Master Points

About Master Points

The English Bridge Union Master Points Scheme came into operation in September 1956 and it has been very popular with the players. Clubs have also appreciated the value of the scheme with its unique incentives in helping to promote and retain club membership. You can read about its origins here (part 1part 2). 

Any player can obtain points from success in duplicate bridge competition, on a scale which varies according to the success itself, the size of the competition and its status. About the top one-third of players in a competition will be entitled to Master Points. The register of Master Points is kept at the offices of the English Bridge Union. Only members of the EBU may register their points and have their records maintained. A lapsed member may have valid Master Points registered on renewal of membership of the EBU. 

Members may see their record via My EBU, using their membership number and password. Lists of promotions between Master Point ranks are published and county ranking lists are made available to all members. Rank and category prizes are awarded every year based upon the total number of Master Points earned during the competition year, which runs from 1 January to 31 December, current year's rankings.

For more information see, Master Point Ranks and Master Point Types.

Master Point and Licensing Handbook

The current Master Point and Licensing Handbook. The document:

  • outlines the different types of organisations that can run Master Points award events
  • determines what type of Master Points and at what scale an organisation can award them for each event it runs
  • states the different types of event an organisation can run
  • states how many events an organisation can run to include entries from non- members or unaffiliated clubs
  • sets out the type of events that require a licence

Promotions

Landmark promotions in the Master Point scheme are printed in every issue of English Bridge, and a list of all promotions (sorted by county) can be seen on our website with a new list posted every month.

Four Landmark promotions

These are Master, Regional Master, Life Master and Grand Master. Promotions will be processed four times a year in line with English Bridge issues: February, May, September and December. The landmark promotions will be recorded in these issues of English Bridge.

Members who have achieved one of the landmark promotions will receive a congratulation letter from the EBU Chairman and a certificate of rank attained, by post. Other promotions will be marked by digital certificates sent by email.

Those achieving a landmark promotion to the rank of Master now receive a discount up to £25 to be used against entry to any EBU organised event. This discount can only be applied to one event of your choice.  Free entries to the Ranked Masters Pairs have also been re-introduced from January 2023 for members achieving one of the other three landmark promotions.

All other promotions

We now only print some promotions in the magazine. Promotions are published instead on the EBU website, and members can see their Master Point history in My EBU, the Member’s personal area of the website.

Points

There are four types of point. Local and Green Points accumulate to establish a player’s Master Point rank. Gold Points, which depreciate in value over a five-year period, provide a measure of form for more expert players.

  • Local (Black) Points:
    • These are awarded at any duplicate session, including club duplicates, complying with the normal rules and regulations of the Master Points scheme.
  • Green Points
    • These are won in national events and are necessary for progress to the most senior ranks. The club heats of the National Pairs competition attract Green Points. The value of a Green Point is 100 Local Points (so 1½ Green Points = 150 Local Points and, since the advent of decimalised Green Points, 2.28 Green Points = 228 Local Points).
    • Green Points calculator
  • Blue Points scheme
    • These are awarded at any duplicate session, including club duplicates, complying with the normal rules and regulations of the Master Points scheme.
  • Gold Points
    • Gold Points are awarded for any performance, in a single EBU event, plus the BGB Gold Cup, which earns 5 Green Points or more. Gold Points are expressed to two decimal places, and devalue at the rate of 20% of their original value per annum. Gold Points are not used in determining a player’s Master Points rank but are an indicator of current form, and of performance at a high level.

More information

Rankings

Masterpoints or Master Points are points awarded by bridge organizations to individuals for success in competitive Bridge tournaments run under their auspices.

Competition

Upcoming events

The End of Year Annual Competition

This runs from January 1st to December 31st each year and all EBU members with a visible master point record are included. Prizes are awarded in the form of free entry to specified events, as detailed below. We publish the ranking lists on the EBU website and we inform the Counties and Clubs when they are available to view.

The national ranking lists are shown based on local, blue, green and total points earned in the year. The winner for each county in each of these four groups will be awarded free entry to one of the Online One-Day Green Pointed events in the forthcoming year, limited to one per person. In addition, each of the club champions will be awarded free entry to one of the Online One-Day Green Pointed events in the forthcoming year, again limited to one per person. These free entries are awarded in place of the cash prizes that were formerly awarded to a much smaller group of members.

The "Sunday Telegraph" Salver – and free entry to the Ranked Masters Pairs – will be presented to the player who has won the most points in the competition year.

Licensing

Information on licensing.