Case Study: White Marlin Open

The Story

The White Marlin Open is the world’s largest and richest billfishing tournament. Ocean City, Maryland, appropriately named the “White Marlin Capital of the World,” has hosted the tournament for 52 years. The annual competition has presented over $113 million in prize money to competing fishermen and anglers of all skill levels.

The White Marlin Open brings energy and excitement to our beach town that you won’t want to miss! As a dedicated partner of the community, D3 loves Ocean City events as much as the next person and looks forward to supporting the White Marlin Open tournament every year.

Our Journey

White Marlin Open has been a valued client of D3 since 2016, with nearly a decade of ongoing collaboration. Each year, D3 partners closely with the WMO team to deliver a seamless digital experience for participants and spectators throughout the tournament, from pre-event to post-event. 

Scalable Infrastructure

One of the most notable aspects of our collaboration with the White Marlin Open has been the leverage of scalable infrastructure and digital support that complements the tournament's year-to-year growth. With traffic averaging 1.5 million page views during tournament week, D3 scales server resources annually to ensure optimal site performance during peak activity.

Online Registration for Anglers

Leading up to the event, D3 has developed a way to digitize and modernize the registration process. This feature allows anglers to manage their boat information easily. Plus, SMS capabilities have been integrated to help streamline communication with participants throughout the tournament by providing access codes via text message for ease of access to their boat page.

Live Leaderboard

With steady catches coming in all week, D3 has upgraded the WMO website into a real-time destination for anglers and fans to stay updated on tournament standings, featuring live leaderboard results and estimated big-money payouts.

Real-Time Support

Because of these ever-changing results and high traffic periods, D3 provides direct and effective communication with immediate technical support to address any issues impacting the experience for WMO staff, anglers, and fans alike. This applies to the main White Marlin Open website, as well as supporting the WMO Apparel and Marlin Fest websites.

Automated Payout Calculations

The biggest and most exciting part of the tournament that gets everyone talking—the winnings. In 2024, D3 provided a custom-built solution to assist in auto-calculating prize money awarded to participants, designed by our Solutions Architect. This includes both the Open and Small Boat divisions.

Outboard Expansion

In 2025, the White Marlin Open launched a new division for Outboard Boats. D3 enhanced the leaderboard and payout functionality even further to support the addition.

All of these projects, in addition to maintaining sponsors of the tournament each year, supporting email marketing efforts, and countless print items, represent the labor of love that D3 is proud to offer this iconic event in our hometown. We look forward to growing together for more decades to come!

“The staff at D3 is knowledgeable, professional, and very responsive. They are able to tackle all of our website, print, and social media needs effortlessly, no matter how complex the project! I highly recommend D3!”

- Madelyne Rowan, White Marlin Open