Transfer over, chess and fishing.
Skilled cornhole is the newest aggressive match to be tarnished by means of dishonest allegations after a top-ranked group used to be accused of the use of unlawful beanbags.
The scandal, detailed by means of The Wall Side road Magazine in a Tuesday document, is named “BagGate” by means of enthusiasts, and it came about in August all over the 2022 American Cornhole League Global Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
It began after participant Devon Harbaugh griped that warring parties Mark Richards and Philip Lopez had been the use of baggage that weren’t legislation all over the finals, in keeping with the document.
“I assumed the luggage had been too skinny,” Harbaugh advised the Magazine.
Officers who inspected Richards and Lopez’s beanbags showed they weren’t legislation, prompting ESPN’s cornhole commentator Mark Pryor to commentary, “They’re too small.”
“That’s going to create some drama,” he added.
With a $15,000 grand prize at the line, judges additionally inspected the luggage being utilized by Lopez and Richards’ warring parties.
The ones had been additionally discovered to be now not compliant, in keeping with the New York Publish, which mentioned that ACL rules require cornhole baggage weigh 16 oz. and be 6 inches by means of 6 inches when laid flat.
ACL spokesman Trey Ryder advised Fox Information that the competition endured after officers decided the violations weren’t intentional.
“It’s conceivable” there used to be dishonest, Ryder mentioned, however added he used to be “beautiful assured that it wasn’t intentional.”
Lopez maintains his innocence, telling Fox Information, “I don’t know the way they was illegal-sized. We didn’t boil the luggage.”
The “BagGate” incident is now sparking conversations a number of the cornhole group in regards to the want for stricter rules whilst additionally revealing the rough-and-tumble antics that move on at the back of the scenes, in keeping with the Magazine.
Since a professional cornhole participant can earn as much as $250,000 a yr, some gamers move to nice lengths to get a leg up on their festival, reminiscent of boiling baggage or washing them with vinegar to cause them to extra pliable.
“You could have the common gamers that check out the whole lot to make the bag do various things,” cornhole professional Nate Voyer advised the Magazine, including that he washes his bag with a bit of cloth softener and shall we it air-dry.
Ryder mentioned the ACL is cracking down on “BagGate” by means of making an investment in compliance to “be sure that these kind of baggage are to spec” and exploring “automatic bag checking out.”
On the other hand, professional cornholer Jay Corley advised the Magazine that the one resolution is to have “a referee similar to some other game.”
The cornhole controversy comes after the chess group used to be racked by means of a scandal wherein teenage U.S. chess grandmaster Hans Niemann used to be accused of dishonest by means of used wirelessly managed vibrating anal beads or a prostate massager to obtain messages from his trainer in regards to the successful strikes.
To not be outdone, the fishing international got here thru with an argument of its personal ultimate month when two anglers at a contest in Pennsylvania had been stuck with weights filled inside of their fish. The pair, Jacob Runyan, 42, and Chase Cominsky, 35, have pleaded now not in charge to dishonest and different fees.
