NASHVILLE – Matt Robertson (Kuttawa, Ky.) won a record $1.25 million as the top angler at World Bass Enterprise’s (WBE) “The Champions” Tournament today, bringing in a 20 lbs. 2 oz total catch (5 fish) in the final day of competition.
WBE’s inaugural world bass championship event featured a record-setting purse of $3.25 million, including a $1.25 million payout to the winning angler - the biggest monetary prize ever awarded to a winner of a bass fishing tournament.
Along with Robertson’s top finish, rounding out the top five are: Pake South (Winnsboro, Texas) in second place ($500K prize; 13 lbs. 7 oz catch; 4 fish), Wesley Strader (Spring City, Tenn.) in third place ($300K prize; 11 lbs. 2 oz catch; 5 fish), Trey McKinney (Carbondale, Ill.) in fourth place ($200K prize; 11 lbs. 0 oz catch; 5 fish), and Michael Neal (Dayton, Tenn.) in fifth place ($100K prize; 10 lbs. 10 oz catch; 5 fish).
“The Champions” brought 60 of the world’s top anglers and two “Average Joes” to Old Hickory Lake at Sanders Ferry Park just outside of Nashville for three days of competition, including a showdown of the top 15 anglers on Championship Saturday. The lineup of competitors included anglers from the United States, Canada, and Japan.
The field was separated into “Team Stripes” and “Team Stars,” with Team Stars winning “The Champions Cup” and bragging rights on Friday night. Overall, Team Stars had ten anglers qualifying for Championship Saturday, versus five qualifying anglers for Team Stripes.
“It’s freaking insane, I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. I just won the biggest tournament ever in bass fishing,” Robertson said right after his win. “$1.25 million will drastically change my life…This was an awesome experience; this is the Super Bowl of bass fishing, I don’t care what anybody says, I know because I stood on the Super Bowl stage.”
“We set out to host the biggest and baddest tournament the bass fishing community has ever seen, and we did just that,” said Brian Bird, CEO and founder of WBE. “I want to send a huge congratulations to our winning angler, Matt, and the full field of participants. To the fans and all of Nashville, thank you for your support. This has been a fantastic few days celebrating the best in the world.”
“An awesome payday, it’s really life-changing money, and it’s wild that I can win second place and still win that much money, and it’s truly a blessing from God, it’s really been a blessed week.” South said after his second-place finish.
“Man, this is unbelievable, I’ve fished for 25 years and this is one of the greatest venues I’ve ever been a part of,” Strader said after finishing third. “I feel like Phil Mickelson at the Masters, and I didn’t even win, so it’s pretty awesome. Two great things happened this year, we [University of Tennessee football] beat Alabama, and I got third place and won $300,000."
“The Champions” Tournament kicked off on Wednesday evening with Opening Ceremonies, featuring WBE’s ambassador and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, legendary angler Bill Dance, and two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle.
On Friday night, country music star Riley Green headlined “WBE Concert 250” at The Pinnacle in Nashville, with fellow outdoorsman Randy Houser opening the show. Additional musical performances throughout “The Champions” Tournament included Lee Greenwood and Trace Adkins.
