Revealed: plans for new ‘masters’ of matchfishing

A new ‘invitation-only’ event to discover the true king of Britain’s match anglers could be launched next summer. 

Under the groundbreaking proposals, all of the winners of this year’s major events pitted against each other in a one-off match to discover the true ‘champion of champions’. 

The event is the brainchild of a lifelong angler and Angling Times reader who, although wishing to remain anonymous at this stage, has outlined his plans for the exciting event and has said that he is willing to provide a hefty prize fund of around £40,000 from out of his own pocket.

Speaking ahead of formal meetings to thrash out the finer details of the proposed match, he said: “It struck me that both snooker and golf have ‘Masters-style’ tournaments where all the best players fight it out at the end of the season, yet fishing doesn’t.” 

“I thought it would be great to see the winners of all the big-money matches to participate in an annual match to decide who is the true champion. 

“I’m in my late 70s now and would love to make this happen. I’d like the event to operate on an ‘invitation-only’ basis, and I’m in talks with Angling Times to see how we could expand on this idea and turn it into reality. Watch this space!”

As well as inviting the winners of high-profile events such as Fish O’Mania and Maver Match This, the winners of ‘natural water’ competitions such as the Division 1 and 2 Nationals, as well as RiverFest, could also be included to give a true reflection of who the UK’s best matchman.

Angling Times will report on the event’s progress as it develops, but initial conversations with the cream of UK match anglers have received a resounding thumbs-up. 

Jamie Hughes, winner of this year’s Maver Match This and Golden Reel Winner, said: “I think an all-star match sounds phenomenal! It would really take things to the next level and be another step towards true professionalism for fishing.

“It’s something I would love to get involved with, and I’m sure many of our best anglers would be too!”