Oriane Bertone and Max Milne win first-ever Pro Climbing League event in London

The first winners of the Pro Climbing League event were crowned at The Magazine London last night.

Vice World Champion Oriane Bertone defeated two-time Olympic gold medalist Janja Garnbret to claim the top of the podium. In a fast-paced final round, Garnbret dropped a dynamic sequence lower down on the boulder, allowing Bertone to reach the top on her first attempt. After the competition, the 20-year-old French athlete said: “It was great! The competition was so fun and the new format was so interesting. I cannot wait for next time”

Following the competition, Janja Garnbret commented; “The atmosphere was great, so I would like to thank everyone in the crowd. I love to be back competing and really enjoyed the event. I wished the boulder was harder, but it was my fault I wasn’t faster, so huge congratulations to Oriane.”

America’s Annie Sanders defeated Great Britain’s Erin McNeice to take third position in the event.

Over on the men’s side of the draw, Scotland’s Max Milne, 25, claimed the title after defeating America’s Colin Duffy in the grand final. Milne, who secured entry to the competition via a wildcard entry after winning the qualifying event earlier this month, managed to unlock a different method than the intended sequence to reach a higher hold and take the overall title.

Commenting on his win, Milne said: “This feels unreal. The energy from the crowd was so so good, and I was able to feed off that and deliver a performance I was really happy with. I think the new format suited me well, and it made for some exciting moments on the wall.”

Joining Colin Duffy on the podium was Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki, who defeated France’s Mejdi Schalck in the small final.

The debut event took place in front of a sell-out 2,400 crowd at the Magazine in London, as well as broadcast live on Red Bull TV. The event showcased an entirely new format where climbers went head-to-head on identical boulders in knockout rounds. The total prize pot for the event was £35,000, with the first-place athlete securing £10,000, the second-place athlete £5,000 and third-place £2,500. The prize pot was evenly split between male and female categories.

Following the event, PCL Director Danaan Markey said: “The event far exceeded my expectations, so I have to thank the fans, the athletes and the entire team who brought the PCL to life. I believe we have showcased the potential of this new format and I cannot wait to bring this event to audiences around the world.”

Final Rankings
Female
1. Oriane Bertone
2. Janja Garnbret
3. Annie Sanders
4. Erin McNeice
5. Jenny Buckley
5. Camilla Moroni
5. Anon Matsufuji
5. Lucia Dörffel

Male
1. Max Milne
2. Colin Duffy
3. Tomoa Narasaki
4. Mejdi Shalck
5. Yannick Flohe
5. Mika Mawem
5. Toby Roberts
5. Darius Rapa

Livestream
The livestream for the first Pro Climbing League event is available for replay now on Red Bull.