WBE The Champions Final Standings:
- Matt Robertson (Kuttawa, Ky.) (20-02*) (5 fish)
- Pake South (Winnsboro, Texas) (13-07) (4 fish)
- Wesley Strader (Spring City, Tenn.) (11-02) (5 fish)
- Trey McKinney (Carbondale, Ill.) (11-00) (5 fish)
- Michael Neal (Dayton, Tenn.) (10-10) (5 fish)
- Ron Nelson (Berrien Springs, Mich.) (9-13) (2 fish)
- Fisher Anaya (Eva, Ala.) (9-13) (5 fish)
- Cody Meyer (Eagle, Idaho) (9-12) (5 fish)
- Bob Downey (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) (9-00) (5 fish)
- Kyle Welcher (Valley, Ala.) (8-08) (4 fish)
- Takahiro Omori (Tokyo) (6-02) (3 fish)
- Cole Sands (Calhoun, Tenn.) (5-01) (3 fish)
- Chris Johnston (Peterborough, Ont.) (3-09) (2 fish)
- Jason Christie (Park Hill, Okla.) (3-07) (2 fish)
- Bryan Thrift (Shelby, N.C.) (3-03) (2 fish)
*total weight and fish total from Championship Saturday only
- Championship Cut -
- Mark Rose (Wynne, Ark.) (21-01**)
- Jay Przekurat (Stevens Point, Wis.) (21-00)
- Alton Jones Jr. (Lorena, Texas) (21-00)
- Jordan Lee (Cullman, Ala.) (20-15)
- Banks Shaw (Harrison, Tenn.) (20-11)
- Brent Ehrler (Redlands, Calif.) (20-09)
- Jacob Foutz (Philadelphia, Tenn.) (20-03)
- Patrick Walters (Summerville, S.C.) (20-03)
- Jacob Walker (Springville, Ala.) (20-03)
- Bryant Smith (Roseville, Calif.) (20-01)
- Cole Floyd (Leesburg, Ohio) (19-13)
- Mark Daniels Jr. (Shorter, Ala.) (19-11)
- Chris Lane (Guntersville, Ala.) (19-11)
- Drew Gill (Olney, Ill.) (19-10)
- Justin Lucas (Guntersville, Ala.) (19-09)
- Nick LeBrun (Benton, La.) (19-06)
- Tyler Williams (Belgrade, Maine) (19-02)
- Cory Johnston (Peterborough, Ont.) (18-12)
- Stetson Blaylock (Benton, Ark.) (18-12)
- Dustin Connell (Clanton, Ala.) (18-10)
- Zack Birge (Blanchard, Okla.) (18-09)
- Drew Cook (Cairo, Ga.) (18-07)
- Paul Marks (Cumming, Ga.) (18-05)
- Spencer Shuffield (Hot Springs, Ark.) (17-09)
- Caleb Hudson (Lincolnton, Ga.) (17-04)
- Bryan Schmitt (Deale, Md.) (17-03)
- Brent Chapman (Lenexa, Kan.) (17-02)
- Jacob Wheeler (Birchwood, Tenn.) (16-11)
- Jesse Wiggins (Logan, Ala.) (16-00)
- Andrew Loberg (Guntersville, Ala.) (15-02)
- Brandon Cobb (Greenwood, S.C.) (14-11)
- JT Thompkins (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) (14-09)
- Nick Hatfield (Afton, Tenn.) (13-12)
- Jeff Sprague (Point, Texas) (13-04)
- Evan Kung (Pickering, Ont.) (12-15)
- Matt Becker (Ten Mile, Tenn.) (12-14)
- Hank Cherry Jr. (Lincolnton, N.C.) (12-01)
- Keith Carson (Debary, Fla.) (12-00)
- Kyle Carr (Gatesville, Texas) (11-15)
- Adrian Avena (Marmora, N.J.) (11-04)
- Jacob Wall (New Hope, Ala.) (10-03)
- Eric Giessing (Farmington, Mo.) (9-10)
- Seth Feider (Bloomington, Minn.) (9-06)
- John Garrett (Union City, Tenn.) (8-08)
- Mitchell Robinson (Landrum, S.C.) (8-02)
- Ott DeFoe (Blaine, Tenn.) (5-15)
- Jeff Gustafson (Keewatin, Ont.) (4-06)
**total wait from the first two days of competition
For more information on “The Champions” tournament fans can visit worldbassenterprises.com.
ABOUT WORLD BASS ENTERPRISES:
Established in 2026, World Bass Enterprises serves as the founder and host organization for “The Champions” tournament, the annual world bass fishing championship where a field of 60 top anglers – from the biggest bass fishing organizations in the world, including Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour – compete for record-setting prize purse of $3.25 million and The Champion’s Cup.
For more information visit worldbassenterprises.com.
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