Imagine entering a tournament hall where hundreds of players are sitting at backgammon tables simultaneously. Each table hosts a separate competition, and players must overcome numerous opponents to reach the final rounds. That scene became a reality in Istanbul in April 2026.
The 18th edition of the Istavder Anniversary Backgammon Feast attracted 804 players to its Main Event, placing it at the top of the largest tournaments documented in the statistical sources examined.
But Istavder's significance extends beyond this record. Its tournament archive begins with 51 participants in 2008 and reaches 804 in 2026. Over the years, players from different countries have traveled to Istanbul, and Iranian competitors have also appeared among the higher-ranked finishers.
In this article, we examine the world's largest backgammon tournament by Main Event participation, explore its growth, and review its results, champions, and the performance of Iranian players.
What Is Istavder, and Where Was the World's Largest Backgammon Tournament Held?
Istavder is a recognized organization within Turkey's backgammon community. Its annual festival, the Istavder Anniversary Backgammon Feast, takes place in Istanbul and attracts international competitors.
According to the Backgammon Results calendar, the festival's 18th edition took place in Istanbul from April 20 to 26, 2026.
The key details of the 2026 event were:
- Event name: Istavder 18th Anniversary Backgammon Feast
- Location: Istanbul, Turkey
- Dates: April 20–26, 2026
- Main Event participants: 804 players
- Champion: Emircan Sisik
- Runner-up: Alpay Akyol
- Third place: Ali Çetin Belene
The figure of 804 refers specifically to the Main Event. It should not be confused with the combined registrations across the festival's side events.
Among the tournaments examined in the Backgammon Results and FTBGS archives, no Main Event field larger than this edition's was identified. A report from the Czech backgammon community also described Istavder 2026 as the world's largest backgammon event.
However, the expression world's largest tournament depends on how the record is defined. Here, the measurement is the number of players in the Main Event, not the total number of entries across every competition within a festival.
Istavder History: From 51 Players in 2008 to 804 in 2026
Looking only at the 2026 figures, it might seem that Istavder suddenly became a massive tournament. Its historical archive tells a different story.
The FT Backgammon Tournament System (FTBGS) has recorded Main Event participation figures for this competition dating back to 2008.
- 2008: 51 players
- 2009: 72 players
- 2010: 64 players
- 2011: 82 players
- 2012: 62 players
- 2013: 134 players
- 2014: 270 players
- 2015: 346 players
- 2016: 400 players
- 2017: 422 players
- 2018: 400 players
- 2019: 330 players
- 2020: 360 players
- 2022: 614 players
- 2023: 668 players
- 2024: 656 players
- 2025: 730 players
- 2026: 804 players
These figures reveal several interesting developments. In 2008, the archive recorded just 51 players. Participation reached 134 in 2013 and increased to 270 the following year.
In 2016, Istavder reached 400 participants for the first time in the available archive. The event established another record in 2017 with 422 players.
However, the growth was not continuous. Participation declined in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The next major increase came in 2022, when the tournament reached 614 participants. Subsequent editions recorded 668, 656, 730, and finally 804 players.
The archive examined does not display a participation figure for 2021. That absence alone does not establish that no event took place that year.
How Significant Is the 804-Player Record?
To understand the scale of Istavder's record, it helps to compare the tournament with its previous editions.
Comparing 2025 and 2026
In 2025, the Main Event attracted 730 players. In 2026, that figure rose to 804.
- 2025 participation: 730 players
- 2026 participation: 804 players
- Increase in participants: 74 players
- Annual growth rate: approximately 10.1%
An increase of 74 players is notable for a tournament that already attracted more than 700 participants.
Comparing 2008 and 2026
In 2008, the Istavder archive recorded only 51 participants.
By 2026, that figure had reached 804, meaning the number of players had grown to approximately 15.8 times its original size.
This comparison shows that the tournament's expansion was not limited to the most recent editions. Over a long period, Istavder developed into an event with more than 800 participants.
