Aw shucks! World cornhole titles are on the line in Rock Hill as event grows
More people from more countries are coming to Rock Hill for a shot at a world title in the most-played sport in the United States.
The Rock Hill-based American Cornhole League expects more than 10,000 people to gather for its July 28-Aug. 3 ACL World Championships at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. Players will range from pros to celebrities and newcomers.
“That’s what makes cornhole special,” said ACL Chief Strategy Officer Trey Ryder. “It’s not the most watched (sport) in America, it’s not the most followed online, but it’s the most played. Cornhole is a participation sport.”
In Rock Hill for its sixth year, the world championship event will have participation from as far as Germany, France, Slovenia and Croatia.
“It’ll be our largest attended event as far as countries go,” Ryder said. “We’re going to have a bunch of European representatives including the top European players — top woman, top man from all of Europe — traveling in competing against Americans on American soil for the first time ever.”
After a year off, celebrity matches will return with players like University of South Carolina women’s head basketball coach Dawn Staley and actor Shemar Moore pairing with pro partners. The Rock Hill event will be featured Aug. 3 as part of the ESPN network’s summer series, SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days.
There will be live shots and filmed segments that day with ESPN personalities Ryan McGee and Marty Smith. The world championship coverage will lead into the pro singles championship, with coverage on the main ESPN network rather than one of its affiliate channels.
“That hasn’t been done before,” Ryder said.
Cornhole grows in Rock Hill, across the country
Not long ago, cornhole was more of a fringe social activity than the competitive game it is today.
The world championships this year will pay out more than $700,000 in winnings for 30 events. Winthrop University in Rock Hill has a championship cornhole team, complete with recruits to play the sport. There’s been a push by American Cornhole League to get the sport in the Olympics too.
The latest wave of popularity began with something that doomed many businesses — the COVID pandemic. The pandemic kept people at home and away from large sporting events, which for a while weren’t happening at all.
The hiatus for traditional sports meant a programming need for television and online. Cornhole fit.
“People saw it on ESPN for the first time, and that allowed us to build some momentum,” Ryder said. “People were buying cornhole boards for their backyards and they were just learning how to play because they saw it on TV.”
Growth and growing pains for cornhole
There were growing pains, like the “BagGate” controversy three years ago at the world championships in Rock Hill.
After one doubles team asked for a bag check to make sure an opponent’s bags met size regulations, organizers measured and found both teams were using bags that were too small.
A relatively minor event grew when a Wall Street Journal article several months later described the event as a “cheating scandal.” American Cornhole League Commissioner Stacey Moore released a statement that no illegal bags were used, but that the league would “continue to evaluate the process to ensure even and fair play.”
Still, the sport and the area it calls home have flourished. Cornhole and Rock Hill grew together.
And Rock Hill has an affinity for quirky competition.
The city regularly hosts ESPN8: The Ocho events like knife throwing, Pop-A-Shot mini basketball, dodgeball and slipper stairs championships. A two-day Netball America what uis will bring pros to Rock Hill High School next month in hopes of growing the largely European sport here.
From its Rock Hill base, the American Cornhole League now sanctions events in more than 30 countries. More than 500 tournament directors worldwide run about 40,000 tournaments per year. They range from the television championships in Rock Hill to Tuesday night bar leagues across the country.
As the league grows, leaders don’t want to venture from its biggest draws — fun and accessibility.
“There’s going to be tournaments, literally, for everybody,” Ryder said.
How to catch cornhole in Rock Hill
Events at the world championships will be held in five ability levels from novice to professional. There will be “sit-and-go” tournaments anyone can try, that last maybe half an hour. Some of the more competitive tournaments will last days. Singles and doubles tournaments will be held.
Fans can get full event details, including broadcast schedules and tickets, online at iplaycornhole.com.
Many of the top events will have “challenger brackets” that serve as a play-in tournament to compete. So, with enough skill and a good run tossing bags, an unknown player could end up playing alongside the biggest names in the sport.
That’s one major difference between cornhole and larger sports. Fans at the Super Bowl aren’t given helmets. The World Series doesn’t let fans take at-bats.
With several new features like international players and increased television exposure, this year’s world championship event will rely on what’s made the sport such a good fit in Rock Hill, and beyond.
“It’s still seven days of cornhole,” Ryder said. “People of all different corners of the country. Last year we had all 50 states represented. We’re expecting something similar this year.”
