Whithed Sails on the Solent

UK Cornhole League – Open 6, Portsmouth 

The UK Cornhole League’s sixth stop of the season brought the tour from the far north to the opposite end of the country, settling this time in the historic naval city of Portsmouth on the shores of the Solent. 

Steeped in maritime heritage and famously home to HMS Victory, Portsmouth has witnessed centuries of naval conflict, from the age of sail to the modern fleets of the Royal Navy. For one weekend, however, the battles taking place were of a very different kind. 

Instead of cannon fire and broadsides, the volleys came in the form of cornhole bags flying down the boards. Most finding their mark with impressive accuracy, though the occasional errant throw drifted off course, veering to port or starboard. 

Qualification Rounders 

Following the established Season 4 format, the day began with four qualifying rounds that split the 58 competitors into two tiers. The top 32 players progressed to Tier One, while the remaining 26 contested Tier Two. 

Four players produced flawless 4–0 records to secure their places in the top tier: Liam McGrath, Charlie Lomax, Aaron Whited and Joshua Hiser. They were joined by fourteen players finishing 3–1, with the remaining Tier One places decided by points scored among those ending qualification at 2–2. 

Tier One 

Several familiar names mounted early runs toward the coveted King’s Seat, including Bury’s Aaron Whited, Alex Bowers and Oliver Chivers, Manchester’s Daniel Lilley, and Ashby players Alistair Pettitt, Mark Pallett and Dale Unwin. 

The early stages eventually produced a King’s Seat showdown between Whited and Lilley. The young American proved dominant, delivering a convincing 21–5 victory to secure his place in the final while Lilley dropped into the losers’ bracket. 

The route through the elimination side of the draw was fiercely contested. London’s Liam McGrath once again demonstrated his resilience, joined by local favourite Dave Farmer, who thrilled the Portsmouth crowd with a determined run. 

McGrath gained revenge for an earlier defeat by overcoming Dale Unwin, while Farmer ended Charlie Lomax’s challenge. In the subsequent quarter-final clash, however, McGrath halted the local surge, defeating Farmer to end hopes of a home victory. 

The third-place playoff between Lilley and McGrath proved one of the most closely fought matches of the day. Locked at 12–12 midway through the contest, the pair traded points through several tense rounds. Lilley briefly edged ahead, but two decisive rounds from McGrath swung the momentum and secured his place in the final, leaving Lilley with a well-earned third place. 

In the championship match, McGrath surged into an early nine-point lead, yet Whited showed remarkable composure, steadily recovering before edging ahead 14–13. The pair remained neck-and-neck until they reached 18–18. 

As three bags were left sitting at the side of the hole and one in, McGrath knew the writing was on the wall  as Whited responded with ice-cold precision, sliding all four bags cleanly into the hole to produce a decisive 12–6 round and seal a 21–18 victory. 

The triumph delivered Whited his first Tier One title, while also extending an impressive run of three consecutive podium finishes. McGrath, after battling back through the losers’ bracket, finished as runner-up. 

Tier One – Top Five Champion – Aaron Whited Runner-up – Liam McGrath Third – Daniel Lilley Fourth – Dave Farmer Joint Fifth – Dale Unwin and Charlie Lomax 

Tier Two 

The lower tier delivered competition just as fierce. Among those pushing for the King’s Seat were Solent’s Colin Gedney, Lincoln’s Ian Biddulph, Ashby’s Tom Allen and Canadian-born UK player Adam Fisher-Titus. 

Biddulph and Allen eventually emerged to contest the King’s Seat match, which produced one of the most dramatic encounters of the tournament. After 22 rounds of tense play, Biddulph edged a thrilling 21–18 victory to book his place in the final. 

In the losers’ bracket, Fisher-Titus and Gedney were eliminated by resurgent games from Manchester’s  Graham Davies and Ashby’s Chris Webster. Davies continued his run by defeating Webster to progress into the third-place playoff against Tom Allen. 

Davies built an early lead against Allen and, despite Allen’s spirited comeback, held his advantage to secure a place in the final against Biddulph, Allen taking wood for the second time this season with third overall. 

Having already fought through seven matches following an early loss to Lily Farmer, Davies appeared determined to complete the comeback story, racing into a 9–3 lead. Biddulph responded emphatically, first levelling at 13–13 before pulling clear at 17–13. 

The Lincoln player maintained control from there, sealing a 21–16 victory to claim his first Tier Two championship, to add to two previous third-place finishes. Davies secured his first podium of the year in second place. 

Tier Two – Top Five Winner – Ian Biddulph Runner-up – Graham Davies Third – Tom Allen Fourth – Chris Webster Joint Fifth – Adam Fisher-Titus and Colin Gedney 

Women’s Rankings 

Top women: Hellie Phillips, Vikki Biddulph and Lorraine Gedney (25th in Tier One) Followed by: Lily Farmer (9th in Tier Two) and Pauline Pettitt (25th in Tier Two) 

Junior Rankings 

Top Junior: Lily Farmer (9th in Tier Two) followed by Noah Reece (13th), George Porter and Robin Eldridge(17th) and Clayton Neusch (25th) 

Standout Statistics across the day 

Aaron Whited recorded the highest PPR of the day with 8.48 and sank 60% of his bags in the hole. 

Liam McGrath posted a 1.37 DPR. And produced 19 four-baggers. 

A Weekend to Remember 

Open 6 delivered another memorable chapter in the UK Cornhole League season, a day defined by thrilling contests, dramatic comebacks and the camaraderie that continues to define the sport’s growth in the UK. 

Special thanks were extended to Dave Morey and the Solent club for hosting the league’s first event in the far south and organising a Friday evening Blind Draw Doubles competition.A fun packed evening cornhole fuelled with beer and pizza that was won by Lily Farmer and Joshua Hiser, who defeated Rusty Redford and Alistair Pettitt in the final. 

We now look forward to a return to Ashby-de-la-Zouch for Open 7, which will mark the league’s first-ever two-day event, singles competition on 18 April followed by Season 4 Doubles and Junior Championships the following day. 

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