However, participation figures alone cannot explain the reasons behind this growth. Understanding the increase would require additional information about registration conditions, costs, prizes, and participating players.
Who Won Istavder 2026?
Winning a tournament with 804 participants is a demanding achievement. Players must compete through multiple rounds against opponents with different playing styles and levels of experience.
According to the official FTBGS standings, Emircan Sisik won the Istavder 2026 Main Event.
Alpay Akyol finished second, while Ali Çetin Belene secured third place.
Top 10 Players at Istavder 2026
- Emircan Sisik — 1st place
- Alpay Akyol — 2nd place
- Ali Çetin Belene — 3rd place
- Catalin Bucur — 4th place
- Martin Filipi — 5th place
- Mehmet Çakıcı — 6th place
- Marcus Reinhard — 7th place
- Ozan Güçlü — 8th place
- Mann Darzi — 9th place
- Eva Zizkova — 10th place
These placements are based on the standings published by FTBGS.
How Many Matches Did the Istavder Champion Win?
The records of the leading finishers provide a clearer picture of their paths through the competition.
According to the FTBGS standings, Emircan Sisik finished first with 15 wins, two losses, and one bye.
Runner-up Alpay Akyol recorded 14 wins, three losses, and one bye. Third-place finisher Ali Çetin Belene recorded 12 wins, three losses, and one bye.
In a tournament, a bye means that a player advances through a round without playing a normal match, according to the competition's bracket structure. A bye should therefore not be treated as equivalent to a victory over an opponent.
These statistics show that winning Istavder 2026 required sustained performance across a substantial number of matches.
How Did Iranian Players Perform at Istavder 2026?
For Iranian readers, one of the most interesting aspects of the event is the participation of Iranian players in the Main Event.
The FTBGS archive lists several Iranian competitors, including players who finished in relatively high positions.
Amin Shahvalizadeh — 17th Place
Amin Shahvalizadeh finished 17th in the Main Event with nine wins and three losses.
Achieving this position in a competition involving 804 players represents a notable result.
Mirhedayat Hashemifar — 21st Place
Mirhedayat Hashemifar also recorded nine wins and three losses, finishing 21st.
Both players appeared among the higher-ranked finishers in the Main Event standings.
Other Iranian Competitors
Several other Iranian players also appear in the published standings, including:
- Ali Barqebani — 78th place
- Alireza Hedayati Aznavi — 87th place
- Hamid Esmaeili — 98th place
- Hooman Bargbidi — 112th place
- Sohrab Baghaie — 113th place
These names are examples from the standings, not a complete list of Iranian participants.
Benyamin Najafizadeh also competed in the tournament. The Main Event standings list him in 432nd place. A reported Consolation championship result would need to be checked against the official standings for that separate event, because the Main Event results alone do not establish that title.
This distinction matters. A player may finish outside the leading positions in the Main Event while achieving success in a side event or consolation competition.
Czech Players Shine at One of the World's Largest Backgammon Tournaments
Istavder 2026 was not exclusively a showcase for Turkish players. A report published by the Czech backgammon community highlighted several notable performances by competitors from the Czech Republic.
Martin Filipi — Fifth Place
Martin Filipi finished fifth in the Main Event field of 804 players.
This was a significant result in his international competitive record.
Eva Zizkova — Tenth Place and Digital Board Champion
Eva Zizkova finished tenth in the Main Event.
In addition to that result, she won the Digital Board competition.
Honza Černý — Best PR in Digital Board
The Czech backgammon community report credited Honza Černý with the best Performance Rating in the Digital Board competition, recording a PR of 3.94.
In backgammon, Performance Rating (PR) is a measure used to evaluate errors in a player's decisions. A lower PR generally indicates more accurate analytical performance.
However, achieving the best PR does not necessarily mean winning the corresponding tournament bracket. Match results and the quality of a player's decisions are separate measures.
Istavder Is More Than a Main Event
One distinctive feature of Istavder is its festival-style structure.
