The 2024 Conker World Championships cheating scandal has been explained

The World Conker Championships took place in Northamptonshire on Sunday. Veteran player David Jakins, also known as King Conker, emerged victorious after competing in the championships every year since 1977.

It was a big win for Jakins, who had been fighting for the top spot for more than 40 years. But now the 82-year-old has been accused of cheating after a replica steel conker was allegedly found in his pocket. So what exactly went down?

After 23-year-old finalist Alastair Johnson-Ferguson was beaten by Jakins, he accused him of “foul play”. Johnson-Ferguson told him telegraph: “My conker disintegrated in one hit, and that doesn’t happen… I suspect foul play and have expressed my surprise to the organizers.”

King Conker, who helped prepare the conkers before the competition, was also accused of marking the ropes with harder conkers. But the long-time player has denied all the allegations.

The guardian he said he said: “I was found with the steel conqueror in my pocket, but I only carry it with me for humor value and did not use it during the event.”

‘Yes, I helped prepare the conkers before the tournament. But this is not a cheat or a workaround, and I didn’t mark the strings.

St John Burkett, spokesman for the Conker World Championships, said guardian allegations of cheating were being investigated. “There have been reports of foul play that somehow King Conker switched his real conker for the metal that was later found in his pocket,” he said.

‘Players select conkers from a bag before each round. There are also suggestions that King Conker had scored the strings from harder walnuts. We can confirm that he was involved in the drilling and fitting of the nuts prior to the event. We are investigating.’

But the organizers of the event were not convinced of any real cheating. The chairman of the event, Jim Packer, told the BBC what was he thinking Alastair Johnson-Ferguson was just being a “sore loser”.

He added: “Yes, he had a steel conqueror with him, which we are aware of… it’s very clear that it’s not real.”

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