The stakes are high because this will be the last chance for the world’s best 3m and 10m divers to earn points to qualify for the 2023 Super Final in Berlin, Germany, in August. Athletes who previously competed at the first World Cup stop, in Xi’an, China, in April, have already built significant leads, while those who were absent, like divers from Canada, Australia, and the United States, will try to catch up and break the stronghold established by China and Great Britain. Divers from those two countries claimed 18 of the 27 medals in Xi’an.

On Sunday, May 7, after the calculations are completed, the 18 top-ranked divers in each individual event and the top-8 ranked teams in both the synchro and the team disciplines will have a chance to compete for big money at the Super Final, where winners will earn $25,000 per event.  

How the action will unfold in Montreal

The excitement will build to a crescendo in Montreal as the first two days (Friday and Saturday, May 5-6) will feature two finals each: 3m and 10m synchro events for men and women. On Sunday, the non-stop action will include five finals: each of the four individual events (two for men, two for women), punctuated by the team competition to close the weekend.

The format, as usual, will feature six dives for men and five dives for women in each individual event and each synchro event. There will also be six dives performed in the team event – the first three on the 3m springboard and the last three on the 10m platform, culminating with the mixed synchro dive from 10m.

Those who make the podium in Montreal will earn $5,000 US, $4,000 US, and $3,000 US for first, second, and third place, respectively.  In terms of points, the top-30 divers in each individual event will score, maxing out at 50 points for the winner, 45 points to the runner-up, and 40 points for third.  In the synchro and team events, the top-12 finishers will earn points, with a maximum of 30 for a victory.

Precision will be just as important as points and paychecks, however, because most of the events in Montreal will be finals only. The exceptions are the individual events, which will each feature a preliminary round from which the top-12 will make Sunday’s finals.

Exciting divers to watch

On the men’s side, some characters to know include the stylish Australian diver Cassiel Rousseau who won 10m gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Britain’s Jack Laugher who claimed Olympic bronze on the 3m springboard in Tokyo in 2021.

There's also Ukraine’s Kirill Boliukh who won individual gold in both 3m and 10m at the 2022 Junior World Championships at this very same pool in Montreal just five months ago at age 15, bringing pride to his embattled nation and to his parents who were watching online. 

Notable women include the Chinese teenagers who are constantly battling for top honors in the 10m event: Olympic champion Quan Hongchan and the reigning world champion Chen Yuxi. (Chen defeated Quan at the first World Cup stop in April.) Also worth noting: the 3m world champion Chen Yiwen, 23, who won both the individual and synchro gold on the springboard at the World Cup in April.

The first final of the three-day event will be the men’s 10m synchro contest on Friday at 15:00 Eastern time, followed by the women’s 3m synchro final two hours later.