UK Cornhole League - Season 4 - Round 3 - McGrath shows his steel

Round 3 delivered the biggest turnout in league history as 64 competitors descended on Ashby de la Zouch for a day of high-quality cornhole and fierce competition. With numbers climbing each round, earning a coveted spot in the top tier has never been tougher – and this round proved once again that in the UKCL, there are no easy games.

Rounders: The Race for Tier One

Just four players navigated Rounders unbeaten to punch their tickets directly into Tier One:

Oliver Chivers (Bury) topped the standings, followed by league leader Liam McGrath (Wandsworth) and local Ashby duo Nick Pettitt and Adam Knight.

They were joined by sixteen 3–1 players and twelve competitors finishing 2–2, with Micah Davis and Craig Smith edging out Lewis Wildman for the final spots by a single point over the 4 games.

Tier One: A Rivalry Rekindled

A glance at the results might suggest a repeat of Round 2 – but the journey to the podium told a very different story.

Ashby’s Charlie Lomax, buoyed by his previous runner-up finish, stormed through the bracket with five straight wins to claim the King’s Seat, leaving the rest of the field to fight for the right to challenge him.

On the opposite side of the draw, defending champion Liam McGrath suffered an early shock: a 21–4 defeat at the hands of Featherstone’s ACO Seniors Champion, Jon Stynes. Forced into the loser’s bracket, the Londoner mounted an inspired comeback run.His tightest escape came against home-town contender Dale Unwin. Trailing 19–6, McGrath produced one of the comebacks of the season to steal the match by a single point.

Momentum carried him to the third-place playoff, where he built a dominant 19–0 lead over Manchester’s Danny Goodier before Goodier started to mount a spirited comeback with a neat 4 Bagger but McGrath held firm, closing out the win and booking another date with Lomax. Goodier’s performance earned him a deserved first UKCL podium and trophy.

The Final: McGrath’s Double Dip

McGrath entered the final needing back-to-back wins – and delivered under pressure.

Game 1: Lomax jumped out to an 8-point lead, but McGrath switched gears, “dirtying” the board and forcing a slower, tactical battle. In Round 8, a decisive 4-Bagger sealed a 21–8 win.

Game 2: A gritty, 12-round contest saw neither player at their free-scoring best, but McGrath maintained control throughout, closing the match 21–7 and completing the Double Dip to secure consecutive championship trophies.

Tier One – Top Five

Liam McGrath – Champion

Charlie Lomax – Runner-Up

Danny Goodier

Craig Smith

Jon Stynes & Dave Farmer

Tier Two: Macdonald on Top

After two strong Tier One finishes earlier in the season, Richard Macdonald’s 40th place in Rounders raised eyebrows – but he quickly reasserted himself. A run toward the King’s Seat culminating with a win over Ashby’s Chris Webster put him in pole position as the bracket advanced.

Webster then faced Mark Pallett for a place in the final. Pallett, eager for revenge after a previous 21–11 defeat to Webster, overturned an early deficit to win 21–10, securing his match with Macdonald and handing Webster a well-earned third place and his first league trophy.

The final went 12 rounds, with Pallett clawing back a sizeable deficit, but Macdonald held firm. A clutch 4-Bagger sealed the match and crowned him Tier Two Champion.

Tier Two – Top Five

Richard Macdonald – Champion

Mark Pallett – Runner-Up

Chris Webster

Lorraine Gedney

Kev Penny & Jake Westad

Women’s Rankings

Top woman: Lorraine Gedney (4th in Tier 2)

Followed by: Hellie Phillips (9th), Vikki Biddulph & Lily Farmer (17th), Pauline Pettitt (25th)

Junior Rankings

Keiran Gedney (13th in Tier 2)

Followed by: Lily Farmer (17th), Cooper Davis (25th)

Congratulations to all our competitors, thank you for making this the biggest UKCL event to date and to our winners who made their mark and added their name to the UKC roll of honour. We’ll see you back in Ashby at the Everyone Active Leisure Centre in January for Round 4 of Season 4.

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