The 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Qualifying stage has concluded. The 30-man roster in Myrtle Beach, SC, has dwindled to the top 10 comprised of the five strongmen who won their respective groups and the five strongmen who emerged victorious in head-to-head battles in the Stone-Off.
2023 World’s Strongest Man Finals Roster
The 2023 WSM Finals roster is listed below, alongside each strongman’s path through the Qualifying stage:
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — Group One Winner
- Tom Stoltman — Defeated Bobby Thompson in the Stone-Off
- Oleksii Novikov — Group Two Winner
- Luke Stoltman — Defeated Gavin Bilton in the Stone-Off
- Mitchell Hooper — Group Three Winner
- Mathew Ragg — Defeated Aivars Šmaukstelis in the Stone-Off
- Jaco Schoonwinkel — Group Four Winner
- Brian Shaw — Defeated Rauno Heinla in the Stone-Off
- Trey Mitchell — Group Five Winner
- Evan Singleton — Defeated Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted in the Stone-Off
The 10 athletes will compete through six events in the two-day Final on April 22-23, after a rest day on April 21.
[Related: 2023 World’s Strongest Man Live Results and Leaderboard]
How the Finals Roster Came to Be
Pavlo Kordiyaka is on a tear. He entered his second career WSM contest in 2023 with the momentum of winning the 2023 Europe’s Strongest Man three weeks earlier. He scored an opening event win, and it was clear a new star in the sport had arrived. After another win in Conan’s Wheel, Kordiyaka’s lead was enough to send two-time reigning WSM champ Tom Stoltman to the Stone-Off against Bobby Thompson.
Thompson had the impossible task of trying to fall Stoltman in his signature event. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury ended the Stone-Off prematurely. It might not have been the route Stoltman wanted to get to the Finals, but he will continue to defend his title into the weekend.
Oleksii Novikov dominated his group. He is one of the most well-rounded athletes in the field, with an explosive deadlift, powerful overhead, and undeniable work capacity. He held the overall lead in his group from the first event and never let it go.
Luke Stoltman darted up and down the leaderboard through the two days of competition, trading ranks with Gavin Bilton and Thomas Evans. Evans was ousted from competition due to a lackluster Kettlebell Toss, leaving Stoltman to battle Bilton in the Stone-Off. The advantage of lifting second proved too much for Bilton to overcome.
Hooper ran a perfect game through the Qualifying Stage. He won four straight events to lock up the group win with an event to spare. It left Ragg with the advantage to Stone-Off against Šmaustelis. The New Zealand strongman outlasted the Latvian and punched his ticket to the Final in his WSM debut.
Schoonwinkel scored the overall win in Group Four in his WSM debut. He was well-rounded through each of the events and was rewarded with a trip to his first WSM Final. Shaw scored a record 15th consecutive WSM Final appearance after defeating Rauno Heinla in the Stone-Off. Heinla’s performance in the Stone-Off will surely go down as one of the most impressive performances ever in the event to not convert a win.
Trey Mitchell’s overall win in Group Five was thanks to the substantial improvement he made in training in his toss. A half-point separated Mitchell and Singleton in the Kettlebell Toss, and when it mattered most, Mitchell converted all seven kettlebells to head to the Final.
Singleton clashed with Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted in the Stone-Off and leveraged his advantage of lifting second to eliminate the Icelandic strongman. This is Singleton’s WSM Final debut and the first time Ingolfsson Melsted won’t compete in the Final in three years.
Finals Time
The 2023 WSM Finals will kick off on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. with the Fingal’s Fingers. Spots on the podium are wide open as the talent in this Final is extremely deep. Can Tom Stoltman tie Bill Kazmaier’s three WSM titles? He is capable, and if he succeeds against this roster, he’ll have earned it.
Featured image courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
