A championship belt may or may not be headed for Vancouver Island after a man won the Stick of the Year Tournament hosted by a popular Instagram account.
The U.S.-based Instagram account Official Stick Reviews launched the hunt for the world's top stick, voted on by its followers ѻý 2.9 million dubbed Stick Nation.
The account hosts stick reviews worldwide and frequently votes a stick of the month. The campaign launched at the start of December, whittling down submissions to the final two.
They were billed as Finalist 1, described as "majestic, graceful and quick to handle. It has been wielded by the greatest sword masters in the world"; and Finalist 2: "heavy, powerful, destructive. Only a few chosen ones have managed to handle it."
"One looks like the most beautiful sword ever seen, the other represents destruction and fear," the post reads.
Beauty defeated destruction as Marcusѻý Vancouver Island wood barely edged out the competition in the last round of the bracket voting 51.2 per cent to 48.8 per cent. Valid votes were counted from the social media account's Instagram polls, comments and TikTok comments.
ѻýThis thingѻýs like the most majestic piece of driftwood Iѻýve ever seen. Itѻýs like fully split in two, love this flamey-looking tip on the end,ѻý Marcus said in his submission video.
The winner of the first annual was announced by self-professed ѻýstick lover, stick aficionado, Stick Season singerѻý Noah Kahan on the page.
ѻýCongratulations, you earned this. Your stick is fantastic,ѻý the singer said.