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Set against the stunning backdrop of the Miami Beach Marina, the fifth annual Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions made waves from January 30 – February 1, welcoming championship fishing teams from across the country for two days of elite sportfishing, continuing the legacy of the Miami Billfish elite namesake. Proudly hosted in collaboration with the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, this exclusive, invite-only, catch-and-release tournament was an elite weekend of high stakes sportfishing hosted at the Miami Beach Marina.
Following an action-packed tournament, Fort Lauderdale’s Livy Rose emerged as the champion, securing the coveted Championship Cup, $149k of the $255,000 cash prize, and the prestigious Tournament of Champions Garmin Marine watches.
In addition to high-stakes competition, the tournament delivered an unparalleled weekend of VIP experiences, blending elite sportfishing with a showcase of Miami Beach’s featured culinary establishments, including Joe’s Stone Crabs, Lobster Shack, Pizza Bar, along with a Rusty Pelican pop-up where their team of executive chefs sliced up tomahawks and more for the tournament’s coined slipside service directly to the team’s boats all weekend long. Each evening, teams gathered at the Miami Beach Marina for dockside celebrations and ‘A TASTE OF MIAMI BEACH’ hosted by Papas Pilar, with the awards night hosted by GED Lawyers.
Furthering its impact beyond the water, this year’s tournament welcomed a new charitable partner onboard. With the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund (MHCF) named as the tournament’s official beneficiary, two championship organizations came together, Coach Jimmy Johnson’s team at Fish Hard Events and JJFISHWEEK and the Miami HEAT, curating a weekend of added fun and philanthropy with new optional calcuttas, a pre-fish charity day with teams competing against Miami Heat Associate Head Coach, Chris Quinn, and additional entry options were introduced—all designed to support the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund’s South Florida community programs. Through these efforts, the tournament raised $25,000 for its charitable partners, to include the Miami Billfish Foundation’s conservation efforts, reinforcing the tournament’s commitment to both the sport and giving back.
Organized by Fish Hard Events, the team behind Jimmy Johnson’s Championship Fishing Weeks in South Florida and Atlantic City, the Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions serves as the official kick-off to Fish Hard’s 2025 competitive sportfishing season. To qualify, teams must have won $50,000 or more in one of Jimmy Johnson ‘Quest for the Ring’ tournaments or placed in the top three in previous seasons, making this event a true championship showdown.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT & RESULTS:
Designed only for the elite in sportfishing, this catch-and-release tournament is a sailfish catch-and-release only tournament as part of the Fish Hard series. Winners were determined by the number of successful releases, with tiebreakers decided by the time of call-in. The tournament awarded top three placements, daily winners, a daily Game Ball MVP winner prize, a winner-take-all category, and new MCHF Charity Calcutta
- First Place – Livy Rose of Fort Lauderdale with 13 releases overall, securing the coveted Championship Cup aboard the smallest boat in the fleet. Owner Marty Ged of GED Lawyers assembled the winning crew led by Captain Jack Forsythe with anglers Nick Gadient, Chris Ged, Coop Schnieder, Eric Po, and Jaime Williams. In addition to securing first place overall, Livy Rose also secured first in the MVP Day 1 Daily, the Charity Calcutta, and the MYCO Trailers All Star Optional Calcutta, resulting in an impressive total prize of $145,000.
- Second Place – Liquidated of Lighthouse Point with a commendable 10 releases. Owned by Patrick Wieland and captained by Danny Clinton, team Liquidated included anglers Victoria Beaudoin, Travis Claire, Eric Harvey, Nate Miller, Chandler Myles, Sean Weech, Eddie Wheeler, and Trey Wheeler. In addition to securing second place overall, Liquidated also secured second place in the MYCO Trailer All Start Optional Calcutta, resulting in a total prize of $60,750.
- Third Place – Carolina Reel Men of North Carolina with a notable 9 releases overall and $27,000 in prize money. Owned by Steve and Nancy McLaughlin, the team included Captain Sean Odonnel and anglers Jonathan Bickett, Jimmy Hendrix, Ramiro Hidalgo-Gato, Doug Mientkiewicz, Brandon Simons, and Scott Stoky.
