NASHVILLE, October 31, 2026 – A pair of local fishermen each placed in the top five in the World Bass Enterprise’s (WBE) “The Champions” Tournament.
Wesley Strader of Spring City placed third and Michael Neal of Dayton was fifth.
“Man, this is unbelievable, I’ve fished for 25 years and this is one of the greatest venues I’ve ever been a part of,” Strader said after finishing third. “I feel like Phil Mickelson at the Masters, and I didn’t even win, so it’s pretty awesome. Two great things happened this year, we [University of Tennessee football] beat Alabama, and I got third place and won $300,000.”
Matt Robertson (Kuttawa, Ky.) won a record $1.25 million as the top angler at World Bass Enterprise’s (WBE) “The Champions” Tournament, bringing in a 20 lbs. 2 oz total catch (5 fish) in the final day of competition.
WBE’s inaugural world bass championship event featured a record-setting purse of $3.25 million, including a $1.25 million payout to the winning angler – the biggest monetary prize ever awarded to a winner of a bass fishing tournament.
“It’s freaking insane, I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. I just won the biggest tournament ever in bass fishing,” Robertson said right after his win. “$1.25 million will drastically change my life…This was an awesome experience, this is the Super Bowl of bass fishing, I don’t care what anybody says, I know because I stood on the Super Bowl stage.”
Along with Robertson’s top finish, rounding out the top five are: Pake South (Winnsboro, Texas) in second place ($500K prize; 13 lbs. 7 oz catch; 4 fish), Wesley Strader (Spring City, Tenn.) in third place ($300K prize; 11 lbs. 2 oz catch; 5 fish), Trey McKinney (Carbondale, Ill.) in fourth place ($200K prize; 11 lbs. 0 oz catch; 5 fish), and Michael Neal (Dayton, Tenn.) in fifth place ($100K prize; 10 lbs. 10 oz catch; 5 fish).
“The Champions” brought 60 of the world’s top anglers and two “Average Joes” to Old Hickory Lake at Sanders Ferry Park just outside of Nashville for three days of competition, including a showdown of the top 15 anglers on Championship Saturday. The lineup of competitors included anglers from the United States, Canada, and Japan.
The field was separated into “Team Stripes” and “Team Stars,” with Team Stars winning “The Champions Cup” and bragging rights on Friday night. Overall, Team Stars had ten anglers qualifying for Championship Saturday, versus five qualifying anglers for Team Stripes.
“We set out to host the biggest and baddest tournament the bass fishing community has ever seen, and we did just that,” said Brian Bird, CEO and founder of WBE. “I want to send a huge congratulations to our winning angler, Matt, and the full field of participants. To the fans and all of Nashville, thank you for your support. This has been a fantastic few days celebrating the best in the world.”
“The Champions” Tournament kicked off on Wednesday evening with Opening Ceremonies, featuring WBE’s ambassador and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, legendary angler Bill Dance, and two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle.
On Friday night, country music star Riley Green headlined “WBE Concert 250” at The Pinnacle in Nashville, with fellow outdoorsman Randy Houser opening the show. Additional musical performances throughout “The Champions” Tournament included Lee Greenwood and Trace Adkins.