Contestants participate in the annual World Conker Championships on October 10, 2004 in Oundle, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) On Sunday, competitors from around the world gathered in the grounds of an English country pub for the tournament in which competitors take turns to swing a conker threaded on a shoelace at an opponent's nut.
The game, which dates back to the mid 19th century, is won when one player smashes their rival's conker clean off its string.
This year's men's champion David Jakins, a long-time participant known as 'King Conker' who competed wearing a green robed bedecked in strings of conkers, is under investigation after complaints from other players.
A World Conker Championships spokesman said it was looking at video footage and reviewing other evidence. Jakins was found to have a replica steel conker in his pocket.
The spokesman said Jakins had denied cheating and said he was carrying the replica as a joke and did not use it in the competition.
"We have two conkers from Mr Jakins' winning matches, and are speaking further to judges. We have a large body of evidence, which we are beginning to tie together," the spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Prior to each match, players draw their laced conkers at random from a bag and are barred from tampering with them once selected.
"Each match has two judges, and there is a chief umpire overseeing things in the ring. It would be difficult to not be spotted cheating," the spokesman said.
(Reporting by William James, Editing by Paul Sandle)