The Illinois Pool Tournament Index
What it costs to play competitive pool in Illinois — computed from 85 live tournament listings at 48 pool halls and bars. Updated September 2026. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Weekly tournaments by night
Key findings
- The median entry fee for a Illinois pool tournament is $25, above the U.S. median of $20 (from the 58 Illinois listings that publish a fee).
- Centralia is the cheapest place to play in Illinois (median $10); Rockford is the most expensive at $70.
- Friday is Illinois's biggest pool night with 19 weekly tournaments, ahead of Sat (18), Sun (8).
- Centralia hosts the most tournaments in the state (10).
- 8-Ball is Illinois's game of choice, 33 events to 9-Ball's 25.
- 7 of 85 listings (8%) post a Fargo cap — handicap-protected events for amateur players.
- Illinois venues add $706 per week of guaranteed added money across the weekly tournaments that publish it.
Median entry fee by city
Cities with at least 5 fee-listing tournaments, cheapest first.
Most tournaments by city
| City | Tournaments |
|---|---|
| Centralia | 10 |
| Rockford | 10 |
| Sterling | 10 |
| Algonquin | 6 |
| West Peoria | 4 |
| Chicago | 3 |
| Downers Grove | 3 |
| Peoria | 3 |
| Aurora | 2 |
| Bryant | 2 |
Every pool tournament in Illinois → · The national Pool Tournament Index →
Methodology
Action Buddy aggregates public tournament listings and venue submissions across Illinois. Each recurring weekly series counts once. Fee statistics use the 58 events that publish an entry fee. Figures regenerate automatically as the dataset refreshes; media are welcome to cite this page (attribution: Action Buddy, https://actionbuddy.app/pool-tournament-index/il/).
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