Matchroom Sport is a delighted to announce that Coral, one of the UK’s largest bookmaking brands, is to be the title sponsor of the annual Fish ‘O’ Mania event.

The big-money fishing match is a fixture in the British summer sporting calendar as it now enters its 22nd year.

Coral Fish ‘O’ Mania takes place over the weekend of the 18th and 19th July at Cudmore Fisheries outside of Stoke-on-Trent with the Saturday featuring 16 finalists competing for the  £30,000 winner’s prize and with it the most exalted title in match fishing.

On Sunday 19th, the Coral Fish ‘O’ Mania International Challenge will consist of eight two-man teams competing for the £10,000 first prize. Once again the defending champions are England and they will be challenged by Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and from continental Europe, the titans of Italy, Holland, France and Belgium will all be vying this prestigious crown.

Coral operates over 1,800 betting shops in the UK and is also one of the fastest growing online bookmakers. It is part of the Gala Coral Group, the British betting and gaming operator which also owns the biggest bingo operator in the UK, Gala Bingo, and a successful Italian betting operation, Eurobet.

Both days of Fish ‘O’ Mania will be televised live by Sky Sports for 5 and a half hours each day. There is also the Coral Fish ‘O’ Mania Ladies championship on the Saturday and Fish ‘O’ Mania Juniors on Sunday.

To get the sponsorship off with a bang, Coral are offering a prize of £5,000 to the person who guesses the winning weight on the Saturday match. For full details go to http://www.fishomania.net/guesstheweight 

“We are rapidly expanding the portfolio of sports on which we bet and the betting markets that we offer on each sport and this sponsorship of the UK’s most exciting fishing competition is a great way to demonstrate the size and breadth of our customer offering. We are thrilled to be associated with such an innovative and popular event,” said Simon Clare, Coral PR Director.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are all very excited to be working with Coral on fishing’s biggest event. Fish ‘O’ Mania has stood the test of time and is now one of those great British summer sporting occasions and is a superb couple of days out at an outstanding location.

“There is a special atmosphere at Cudmore and we are expecting thousands to come over the weekend. For those that stay at home, Sky Sports will be bringing every minute of both days from start to finish!”