The World Backgammon Championship is one of the most prestigious events of the year. It gives professional players from all around the world a chance to compete with each other by playing this game of luck and skill.

In 1960s, Prince Alexis Obolensky, known as The Father of Modern Backgammon, established the World Backgammon Club in New York City and organized the first international backgammon tournaments. He organized the first major international backgammon tournament at the Lucayan Beach Hotel in Freeport, Bahamas in 1964.

Eventually, Prince Alexis Obolensky, invented a standardized set of tournament rules and came up with the idea that there should be a tournament that would decide who is the best player or “champion of the world” and so the first backgammon tournament called a “World Championship” was held in Las Vegas in 1967. It was won that year, and again in 1968 and 1971, by Tim Holland. The Las Vegas World Championships continued until 1975.

Prince Alexis Obolensky then began organizing major European Backgammon tournaments and the first one was held in Monte Carlo in 1973. Then in 1976, Lewis Deyong, a UK businessman and promoter announced a World Championship to be held on Paradise Island in The Bahamas. Deyong, an expert player, won the Paris Championship. He was also a regular player at the Playboy Mansion, in 1977 wrote Playboy's Book of Backgammon.

The Bahamas World Backgammon Championships were won by Baron Vernon Ball of USA in 1976, Ken Goodman of USA in 1977 and Paul Magriel of USA in 1978.

Between 1976 and 1978, an event called the European Open Championships was held annually in Monte Carlo, and in 1979. Lewis Deyong proposed the combination of the European Open Championships and The Bahamas World Championship into a single event named as the World Backgammon Championship which is now recognized as the true competition for the world title and is played in Monte Carlo every year. Masayuki Mochizuki of Japan was the winner of the Monte Carlo World Championship in 2009. Till date, three players have won the World Championship twice – William Robertie of the USA, Michael Meyburg of Germany and Jörgen Granstedt of Sweden.

Over the years, other tournament organizers have used different variations of names to call their events “World” titles, such as the ABC World Championships held in the USA, the World Cup in Texas, the World Cup Challenge held in Turkey and Romania, and the World Grand Championship in Morocco. However, the Monte Carlo title continues to be recognized as the official and most respected competition for the title of “World Backgammon Champion”.