CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The American Cornhole League Kickoff Battle is coming to the American Bank Center, April 6 - 9. The kickoff is the first stop of the ACL Pro Cornhole Championship Series that leads all the way to the 2023 ACL World Championships at the end of July in South Carolina.
This weekend's events at the American Bank Center feature some of the best cornhole players in the world as they compete for $65,000 in cash payouts. 259 professional players and over 80 semi-pro athletes will be battling for the prize money and standings for the season.
"It's really exciting to watch and for them to come here and have this opportunity to watch them play," Jayden Ibarra, 15-year-old open category cornhole athlete, said. "Playing on Sunday in the junior division is a good opportunity for me."
We caught up with South Texas Cornhole, a local group that helped organize the event this weekend and made it possible to bring it to Corpus Christi.
"We've been working on this for 2.5 years, and to be able to bring it to the city and showcase what the Coastal Bend has to offer extremely, exciting opportunity for our city," Jonathan Ibarra, Regional Director for South Texas Cornhole, said.
Network coverage can be found starting Friday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network as Pro Teams Ohio Aviators take on the Texas Bully Baggers.
"You learn a lot being able to see because it is a mental game," Nico Gomez, South Texas Cornhole open player, said. "Seeing what kind of shots they shoot in certain situations. Getting to meet them. A majority of the pros are real good people."
Saturday at 8 p.m., ESPN2 will air the ACL Kickoff Battle Finals live. Sunday at 2 p.m., CBS Sports Network will have the live matchup between pro teams Missouri Maize versus Carolina Coasters.
Fans can purchase tickets for the live on-air events in the Henry Garrett Room at iplayacl.co/kob-tickets-23 or catch games all day Thursday through Sunday. Those game at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall are not on live TV and are free entry.
If you or a friend are interested in learning to play cornhole, check out South Texas Cornhole on Facebook here.
For more sports coverage click here, or follow our Friday Night Fever Facebook or KRIS 6 Sports Twitter.
