Round 5: Hadrian’s Wall, High Drama and a Cornhole Classic for the Ages

For Round 5 of the season, the UK Cornhole League headed north... far north to within a stone’s throw of Hadrian’s Wall, to the historic market town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland. A place shaped by Roman legions and medieval conflict became, for one unforgettable weekend, not just the centre of Britain, but the Centre of UK Cornhole. 

From the Solent in the deep south to Scotland beyond the Wall, players travelled the length and breadth of the country to contest the league’s most northerly event to date. When the bags finally flew, 51 competitors had registered, seeing new faces from the northern clubs and familiar faces from the south, proved once again that this community will answer the call, no matter the miles.

Morning Rounders: The First Cut 

As tradition dictates, the morning rounders would split the field: 32 into Tier 1, 19 into Tier 2. Only three players navigated the opening session unbeaten, Dave Farmer (Solent), Alex Bowers (Bury), and Alistair Pettitt (Ashby). Thirteen others joined them in the top tier with just a single loss, but with reduced numbers this time around, those sitting at 2–2 endured even more of a nerve-shredding wait as points scored decided who advanced and who would instead fight for Tier 2 glory. 

Tier 1: A Final for the History Books 

As the Tier 1 bracket took shape, tension rose quickly. Tight matches and dominant performances were the order of the day, but four men forced their way into the spotlight: 

Nick Pettitt (Ashby) vs Richard Macdonald (Featherstone), and Craig Smith (Fife) vs Charlie Lomax (Ashby). 

Victories for Pettitt and Smith set up the clash for the coveted King’s Seat, and it was the Ashby man who struck first, Pettitt edging Smith 21–17 in a gripping encounter to take control of the bracket. The defeated Scotsman dropped into the losers’ bracket, where survival became the only objective. Joining him in the chase was Aaron Whited (Bury) and Alistair Pettitt (Ashby), both having battled their way back into contention and with no previous Tier 1 champion left standing, history was guaranteed, by the day’s end, a new name would be etched into the UKCL record books. 

It was Craig Smith, the Scot, who emerged from the chaos to earn his rematch with Nick Pettitt. Alistair Pettitt narrowly missed the podium places, falling 21–18 to Whited in a tense playoff, with Whited claiming a back to back third place finish and a bottle of Lazy Dog rum for the journey back to Mildenhall. 

The Final: North vs South;

What followed was, by many accounts, the finest final the league has yet seen. 

A player from either side of Hadrian’s Wall. Pride, league points, and silverware all on the line. 

Pettitt, having gone undefeated in bracket play, started with the advantage of a game in hand. He struck early, only for Smith to respond with relentless accuracy, stealing the lead in a match where an astonishing 95% of bags scored. 

Smith took the first game 21-12, forcing a decider and in it, he surged ahead. A 20–11 lead! Looking like a repeat of the first game and one hand on the trophy. 

Then cornhole reminded everyone of its cruelty. 

With victory inches away, Smith only needing a bag on the board side railed his shot and could only watch in agony as it dropped to the floor. 

Pettitt, renowned for his refusal to yield, sensed the shift and bag by bag, round by round, he clawed his way back and at 20–19 after eighteen rounds, the momentum had fully swung. 

Then came the moment for Pettitt, a punishing four in the hole 21–19 making it game, set and match. 

Nick Pettitt had completed a staggering comeback, stealing the title from under Smith’s nose right at the death and with it, also taking the overall lead in the UKCL Season 4 League table, with a bottle of Lazy Dog Rum to celebrate his success.

As for the crowd who stayed to watch, they were treated to a final that will be talked about for seasons to come.  

Tier One – Top Five 

Champion - Nick Pettitt  

Runner Up - Craig Smith  

Third Place - Aaron Whited 

Fourth Place - Alistair Pettitt 

Joint Fifth Place - Richard Macdonald & Charlie Lomax 

Tier 2: Allott A Man on a Mission 

The drama was no less intense in Tier 2. Lewis Allott (Manchester) seized the King’s Seat after edging Phay Seng (Bury) in a nail-biter. Seng looked certain to advance, leading 20–12 before a disastrous final round flipped the script into a 21–20 defeat, sending him into the losers’ bracket alongside Vikki Biddulph (Lincoln) and Kevin Baines (Ashby). 

Baines fought through to challenge for a place in the final, but it was Seng who prevailed, setting up a rematch with Allott. Biddulph, finished fourth after an impressive run ended by Baines as he secured his highest finish to date claiming third place with the win. 

Needing to beat Allott twice was a daunting task, and ultimately it proved too much. Awkward to play, determined and utterly focused, Allott delivered a masterclass. Seng matched him in moments, but once again, cornhole demonstrated how cruel it can be as the Manchester player took the Tier 2 crown in emphatic fashion, closing the weekend with a performance as ruthless as it was memorable with the scoreboard registering a brutal story a 21–0 whitewash. 

Tier Two – Top Five 

Winner - Lewis Allott 

Runner Up - Phaysawan Seng  

Third Place - Kevin Baines 

Fourth Place - Vikki Biddulph 

Joint Fifth Place - Ian Christie & Graham Davies 

Women’s Rankings 

Top woman: Lorraine Gedney (25th in Tier 1) Followed by: in Tier 2 Vikki Biddulph (4^th) & Lily Farmer (9th), Vivien Morrisson (13^th) Pauline Pettitt & Layla Isherwood (17th) 

Junior Rankings 

Keiran Gedney  (7th in Tier 2) 

Followed by in Tier 2: Lily Farmer (9th), Byron Smith (13^th) and Layla Isherwood (17^th)  

Top Stats throughout the whole day included:  

Nick Pettitt with an 8.22 PPR   

Lewis Allott with a 1.62 DPR in Tier 2  

Nick Pettitt with 15 x 4 Baggers   

Aaron Whited with 403 Bags in the hole   

Thank you to all our competitors and congratulations to our winners who have added their name to the UKCL roll of honour. From Ancient walls to modern rivalries, Haltwhistle delivered everything a sporting weekend should: skill, tension, heartbreak, triumph and friendship.  

Round 5 will be remembered not just for who won, but for how fiercely it was fought 

A special Thank you to Richard Macdonald who organised and hosted us all for a Blind Draw Doubles event on Friday evening, won by Ben Gregory and Jake Westad beating Daniel Lilley and Ian Christie in the final.

We hope to see you all again at the Portsmouth Open at Crofton Community Centre in Stubbington on 7th March for Round 6 of Season 4.  

Details of the event and Registration can be found HERE plus keep an eye on our social media for any other information and updates.