- MVP Day 2 Winner – Critical Path of Fort Lauderdale with 5 releases for a total of $18,000. The team aboard the 68-ft Viking owned by Chip Derrer, Alex Avila, and John Sherer included Captain Brett Peeples and anglers Victor Paneda, Daniel Miers, Chris Galarraga, and Chip Derrer III.
A special shout-out to tournament sponsors who helped elevate the Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions into a world-class event. This year’s tournament sponsors include Title Sponsors: Contender Boats, the official center console boat sponsor; Yamaha, the official outboard sponsor; Presenting Sponsor Papa’s Pilar, the official spirits partner; Hosting Sponsors: Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, Miami Dade Tourism Development Council, Hilton Bentley Miami Beach, GED Lawyers, and Michelob Ultra; Corporate Partners: Garmin Marine, MYCO Trailers; Big Dog Tackle, Slicker Beaut, and Crook and Crook of Miami; Fisher’s Island Lemonade, Titos Vodka, and Engle Coolers, Official Tournament Artist and Apparel provider, D. Friel Connected by Water; Charitable Partners: Miami Heat Charitable Fund and Miami Billfish Foundation. This year’s Radio Room was hosted by Network Innovations and CatchStat Live Scoring is hosted by Garmin Marine.
For a comprehensive list of additional event sponsors and final payouts, please visit the event website: https://champions.catchstat.com .
The team at Fish Hard Events now turn its attention to the Annual Jimmy Johnson’s “Quest for the Ring” Championship Fishing Week (JJFISHWEEK) , returning March 4-8, 2025. This highly anticipated tournament is proudly presented by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood in partnership with Visit Lauderdale. Leg #3 of the series is when they head north for the summer series for the Jimmy Johnson’s Atlantic City “Quest for the Ring” Championship Fishing Week (JJFISHWEEKAC), taking place July 13-19, 2025, with weigh in options and nightly hospitality available in Atlantic City, NJ and Ocean City, MD, and the major events taking place in partnership with the Atlantic City Sports Commission, Golden Nugget Atlantic City, and Hard Rock Atlantic City.
For up-to-date tournament information, follow @FishHardEvents on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for up-to-date tournament information or visit www.jjfishweek.com .
Top Team Photos and Tournament Photos Download Here.
About Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions
The Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions, managed by Fish Hard Events, features 1 Championship at stake annually for 3 days in South Florida. The tournament features the 2-day history making Catch & Release billfish championship for an invite only VIP Kick off to South Florida’s sailfish season. A highlight of the billfish tournament season, this weekend of events has a little taste for everyone as top anglers from around the country qualify to enjoy this unique tournament at the beautiful Miami Beach Marina. For more information, visit www.questfortheringfl.com/tournamentofchampions or email us at info@fishhardevents.com. Follow us online @FishHardEvents on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About FISH HARD EVENTS
Fish Hard Events annually hosts a series of fishing tournaments throughout the year with Coach Jimmy Johnson for Jimmy Johnson’s Championship Fishing Week (JJFISHWEEK) and the culmination is this project, the Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions (TOC), which takes place in Miami Beach as a celebration of the best of the best teams, the celebrities of the sportfishing, who come together to compete for a high stakes tournament weekend. Coach Jimmy Johnson’s Championship Fishing Week has (2) legs, (1) takes place annually in March across South Florida, where teams come from around the country to fish from Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Fl to Palm Beach and celebrate at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino throughout the week, with a $1Mill Guaranteed purse and up to $2Mill est payout annually, and (1) in July, which takes place in Atlantic City, NJ and attracts teams from across the east coast to join in Atlantic City to compete, which another est $2Mill plus up for grabs. February’s Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions is the culmination of the hard work these teams put on annually and brings together the leading teams in sportfishing for a VIP Kick off to South Florida Sailfish season with a weekend of luxury entertainment from local partners and high stakes sportfishing with teams from across the country, hosting a purse of est. $300,000-$400,000 and three days of intense tournament fishing and hospitality events taking place at Miami Beach Marina. Teams that generate a certain amount of dollars throughout the competitive season throughout a variety of different tournaments in the country are invited to join. More information can be found at www.fishhardevents.com or on social @fishhardevents @jjfishweek or @jjfishweekac .
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