The 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open & World Deadlift Championships took place on September 6th in Birmingham, England. It brought together some of the strongest men on earth and put them through six events in total. Ultimately, it was Hafthor Bjornsson who took the win.
Hafthor Bjornsson first set a new Deadlift World Record to win the 2025 World Deadlift Championships. He then continued to compete across five additional events and gathered 58.5 points in total. This gave him an 8-point lead ahead of the next best man, making him the overall winner of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open.
2025 Giants Live Strongman Open Results
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 58.5 points
- Bryce Johnson — 50.5 points
- Mathew Ragg — 49.5 points
- Paddy Haynes — 49 points
- Eddie Williams — 48 points
- Luke Stoltman — 46.5 points
- Gavin Bilton — 38.5 points
- Tristain Hoath — 37.5 points
- Austin Andrade — 33 points
- Adam Bishop — 31 points
- Evan Singleton — 4 points
Related: Brian Shaw Reveals The Prize Purse for 2025 Strongest Man On Earth
Event One — Max Deadlift / World Deadlift Championships
The first event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open was the Max Deadlift, which was also classified as its own competition named the World Deadlift Championships. So, it consisted of all competitors for the Strongman Open, but also other athletes who came with the sole intention to perform the deadlift.
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Hafthor Bjornsson placed first by a staggering margin, having set a brand new 510-kilogram (1,124.4-pound) Deadlift World Record. He beat his previous record by 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and proved that he is the king of the deadlift.
Austin Andrade and Adam Bishop put up impressive performances as well, with both men locking out 470 kilograms (1,036.2 pounds). Their efforts were overshadowed by Hafthor’s unbelievable lift, but it doesn’t take away from how incredible both Andrade and Bishop were.
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 510-kg
- Austin Andrade — 470-kg
- Adam Bishop — 470-kg
- Mathew Ragg — 453.5-kg
- Paddy Haynes — 453.5-kg
- Raul Flores — 453.5-kg (Competed at WDC only)
- Bryce Johnson — 440-kg
- Gavin Bilton — 440-kg
- Rauno Heinla — 440-kg (Competed at WDC only)
- Eddie Williams — 420-kg
- Tristain Hoath — 420-kg
- Evan Singleton — 420-kg
- Luke Stoltman — 400-kg
Event Two — Farmer’s Walk
For the second event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open, the athletes had to complete the Farmer’s Walk. So, they had to hold two 150-kilogram (330.7-pound) implements in their hands and carry them across the arena. They aimed to set the quickest time.
Eddie Williams is one of the quickest Strongmen that we have ever seen, as he demonstrated on the Farmer’s Walk. He crossed the finish line in 11.57 seconds, beating everyone with ease. So, he walked away with 11 points under his belt.
Luke Stoltman secured a second-place finish, which definitely shocked some fans. Although Luke was recognized for his static strength in earlier days, he proved that speed is also his prowess, having finished the event in 14.04 seconds. Mathew Ragg rounded up the top three with a time of 14.30 seconds.
- Eddie Williams — 11.57 s
- Luke Stoltman — 14.04 s
- Mathew Ragg — 14.30 s
- Tristain Hoath — 14.84 s
- Bryce Johnson — 14.87 s
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 15.58 s
- Austin Andrade — 18.21 s
- Paddy Haynes — 18.27 s
- Adam Bishop — 19.97 s
- Gavin Bilton — 34.58 s
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
Event Three — Sandbag Steeplechase
The third event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open put the athletes through a series of sandbag carries. So, they had to carry and load four sandbags weighing 140 kilograms (308.6 pounds). The goal was to finish the event in the shortest time possible.
Paddy Haynes handled the task incredibly, making his way across the field with impressive speed. He had no problems lifting the heavy handbags off the floor or loading them on the platform, which resulted in an event win. His final time came out to 38.94 seconds.
Mathew Ragg found himself in second place by finishing the event 2.5 seconds after Paddy Haynes. He was joined by Luke Stoltman in the top three, as the ‘Highland Oak’ loaded his final sandbag in 44.32 seconds.
