Let’s get ready to thumble!
That was the strange battle cry at a village pub as thumb power helped propel a Suffolk couple to world championship glory.
On Saturday the Locks Inn at Geldeston, near Beccles, hosted the tenth Thumb Wrestling World Championships on a balmy day.
More than 20 people competed for the male and female world titles in the pub’s spacious riverside garden, with competitors such as Jack the Gripper and the Digit Destroyer battling each over through a mini wrestling ring that housed their deadliest best thumb.
Each bout was started with a cry of 1, 2, 3, 4 - I declare a thumb war and each round was a best of three.
To win each competitor had to wrestle their opponent’s thumb down while shouting 1, 2, 3, 4 I win a thumb war as referee Mark Wright made sure their elbows stayed on the table.
The competition saw Carlton Colville couple Paul and Becky Browse clinch the male and female world championships as they competed under the names of “Under the Thumb” and “the Dark Destroyer”.
For Mr Browse, 37 and an offshore diver, there were jubilant scenes as he clinched his third world title in a row - an unprecedented event for the thumb wrestling tournament.
And his wife, 29, celebrated gaining another world title again and she said it was a “fantastic” result.
Mr Browse said the secret of his success was door frame thumbs up and joked that he was now “unstoppable” due to his specially powered thumb.
He added: “You have to be quick, agile and you have to be aggressive and tactical.”
For the first time in the tournament’s history a children’s championship was held and it was won by Sam “Cobra” Rollings of Southery, aged seven.
Also appearing at the annual event, which used to be staged in Lowestoft, were CCBC stars Ed Petrie and Annabelle Davis who were filming for a series called All Over the Place and competed as the “Digit Destroyer” and “Hand Solo”.
The “Digit Destroyer” made it to the semi-finals.
The show will be screened next year.
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