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For most of July, as it is every year, much of the big-game tournament fishing world was captivated by a small island in the middle of the Atlantic: Bermuda.
The 2026 Bermuda Triple Crown brought many of the sport’s most accomplished teams to one of the world’s premier blue marlin destinations, producing world-class fish, exciting weigh-ins, razor-thin finishes and more than its share of big-game energy. From the electric Fourth of July opening of the Bermuda Billfish Blast and the inaugural Taittinger & Tails Ladies Only tournament, through the Bermuda Big Game Classic and culminating with the Sea Horse Anglers Club Billfish Tournament, the series captivated Bermuda and the international tournament community.
By the time the final lines were cleared, Pescaria had won the Sea Horse—and Viking 82 had captured the Bermuda Triple Crown.
The Sea Horse provided a fitting final chapter. Forty teams combined for 67 qualifying catches, including 54 blue marlin, 10 white marlin, two tuna and one wahoo, as the fleet battled for the $1,091,500 purse. The fishing remained productive throughout the tournament, while a succession of boats returning with fish during the first two days created a frenzy around the scales.
At the top of the release leaderboard, Capt. Chris Weeks and the team aboard Pescaria, a 78-foot Rybovich, finished with 2,100 points to claim the overall tournament title.
Capt. Ronnie Fields and the 64-foot Viking Inconclusive secured second place, while Capt. Sean Dooley and Viking 82 finished third by a razor thin margin at 2,000 points each. El Cazador also totaled 2,000 points, illustrating just how tightly packed the final leaderboard became. Plane Simple followed in fifth with 1,700 points.
Pescaria earned $288,916.67 for its winning performance in the Sea Horse, while Inconclusive collected $77,430 and Viking 82 added $51,620.
But the tournament’s biggest moment belonged to Linda Gale.
Led by Capt. Nicholas Froelich, the 82-foot Viking arrived with an imposing blue marlin caught by angler Darius Kirschner. Measuring 125 inches LJFL with a 68-inch girth, the fish weighed 838 pounds and became the largest blue marlin caught during the entire 2026 Bermuda Triple Crown.
The fish carried Linda Gale to the top of the Sea Horse’s weighed-marlin standings and delivered a tournament-leading payout of $357,653.34. It also secured the Triple Crown’s Big Three Marlin Jackpot and Heavy Hitter winner-take-all largest-marlin category.
Paradise Found, a 70-foot Hatteras led by Capt. Rusty Watters, finished second in the Sea Horse’s weighed-marlin division with an 801-pound blue. Current Situation placed third, while Sodium added another qualifying fish to finish fourth.
The game-fish categories further demonstrated the quality and variety of fishing Bermuda produced throughout the month.
Henry Pardue and Juben, captained by Matt Wardlaw, topped the winner-take-all game-fish jackpot with an impressive 162.3-pound tuna and earned $22,100. Yet one of the tournament’s most memorable catches came aboard Bobojo, where Capt. Patrick Byrd and his team landed a massive 111-pound wahoo.
The fish was an exclamation point on a remarkable series for Bobojo. During the opening Billfish Blast, the team won the wahoo category with a 43.3-pound fish. During the Big Game Classic, Bobojo electrified Barr’s Park with a 621-pound blue marlin and earned a tournament-record $714,850 payout.
Once the Sea Horse standings became official, attention turned to the championship that had been building throughout July.
Viking 82 entered the finale within reach of the title after placing fourth on time in the Bermuda Billfish Blast and third in the Bermuda Big Game Classic. The team then delivered another podium finish in the Sea Horse, accumulating 6,700 series points to win the 2026 Bermuda Triple Crown.
It was a championship win built on consistency.
Dooley and the Viking 82 team never won an individual leg, but they remained among the leaders in all three. In a series where one slow day or missed opportunity could erase weeks of progress, their ability to continually release fish and remain in contention proved decisive.
Defending champion Builder’s Choice came extraordinarily close to repeating. Capt. Brent Gaskill’s team finished second in the Billfish Blast before winning the Big Game Classic with seven blue marlin releases. That victory also secured the Manufacturer’s Cup for Jarrett Bay and positioned Builder’s Choice at the top of the series entering the final leg.
Although the team fell just short of the Sea Horse points needed to retain the crown, Builder’s Choice finished second in the series with 6,500 points—only 200 behind Viking 82.
Plane Simple completed the Triple Crown podium with 6,000 points. Capt. Jimmy Werling’s team opened the month by winning the Billfish Blast with 3,200 points, then continued chipping away through the Classic before producing another top-five finish in the Sea Horse.
However, the final standings tell only part of the 2026 BTC story.
The Blast opened with three weighed blue marlin, a $1.29 million purse and an overlapping Blue Marlin World Cup battle. Swish weighed a 653-pound blue, Bree brought in a 617-pounder and Miss Ma’am added a 532-pound fish.
The new, ladies-only, Taittenger & Tails one-day tournament, brought new energy to the 26-year-old series and will surely become a new BTC staple. The Big Game Classic followed with two quiet days at the scales before four boats called in fish during a frantic final afternoon. That sequence culminated with Bobojo’s 621-pound blue and record payout, while Builder’s Choice, Bree and Viking 82 battled steadily atop the release standings.
Then the Sea Horse delivered an 838-pound blue marlin, an 801-pound runner-up, a 111-pound wahoo and a release race decided by only 100 points.
Together, the four tournaments created a month filled with nearly every element that makes tournament fishing in Bermuda so special: world-class teams, beautiful boats, trophy blue marlin, dramatic weigh-ins, close competition and an island community that embraces the sport each summer.
The boats will soon depart Hamilton Harbor and begin carrying their stories back to ports around the world. But after a Bermuda Triple Crown this competitive, the countdown to next July has already begun.
Because when the fleet returns in 2027, a collection of the world’s best teams will arrive in Bermuda ready to write the series’ next unforgettable chapter.
The Sea Horse Anglers Club Billfish Tournament is sponsored by many industry-leading companies including:
Marlin, Bermuda Tourism Authority, Goslings, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Caterpillar, Gregory Poole Marine, Pantropic Power, Foley Inc., Ring Power, PW Marine, Miles Market, The Waterfront Group, Garmin, Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, Butterfield & Vallis, Yeti, Costa, Spar Yard Marine Solutions, Dassault Falcon Jet, Release Marine, Spyderco, AFTCO, Island Construction Services, ICS Tires, Florida Detroit Diesel-Allison, Atlantic Detroit Diesel-Allison, Turtlebox Audio, Alexseal, OluKai, Airmar, VanMark Jewelry Designers, Coastal Carolina Cutting Boards, Island Glass, Rego-Sotheby’s International Realty, Sig Sauer, Icom America, City of Hamilton, RUBIS Energy Bermuda, XTRATUF, Bluefin USA, Alutecnos, Marine Trophies, BermudAir, Conch Republic Apparel, Gozney Pizza Ovens, Big T Lures, Ladies Love Pink, and The Docksider Pub & Restaurant.
