Pro Climbing League: Format, Athletes and Prize Money Explained
The Pro Climbing League (PCL) will make its debut on 28 February at Magazine London in Greenwich, introducing a head-to-head competition format that aims to reshape how elite bouldering is presented to live and broadcast audiences.
Conceived by Danaan Markey and Charlie Boscoe, and backed by RedBull as a main sponsor, the London event marks the first full-scale outing of a format that has previously been trialled at smaller showcase competitions and is now being rolled out as a professional league-style event.
A New Take on Competition Climbing
At the heart of the Pro Climbing League is a direct head-to-head format, with climbers competing simultaneously on identical boulder problems. Each matchup produces a clear winner, removing cumulative scoring across large fields and replacing it with a knockout structure more familiar to mainstream sports audiences.
While new at this scale, the format itself has been tested previously. A trial event held at Grip Boulderhal featured athletes including Shauna Coxey and Erin McNeice, helping organisers refine both the ruleset and the head-to-head presentation before expanding the concept into a standalone professional competition.
How the Format Works
The competition is split into three knockout stages: qualifying, semi-finals and finals.
Qualifying round
Each matchup sees two climbers face off on three identical boulders:
The climber who completes the most problems advances
If both climbers top the same number, the faster time decides the winner
If no tops are achieved, the climber who controls the highest move advances
If still tied, the highest climb overall determines the result
Semi-finals
Climbers advancing from the opening round compete head-to-head on a single boulder, using the same scoring and tie-break rules.
Finals
The remaining athletes battle for podium positions on two identical boulders, with consistency and precision across both problems deciding the final standings.
Confirmed Athlete Line-up
The debut Pro Climbing League event brings together a high-profile international field, combining Olympic medallists, World Cup winners and circuit regulars.
Invited athletes
Toby Roberts
Janja Garnbret
Erin McNeice
Mejdi Schalck
Tomoa Narasaki
Yannick Flohé
Mickael Mawem
Colin Duffy
Annie Sanders
Camilla Moroni
Oriane Bertone
Anon Matsufuji
Darius Rapa
Lucia Dörffel
Wildcard qualifiers
Max Milne
Jenny Buckley
Milne and Buckley earned their places through a wildcard qualification event held at The Font 2.0 Wandsworth, providing an open pathway into the main competition.
Prize Money and Athlete Support
The Pro Climbing League is offering one of the larger single-event prize purses currently seen in competition climbing:
1st place: £10,000
2nd place: £5,000
3rd place: £2,500
In addition, wildcard winners Max Milne and Jenny Buckley have already received £1,000 each as part of the qualification event.
All invited headline competitors have had their travel and accommodation expenses covered, reflecting the invitational nature of the event.
Why it Matters
Beyond format and presentation, the Pro Climbing League represents a significant step forward for athlete rewards in competition climbing. A £10,000 first-place prize remains rare in the sport, even at the World Cup level, where prize purses have traditionally lagged behind other action sports.
By pairing a simplified, spectator-friendly format with meaningful prize money and covered expenses for invited athletes, the PCL is testing a model that places greater emphasis on the financial viability of elite competition climbing. If the London event resonates with audiences and sponsors, there is clear potential for future editions to support larger prize pots.
In the longer term, organisers and observers alike will be watching to see whether professional climbing events can begin to approach the reward structures seen in comparable sports. In surfing, first-place prizes can reach $100,000, while major skateboarding competitions have awarded up to $250,000 to winners. While climbing remains some distance from those figures, the Pro Climbing League offers a tangible indication of how the sport could move closer to that level.
