Chris Cameron wins £60,000 in Maver Match This! Final

Saturday 30th August witnessed the fourth and latest chapter in the Maver Mega Match This success story.

A gruelling twenty-four qualifier campaign produced a truly exciting and unpredictable prospest with club anglers pegged amongst some of the country’s finest, each one having earnt their place in angling’s ultimate showdown and the sport’s richest final.

As per Maver Mega Match This tradition, anglers were treated to a no-expense-spared Gala evening event the night before the Grand Final hosted within the confines of luxury four star accommodation.

It was during the Gala evening event Mega Match This once again entered the record books with Maver (UK) MD, Philip Briscoe, confirming the overall 2014 Grand Final purse had increased to a massive £72,000, including an incredible £60,000 first place prize for the winner – an increase of £10,000 on 2013’s final. Plus for the first time ever in a Mega Match This Final, section prizes of £1,000 for every six anglers were confirmed – a simply staggering amount of prize money spread well across the competing anglers met with raptuous applause. The scene was set for a fantastic final.

Shortly after the announcement had been made, anglers were called up to draw their pegs. There were grimaces for some, smiles for others, but with conditions forecast to change very little over the following twenty four hours, it was the early numbers that looked likely of producing a match-winning weight. Ben Fisk and Gary Bell drew pegs 1 and 2 respectively with three times Match This finalist, Jamie Hughes (Maver), drawing peg 10 towards the opposite end of the grass bank alongside former Match This finalist, Lee Kerry (Preston Innovations). Garbolino-backed England International, Darren Cox, drew midway down the burr bank alongside one of the favourties to win, Perry Stone with Mike McMillan having drawn end peg 24 opposite the cafe.

Finalists were greeted by grey overcast skies early on Saturday morning with a cool breeze blowing from right to left down towards the cafe-end of the Match lake. Having drawn for their pegs the night before, competitors were down on the water by 08:30am carefully considering their options ahead of what would undoubtedly be the most important five hours of their angling career. All the weeks of planning and preparation boiled down to this very moment.

The pre-match nerves and tension were shattered at 12 noon with the unmistakable sound of the air horn. Most anglers opted to start short for the opening ten minutes of the match to see if there were any larger fish patrolling the 5m line before switching to long pole, method or bomb tactics with 6mm and 8mm pellet being the hook bait of choice. It was a slow start for some, but Matrix rod Lee Wright was quick off the mark making an early impression from peg 6 on the grass bank.

Conditions for the 2014 Mega Match This final were not as pleasant for spectators as in previous years

Upon the scales making their way around the Match lake, it was Chris Hall (The Oaks) who went in to an early lead weighing in 28.360kg from an area of the lake that had not produced as expected. Chris was then immediately knocked back by Matrix rod, Lee Wright, weighing in 29.160kg for the section win, picking up £1,000. It was then Chris Cameron who topped the field weighing in 43.220 kilos followed by Jamie Hughes offering 26.720kg to the scales for the second of four section winners, again picking up £1,000.

Chris Cameron with the catch that helped him to the biggest prize in match fishing.

By the time the scales has reached the burr bank, there were two possible areas from which Chris Cameron’s weight could have been toppled. Andrew Fulleylove’s confirmed weight was reported back to the stage at 32.380kg meaning the final remaining challenge on Chris Cameron’s effort was Perry Stone. Perry, who by his own admission, had lost a few big fish late on was weighed in at 37.360kg confirming Chris as 2014 Maver Mega Match This Champion.

Further along the burr bank, Maver rod Simon Skelton picked up a section win from peg 15 with 18.900kg followed by Drennan’s Chris Vandervleit picking up the final section win with 28.280 kilos from a difficult area.

2014 Maver Match This Results

Angler’s Name Weight (kilos) Peg # / Lake
Chris Cameron (Middy) 43.220 8 (Grass bank)
Perry Stone (Yorkshire Bait) 37.360 17 (Burr bank)
Andrew Fulleylove (Kobra Feeders) 32.370 16 (Burr bank)
Lee Wright (Matrix) 29.160 6 (Grass bank) Section A winner
Chris Hall (The Oaks) 28.360 5 (Grass bank)
Chris Vandervleit (Drennan) 28.280 20 (Burr bank) Section D winner
Jamie Hughes (Maver / Bag ‘Em Baits) 26.720 10 (Grass bank) Section B winner
Gavin Butler (Maver Image) 22.620 11 (Grass bank)
Tony Dawson (Bait-Tech) 19.320 19 (Burr bank)
Paul Yates (Drennan) 18.980 4 (Grass bank)
Simon Skelton (Maver) 18.900 15 (Burr bank) Section C winner
Jon Arthur (Drennan) 18.020 14 (Burr bank)
James Wilson (Alan’s Tackle) 16.660 21 (Burr bank)
Lee Kerry (Preston Innovations) 16.140 9 (Grass bank)
Darren Cox (Garbolino) 15.280 18 (Burr bank)
Gary Bell (Lakeland Fishery) 15.040 2 (Grass bank)
Andrew Lakey (Park Gate Angling) 12.860 12 (Grass bank)
Ben Fisk (Middy) 10.640 1 (Grass bank)
Simon Allen (Maver Gold Bag ‘Em) 9.860 23 (Burr bank)
Andy Oldham (Frenzee) 9.100 7 (Grass bank)
Michael McMillan (Preston Delcac) 8.280 24 (Burr bank)
Neil Stones (Barnsley Bait) 7.320 3 (Grass bank)
Simon Kiefer (Drennan Bordon) 6.460 22 (Burr bank)
Brett Cooper (Shakespeare Hansford) 6.130 13 (Burr bank)