Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives. Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter.
When the Marlin Global Challenge (MGC) launched on April 1, 2025, it promised to deliver something entirely new to the world of big-game sport-fishing—a truly global, season-long blue marlin competition open to anglers fishing any recognized tournament, anywhere in the world. With a guaranteed $100,000 minimum payout to the registered team that landed the heaviest tournament-caught blue marlin by October 31, and with Spot Zero signing on as the presenting sponsor, the stage was set for a high-stakes global shootout.
The concept behind the MGC is simple: register your team, fish your favorite qualifying tournaments, and submit your heaviest blue marlin. With a minimal entry fee and a global leaderboard connecting anglers from Hawaii to Bermuda, the MGC immediately captured the imagination of the tournament community. By season’s end, it delivered exactly what it promised—a dramatic, globe-spanning competition of 48 teams that crowned a deserving champion.
The action began in May along the U.S. Gulf Coast when angler Nick Pratt and the team aboard It Just Takes Time posted the first qualifying fish of the season—a 554.2-pound blue marlin caught during the Gulf Coast Masters in Mobile, Alabama. Pratt’s catch set the initial benchmark and kicked off the chase for the inaugural MGC title.
Just a few weeks later, the leaderboard lit up again when Ron Davis and his crew aboard Southern Charm / All-In weighed a 654.6-pound blue during the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic in Sandestin, Florida. The big Gulf fish briefly held the top spot and showcased the power of the Panhandle’s offshore grounds.
In July, the competition went international when Eli Blake and the team on Builder’s Choice put Bermuda on the board with a 650-pound blue marlin during the Bermuda Big Game Classic. That fish not only earned them third place in the MGC but also contributed to Builder’s Choice winning the overall Bermuda Triple Crown.
As summer rolled on, attention shifted west—to the legendary waters of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. On July 9, angler Jeffrey Stafford and Capt. Nick Durham aboard the 41-foot G&S Tantrum hooked into a thick, powerful blue marlin during the Kona Throw Down, a leg of the Hawaii Marlin Tournament Series. After an intense fight, the team boated a 715-pound Pacific blue marlin, catapulting them to the top of the MGC leaderboard. The catch earned Tantrum $329,270 in the Kona Throw Down and, more importantly, set a high bar for the rest of the global fleet.
When the scales closed on October 31, Tantrum’s 715-pound blue marlin held firm at the top, securing their place in history as the first-ever Marlin Global Challenge Champions. Their fish edged out Southern Charm / All-In’s Gulf Coast blue by just over 60 pounds, while Builder’s Choice’s Bermuda marlin rounded out the top three. In addition to the $329,270 check they won for this fish in the Kona Throw Down, Tantrum received MGC’s $100,000 check, the Champion’s Trophy from King Sailfish Mounts, and an invitation to the 2026 Offshore World Championship.
Final Leaderboard – 2025 Marlin Global Challenge
- Tantrum: Jeffrey Stafford (angler)/Nick Durham (captain) – 715 lbs (Kona, Hawaii)
- Southern Charm / All-In: Ron Davis (angler)/ Landon Bell (captain) – 654.6 lbs (Sandestin, Florida)
- Builder’s Choice: Eli Blake (angler)/Brett Gaskill (captain) – 650 lbs (Bermuda)
- Tantrum: Jeffrey Stafford (angler)/Nick Durham (captain) – 566.5 lbs (Kona, Hawaii)
- It Just Takes Time: Nick Pratt (angler)/Myles Colley (captain) – 554.2 lbs (Orange Beach, Alabama)
The 2026 Marlin Global Challenge is already on the horizon, with registration opening November 1, 2025 on Marlin Global Challenge Live Scoring by CatchStat.com . Entry for the 2026 MGC is set at $3,000 per team, and the competition window expands to run January 1 through October 31, 2026. With the success of its debut season and the world’s top teams now circling the leaderboard, next year’s chase for the title—and another guaranteed minimum $100K payday—promises to be even more intense.
Think you have what it takes to join the hunt? Register now, fish your favorite tournaments, and see if your name can rise to the top of the global leaderboard. Because in the Marlin Global Challenge, it only takes one fish to change everything.
For more information about the Marlin Global Challenge, visit MarlinGlobalChallenge.com, or email [email protected].
