The 2015 World Bag Boggling Championship was held at South View on Sunday under the auspices of the World Bag Boggling Association. Groundsman Ron cut a strip with all the precision of a Lords wicket and measured out the course to a precise 15 ft. on either side of the brick, which now become the official specifications of a Championship playing area.As anticipated, it was the most keenly contested event in the history of the sport. Reigning champion, Chris, had been ante-post favourite but drifted slightly in the market after Saturday's practice session, still being sent off as 11/10 favourite. Following last year's promising debut, Ollie, was made favourite for the handicap event, receiving a 2 point start from me, which is exactly how much he won the final by, which gave an early indication that anybody who had taken the 7/2 about him taking the championship title had found some value.
And so it proved. There were some improved performances as my dad scored three outright boggles (worth two points), knocking the brick over and Ron defied the whitewash against me by gaining a bag (one point) and a worthy 10-1 result in defeat.However, three into two won't go and the final could not accommodate the world's three best players. The draw gave Ollie a comfortable passage to the final while Chris and I had to play a semi-final to see who played him. Having beaten him in the first round of the handicap, both off scratch, I had every reason to believe I could put last year's defeat behind me but the champion had possibly been foxing and he took advantage of early inroads to prevail 10-7.
Thus, the final saw the young guns of the new generation of Bag Boggling herald a new age in the sport, that is, the first ever final without me in it. And it proved to be the best Bag Boggling match ever seen. It could have gone either way, a draw would have been a fair result but draws aren't possible under the way the tournament is devised. And so it was Ollie that found the vital last point with the score at 9-9 and he became the new World Champion, adding this title to that of the South West England Spoofing Champion.
So, suddenly the sport is blown wide open with three closely-matched players almost inseparable at the top of the rankings, three different champions in the last three years, compared to the previous state of affairs where there had only ever been one world champion in any such recognized event.So, if 2015 marks a high point in the history of the sport so far, it can only suggest that next year, which will also carry the Olympic title with it, could be greater yet.
