Rogue Invitational
![]() | |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Sport |
|
Location | ![]() |
Established | 2019 |
Number of tournaments | 3 |
Format | Multi-event competition |
Purse | $1.4 million (2021)[1] |
Website | Rogue Invitational |
Current champion | |
|
The Rogue Invitational is an annual sporting event that includes a CrossFit competition and a strongman competition. The event, organized by Rogue, started in 2019 as an event sanctioned by CrossFit, but has since become a major competition for CrossFit athletes. A contest for strongmen that featured the largest prize purse in the history of strongman competition was added in 2021.
History[]
The Rogue Invitational was initiated in 2019 as a sanctioned CrossFit event.[2] For the first Invitational, the top 10 male and top 10 female athletes from the CrossFit Games were given an invitation, with other top ranked athletes as well as qualifiers making a total of 20 men, 20 women and 10 teams invited. The competition was held at the Rogue company headquarters in Columbus, Ohio over two days in May 2019.[3] The prize purse was $400,000, with the winners winning a top prize of $50,000 and a place at the CrossFit Games in their respective division, and all participants are guaranteed a cash prize.[4][5] A Legends division was included for notable past CrossFit male and female athletes. The first Rogue Invitational also hosted the Rogue Record Breakers whereby strongmen and strongwomen can attempt to break 4 Strongman records.[6] The inaugural games was won by Mat Fraser for the men's competition, Tia-Clair Toomey for the women's, and CrossFit OC3 for the team's.[7][8] The competition was live-streamed, and Rogue partnered with CBS to broadcast edited segments of the competition after the event.[9]
In 2020, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the event was postponed and held online in June, to be competed by 18 men and 18 women. No team competition was held.[10]
The third Rogue Invitational returned to live competition in 2021, which took place over three days in October at Dell Diamond near Austin, Texas.[11] It provided a prize purse of $1.25 million at the minimum, the biggest in CrossFit outside of the CrossFit Games, and it became the only CrossFit competition that pays out to all athletes competing including airfare and accommodation.[12][13] It also expanded to include a strongman contest this year, instituting the biggest prize purse in the history of strongman competition.[14][15] The top 20 men and 20 women from the CrossFit Games were invited to compete in the CrossFit competition, while the field for the strongman competition had 10 athletes including 4 WSM champions.[16] Martins Licis was the first winner of the strongman competition at Rogue Invitational.[17]
Events[]
The first Rogue Invitational had 8 events for individuals,[18][19] 7 for teams.[20] No team competition was held after the first year. The second featured 6 events, the third 7.
The strongman competition has five events. They include the "Wheel of Pain" created by Rogue,[21] which is an implement inspired by the film Conan the Barbarian and the largest implement ever created for a strongman competition and first used in the Arnold Strongman Classic.[22]
Winners[]
Year | Venue | CrossFit | Strongman | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | |||
2019 | Rogue HQ, Columbus, Ohio | Mat Fraser[7] | Tia-Clair Toomey[7][23] | |
2020 | Online | Patrick Vellner[24] | ||
2021 | Dell Diamond, Austin, Texas | Justin Medeiros[25] | Martins Licis[25] |
References[]
- ^ Clark, Patrick (November 1, 2021). "2021 Rogue Invitational Final Payouts".
- ^ Dominguez, Damect. "Just Announced: The Rogue Invitational". BoxLife.
- ^ Blennerhassett, Patrick (May 17, 2019). "CrossFit's 2019 Rogue Invitational: Mat Fraser, Tia-Clair Toomey and Rich Froning look to reign supreme in Games warm-up". South China Morning Post.
- ^ Balf, Celia (May 17, 2019). "ROGUE Invitational: How To Watch, Prize Money, Roster Breakdown, And More". BarBend.
- ^ "The 2019 Rogue Invitational – A CrossFit Sanctioned Event". Rogue Fitness. November 1, 2018.
- ^ Beck, Kalle (May 16, 2019). "Strong(wo)man Records to be challenged at Rogue invitational". Starting Strongman.
- ^ a b c Hudson, Robin Wild (May 20, 2019). "Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey Win The Rogue Invitational". BoxRox.
- ^ Pyfferoen, Brian (May 20, 2019). "OC3 Black Pull Their Way to Victory at Rogue Invitational". The Barbell Spin.
- ^ Clark, Patrick (October 24, 2021). "CBS to Broadcast Edited Features on the 2021 Rogue Invitational". Morning Chalk Up.
- ^ Blechman, Phil (March 15, 2020). "2020 Rogue Invitational Will Now Be Held Online On June 13-14". BarBend.
- ^ "Rogue Invitational at Dell Diamond: October 29 - 31, 2021". MiLB.com.
- ^ Kyllmann, Caro (August 5, 2021). "Rogue Invitational Announces $1,250,000 Uncapped Prize Purse, Paid Party in Bitcoin". BoxRox.
- ^ Newby, John (August 25, 2021). "Rogue Increases Travel Stipend to Support Athletes' Travel to Invitational". Morning Chalk Up.
- ^ Blechman, Phil (August 26, 2021). "2021 Rogue Invitational Strongman Roster — Kieliszkowski And Licis Return". BarBend.
- ^ Williams, Brett (October 28, 2021). "How You Can Watch the 2021 Rogue Invitational". Men's Health.
- ^ Blechman, Phil (October 19, 2021). "Strongman Athletes To Watch At The 2021 Rogue Invitational". BarBend.
- ^ Reddy, Rajneesh (October 31, 2021). "Martins Licis Wins The Inaugural Strongman Contest At 2021 Rogue Invitational". Fitness Volt.
- ^ "Rogue Invitation 2019". WodWell.
- ^ "Fraser vs Vellner – 2019 Rogue Invitational Analysis". Heatonminded. May 20, 2019.
- ^ Garves, Ben (May 18, 2019). "Rogue Invitational Schedule 2019".
- ^ Blechman, Phil (October 13, 2021). "Five Events For The 2021 Rogue Invitational Strongman Show Have Been Announced". BarBend.
- ^ Darling, Mike (January 22, 2020). "The 'Wheel of Pain' Strongman Challenge Inspired by 'Conan the Barbarian'". Men's Health.
- ^ Blennerhassett, atrick (November 1, 2021). "Rogue Invitational: Tia-Clair Toomey pips Annie Thorisdottir to title as CrossFit's female icons battle it out". South China Morning Post.
- ^ Clark, Patrick (June 14, 2020). "Toomey and Vellner Win Rogue Invitational in Dominating Fashion". Morning Chalk Up.
- ^ a b Williams, Brett (October 28, 2021). "CrossFit Champs and a Returning Strongman Ruled the Rogue Invitational". Men's Health.
External links[]
- International sports competitions hosted by the United States
- CrossFit
- Strongmen competitions