- Paddy Haynes — 4 in 38.94 s
- Mathew Ragg — 4 in 42.56 s
- Luke Stoltman — 4 in 44.32 s
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 4 in 47.25 s
- Gavin Bilton — 4 in 49.81 s
- Tristain Hoath — 4 in 56.81 s
- Bryce Johnson — 4 in 57.76 s
- Eddie Williams — 3 in 33.16 s
- Austin Andrade — 3 in 67.43 s
- Adam Bishop — Did not attempt
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
Event Four — Front Hold
The fourth event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open was certainly one of the most painful ones. The athletes had to pick up a 30-kilogram (66.1-pound) hammer and hold it in front of themselves with completely straight arms. They held that position for as long as possible, hoping to achieve a longer time than their rivals.
Hafthor Bjornsson added another event victory to his resume, holding the implement for 50.78 seconds to beat everyone else. With this, Hafthor made a massive stride toward the overall victory as well.
Bryce Johnson made it into second as the only other man to exceed 40 seconds, which goes to show how great Hafthor’s score was. Tristan Hoath narrowly beat Mathew Ragg to finish in third place.
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 50.78 s
- Bryce Johnson — 43.70 s
- Tristain Hoath — 39.56 s
- Mathew Ragg — 39.12 s
- Eddie Williams — 38.84 s
- Luke Stoltman — 38.29 s
- Gavin Bilton — 37.78 s
- Austin Andrade — 35.72 s
- Paddy Haynes — 35.69 s
- Adam Bishop — 33.24 s
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
Event Five — Viking Press
For the penultimate event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open, the athletes made their way to the Viking Press apparatus. It was basically an Overhead Press for reps, meaning that each athlete was subjected to the same amount of weight and had to complete as many repetitions as possible.
Bryce Johnson’s performance on the Viking Press was nothing short of spectacular, since he managed to lock out 15 reps and establish himself as one of the greatest overhead pressers in the world.
Eddie Williams also had a great showing, proving to have amazing power but also endurance while completing 13 repetitions on the machine. Gavin Bilton was one rep short of Eddie, which put him in third place.
- Bryce Johnson — 15 reps
- Eddie Williams — 13 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 12 reps
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 10 reps
- Luke Stoltman — 10 reps
- Austin Andrade — 10 reps
- Paddy Haynes — 10 reps
- Mathew Ragg — 9 reps
- Tristain Hoath — 7 reps
- Adam Bishop — 7 reps
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
Event Six — Power Stairs
The final event of the 2025 Giants Live Strongman Open was the Power Stairs. So, the athletes had to carry four implements up a flight of three stairs each. The weight of the implements was 200-kg (440.9-lb), 225-kg (496-lb), 240-kg (529.1-lb), and 250-kg (551.2-lb).
When it comes to speed, there was no beating Paddy Haynes. He finished the event in 30.78 seconds, which turned out to be enough to narrowly beat a number of other competitors.
Hafthor Bjornsson finished in second place with a time of 31.03 seconds, which did not bother him too much, considering that he was officially crowned the overall champion at this point.
- Paddy Haynes — 12 in 30.78 s
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 12 in 31.03 s
- Adam Bishop — 12 in 31.53 s
- Luke Stoltman — 12 in 32.83 s
- Eddie Williams — 12 in 32.89 s
- Bryce Johnson — 12 in 36.59 s
- Mathew Ragg — 12 in 39.93 s
- Gavin Bilton — 12 in 47.68 s
- Tristain Hoath — 12 in 49.54 s
- Austin Andrade — Withdrew
- Evan Singleton — Withdrew
Related: 2025 Strongest Man On Earth Results — Evan Singleton Takes The Win
Hafthor Bjornsson has secured a lot of achievements throughout his career, such as winning the World’s Strongest Man, Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man, and other competitions. However, this appearance is special in its own way, as Hafthor set a 510-kilogram (1,124.4-pound) Deadlift World Record and proceeded to win the entire competition. So, he is not only the greatest deadlifter in the world but also one of the most well-rounded athletes in Strongman.
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where are the women’s results? Weren’t there women competing?
This year’s competition didn’t include a women’s division. They’ve had some women guest lift in the past at the World Deadlift Championships, but not this time around.