Will the title return to the Czech Republic?

Ten years, hundreds of anglers and tonnes of carp. The Stairs2Hell European Carp Fishing Championship is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and at the Novomlýnská Reservoir beneath the Pálava Hills, competitors will once again be battling not only for prizes worth millions, but above all for world-class carp fishing prestige. Czech anglers, however, have something to prove. For the past three years, they have watched as foreign rivals have taken the overall victory. Will the title finally return home for this anniversary edition?

The last time the gold stayed in the Czech Republic was in 2022. Back then, the Sportcarp team triumphed, needing just three fish with a combined weight of 53.73 kilograms to secure victory. Since then, however, foreign teams have dominated the competition. In 2023, the Polish team Bookingfish Poland won; a year later, it was the Belgian team Gotta Catch Em All; and most recently, the title was claimed by Eko Baits Team Poland. Last year, the Poles once again proved that nothing is decided at Pálava until the very last moments of the competition. They caught all three of their scoring carp during the final seventeen hours.

Pálava doesn’t forgive mistakes

Victory in Stairs2Hell isn’t decided by the number of catches, but by the combined weight of each team’s three heaviest carp. So all it takes is a single giant from Nové Mlýny, and the standings can be turned on their head in a matter of minutes. As well as luck, success depends on a masterful knowledge of the water, well-thought-out tactics, luck in the draw for fishing spots, and the ability to land a fish despite the various obstacles hidden on the riverbed. It is precisely this experience of their home waters that could help the Czech teams this year to end their three-year wait and bring the title back home.

The tenth battle for the title

This anniversary edition will take place from 3 to 10 October, with 100 teams facing 142 hours of battling the water, the weather and their own limits. The Czechs have won three times so far. Following victories by KeyStyle.cz & Mikbaits in 2019 and Mikbaits Friends a year later, Sportcarp were the most recent winners. If they are to claim a fourth title, they will have to defeat the historically most successful team, Eko Baits Team Poland, which has two gold medals, one bronze and the competition’s record fish to its name, and which is returning to the shores of the Novomlýnská Reservoir once again this year.

So now it’s the Czechs’ turn. Either they’ll finally turn their home-water advantage into gold, or they’ll be applauding foreign winners for the fourth time in a row at Pálava.