Berbice takes centre stage as Lotto/Let'sBet One Guyana T10 Tapeball prepares for August 8 bowl-off

Guyana’s premier tapeball tournament is set to return with a roar on August 8 as the fourth edition of the Lotto/Let’sBet One Guyana T10 Tapeball Blast gets underway, with the cricket-steeped heartland of Berbice hosting the opening weekend. The high-octane action will sweep across four classic venues in the Ancient County—No. 69 Ground, Port Mourant Community Centre Ground, Canje’s Welfare Ground, and the iconic Albion Sports Complex. The opening leg reaches its crescendo on August 9, when Albion lights up for a night-time zonal final to crown the tournament’s first regional champion. Admission across all grounds remains free to the public. “Berbice has always been a powerhouse of passion and talent in Guyanese cricket, so beginning the tournament here sets the perfect tone for Season Four,” tournament director John Ramsingh said. “There is an incredible buzz on the ground, and we are eager to get play underway and see our very first zonal champion crowned under the lights at Albion. Preparations are well advanced, and everything is lining up for an explosive opening weekend.” In a significant departure from traditional knockout formats where early exits yield no financial return, the 2026 edition guarantees cash rewards for sides making deep runs into the zonal stages. Quarter-finalists in each zone will pocket G$25,000, while losing semi-finalists take home G$50,000. The stakes rise sharply from there: defeated zonal finalists earn G$200,000, while the regional champions bank a cool G$500,000 purse before even stepping into the national bracket. The ultimate jackpot awaits in the national playoffs, where the crowned champions will walk away with a massive G$2,000,000 first-prize purse. The national runners-up will secure G$1,000,000, with both losing semi-finalists rewarded with G$500,000 each. With remaining slots filling rapidly, organisers have issued an urgent directive to regional sides to finalise their squads and register via official social media channels or direct WhatsApp (+592 635-2235) ahead of the July 31 deadline. Following the Berbice curtain-raiser, the tournament caravan heads to East Bank/West Demerara on August 15–16, before moving to the Essequibo Zone on August 22–23. The competition will then take a brief hiatus to accommodate the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), before resuming with the powerhouse Georgetown/East Coast Demerara leg across two weekends on September 26–27 and October 3–4. In a landmark move for the tournament, the national grand finale on October 11, 2026, will head to the Anna Regina National Stadium in Region Two, bringing the ultimate showdown of Guyanese tapeball cricket directly to Essequibo for the very first time.