The World Conker Championships has been hit by a “cheat” scandal after the men’s winner was found with a steel dummy conker – after winning bouts in one hit.
David Jakins, 82, won his quarter and semi-final in one strike – almost unheard of in the game – in a surprise run to victory at the 46th attempt after competing annually since 1977.
The retired engineer was searched after Sunday’s event in Southwick, Northants, and found to have a steel conker, shaped and painted to look real, and threaded on an identical lace, concealed in a pocket.
Amid further allegations of a fix, Jakins is also the tournament’s top judge, known as King Conker, who himself drilled and inserted strings in other competitors’ chestnuts.
Jakins’ beaten semi-final opponent Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, 23, from Canary Wharf, London, said: “My conker disintegrated in one hit, and that just doesn’t happen.”
Mr Johnson-Ferguson suspects foul play. He continued: “Now it turns out King Conker had a dummy steel conker, so he could have swapped his real conker for that one.
St John Burkett is a spokesperson for the Conker World Championships, which drew 256 players and 2,000 fans. He said: “Allegations of foul play have been received that somehow King Conker swapped his real conker for the metal one later found in his pocket.”
Sir John continued: “Players select conkers from a sack before each round. There are also suggestions that King Conker had marked the strings of harder nuts.
“We can confirm he was involved in drilling and lacing the nuts before the event. We are investigating.”
Conkers fan David Glew, 78, from Lincoln, said: “As if it’s not suspicious enough for the event’s top judge to take part in his own tournament and win, he has also obliterated opponents’ nuts in one hit and then been found with a metal conker. The question that has to be asked is – how has he won now, after never winning previously?
“The whole thing is nuts. It stinks, and needs to be properly investigated to save our game from scandal.”
Jakins, from Warmington, Northants, is the tournament’s oldest-ever winner, in what is expected to be his final year competing.
Jakins said: “I was found with the steel conker in my pocket, but I only carry it around with me for humour value and I did not use it during the event.
“Yes, I did help prepare the conkers before the tournament. But this isn’t cheating or a fix, and I didn’t mark the strings.
“I just tried to hit hard, and somehow, I finally won.”