The world’s finest Perudo players gathered in London on Friday night to battle it out for the coveted title of World Perudo Champion 2018.

The 29th playing of the World Perudo Championships, a high-profile annual event organised by Paul Lamond Games, took place at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) in central London on Friday evening.

After hours of fighting off tough competition from 140 Perudo players from across the globe, Jes Ongley, chief operating officer at Be the Brand Experience, was crowned champion and is now the proud owner of the traditional Silver Perudo Cup and Dice trophy.

Overseen by Perudo inventor Cosmo Fry, players competed across three rounds with the 36 highest ranked players progressing to the semi-final stage. The final 36 then battled it out for one of the six highly sought-after final table places.

All six finalists used shrewd strategies in a bid to outwit their fellow players, but it was Jes who held his nerve and skillfully bluffed his way to the coveted title.

Jess commented: “It was an absolutely incredible evening and to come home with the Cup is just surreal, I can’t stop smiling and probably won’t for a few days. It is fantastic to be able to meet and play alongside so many other people so passionate about the game. My friends and I have played and loved Perudo for 25 years and always will, and I’m pretty sure in a few years you’ll be seeing our future generations at the Championships as our kids love playing it too.”

Mark Jones, head of sales for Paul Lamond Games, added: “It was yet another outstanding evening packed with fun, tension, excitement and highly-skilled Perudo players. The passion for this game was palpable and we’re delighted that 2018’s event saw a greater than ever demand with younger generations flocking to play. The Perudo Championships has become a major event in the board games calendar and with next year marking the 30th championship, this game looks set to continue to rise in popularity.”