Giants Live

Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.

Giants Live
2013
The official logo of Giants Live
Tournament information
LocationVarious
Established2009
FormatMulti-event competition
Pursevaries

History

On April 27, 2009, Giants Live was named the Official World's Strongest Man Qualifying Tour for 2009–2011, thus taking over from the Strongman Super Series in this regard. The first 2009 qualifying event took place on May 17 at the Mohegan Sun Casino Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and with the second event being the Viking Power competition.[1]

Giants Live was licensed the exclusive rights by IMG Sports Media, the creator and owner of the World's Strongest Man competition. Previously, the qualifying tournament was known as the IFSA Strongman Super Series from 2001–2004, and the World's Strongest Man Super Series from 2005–2008. Strongman Super Series continued to operate under the title of "Strongman Super Series" in 2009 and 2010, but did not have WSM qualifying status. The qualifying status went with Giants Live and Colin Bryce, the Tour's producer.

At each Grand Prix event, in common with previous such series, each competitor competes in six different tests of strength with the winner crowned Grand Prix Champion. The top three athletes at each tournament will win a qualifying slot at the World's Strongest Man competition.

Along with the Strongman Champions League, this event made important progress in acting as a fundamental part of a unifying movement for world strength athletics by making plans to help SCL get its athletes to the 2009 World's Strongest Man contest. SCL chief, Mostert, stated that "The top 5 SCL athletes will have places in the Giants Live tour for qualifying at World's Strongest Man (WSM) 2009". In addition, he also stated that wild cards for the WSM will include SCL athletes. He went on to say that "Finally we made it all possible again that all the athletes have chances to qualify for the WSM, which means in my opinion the WSM will have the strongest field ever in her history!" He went on to thank TWI/IMG and Giants Live for their part in making these possibilities.[2] This was groundbreaking because for a number of years prior to this, the athletes under the IFSA had been banned by the federation from entering WSM (since the IFSA fell out of favour with TWI). Likewise, the athletes invited to participate in WSM were not invited to participate in IFSA events. Some competitions bridged the divide, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic and the Fortissimus, but neither had the history, gravitas, or popular appeal of the World's Strongest Man. Most of the IFSA athletes, with the demise of the IFSA finances, competed in SCL from 2008. This deal, along with the Fortissimus deal before it, united strongman in a way it had not been since 2004.

Producers and Key Staff

Giants Live is a collaboration between IMG Media and Power Productions UK - owned by Colin Bryce:

  • Darren Sadler – an ex-Strongman competitor and former world champion in the U105 category, Sadler is currently a co-producer of World Strongest Man alongside Colin Bryce and formerly the head referee on for Giants Live competitions.
  • Neil Pickup – formerly a professional arm wrestler, Pickup is currently one of three main commentators for Giants Live competitions, alongside Bill Kazmaier and Radzi Chinyanganya. Pickup is also the MC for these events.

