There is no better way to heal the World Cup tabanca in Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago’s hugely popular indigenous card game, All Fours, is stepping into the spotlight, with a Champions Cup tournament this weekend promising competitive action and a welcome balm—with VAR and all.

Though the game originally traces its roots back to 17th-century England, it was adopted, transformed and thoroughly woven into the fabric of Trinbagonian liming culture, with secret signals, table talk picong and infectious team chants whether at rum shops, bars or family gatherings across the twin islands.

The stakes will be higher than ever, with a record TT$100,000 on offer to the Champions Cup winners—the biggest first prize in the history of competitive All Fours.

The unprecedented purse reflects the remarkable growth of the indigenous card game, with teams expected from the T&T diaspora in the United States and Canada for the two-day tournament, which will mirror the format of football’s Champions League.

There will be four zones—La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A—with a maximum of 840 players divided into 16 groups of four teams each.

The top 16 teams will be seeded, while another 16 will be selected after the playoffs from the remaining teams. Teams that fail to qualify will compete for the “Best of the Rest” prize.

Adrian Chandler, who has been hosting mini tournaments at his Fitt St. Bar on Ariapita Avenue,( and other spaces) is the man bringing his experience in entertainment and events to the All Fours fraternity with the Championships.

Listen to how Chandler explains his reasoning for taking the game to another level:

The Champions Cup will also debut a video review system similar to football’s VAR, which was first introduced at a small competition about two years ago.A bank of 28 CCTV cameras will be set up at the Centre of Excellence in Macoya, east Trinidad, for the weekend’s games (July 25-26).

In this case, the VAR will apply not only to players but to officials as well.

It will help resolve disputed plays in a game long associated with accusations of cheating that sometimes lead to passionately heated disagreements.

It should be noted, for example, that the captain of a team will be fined TT$20,000 for returning less than a full deck of cards, failing to return chalk holders, or submitting incomplete score sheets.

The standard All Fours rules will apply, but organisers of the Champions Cup will also introduce what Chandler describes as a few fun rules, including the “Power Sub”, which allows a team to substitute players and later bring those same players back into the game, effectively giving each team two substitutions.

Once the Championships are completed, the next stage will be The Legacy Cup, details of which will be announced this weekend, along with plans for an All Fours Hall of Fame.