The Tournament that Kept Excitement at Its Peak Until the Last Moment: Bitci.com Tuna Masters 2022 Concludes

The Bitci.com Tuna Masters 2022 series, Europe's oldest and largest international sport fishing tournament, took place from September 15-18, 2022, hosted by Port Alaçatı and under the auspices of Çeşme Municipality. The season finale, filled with excitement until the very end, concluded with the Alaçatı leg of the Bitci.com Tuna Masters, which broke records this year.

In its 16th edition, the tournament attracted 56 master angler teams, including internationally recognized fishermen such as Erkut Soyak, Gökhan Çarmıklı, Turgut Konukoğlu, Suat Yiğit, Mahmut Özgener, Altuğ Aksoy, Sinan Kuran, and Engin Altan Düzyatan, who registered from various marinas around İzmir, as well as from countries like Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, the USA, South Africa, Monaco, and Sweden. These teams competed for two days in the open waters of Alaçatı, vying for the grand prize with giant tuna and swordfish.

A Breathtaking Award Ceremony

The excitement reached its peak during the award ceremony held after two days of intense competition in the Alaçatı bay. The Ahmet Atay 2022 Cup, dedicated to the late master angler Ahmet Atay, was awarded to the ORKİ TEAM (Suat Yiğit, Engin Altan Düzyatan, Lauren Sarasua, Jose Liccardo, Berk Aktan, Oğuz Kaan Durmaz), who caught a 187 cm Bluefin tuna, released it alive and undamaged, earning 478.8 points. They received their trophy and awards from Ahmet Atay’s wife, Saba Atay.

In the Most Fish category, the TORO team (Tolga Aydınol, Ramazan Yıldırımgeç, Erhan Yağımlı), with a catch weighing 131.7 kg Bluefin tuna, earned third place with 790.2 points, receiving their trophy and awards from Port Alaçatı Harbor President V. Eray Akkanat.

The ROSE 2 team (Mehmet Okay, Timur Timuroğlu, Ali İsmet, Ömer Karaosmanoğlu), believed to be in line for the Biggest Fish award with their 151.9 kg Bluefin tuna caught on the first day, surprisingly lost the title during the final weighing, securing second place in the Most Fish category with 911.4 points. They received their trophy and awards from CMS CEO Ünal Kocaman.

A 5 cm Difference Made All the Difference

The VELOCE team (Çağlar Akan, Fadıl Zandar, Cihan Okay), competing in the Master Class category using 50-pound lines instead of the 80-pound lines, achieved a 50% point multiplier. They caught 5 Bluefin tunas over two days; however, due to one fish falling 5 cm below the 150 cm limit per tournament rules, they could only score points for 4 fish. The team became champions of the Most Fish category with a total of 104 kg and 936 points, receiving their trophy and awards from Port Alaçatı Marina Manager Deniz Şahin.

The Excitement Reached Its Peak

On the final day of the tournament, the massive Bluefin tuna caught by the SİS-35 team (Özgür Sezgin, Fikret Mesut Kocabıyık, Reyhan Sezgin, İpek Kocabıyık) created excitement and surprises. Weighing 154.4 kg, the fish was 10 cm shorter than the one caught by the ROSE 2 team but still earned the SİS-35 team 926.4 points. They received the Biggest Fish award and their trophy from Bitci.com Turkey Officials Faysal Şefkatlioğlu and Cem Özipek.

TUNA MASTER OF THE YEAR Belt Awarded

The SİS-35 team, which earned 934.8 points at the first leg of the tournament in TEOS and 926.4 points in Alaçatı, achieved a record total of 1861 points, winning the TUNA MASTER OF THE YEAR belt. The belt and awards were presented to the SİS-35 team by Tevfik Bilsev, founder of Bilsev Group and owner of Ferdi Baba Restaurant.

The award ceremony featured a live performance by the Happy Hour & Knees Up music group, adding a fun atmosphere to the event.

For more details and updates, please visit the official website.