The third annual Rogue Invitational is scheduled for October 29-31, 2021 at the outdoor 12,000-seat Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock, TX. For the first time in the competition’s history, it will feature a strongman contest in addition to its CrossFit competition. The roster of strongmen slated to compete in Texas is stacked with multiple World Strongest Man (WSM) winners including the 2021 WSM champion Tom Stoltman, 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov, and four-time WSM champion Brian Shaw.
Here’s the full roster, courtesy of the Rogue Invitational Instagram page:
2021 Rogue Invitational — Strongman Roster
- Brian Shaw
- Tom Stoltman
- Luke Stoltman
- Martins Licis
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski
- Robert Kearney
- JF Caron
- Mikhail Shivlyakov
- Jerry Pritchett
- Oleksii Novikov
Notably, the Rogue Invitational features the returns of 2019 WSM Martins Licis, two-time WSM runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski, and former American log lift record holder Rob Kearney. All three men have been absent from strongman competition due to various injuries. Kieliszkowski and Kearney both underwent surgery on their triceps and have since recovered. Licis was hit by a car while riding his bike that led to stitches on his left elbow and bruises on his tailbone and left knee.
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Licis chose to skip multiple events in 2021, including the WSM, contest despite his desire to get back in the swing of competition. He said as much while co-hosting the 2021 WSM Facebook live show alongside Nick English, and multiple times over in videos on his YouTube channel while training with rapper Action Bronson, 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Björnsson, and strongman legend Odd Haugen.
The Rogue Invitational is the second time Tom Stoltman will compete since having won the 2021 WSM title. Likewise, his brother, Luke Stoltman, is also competing again for the second time since narrowly missing out on bronze at the 2021 WSM. They placed fifth and sixth, respectively, at the 2021 Strongman Classic.
Shaw, Caron, Pritchett, and Shivlyakov are all part of the 2021 Shaw Classic roster scheduled for Aug. 27-28 in Estes Park, CO. Novikov was originally scheduled to compete in that event as well but had to withdraw due to suffering a concussion, according to Shaw. Novikov also shared his ongoing struggle with pain in his knees as he competed at the 2021 Strongman Classic and 2021 Giants Live World Open. He won gold and bronze at those events, respectively.
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Rogue Invitational Prize Purse
The events for the strongman competition at the 2021 Rogue Invitational have not yet been released. However, the prize purse has. It is a significant bump in prize money compared to other major strongman competition payouts. Rogue is paying out a percentage of initial funds ($975,000), Bitcoin ($275,000), and ticket sales to competitors in the strongman and CrossFit contests. Currently, the total prize purse for both the CrossFit and strongman competitions is $1,367,732. If ticket sales increase, so does the payout to the athletes.
To simplify that further, Rogue is paying out in both cash and Bitcoin. The breakdown for the strongman contest is currently the following:
Strongman Contest Prize Pool
Note: these prizes are subject to change as more tickets to the event are sold. The numbers below are the prize money and its percentage of the total prize pool.
- $122,686 — 8.97 percent
- $61,274 — 4.48 percent
- $36,792 — 2.69 percent
- $12,310 — 0.9 percent
- $9,848 — 0.72 percent
- $8,617 — 0.63 percent
- $7,386 — 0.54 percent
- $6,155 — 0.45 percent
- $4,924 — 0.36 percent
- $3,693 — 0.27 percent
For comparison, Tom Stoltman received $75,000 for winning the 2021 WSM contest. The total Shaw Classic prize pool will be somewhere in the range of $50,000 based on ticket and merchandise sales.
Rogue Strong
Accurately predicting who will win the 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman contest seems like quite a difficult task. Shaw is the oldest athlete in the field at age 39, but clearly still at the top of his game. Tom Stoltman won the biggest title in strongman but will be competing for the first time in months. Novikov has been tearing up the strongman circuit with major podium finishes but is battling knee pains. And on top of it all, two of the greatest in the sport — Kieliszkowski and Licis — are likely to be hungry for glory after taking two-year-long hiatuses.
Feature image: @martinslicis on Instagram