Some would argue that Les Thompson had more than just the 2012 Maver Mega Match This Final on his mind with his wedding on the horizon! But true to form, in a professional manner and with lady luck on his side, Les set about getting down to business on Saturday 1st September from peg number 12 on the Match Lake.
Great weather conditions and a focused approach paid off with Les beating the 23 other finalists, all of whom were of an incredibly high calibre, with the heaviest bag over the five hours of the Grand Final. This saw Les crowned as the second Mega Match This Champion, taking home the staggering first prize of £50,000 – a fabulous wedding present for his family.
Les said: “I was hoping for a draw somewhere between pegs 8 and 12 on the shallow bank – so I was delighted when I drew peg 12 at the draw held at the Gala Dinner on Friday night. In practice, this has been a really strong area, so I fancied it for a good result.
“I am obviously delighted to have won, and plan to use some of the money to take the family away on holiday. I am getting married in a couple of weeks, so the extra funds will help to replenish the bank balance as the last few months have been very expensive!”
For Ian Giddins, it was a case of near misses, as a run of good fish late on in the match left him just a couple of big fish short of taking the top spot. Still, with a catch of 46.640kgs, it wasn’t such a bad day for the Maver-backed angler who took home a cheque for £5,000 for second place.
Third place and a cheque for £3,000 went to last year’s defending champion, Andy Power, with a weight of 40.260kgs.
Maver (UK) Managing Director and competition organiser, Phil Briscoe said: “I’m delighted for Les; he’s a great lad, a great angler and representative of the sport and therefore a deserving winner.”
“I’d like to say thank you to DHP Publications, Angling Times and Sky TV for supporting this event. I’m also very grateful to my team who have helped make the second Maver Mega Match This Final such a resounding success. Perhaps now the sceptics will realise that we are here to stay, that we are a major player in the match circuit and that at some point, as entrant numbers continue to grow in support of the event, I will be true to my word and hand over a cheque for £100,000 to a deserving winner.”
Maver Mega Match This Grand Final Results:
First Place: Les Thompson, Matrix/Bait-Tech, 56.260kgs
Second Place: Ian Giddins, Maver/Bag ‘Em Baits, 46.640kgs
Third Place: Andy Power, Preston, 40.260kgs
