‘King Conker’ Matt Cross wins World Conker Championships 2025

He might have been a novice at the playground game, but thanks to his ‘hard nut’ technique Matt Cross has been named this year’s King Conker.

The 37-year-old from Bourne, a civil servant at RAF Wittering, had never before competed in the World Conker Championships, held annually at the Shuckburgh Arms pub in Southwick, near Oundle.

And such was his doubt about his ability, he even told his wife Tiffany and seven-year-old son Benjamin not to worry about coming along to support him yesterday (Sunday, October 12), as he’d be “home by lunchtime”.

Yet after several knock-out rounds Matt was still in the game - and realised things were “getting a bit serious”.

“It was my first time at the championships and I didn't go in with any hopes beyond a round two finish,” said Matt, who apart from a ‘knockabout’ with colleagues in the office, last played conkers ‘properly’ back in primary school.

“But then I reached the quarter final and realised I was only two wins away from the title.”

He puts his winning streak through the rounds down to a technique that involved striking the opponent’s conker hard, and with as good an aim as he could muster.

“There’s no point tickling around it,” he said. “You have to use a bit of force, and so when I hit the other conker, it was worth it.

“I missed a couple of times in the final against Mags Blake, but in the end the balance of power went my way.”

Meanwhile, back home Tiffany and Benjamin had received news of Matt’s rising through the conker ranks, and had tuned in to watch him win the final and be crowned King Conker 2025.

The morning after the big win, Benjamin took his dad’s winning conker along to school for a bit of ‘show and tell’ in the classroom.

“My wife felt the need to mention to his teacher that it was a true story,” said Matt, who also sums up his new-found fame as ‘bizarre’.

“I will take part again next year but again, not with any expectation of winning, despite what’s just happened.”

The championships is a hard-fought competition which this year attracted about 250 entrants from across the country.

Some have taken part for more years than Matt has been alive, and last year there was controversy when the 82-year-old winner was found with a steel conker in his pocket - later dismissed as being brought along just as a joke, and not used in the contest.

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