The men’s world conker champion faces being stripped of his title as tournament organisers investigate claims he may have secretly used a steel nut to ‘obliterate’ his opponents.
David Jakins, 82, known as ‘King Conker’, clinched the title in Southwick, Northamptonshire, on Sunday.
But the retired engineer’s victory was quickly mired in scandal after it emerged he had been carrying a metal dummy conker painted to look real and threaded on a lace in his pocket.
He won his semi-final and 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.
Mr Jakins’s vanquished foe in the men’s final, Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, 23, from London, called for an investigation, saying: ‘My conker disintegrated in one hit, and that just doesn’t happen.
‘Now it turns out King Conker had a dummy steel conker, so he could have swapped his real conker for that one.’
Experts who analysed the 250gram, 4cm-wide steel nugget, said it looked identical to a conker.
Event organisers are now asking fans who took videos of King Conker’s six victorious matches to send clips to them, so they can investigate whether he swapped his real conker for the steel dummy nut.
St John Burkett, spokesperson for the Conker World Championships said: ‘After careful consideration, King Conker has stepped back from his position while we conduct an investigation.
‘We are asking anyone who took videos of King Conker’s matches to send us them via our Facebook page, so we can analyse his hand movements and his pockets.
‘Allegations of foul play have been received that somehow he swapped his real conker for the metal one later found in his pocket.
‘If found guilty of using the metal conker, he would become the first player to be stripped of their title.
Follow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news
Metro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.
‘King Conker is an integral part of our organisation and has done many years’ work promoting the game of conker. We must remind everyone that he will be innocent unless proven guilty.’
Speaking about the controversy on Sky News this morning, he said he personally oversaw the men’s final with another judge, adding: ‘It looks like it was absolutely impossible for him to cheat.’
In addition to reviewing video footage, Mr Burkett said they had also ‘managed to find a few of the conkers David won matches with, which he threw into the crowd’.
‘There’s absolutely no way he could have swapped the conker with both me and the chief judge right there next to him looking very carefully,’ he said. ‘It looks like he’s in the clear.’
Mr Burkett said he was aware of the steel conker, adding: ‘I have to say it looks like a real conker.
‘He showed us it at the end. It’s almost like a lucky charm I think, like a treasured possession.’
The investigator suggested King Conker’s devastating manner of victory was down to his ‘fantastic hitting technique’ rather than any kind of foul play.
Mr Jakins won the Men’s Open World Championship but was denied the overall winner’s trophy after being beaten by American women’s champ Kelci Banschbach.
The 34-year-old, from Indiana, is the competition’s first US winner.
The World Conker Championships drew in 2,000 fans to the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick to watch the 256 competitors.
The event sees participants go head-to-head using conkers threaded onto a string to try and smash their opponent’s nut. Each player takes three alternate strikes at the opponent’s chestnut.
Mr Jakins, from Warmington, Northamptonshire, is the tournament’s oldest ever winner, in what is expected to be his final year competing.
He said: ‘I was found with the steel conker in my pocket, but I only carry 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.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE : ‘I look more alive than ever’ – How Sculpted by Aimee’s products transformed my makeup routine
MORE : Elderly man attacked at London bus stop ‘for letting women and children on first’
MORE : Lee Carsley confusion leaves identity of next England manager no clearer
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.