The winner of the World Conker Championships has been cleared of any wrongdoing after he was found with a steel nut in his pocket.
David Jakins, known as King Conker, won the annual title in Southwick, Northamptonshire, on 13 October for the first time after competing in the competition since 1977.
But when organisers searched his pockets after the runner-up raised suspicions over the way his conker shattered on impact during the final, 82-year-old Jakins was found to have a metal replica conker, prompting an investigation.
After the scandal generated more media interest than England’s men’s and women’s cricket teams combined, King Conker has been cleared by the organisers who found no evidence the steel nut was used in the competition.
Retired engineer Jakins told the Daily Star: “I’m so relieved to be cleared. It’s been a stressful week. We are gentlemen at the World Conker Championships and we don’t cheat. I’ve been playing and practising for decades. That’s how I won.
“I admit I had the steel conker in my pocket, but I didn’t play with it. I show it to people as a joke, but I won’t be bringing it again.”
Photos of the steel conker show that it has been painted to look almost identical to a real chestnut, however its weight is much heavier.
A spokesperson for the World Conker Championships, which drew 256 players and 2,000 fans to Southwick, Northants, last Sunday, said: “We have studied photos and videos of matches, interviewed judges and examined the chestnuts used by King Conker.
“The investigation has found no evidence that the steel conker was used. King Conker has been cleared of suspicion, and his name is being engraved on the trophy.”
Spokesperson for the championships, St John Burkett, told the Guardian that the 3,500 conkers for this year’s tournament were collected just two to three days beforehand and blind picked from a bag by competitors from all over the world to prevent tampering.
He said you would need a “very good sleight of hand” to swap them given there are 14 judges plus a chief umpire, and 2,000 spectators.
WCC rules stipulate that there must be at least 8in (20cm) of shoelace between the nut and player’s knuckle, players take three alternating strikes, any knocked-off conker that doesn’t smash can be rethreaded, more than three snags or tangles leads to disqualification, and if no conker is smashed, players continue under the five-minute knockout rule until one misses.
Burkett said that winners typically have “excellent hand-eye coordination, strategy and skill” and that big conkers are not necessarily the best, since they provide a larger target.
Although the WCC takes a purist approach to the game, other competitions, such as the Peckham Conker Championships, opt for an “anything goes” approach to the rules, from oven-baked to vinegar-soaked conkers, or those coated with clear nail varnish.
