Canadian Chris Johnston finishes 13th in $US3.25-million The Champions

NASHVILLE — The final day of US$3.25-million The Champions didn’t exactly go to plan for Canadian Chris Johnston.

Johnston, of Peterborough, Ont., managed just three pounds nine ounces Saturday to finish 13th in the 15-angler final. American Matt Robertson had a final-day weight of 20 pounds two ounces to finish first and earn the $1.25-million winner’s share.

Johnston finished 11th through the opening two days of the unofficial world championship bass fishing tournament. The top-15 anglers qualified for the final Old Hickory Lake.

But the weights of the first two days didn’t carry over to Saturday’s final round. So that gave all 15 anglers an equal shot at the top prize.

This marked the first year for The Champions. The tournament field included the top-25 competitors from both the Elite Series and Major League Fishing.

Also qualifying for the event were Elite Series competitors Cory Johnston of Cavan, Ont., Jeff Gustafson of Kenora, Ont., and Evan Kung of Pickering, Ont.

All four Canadians have won Elite Series events, with Chris Johnston twice claiming overall honours (2024-25). And in 2023, Gustafson became the first — and only — Canadian to win the $1-million Bassmaster Classic, pro bass fishing’s most prestigious competition.

Chris Johnston was the lone Canadian to reach the final. But all four shared in the Elite Series winning the team title after sending 10 competitors to the championship round.

The Champions was run and hosted by World Bass Enterprises, an organization founded by Texas businessman Brian Bird. It was Bird who came up with the idea of a world championship tournament during a fishing trip in Minnesota in August 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2026.

The Canadian Press