rest of the field.
All DGPT Championship Winners
Here are all DGPT Championship winners, their prizes, what seeds they were, and where they won:
| ALL DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS: MPO | |||||
| Year | Winner | Seed |
Prize |
Course | Location |
| 2023 | Ricky Wysocki | 3 | $40,000 | Nevin | Charlotte, NC |
| 2022 | Ricky Wysocki | 1 | $35,000 | Nevin | Charlotte, NC |
| 2021 | Nathan Queen | 28 | $30,000 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2020 | Kevin Jones | 7 | $20,000 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2019 | Chris Dickerson | 24 | $2,500 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2018 | Chris Dickerson | 18 | $7,500 | New World Disc Golf Course | Jacksonville, FL |
| 2017 | Ricky Wysocki | 1 | $10,000 | New World Disc Golf Course | Jacksonville, FL |
| 2016 | Paul McBeth | 5 | $10,000 | Fox Run Meadows | Smugglers' Notch, VT |
| ALL DGPT CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS: FPO | |||||
| Year | Winner | Seed |
Prize |
Course | Location |
| 2023 | Missy Gannon | 2 | $40,000 | Nevin | Charlotte, NC |
| 2022 | Kristin Tattar | 1 | $35,000 | Nevin | Charlotte, NC |
| 2021 | Missy Gannon | 3 | $30,000 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2020 | Hailey King | 4 | $20,000 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2019 | Catrina Allen | 2 | $2,500 | Hornets Nest | Charlotte, NC |
| 2018 | Sarah Hokom | 1 | $2,500 | New World Disc Golf Course | Jacksonville, FL |
| 2017 | Paige Pierce | 1 | $3,000 | New World Disc Golf Course | Jacksonville, FL |
| 2016 | Catrina Allen | 2 | $2,000 | Fox Run Meadows | Smugglers' Notch, VT |
These are some interesting takeaways from this chart served up with some tasty extras:
- Why are prizes so much higher lately?
What immediately jumps out about these stats is the huge difference in prizes in recent years. In fact, every year starting in 2020 the DGPT Championship set records for the largest overall purse in disc golf history at the time it was held. These purses became possible because the DGPT has gained many more partners in recent years. - Dickerson's wins were amazing but not as unexpected as Queen's
When Nathan Queen won the DGPT Championship in 2021, it was practically miraculous. Our predictions gave him less than a 1% chance of winning, and in a fan competition based on picking brackets, Queen was the only player in the entire field not be chosen by at least one person as the winner. When he came out on top, it was an underdog story for the ages.
In contrast, Dickerson's wins as a low seed actually weren't particularly surprising. Dickerson didn't tour nationally much during those seasons and so hadn't accumulated many points. Honing his skills by playing (and dominating) huge numbers of southeastern U.S. tournaments, Dickerson was one of the best in the world, and his Tour Championship wins weren't out of the blue.
See How the 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour Played Out
You can see all the shot-by-shot scores and stats from the 2023 DGPT (as well as every other major professional tournament series) on UDisc Live.
