THE 2026 Winter Championship at Borth & Ynyslas concluded in dramatic fashion as Richard Lucas produced a strong finish in the final round to claim the title by just two points.

After the opening round of the competition was unfortunately lost to the weather, the remaining eight rounds were played in competitive and often testing winter conditions, providing an excellent series of competitions across the season.

Heading into the final round , it had become a straight shoot-out between Gareth Baker and Richard Lucas. With points awarded to the top ten finishers in each round (10 points for first place down to 1 point for tenth), Baker held a five-point advantage going into the decider and looked well placed to take the championship.

However, Lucas had other ideas.

A determined performance in the final round saw him finish fourth, earning seven valuable points, which proved enough to overhaul Baker’s lead and secure the championship by the narrowest of margins.

Both players showed admirable consistency throughout the series. Across the eight scoring rounds Lucas and Baker each recorded four top ten finishes, regularly collecting points to keep themselves firmly in contention.

In the end it was Lucas who held his nerve in the closing stages to lift the Winter Championship trophy for 2026, with Baker finishing a very close runner-up.

Final Winter Championship Table

1. Richard Lucas – 32 pts

2. Gareth Baker – 30 pts

3. Nicholas Dowell – 22 pts

4. Jonathan Cook – 20 pts

Round Winners

The eight rounds produced a variety of winners and some excellent scores throughout the winter season.

Round 2 – Stableford

1. Dave Leemans – 36 pts

2. Gareth Baker – 33 pts

3. Robert Gill – 32 pts

Round 3 – Bogey

1. Rhodri Edwards – +5

2. Maurice Speake – +3

3. Dale Harvey – +2

Round 4 – Medal

1. Carl Jones – 75–8 = 67

2. Clive Morgan – 83–14 = 69

3. Nicholas Dowell – 86–16 = 70

Round 5 – Stableford

1. Clive Morgan – 39 pts

2. Ronald Thomas – 37 pts

3. Jonathan Cook – 35 pts

Round 6 – Bogey

1. Jonathan Cook – +5

2. Anthony Tedaldi – +4

3. Dylan Raw-Rees – +2

Round 7 – Medal

1. Daniel Basnett – 71–0 = 71

2. Barrie Jones – 100–26 = 74

3. Richard Lucas – 87–13 = 74

Round 8 – Stableford

1. Toby Spain – 39 pts

2. Dave Leemans – 37 pts

3. Mathew Lucas – 36 pts

Round 9 – Bogey

1. Nicholas Dowell – +2

2. Stephen Lucas – +1

3. Barry Williams – +1

The Winter Championship once again provided excellent competition and good scoring despite the challenging winter conditions, and congratulations go to Richard Lucas on becoming the 2026 Winter Champion.