Sportfishing yacht Bad Company was announced as the winner of the 2026 Blue Marlin World Cup after landing a 653-pound blue marlin, but the tournament came down to a dramatic finish when sportfishing yacht Swish also recorded a blue marlin weighing exactly 653 pounds. Bad Company is part of Anthony L. Hsieh’s Bad Company Fishing Adventures fleet, with Capt. Mike Lassley at the helm. According to rule 9 of the tournament’s rulebook, “In the case of a tie with two or more marlin weighing the same amount, the winner shall be the first Participant that confirms with IGI that the marlin has been boated,” according to the Blue Marlin World Cup. IGI, the tournament committee, announced that Bad Company was the first team to call in their landed fish at 7:47 a.m. in Cape Verde. “I woke to my phone buzzing in the dark, messages flooding in from around the world, and the surreal realization hit—we had won the 2026 Blue Marlin World Cup,” Hsieh wrote on Instagram. “To be congratulated by my peers and many legendary figures in our sport, many were my heroes and idols growing up. Thank you.” The Blue Marlin World Cup gives teams eight hours to fish anywhere in the world during their respective time zones. The one-day tournament focuses exclusively on blue marlin, with a single winner determined by the heaviest qualifying catch. Last year’s champion took home a prize of more than $1.25 million.