World Thumb Wrestling Championships held in eastern England
The 11th World Thumb Wrestling Championships saw 24 adults and eight children clash in the thumb-to-thumb combat sport.
BECCLES (Reuters) - Digits at the ready - a public house in eastern England played host to the annual World Thumb Wrestling Championships.
The unusual sport is played in rounds at the Lock s Inn pub in Beccles, Suffolk, on a wooden board that resembles a small wrestling ring.
The contest works in three minute-long matches against each opponent, who usually never make eye contact but instead stare closely at each other s thumbs.
There is both a men s and women s championship, with the sixty-second matches beginning with a customary chant, and ending when an opponent is pinned for as long as it takes to say the words "One, two, three, four, I win the thumb war!"
The 11th World Thumb Wrestling Championships saw 24 adults and eight children clash in the thumb-to-thumb combat sport.
In the men s final the top spot was taken by Paul Under the Thumb Browse for the fourth time in a row. He beat off stiff competition The Thumbertaker .
Meanwhile in the women s competition Janet Coleman aka Nanny Thumb beat Suzy Thumb . Janet is also the mother-in-law of the world champion.
The championships will be held again next July.
