The 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals took place on November 15-17 in Upington, South Africa. Spanning across three days, the competition consisted of seven events in total, all designed to challenge 12 world-class Strongman athletes. In the end, there was one clear winner, as Rayno Nel put up a dominant display to defend his title.
Rayno Nel won six out of seven events at the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals, only failing to top the leaderboards on the Atlas Stones. As a result, Rayno won the overall competition with a margin of 14.5 points. So, he defended his title from last year and continued to prove that he is one of the strongest men alive.
2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals Results
- Rayno Nel — 85 points
- Kevin Hazeleger — 70.5 points
- Adam Roszkowski — 69 points
- Brian Kichton — 68 points
- Evans Nana — 61.5 points
- Jesper Hansson — 51 points
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 45 points
- Peter Juhasz — 40.5 points
- Graham Hicks — 37.5 points
- Patrick Eibel — 37.5 points
- Andrea Invernizzi — 32.5 points
- Kelin Mills — 24 points
Related: Mitchell Hooper and Inez Carrasquillo Win 2025 Rogue Invitational Strongman & Strongwoman
Preliminary Points
The preliminary points were awarded to all twelve athletes based on their performances throughout earlier stages of the 2025 Strongman Champions League. Kevin Hazeleger entered the competition with 12 points, having put up great performances in multiple 2025 SCL competitions.
- Kevin Hazeleger — 12 points
- Evans Nana — 11 points
- Adam Roszkowski — 10 points
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 9 points
- Brian Kichton — 8 points
- Peter Juhasz — 7 points
- Patrick Eibel — 6 points
- Andrea Invernizzi — 5 points
- Rayno Nel — 4 points
- Jesper Hansson — 3 points
- Graham Hicks — 2 points
- Kelin Mills — 1 point
Event One — Log Lift
The opening event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals was the Log Lift. The implement weighed 160 kilograms (352.7 pounds), meaning that the goal was to complete as many reps as possible in the 60-second time limit.
Although overhead pressing proved to be a weaker event for him in the past, Rayno Nel displayed incredible improvement at the SCL World Finals and locked out seven repetitions. This showed just how strong his shoulders are, but also that his endurance is at an incredibly high level as well. Kevin Hazeleger and Adam Roszkowski tied for second place with six reps.
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- Rayno Nel — 7 reps
- Kevin Hazeleger — 6 reps
- Adam Roszkowski — 6 reps
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 reps
- Brian Kichton — 5 reps
- Graham Hicks — 5 reps
- Evans Nana — 4 reps
- Peter Juhasz — 4 reps
- Andrea Invernizzi — 4 reps
- Kelin Mills — 3 reps
- Patrick Eibel — 1 rep
- Jesper Hansson — No Lift
Event Two — Farmer’s Walk
The second event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals was a test of speed and grip strength. So, the athletes had to pick up implements of undetermined weight and carry them for a distance of 40 meters. The goal was to reach the finish line in the quickest time possible, but the distance was used as a way to rank the competitors who didn’t complete the event.
Rayno Nel won the second event in a row, continuing to climb up the leaderboards and cut down the lead that others had based on the preliminary points they received. He finished the event in 22.50 seconds, beating Kevin Hazeleger by 0.11 seconds. Jasper Hansson rounded up the top three with a time of 28.78 seconds.
- Rayno Nel — 22.5 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 22.61 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 28.78 seconds
- Adam Roszkowski — 30.28 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 30.88 seconds
- Evans Nana — 32.84 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 39.8 meters
- Graham Hicks — 35.8 meters
- Kelin Mills — 28.8 meters
- Patrick Eibel — 26.6 meters
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 23.6 meters
- Peter Juhasz — 16.2 meters
Event Three — Deadlift
The 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals continued with a variation of the Deadlift event. In this instance, the athletes took on an 18-inch elevated deadlift. The weight of the bar was unclear, but all athletes performed the event on the same setup. So, with 60 seconds at their disposal, the athletes attempted to lock out as many reps as possible.
Rayno Nel continued his winning streak and topped the leaderboards for the third event in a row. He beat some incredible deadlifters, including Graham Hicks, who pursued the World Record at one point. Rayno claimed the win with eight repetitions, while Evans Nana and Hicks tied for second with seven reps.
- Rayno Nel — 8 reps
- Evans Nana — 7 reps
- Graham Hicks — 7 reps
- Brian Kichton — 5 reps
- Patrick Eibel — 5 reps
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 4 reps
- Kevin Hazeleger — 3 reps
- Kelin Mills — 3 reps
- Adam Roszkowski — 2 reps
- Peter Juhasz — 2 reps
- Jesper Hansson — 1 rep
- Andrea Invernizzi — No Lift
Event Four — Husafell Replica Carry
The fifth event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals was the most painful moment of the competition, as the athletes had to carry a 180-kilogram (396.8-pound) replica of the Husafell Stone. Moreover, their goal was to carry the implement for a longer distance than other athletes, which made for a very competitive event and resulted in some intense moments.
