Left: An hour gone and Will Raoson waits for his next fish... which isn't very long!

Below: Within a couple of minutes Will's float disappears and he's into another barbel. The familiar scene is repeated of applying heavy pressure to a fish desperate to reach the bottom and freedom...

Below: ... it's fair to say that William has few equals when it comes to giving a fish the proverbial 'wellie', it demands utmost the confidence and 'blind faith' in your tackle, something Will has developed from years of commercial carping.

Left: William's about to net and the whole procedure from hooking to landing took approximately two minutes... Awesome!

Below: A terrible draw in A section on day one did nothing for top Frenchman Gilles Caudin with just 170gr and 12 points coming off A11. Day two faired little better from D14 with just 1.100kg and another 12pts. Even his coach couldn't help this very likeable angler.

Above, left & below: With just an hour to go Poland's Piotr Lorenc finally latches into something reasonable, which helped him beat his Bulgarian adversary Georgi Bojilov on the next peg (E23).
This tournament did not see the best of the Pole who's widely regarded as one of his country's finest bream anglers. Mandunice turned out to be a strong and fast flowing venue, more suited to barbel than anything bream... I doubt whether Portugal will be any better!!!

Below: The William Raison 'Barbel Fest' continued into the final half hour. Will posted the highest individual weight of the Championships... 9.590kg, head and shoulders above the rest of the section...
...listen to William rate which peg is the best he's ever fished theanglingvideoacademy

Above: Italy's accomplished angler, Stefano Defendi, brings a final fish to the bank. Stefano blitzed all around him but he was still nearly 3kg away from Will at the final whistle. He was instrumental in helping Italy shoot up the final placings to secure a worthy Team Bronze.

Below: Minutes from the final whistle and Slovakia and Mandunice can take a bow for putting on a good Championship. The weather leading up to the event was something most of central Europe faced and all things considered the people of the region can be proud of their efforts.