The final night was filled with huge tension, as Day 6 had already delivered an intense and exciting picture in every respect: the weather turned more favourable, the number of bites increased, more 30+ kilogram carp were landed, and a fierce battle developed at the top of the overall standings. Everything was in place for the final night of the 12th IBCC to bring real suspense and further dramatic twists.
And that is exactly what happened.
With a massive final push, the winning team managed to catch nine more fish after midnight during the night. That late surge secured victory for them in the overall competition. The success of the Polish team, TEAM EKO BAITS III, was also built on their outstanding Friday performance, when they landed valid fish with a total weight of 109 kilograms.
In the overall standings, Tropic RidgeMonkey Team Cz finished in second place after leading the competition for a long period. The third step of the podium went to Stankov CT – Mikbaits CZ.
This year again, only 30+ kilogram catches were enough to enter the winners’ circle in the biggest fish categories. The biggest common carp was caught by Nikl & Carp R Us – UB, weighing 37.42 kilograms.
The mirror carp category also developed in dramatic fashion, as there was a change at the top right at the end of the competition. In the end, the 30.18-kilogram mirror carp caught by Black Carp Team Hungary proved to be the biggest of the year.
The Biggest 5 category in 2026 was won by Balaton Carp.
During the full competition period, the teams caught more than 20 tonnes of fish in total, landing 1,574 carp altogether. An additional remarkable detail is that exactly 100 valid mirror carp, each weighing more than 10 kilograms, were landed during the event.
On the morning of April 25 at 8:00 a.m., following tradition, the overall winning team was visited by Tamás Csörgő, the competition’s head marshal, together with our reporter Rob Hughes.
At 3:00 p.m., the closing prize-giving ceremony began, where the winners received their well-deserved awards.
This year’s edition of the 12th IBCC once again showed what makes the Lake Balaton competition so special: six days of concentration, changing weather conditions, memorable big fish, a tight team race, and a dramatic finish. The 2026 tournament will remain memorable not only because of the winners’ achievement, but also because it once again proved that on the shores of Lake Balaton, anything can happen until the very last moment.
Take a look at the results!