Two Everyday Anglers Get a Shot at $1.25 Million Against Bass Fishing's Best
Ever wondered how you'd stack up against the pros? Two weekend anglers are about to find out, with the biggest payday in bass fishing history on the line.
World Bass Enterprises (WBE) has picked Eric Giessing of Farmington, Missouri, and Kyle Carr of Gatesville, Texas, as the two "Average Joes" who will fish The Champions this fall. There's no separate amateur bracket. They'll be on the same water, chasing the same money, as 60 of the top professional bass anglers on the planet.
The Money
The Champions carries a $3.25 million total purse, with $1.25 million going to the winner. That's the richest purse the sport has ever seen.
WBE founder and CEO Brian Bird said the idea came from a question every sports fan has asked at some point: how would I do against the real deal? Now Giessing and Carr get to answer it for the rest of us.
The Competition
The field is split into two rosters, Stars and Stripes, pulling elite talent from both Bassmaster and Major League Fishing. And there are no easy draws.
Trey McKinney, just 21, became the youngest Bassmaster Angler of the Year in history and set a B.A.S.S. record for the heaviest smallmouth bag ever weighed in a single day at the St. Lawrence River finale. Jordan Lee won the Bassmaster Classic in both 2017 and 2018, Hank Cherry also owns two consecutive Classic titles, and Jason Christie took the 2022 Classic.
On the other side, Jacob Wheeler brings four Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year titles, a 2026 REDCREST win, and 12 Bass Pro Tour victories since the circuit launched in 2019. Dustin Connell is the only angler to win REDCREST three times, Zack Birge is the reigning 2026 Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year, and Ott DeFoe won the 2019 Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville.
Good luck, guys.
Meet the Average Joes
Don't picture two guys who just bought their first rod. Both have real tournament experience.
Giessing, 53, has fished amateur events for about five years, mostly on Lake of the Ozarks. He got hooked as a kid fishing with his late father. He calls himself a power fisherman who loves tracking down aggressive fish, and his dream is to one day fish professionally. It's hard to imagine a bigger audition than this.
Carr, 39, also learned from his dad, who taught him early about sportsmanship, respecting the outdoors, and conservation. These days he fishes local club events around Belton, Texas, plus a Tuesday night series on Stillhouse Hollow Lake. For him, it's all about time on the water with good people.
Going from a weeknight local tournament to sharing a lake with Wheeler, McKinney, and a handful of Classic champions is a massive leap. That's exactly what makes this so fun to watch.
When and Where
The first ever Champions runs October 28 through November 1 on Old Hickory Lake, based out of Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just outside Nashville.
Bird says the two amateurs will get the same treatment as the pros, and both have a legitimate shot at the grand prize. Win or lose, they'll head home with some prize money and a story they'll be telling for the rest of their lives.
Six weeks until launch. We'll be rooting for the regular guys.
Source: Original reporting by Amber Harding for OutKick.
