Play65 hosts exclusive online qualifiers for the World Backgammon Tour Grand Finale, which is scheduled to 1-2 November 2010 in Enghien-les-Bains near Paris and guaranteeing a €32,000 prize pool. Only 16 players will compete at the Grand Finale: six of them are winners of the 2010 WBGT stops, another six are the top ranked in the WBGT Point Race standing; three more seats will be taken by winners of live satellites organized by various backgammon federations worldwide. The last qualifier can be you.

Play65 WBGT Grand Finale qualifier will take place on Saturday, 2 October 2010 at 18:00 GMT, where a €2000 seat will be awarded to the winner; entry fees: €250. Satellites to the Grand Finale qualifier take place everyday between 13 and 30 of September at 18:30 GMT. Entry fees are only €25.

World Backgammon Tour Stops & Point Race

The Grand Finale will close the first season of the World Backgammon Tour, an international tour that was opened early this year with the Nordic Open, continued with the US Open and the Swedish Open and will go on with the London Open on 24-26 September, the Japan Open in October and the French Open that precedes the Grand Finale.

Backgammon players who compete at the Championship Division of the WBGT stops gather points that are used to rank them in the Point Race. The top six ranked players (currently with Backgammon Giants Michihito "Michi" Kageyama of Japan and Matvey "Falafel" Natanzon of Israel) will play at the Grand Finale along with the WBGT stop winners.

Play65 Backgammon is happy to be one of the founding sponsors of the US Backgammon Federation, along with the top presenters of the backgammon game including several Giants of Backgammon, national and world backgammon champions, tournament directors and other supporters of the game. The USBGF and Play65 share the same devotion and enthusiasm about the backgammon game and they both intend to promote its positive aspects in clubs, tournaments and in online play.

USBGF Honorary Founding Sponsor

Another surprising supporter of the backgammon game is the Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic who has received an honorary lifetime membership (and a matching doubling cube) from the US Backgammon Federation. Ivanovic, who had recently played the US Open (not the US Backgammon Open obviously), often stated that backgammon - against the computer or her previous coach – used to be her number one locker room pastime.

Potential Honorary Sponsors…

Backgammon was also a favorite pastime of the Green Bay Packers’ locker room, as several members of the American football team were occupied by it in between matches. Backgammon was played at a private jet flight by two hockey team owners - Nelson Skalbania and Peter Pocklington – and played a crucial part in the history of hockey.

Denis Etienne of Geneva, Switzerland is the winner of the 2010 Swiss Open, held last weekend at the Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland and was partially sponsored by Play65. Etienne had played the very tense final against the famous German backgammon player Tobias Hellwag; first he was led 10-0, then 12-2, and finally winning 15-14.  Play65 Swiss Open qualifiers champion, Gian-Reto Iseppi, has championed the second consolation tournament.

Denis Etienne, 54, deputy editor in chief at the Tribune de Genève, and a veteran GammonEmpire player, did not win Play65 Swiss qualifiers, but he has won several online qualifiers in the past: "thanks to Play65, I could go to the Portuguese Open in Estoril (2008) and the Nordic Open in Copenhagen (2010)." He said when switching the interviewer seat with Play65.

"I play backgammon for 30 years, but seriously for 5-6 years. In Estoril, my first big tournament, I was the Consolation finalist. Otherwise, I played mainly in Switzerland, where the best players traditionally came from the German-speaking part, but it is maybe changing (Geneva is in the French-speaking part ;-). Here, I was Swiss Clubs Champion (with Geneva in 2007), and last year I won the Geneva Open."

"The backgammon association in Geneva is young - founded in 2005 - but thanks to its president (Alexandre Ben Lassin, who is a good player too), it has grown very fast. Today, there are 60 regular members, some of them are excellent players and, as it is an international city, players come from all the parts of the world. "

"The Swiss Backgammon Championship & Open was organized by Marcel Liechti, president of the Swiss Backgammon Association and former champion of Switzerland. The championship took place perfectly: magnificent room, friendly atmosphere, cocktail receptions offered, schedule pretty well respected."

Playing Online Backgammon

"Backgammon online I began playing on Yahoo. For some years, I have been playing mostly on GammonEmpire and sometimes on TrueMoneyGames.

- How do you see the connection between online and live backgammon? Play65 sponsorship of the Swiss Open, for example.

"I find that they are excellent initiatives. It is surely well for the backgammon sites; it also helps the tournaments’ organizers, and it is excellent for the players too (who can qualify themselves at low cost)… So, it is win-win-win situation. Actually, it is an important component, now even necessary, of backgammon promotion."

Future Plans

"In December, for the first time, I will be taking part in the Meribel Backgammon International Tournament in the French Alps, everybody says it is the nicest (not including Geneva Open and Swiss Open, of course ;-)"