On Thursday afternoon, I received a surprising — in the best kind of way — text from Mark Paaluhi, the man who spearheaded and runs the now-annual Hermosa Open presented by Wedbush. He asked if I could provide a breakdown of prize money for a $180,000 tournament, as opposed to the $150,000 that was originally budgeted for the 2025 Hermosa Open.
And, oh yeah, could I correct the previous story’s mention of $150,000, since that was no longer the case?
Uh, yes. Absolutely.
In a day, then, the prize money for the Hermosa Open shot up by $30,000. It ups the prize money for the winners to $25,000 and runner-up to $13,500. The full breakdown is below:
- 1st place: $25,000
- 2nd place: $13,500
- 3rd place: $9,000
- 4th place: $5,000
- 5th place: $4,000
- 7th place: $3,250
- 9th place: $2,250
- 13th place: $1,125
- 17th place: $550
- 25th place: $450
It’s a top-heavy purse, one that richly rewards those who make deep runs into the tournament. Nearly 28% of the purse is divvied to the winner, eight percent higher than a typical breakdown. That purse makes winning Hermosa $4,000 better than finishing second at the Manhattan Beach Open, and $5,000 better than winning a Challenge event on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Finishing second is $1,500 better than taking third in Manhattan, and $500 over the silver medalists of a Challenge. Third is exactly the same as winning a bronze medal at a Challenge, and the $5,000 gap in prize money between third and fourth will make for an awfully compelling third-place match.
The main draw began Friday morning, and competition will go through Sunday late afternoon.
For results and live updates of the Hermosa Open
All info is on the Hermosa Open Volleyball Life page.
Check out our preview of Hermosa here.
Check out our qualifier recap here.
