The masterpoint plan is the means by which ACBL
ranks each member's accomplishments in sanctioned bridge play. The winners of sanctioned
events receive masterpoints in amounts consistent with the importance and size of
the events. Members who achieve rankings lower than first place, both overall and
within their designated comparison group, receive proportionately fewer masterpoints.
Generally, the more masterpoints a member has, the more experienced and skilled he
or she is assumed to be.
ACBL awards honor titles to members as they
amass a sufficient number of masterpoints to achieve predetermined levels of bridge
accomplishment. These titles range from the first plateau, Rookie, through Junior
Master, Club Master, Sectional Master, Regional Master, and NABC Master, to the highest
honor ACBL awards, the title and rank of Life Master. There are several levels of
Life Master: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Grand.
There are formulas for computing masterpoint
awards for all ACBL sanctioned events. These formulas take into account various factors,
such as the class of the event, the size of the field, the number of sessions, and
the level of competition, thus ensuring maximum uniformity throughout ACBL in determining
masterpoint awards. Additionally, masterpoints are "pigmented" to reflect
the level of competition.
A. UNPIGMENTED POINTS
These points are awarded for success in online
play and are colorless.
B. BLACK POINTS
These points are awarded for success in sanctioned club games and Unit games. There
are some special events (usually conducted at clubs) which award points where some
portion of the award will be in black points and the remainder in another color.
C. SILVER POINTS
Silver points are awarded for success in events at Sectional tournaments. Progressive
Sectionals and Sectional Tournaments at Clubs (STaCs) also award silver points.
D. RED POINTS
Regional tournaments and regional events at NABCS award red points except for overall
and section tops (see Gold Points below). Grand National Teams (GNT) Events, North
American Open Pairs (NAOP) Events, and other special games afford players the opportunity
to earn red points at their local clubs.
E. GOLD POINTS
Gold points are awarded for overall placings and section tops in regional and NABC
events of at least two sessions. The upper masterpoint limit must be at least 750
masterpoints and applies only to the top two stratifications of stratified or stratiflighted
events. In Open Bracketed events (such as a bracketed knockout team) each bracket
will award some percentage of the overall award as Gold irrespective of the masterpoint
holding of the teams in that bracket). Gold points may be awarded for special games,
such as the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game.
F. PLATINUM POINTS
Platinum points are awarded for NABC+ events (which are National-rated events with
no upper masterpoint limit) and include the national-rated Senior and Women's events.
ACBL's Masterpoint Plan appeals to members
because it permits members to know their approximate overall ranking relative to
that of every other member. Although a complete listing of the large number of ACBL
members is impractical, the honor titles that members earn as they achieve various
plateaus of masterpoint holdings serve as close approximations of their overall standing.
Lists of the top players in some categories and masterpoint races are published in
The Bridge Bulletin and on the ACBL web site in the Members Section.
HONOR TITLES
The honor titles and
the masterpoints players must acquire to gain them are:
ROOKIE:
An ACBL member who has fewer than 5 full masterpoints recorded by the ACBL.
JUNIOR MASTER:
A member who has at least 5 but fewer than 20 masterpoints recorded by ACBL. A Junior
Master is eligible for most newcomer events.
CLUB MASTER:
A member who has at least 20 but fewer than 50 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
SECTIONAL MASTER:
A member who has at least 50 but fewer than 100 masterpoints recorded by ACBL, of
which 5 must be silver.
REGIONAL MASTER:
A member who has at least 100 masterpoints recorded by ACBL, of which 15 must be
silver and 5 must be red or gold.
LIFE MASTER:
A member who has 300 or more masterpoints recorded by ACBL, of which 100 must be
pigmented, with 50 silver, 25 gold, and 25 red or gold. A member who held no red
masterpoints or fraction thereof prior to January 1, 1969, is required to possess
at least 50 red and gold masterpoints, of which at least 25 must be gold. Any new
member or player in an inactive status for six months or more after January 1, 1999
will be required to earn 50 black points to become a Life Master.
GOLDEN AGE MASTER:
A member who is age 70 or older and has at least 300 masterpoints of any color recorded
by ACBL, or a member who is at least 80 years old and has at least 100 masterpoints
of any color recorded by ACBL. On application to ACBL, an eligible member will be
designated a Golden Age Master and sent an appropriate certificate and wallet card.
BRONZE LIFE MASTER:
A Life Master who has at least 500 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
SILVER LIFE MASTER:
A Life Master who has at least 1,000 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
GOLD LIFE MASTER:
A Life Master who has at least 2,500 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
DIAMOND LIFE MASTER:
A Life Master who has at least 5,000 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
GRAND LIFE MASTER:
A Life Master who has at least 10,000 masterpoints and has won a North American Bridge
Championship with no upper masterpoint restriction, or an Open Team Trials or its
equivalent, or a Women's Team Trials or its equivalent, or any of the following WBF
events: Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, Rosenblum Cup, McConnell Cup, Open Pairs, Women's
Pairs, Olympiad, Women's Team Olympiad, Mixed Pairs prior to 1990 or Mixed Teams
prior to 1990.