World of professional cornhole rocked by cheating scandal at league championship
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The world of professional cornhole is reeling from a potential cheating scandal that took place on the… 2022 American Cornhole League World Championship.
At the event, which was held in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the No. 1 ranked team, Mark Richards and Philip Lopez, were accused by a competitor of using bags that did not meet the code, which fans are now saying “the dirty underbelly is being exposed.’
Devon Harbaugh, the rival who filed the complaint, said he believed at the time the team may have used underweight bags and against the regulations.
“I thought the bags were too thin,” said Harbaugh, who spoke to the… Wall Street Journal.
Philip Lopez was one of two team members accused by Devon Harbaugh of having bags that were too small and not compliant with regulations
Mark Richards is the other half of the No. 1 team accused of having bags that failed ACL regulations during the Championship in August
While the situation may seem arrogant, the incident is no laughing matter, according to those in the cornhole community.
The prize at stake for the game was $15,000.
During the match, officials were called in to inspect the bags and found that the bags, made of resin and fabric, did not comply with the code.
The condition of the bags was so obvious that Mark Pryor, a game commentator, even commented on the bags himself.
“They’re too small,” Pryor said. “That’s going to be a drama.”
However, the situation quickly escalated when officials turned to Harbaugh and his teammate’s bags for a similar inspection.
Devon Harbaugh said he thought the bags used by his opponents were ‘too thin’
It turns out that Harbaugh and his partner’s bags didn’t follow the rules either.
Bags used during the game must measure six by six inches and weigh 16 ounces, the American Cornhole League prescribes.
The incident, now dubbed “BagGate,” has sparked serious conversation among the sport’s top players and viewers.
“I think it’s funny that someone thought it would all be friendships and rose petals forever in cornhole,” one person wrote in the Addicted to Cornhole Facebook Group.
The match continued after an hour’s delay and officials who inspected the bags ultimately ruled that no intentional violations had been committed.
Trey Ryder, a spokesman for the US Cornhole League, told the Wall Street Journal that cheating was “possible,” but they believe the baggage rules being violated were not intentional.
“Honestly, it could be anything,” Harbaugh said when asked how his team’s bags ended up breaking the rules. “Certainly unintentionally.”
“I don’t know how they got illegal sizes. We didn’t boil the bags,” Lopez agrees.
Despite the bags unintentionally breaking the rules, the league has had to improve its protocols and inspections.
“We’ve really had to act to make sure all these bags are up to specification,” Ryder said. ‘Internally we have had to invest more in our compliance.
The problem has become more serious, with some players taking drastic measures in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
A cornhole professional spoke to the Wall Street Journal and told them that people are getting creative when it comes to how they handle their bags.
“You have the average players who try everything to make the bag do different things,” said Nate Voyer.
The professional cornhole player told the news station that he knows a player who tries to crush his bag by driving over it.
Others, he says, wash their pockets with vinegar or boil them to make them smoother.
The players take the game very seriously because serious money is at stake.
Some players can reportedly earn over $250,000 per year through various income streams with and related to the game.
Cornhole has become a somewhat lucrative sport with some players bringing in as much as $250,000 a year from competitions and sponsorships
Since the August incident, Ryder said the ACL has increased their testing and inspections and plans to continue into the 2023 season.
“We think we are taking a big step,” added Mr Ryder.
One professional cornhole player suggested that, with the sport’s rising popularity, it might be time to step up to the next level.
“I think like any other sport, we should have a referee,” said Jay Corley, a player from Virginia.
The scandal in the cornhole world comes amid another major scandal in a niche sport.
Two men were recently charged with stuffing five walleye with lead weights and fish fillets during a lucrative fishing tournament on Lake Erie.
Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, recently pleaded not guilty to cheating.
The allegations came to light at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament on Sept. 30 when director Jason Fischer became suspicious that Runyan and Cominsky’s fish were significantly heavier than walleye of that size.
They weighed their best five fish and the pair’s came out significantly higher than where a normal zander comes in
As an angry mob watched in Cleveland Park’s Gordon Park, Fischer sliced open the pikeperch and announced that it contained weights and fish fillets.
The fish was seized by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to serve as evidence.
Runyan and Cominsky were charged earlier this month on charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possession of criminal tools and charges of unlawful possession of wild animals.
The pair originally won the tournament, but they were replaced by Steve Hendricks after the weights were found. The first prize in the tournament totaled approximately $28,000.
The pair (pictured) originally won the tournament, but they were replaced by Steve Hendricks after the weights were found
“I just hope they get them for all they can for what they’ve done,” Hendricks said.
He added that for most fishermen ‘that’s what they like to do’, that they don’t do it for the money.
“They try to do a great job and it’s just a shame a select few can come in and ruin it all for you. I hope so [Cominsky and Runyan] make the most of it,” he told CNN earlier this month.
The duo is said to have stuffed the items into the fish’s throats to increase their weight and improve their position in the tournament.
In addition to the lead weights, there were also slices of other fish fillets, pieces of which had been tucked into the body of the catch, again to increase their weight.