The Bingo World Championships, which are now in their 10th year, are upon us once again, and there is a £5,000 cash prize up for grabs in the grand final. There is still plenty of time for bingo lovers wanting to get a piece of the prize pool to take part, as the current qualifying round will run until the end of the month.

Five players will then be selected to proceed to the following stages of the competition, and will be chosen relating to how many games are played – this means that the more games a player takes part in, the bigger the chance of them winning and being taken on to the next level.

An additional 20 seats will be given away for the grand final in a Freeroll Round. Players wishing to qualify for this bonus round will need to play 1,000 games between 1-31 January where they will be entered into 20 freeroll rounds; the winners of each freeroll will then be awarded with a seat for the grand final. The Freeroll Round takes place on 26 February at 10pm GMT, with the grand final event scheduled to take place on Saturday 26 March at 10pm GMT.

The 14 bingo sites participating in this yearÂ's championships are: Gina Bingo, Bingo Empire, Main Street Bingo, Bingo Funland, Bingo Gala, Bingo Splash, Paramount Bingo, Bingo Beez, Bingo Mega, Glamour Bingo, Premier Bingo, Bingo Plex, Imperial Bingo and Ritzy Bingo.

Maria Pierides