Rayno Nel’s perfect streak did not stop with the Husafell Carry. Instead, the 2025 World’s Strongest Man put in another incredible performance and won with a final score of 80 meters. The next best man, Jesper Hansson, covered 70 meters, while the third-place finisher, Evans Nana, dropped the stone at 46.2 meters.
- Rayno Nel — 80 meters
- Jesper Hansson — 70 meters
- Evans Nana — 46.2 meters
- Adam Roszkowski — 44.8 meters
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 43.9 meters
- Brian Kichton — 40 meters
- Kevin Hazeleger — 40 meters
- Graham Hicks — 38.7 meters
- Peter Juhasz — 24.7 meters
- Andrea Invernizzi — 23.8 meters
- Kelin Mills — 12.6 meters
- Patrick Eibel — 9.8 meters
Event Five — Sandbag Loading Race
As the competition entered its second half, the athletes took on the Sandbag Loading Race event. Therefore, they had to pick up, carry for 10 meters, and then load three sandbags onto their respective platform. The weight of the sandbags was 120-kg (264.6-lb), 140-kg (308.6-lb), and 160-kg (352.7-lb). The athletes were given 75 seconds to complete the event but aimed to do so in the shortest time possible.
In what turned out to be one of the greatest displays seen at the professional Strongman stage, Rayno Nel won the fifth event in a row. He loaded all three sandbags in just 25.62 seconds and built a ten-point lead with two events to go. Evan Nana secured another great finish as well, placing second with a time of 27.09 seconds.
- Rayno Nel — 25.62 seconds
- Evans Nana — 27.09 seconds
- Adam Roszkowski — 27.75 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 30.08 seconds
- Peter Juhasz — 30.72 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 31.2 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 35.85 seconds
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 37.13 seconds
- Patrick Eibel — 40.53 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 41.09 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 2 in 75 seconds
- Kelin Mills — 2 in 75 seconds
Event Six — Hercules Hold
The penultimate challenge of the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals was another test of grip strength in the form of a Hercules Hold. So, the competitors were tasked with holding two massive pillars and preventing them from falling for as long as possible.
As was the case in all previous events at the 2025 SCL World Finals, Rayno Nel once again beat all 11 other athletes to add another 12 points to his tally. He also set the SCL record in the Hercules Hold with a time of 76.88 seconds.
- Rayno Nel — 76.88 seconds
- Andrea Invernizzi — 69.43 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 64 seconds
- Kevin Hazeleger — 60.38 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 58.75 seconds
- Patrick Eibel — 58.69 seconds
- Adam Roszkowski — 52.81 seconds
- Peter Juhasz — 50.47 seconds
- Evans Nana — 49.18 seconds
- Kelin Mills — 47.44 seconds
- Graham Hicks — 44.06 seconds
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 41.53 seconds
Event Seven — Atlas Stones
Perhaps the most iconic event in Strongman, the Atlas Stones, wrapped up the 2025 Strongman Champions League World Finals. It featured five implements ranging in weight from 120-kg (264.6-lb) to 200-kg (440.9-lb), all of which had to be picked up and loaded onto a platform. The aim of the athletes was to set the quickest time possible.
Brian Kichton won the final event of the competition, achieving an unbelievable time of 31.77 seconds. Adam Roszkowski placed second with 36.23 seconds, beating Kevin Hazeleger by just 0.65 seconds. On the other hand, Rayno Nel placed fourth and officially became the 2025 SCL World Champion.
- Brian Kichton — 5 in 31.77 s
- Adam Roszkowski — 5 in 36.23 s
- Kevin Hazeleger — 5 in 36.88 s
- Rayno Nel — 5 in 40.98 s
- Jesper Hansson — 5 in 55.14 s
- Peter Juhasz — 5 in 90 s
- Patrick Eibel — 4 in 59.04 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 3 in 17.71 s
- Kelin Mills — 3 in 27.6 s
- Evans Nana — 3 in 31.32 s
- Graham Hicks — 2 in 8.57 s
- Andrea Invernizzi — 2 in 29.18 s
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Rayno Nel is a relatively new figure at the highest level of Strongman, as he really made a breakthrough in the last two years. He has won nine international competitions in 12 appearances, including the 2025 World’s Strongest Man. His two wins at the 2024 and 2025 SCL World Finals also stand as highlights of his career so far and show that Rayno is set to achieve other great things in the future.
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