The king of conker championships has been cleared of allegations of cheating in the world tournament.
David Jakins, 82, was thrown into the eye of the storm after a metal conker was found in his pocket at the World Conker Championships.
Jakins – also known as ‘King Conker’ – is the subject of an investigation into the steel chestnut incident following allegations of cheating.
He outscored his opponents in the semi-finals and final with one strike – almost unheard of in the game.
Now the retired engineer has been cleared by the committee after they found no evidence that it was actually used in the competition.
His opponent, Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, also retracted previous allegations against Jakins.
Jakins, who has competed every year since 1977, said he won thanks to decades of training and playing like a man.
He also vowed not to bring a metal dummy conker to the tournament.
The reigning ‘King Conker’ said: ‘I am very relieved. It’s been a stressful week. The phone never stopped ringing.
‘We are gentlemen at the World Conker Championships and we are not lying. I have been playing and practicing for decades. That’s how I win.
‘I admit I have a steel conker in my pocket, but I don’t play. I showed it to him as a joke. But I won’t be bringing it to the tournament again after all the attention in the past week.’
The investigation was opened after the opponent, Alistair Johnson-Ferguson, 23, said his conker ‘disintegrated in one hit, and that just didn’t happen.’
Experts analyzed the conker after the controversial attack but they concluded that there was ‘no evidence that the steel conker was used.’
Johnson-Ferguson, from London, has now made a U-turn on allegations of wrongdoing.
He suggested he made a cheating scandal, saying ‘there’s no way to cheat.’
He said: ‘All I’m saying is that I believe it’s very fair – there’s no way to cheat. They don’t need to do anything.
‘That’s only fair. Just don’t call me a loser.’
The 23-year-old said he was trying to ‘put this thing behind me now.’
Jim Packer, chairman of the show, commented on the reaction to the BBC: ‘Someone is a sore loser, I think.’
A spokesperson for the World Conker Championships weighed in on the game last Sunday: ‘We have studied photos and videos of the match, interviewed the judges and examined the chestnuts used by King Conker.
‘The investigation found no evidence that a steel conker was used. King Conker has been removed from suspicion, and his name is being engraved on the trophy.’
Steel conkers are found to resemble real chestnuts. However, the 4cm metal version weighs around 200 grams – up to ten times more than a normal conker.
But insiders in the game said the accusations leveled against Jakins were unfounded, saying that the steel conker has been a popular feature of the show, MailOnline reports.
Jakins is known for telling kids they can’t beat it before revealing it’s made of metal as part of a running joke.
The game attracted 256 players and 2,000 fans to Southwick, Northamptonshire.
While Jakins won the Men’s Open, the overall champion was American women’s champion Kelci Banschbach, 34, of Indiana. He said just two years ago, he didn’t know what a conker was.
Jakins, from Warmington, Northamptonshire, added: ‘I would like to thank everyone for their interest in our game, and encourage them to come out and play conkers. And if you think you can beat me, come and play in the Championship next year.’
Conker enthusiasts have been coming together to compete in the championship since 1965.
The event, organized by Ashton Conker Club, has raised £420,000 for charity over the years.
Contact the news team by emailing webnews@metro.co.uk.
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