8 minute read
Fields Powers to World Title
GC World Championship Sees 113 Players Compete Over 14 Days in Virginia
By Dylan Goodwin
In a stunning display of power croquet, 18-year-old American Blake Fields claimed the 2024 WCF Golf Croquet World Championship with a 7-5, 7-5, 3-7, 5-7, 7-0 finals victory over Australia’s Robert Fletcher at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club (CBCC) near Hartfield, Va. The championship match, held on October 26, 2024, was the culmination of two intense weeks of competitive play.
With Fletcher as the #1 world-ranked player in both AC and GC and factoring in his dominant play throughout the event, the possibility of #84 ranked Fields taking a win in the final would have been unthinkable even at the start of the knockout. But for those following the tournament, it became clear that Fields was gearing up for another level during his quarterfinal match against Brian Lozano of Mexico.
Including the qualifying event, 113 players participated in the world championship and most seemed to have been awed by the challenge presented by the Quadway hoops set in the hard base at the CBCC. The consensus opinion was that the hoops, set in the hard dry clay, offered the greatest hoop-running challenge to date in world title history.
But against Lozano, Fields went beyond the “big game” and demonstrated that power could indeed overcome the “unsolvable” Quadways more often than not — if you stick to your guns. The match also provided intrigue as Lozano had been the club pro at Mission Hills Croquet Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where Fields initially learned the game and is now the club pro.
“Brian was extremely important in my development of the game,” Fields says. “We played games together every day and talked about strategy and mental approaches. He introduced me to some books about psychology and proper ways to display myself as a gentleman on the court.”
The best-of-five kicked off with Fields claiming game one 7-6. Lozano came back with his own 7-6 win. Fields then won game three with a 7-5 score, but when the “teacher” took game four, 7-3, to level the match, it looked like the power strategy approach might have finally played out.
Only that wasn’t the case. Fields remained calm and steady, showing little emotion in a game five that played out under increasing darkness. It was a true dogfight — an epic match that went to the fishhook with Fields getting a 7-6 victory to advance.
Over the short night, fans wondered how Field’s extreme power game would hold up against the traditional Egyptian power game of highly ranked Khaled Kamel. Kamel would be coming off his own adventures in the quarterfinals after going five games against American Tom Balding. In that match, Kamel reversed a 6-5 disadvantage in the decider and at Hoop 12 with a super-clear that left his ball legally set up in front of Hoop 13, plus the advantage at 12. He took 12 and after both of Balding’s distant clears failed to connect, Kamel claimed the 7-6 win to advance to the last four.
Moving to the semifinal, all questions about the matchup were answered quickly. Fields was in the zone and his relentless power game wore Kamel down as he took the match in three games 7-4, 7-4, 7-1 to earn a spot in the finals.
Fletcher’s path was far less complicated as he hadn’t lost a game in the knockout, and notably only had one game loss in block play. His form looked near perfect as he took out 2019 World Champion Ben Rothman (USA) 7-6, 7-1, 7-2, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, he would go up against England’s Euan Burridge. Burridge had been a sensation as well taking out eventual Bowl winner Sherif Abdelwahab (USA) in round one, then defending champion Matthew Essick (USA) 7-6, 6-7, 7-2 in round two before knocking off Spain’s Jose Riva 7-5, 7-5, 7-1. But in the semifinal, Fletcher’s excellent form continued as he defeated Burridge in three straight, 7-3, 7-2, 7-1.
That set up a fascinating final. Fletcher looked flawless, demonstrating power, tact and precision as needed throughout the event. On the other side, Fields was playing with a level of confidence and power rarely seen in the sport. The conventional wisdom indicated that Fletcher’s form and experience would likely overcome the megapower game of Fields.
That theory came apart relatively quickly, though, as Fields took game one 7-5. For the first time in the event, Fletcher found himself playing from behind in a match. Fields continued his solid play and won game two 7-5. Was it going to be a sweep? No. Fletcher fought back 7-3 in game three to stay alive as Fields started showing some signs of slowing down with a few misses on his signature power clears.
After a lunch break, Fletcher evened with a 7-5 win to force a decider. So, the storyline seemed back on track as many GC followers felt like game five would favor the more experienced Fletcher. Still, even with the game four loss, Fields seemed to be getting his monster swing back online. Sure enough, Fields was able to jawz at Hoop 1 and that ended with Fletcher peeling him through unintentionally. The same thing happened at Hoop 2 and Fields dutifully converted the advantage at Hoop 3 to a 3-0 lead. A battle ensued at Hoop 4, but Fields claimed that one as well. Once it got to 5-0, momentum was in play it didn’t take much longer to slam the door with a 7-0 victory to claim the world championship title.
After the match, Fields spoke about the importance of winning the first two games. “I knew I could not show any fear or be afraid facing the number one player in the world,” says Fields. “Winning the first two games was my way to make a statement and show that I came to win and not just try my best and see what happens.”
Besides being the youngest player to claim the GC world championship title, the victory also represented the third straight win for a U.S. player in the event, following Rothman’s win in 2019 and Essick’s title in 2022. The U.S. is now second on the list of GC world titles won following Egypt with nine total titles. South Africa has two and Ireland has one.
Fields says, “Keeping the winning pattern going and winning our third title in a row is very crucial for U.S. croquet. We have proven to have the best croquet players in the world and that we always come to perform. We challenge each other to be better. I can personally say that Matthew and Ben have raised my game to another level because I am competitive and never want to lose, so I had to perform at a higher level to overcome failure. They also are extremely willing to share their knowledge and be supportive.”
Commenting on the impact of the U.S. three-peat, Rothman says, “It means nothing for visibility unless we use this opportunity. The USCA and the croquet community in general need to help spread the word. Croquet is for all ages. Croquet is for all genders. We need more publicity and marketing to show the country that people of all ages should learn the game and they can play with the best in the world.”
From a competition standpoint, he notes that the U.S. team has never been stronger. He says, “We will go to the World Team Championships with the best team we’ve ever had with a roster that will include the three most recent world champions. We just won the Solomon Trophy with our youngest AC team and Blake could bring our average age down even more in the future because he also plays AC and has completed triple peels in competition.”
USCA President Damon Bidencope says, “The USCA is very proud of Blake’s effort and success. For the USCA to have the last three GC World Champions is fabulous. The standout performances by many of our USCA members in progressing through the event is due in no small part to the USCA providing events for competition, High Performance Talent Development Programs and the supplemental funding of representative teams through the Lee Olsen Fund. Without these fundamental platforms for development reaching these heights we have would not be possible. The engagement of youthful talent is vital to the long-term success of the game.”