Alongside the Main Event, players can enter a range of side competitions. This gives participants opportunities to experience different competitive backgammon formats.
Recent Istavder editions have included events such as:
- Team Tournament — team competitions
- Consulting Doubles — pairs playing through joint decision-making
- Speed Gammon — fast-paced backgammon competitions
- Digital Board — competitions played on digital boards
- Ladies Tournament — women's competitions
- One Point — one-point matches
- DMP — competitions using a single-point match format
Participation figures reported for the 2025 edition indicate that Consulting Doubles attracted 187 teams, Speed Gammon had 333 players, and the Team event involved 36 teams.
These figures demonstrate that the festival extends well beyond its Main Event.
However, when comparing tournament sizes, participation figures from different sections should not simply be added together without further analysis. The same person may enter several events and therefore account for multiple registrations.
How Does Istavder Compare With Other Major Backgammon Tournaments?
To better understand the scale of Istavder 2026, we can compare its participation figures with selected events listed in the Backgammon Results archive.
- Istavder Anniversary 2026: 804 players
- Istavder Anniversary 2025: 730 players
- Istavder Anniversary 2024: 656 players
- Istavder Anniversary 2023: 668 players
- Istavder Anniversary 2022: 614 players
- Cherry Blossom Championship 2026: 188 players
- International Istanbul Open 2026: 159 players
- FMGammon Open 2026: 140 players
- Merit Open Montenegro 2026: 109 players
The difference between Istavder and the other events in this selection is striking.
For example, the Cherry Blossom Championship attracted 188 players in 2026, meaning Istavder recorded more than four times as many participants.
However, this comparison measures field size only. Participation numbers alone do not determine a tournament's technical standard, prestige, or level of difficulty.
Furthermore, this selection does not cover every backgammon tournament worldwide. Its findings should therefore not be presented as a comprehensive or definitive examination of every event in the game's history.
Why Does Turkey Host Such a Large Backgammon Tournament?
Turkey is one of the countries actively hosting competitive backgammon tournaments.
In addition to Istavder, several other events took place in Turkish cities during 2026, including:
- International Istanbul Open in Istanbul
- Kocaeli Backgammon Championship in Kocaeli
- FMGammon Open in Istanbul
- Kusadasi Backgammon Open in Kuşadası
The presence of these events shows that Turkey hosts a diverse range of competitive backgammon tournaments.
However, without further research, it would be premature to conclude that geographic accessibility, prize money, travel costs, or any single factor was the primary reason for Istavder's growth.
Such an analysis would require information about participant nationalities, registration fees, tournament conditions, prize structures, and historical attendance figures.
What the available statistics clearly demonstrate is the event's continued presence and its substantial long-term increase in participation.
Will the 804-Player Record Be Broken?
It remains uncertain how many players future editions will attract.
However, Istavder's history shows that the organizers have repeatedly surpassed previous participation records.
The tournament grew from 270 players in 2014 to 400 in 2016. It then exceeded 600 participants in 2022 and reached 730 in 2025.
The 2026 edition established a new figure of 804 players.
Reaching a field of this size demonstrates that large backgammon competitions with several hundred participants are achievable.
Nevertheless, predicting the next tournament's participation without knowing its registration conditions, venue capacity, and organizers' plans would be unreliable.
Conclusion: What Is the World's Largest Backgammon Tournament?
According to the archives examined, Istavder Anniversary 2026 in Istanbul, with 804 Main Event participants, recorded the largest field among the tournaments reviewed.
Emircan Sisik became champion, Alpay Akyol finished second, and Ali Çetin Belene placed third.
Iranian players also participated in the event. Amin Shahvalizadeh finished 17th, while Mirhedayat Hashemifar secured 21st place.
Perhaps the most compelling part of Istavder's story, however, is its growth: from 51 players in 2008 to 804 in 2026.
These figures illustrate how a tournament can develop over the years into a major international competition.
The 804-player record is more than a number; it demonstrates backgammon's capacity to support large-scale competitive events.