Sport Fishing Championship has begun penultimate tournament in Ocean City

White Marlin Open joins Sport Fishing Championship © Sport Fishing Championship

Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), the governing body of saltwater tournament fishing, is in the thick of its penultimate tournament with the White Marlin Open, held in Ocean City, Maryland.

The White Marlin Open, the world's richest and largest billfishing tournament, is SFC's newest addition to the 2023 circuit. Celebrating 50 years this week, the White Marlin Open currently has 400 boats out on the water to compete. Prize money for this tournament is projected to be a world-record payout of $10.3 million.

This tournament is also the final stop for SFC's Atlantic Championship Division, where the first-ever Atlantic Division winners will be honored. Team Polarizer is currently on top of the leaderboard, with 9,000 points, while Team T-Zero will be fishing this week holding second place with 5,500.

Ocean City is the last opportunity for SFC's Bigeye Tuna Championship Fish Division, of which angler Jordan Sanford of Team Gypsea is currently holding the lead with $50,000 on the line.

All the action is available to watch on CBS Sports Network from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Viewers can also tune in to SFC's YouTube from 3 to 4 p.m. each day (all times EDT).

SFC tournament points accrue based on a team's placement in the final tournament standings, with the first-place team earning 3,500 points, the second-place team 3,000 points, and so forth. Placements in the tournament standings are determined from tournament-only points based on species of fish caught and released, with the highest consideration given to blue marlin, then white marlin and spearfish, and finally sailfish and swordfish.

To close the season out, the final tournament will be the San Juan International Billfish Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 23-25.

To learn more about the Sport Fishing Championship Season, visit sportfishingchampionship.com.