Event results
Year Event Type Date Champion Runner-Up 3rd Place
2009 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix [3]
Mohegan Sun Casino Arena, Uncasville		 Indoor Sunday, 17 May 2009 Derek Poundstone Travis Ortmayer Brian Shaw
Viking Power Challenge [4]
Kongeparken, Stavanger		 Outdoor Saturday, 6 June 2009 Travis Ortmayer Richard Skog Mikhail Koklyaev
Giants Live Poland [5]
Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, Malbork		 Outdoor Saturday, 1 August 2009 Jarek Dymek Mark Felix Stefán Sölvi Pétursson
2010 Giants Live South Africa [6]
Expo Centre Johannesburg, Johannesburg		 Indoor Sunday, 10 April 2010 Brian Shaw Mikhail Koklyaev Terry Hollands
Giants Live Kiev [7]
People's Friendship Arch, Kiev		 Outdoor Sunday, 30 May 2010 Derek Poundstone (2) Laurence Shahlaei Johannes Årsjö
Europe's Strongest Man
Wembley Arena, London		 Indoor Saturday, 19 June 2010 Žydrūnas Savickas Terry Hollands Mark Felix
Giants Live Poland [8]
MotoArena Toruń, Toruń		 Indoor Sunday, 8 August 2010 Vytautas Lalas Robert Szczepański Janusz Kułaga
Giants Live Istanbul [9]
KüçükÇiftlik Park, Istanbul		 Outdoor Sunday, 24 October 2010 Žydrūnas Savickas (2) Brian Shaw Stefán Sölvi Pétursson
2011 Giants Live London [10]
ExCeL London, London		 Indoor Saturday, 19 March 2011 Brian Shaw (2) Laurence Shahlaei Vytautas Lalas
Giants Live Finland Qualifier - Pori [11]
Pori		 Outdoor Friday, 13 May 2011 Juha-Matti Järvi Antti Mourujärvi Pedro Karlsen
Giants Live Finland Qualifier - Masku [12]
Masku		 Outdoor Saturday, 21 May 2011 Juha-Matti Järvi (2) Kai Pasanen Jarno Kirselä
Giants Live Finland Qualifier - Jyväskylä [13]
Jyväskylä		 Outdoor Saturday, 28 May 2011 Juha-Matti Järvi (3) Jarno Kirselä Kai Pasanen
Giants Live Finland Qualifier - Oulu [14]
Oulu		 Outdoor Saturday, 28 May 2011 Juha-Matti Järvi (4) Jarno Kirselä Janne Illikainen
Giants Live Poland [15]
Plac, Stróże		 Outdoor Saturday, 6 August 2011 Krzysztof Radzikowski Mike Jenkins Mateusz Baron
Giants Live Finland [16]
Power Park, Vaasa		 Outdoor Saturday, 13 August 2011 Martin Wildauer Vidas Blekaitis Rauno Heinla
Giants Live Ukraine [17]
Poltava		 Outdoor Wednesday, 24 August 2011 Serhiy Romanchuk Mark Felix Josh Thigpen
2012 Giants Live FitX Melbourne [18]
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne		 Indoor Sunday, 18 March 2012 Mike Jenkins Nick Best Mike Burke
Giants Live Finland [19]
Ideapark, Lempäälä		 Indoor Sunday, 10 June 2012 Laurence Shahlaei Johannes Årsjö Lauri Nämi
Giants Live Hungary [20]
Aquaworld Resort Budapest, Budapest		 Outdoor Sunday, 17 June 2012 Ákos Nagy Jack McIntosh Josh Thigpen
Europe's Strongest Man [21]
Elland Road, Leeds		 Outdoor Saturday, 23 June 2012 Žydrūnas Savickas (3) Vytautas Lalas Laurence Shahlaei
Giants Live Poland [22]
Kartuzy		 Outdoor Saturday, 21 July 2012 Krzysztof Radzikowski (2) Mateusz Baron Sebastian Kurek
2013 Giants Live FitX Melbourne [23]
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne		 Indoor Sunday, 10 March 2013 Derek Poundstone (3) Nick Best Frankie Scheun
Giants Live Hungary [24]
Aquaworld Resort Budapest, Budapest		 Outdoor Saturday, 22 June 2013 Mike Burke Eddie Hall Bjørn André Solvang
Europe's Strongest Man [25]
Elland Road, Leeds		 Outdoor Saturday, 29 June 2013 Žydrūnas Savickas (4) Vytautas Lalas Krzysztof Radzikowski
Nordic Championships
?		 Indoor Saturday, 6 July 2013 Johannes Årsjö Ole Martin Hansen Juha-Matti Järvi
Giants Live Poland [26]
Pol'and'Rock Festival Grounds, Kostrzyn nad Odrą		 Outdoor Saturday, 3 August 2013 Vytautas Lalas (2) Krzysztof Radzikowski Lauri Nämi
Britain's Strongest Man [27]
Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead		 Outdoor Sunday, 4 August 2013 Laurence Shahlaei (2) Terry Hollands Mark Felix
2014 Giants Live FitX Melbourne [28]
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne		 Indoor Saturday, 8 March 2014 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Warrick Brant Frankie Scheun
Britain's Strongest Man [29]
The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster		 Indoor Sunday, 16 March 2014 Eddie Hall Graham Hicks Laurence Shahlaei
World's Strongest Viking
Fefor Høifjellshotell, Vinstra		 Outdoor Saturday, 5 April 2014 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (2) David Nyström Terry Hollands
Giants Live Poland
?		 Outdoor Friday, 2 May 2014 Žydrūnas Savickas (5) Mateusz Baron Rafał Kobylarz
Giants Live Hungary [30]
Aquaworld Resort Budapest, Budapest		 Outdoor Saturday, 21 June 2014 Jason Bergmann Matjaž Belšak Eddie Hall
Europe's Strongest Man [31]
Headingley Stadium, Leeds		 Outdoor Saturday, 9 August 2014 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (3) Johannes Årsjö Graham Hicks
2015 Giants Live Sweden [32]
Stadium Arena, Norrköping		 Indoor Sunday, 25 January 2015 Brian Shaw (3) Johannes Årsjö Martin Forsmark
Britain's Strongest Man
The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster		 Indoor Saturday, 14 February 2015 Eddie Hall (2) Mark Felix Krzysztof Radzikowski
Giants Live Viking Challenge [33]
Grindavík		 Outdoor Sunday, 7 June 2015 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (4) Mark Felix Martins Licis
Europe's Strongest Man [34]
Headingley Stadium, Leeds		 Outdoor Saturday, 11 July 2015 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (5) Krzysztof Radzikowski Dainis Zageris
2016 Giants Live Sweden [35]
Stadium Arena, Norrköping		 Indoor ??? Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (6) Johannes Årsjö Mark Felix
Britain's Strongest Man [36]
The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster		 Indoor Saturday, 30 January 2016 Eddie Hall (3) Mark Felix Laurence Shahlaei
North American Open [37]
Town Square, Martinsville		 Outdoor ??? Nick Best Mark Felix Derek DeVaughn
Europe's Strongest Man [38]
First Direct Arena, Leeds		 Indoor Saturday, 9 July 2016 Laurence Shahlaei (3) Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Johannes Årsjö
2017
Britain's Strongest Man [39]
The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster		 Indoor Saturday, 28 January 2017 Eddie Hall (4) Laurence Shahlaei Graham Hicks
Europe's Strongest Man [40]
First Direct Arena, Leeds		 Indoor Saturday, 1 April 2017 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (7) Eddie Hall Terry Hollands
Giants Live Sweden [41]
Stadium Arena, Norrköping		 Indoor Saturday, 11 November 2017 Johannes Årsjö (2) Martin Forsmark Mark Felix
North American Open [42]
Town Square, Martinsville		 Outdoor ??? Rob Kearney Nick Best Adam Derks
Giants Live Finals [43]
Manchester Arena, Manchester		 Indoor Saturday, 30 September 2017 Žydrūnas Savickas (6) Konstantine Janashia J.F. Caron
2018
Britain's Strongest Man [44]
FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield		 Indoor Saturday, 27 January 2018 Eddie Hall (5) Graham Hicks Terry Hollands
Scandinavian Open [45]
Stadium Arena, Norrköping		 Indoor ??? Johannes Årsjö (3) Johnny Hansson Žydrūnas Savickas
Europe's Strongest Man [46]
First Direct Arena, Leeds		 Indoor Saturday, 7 April 2018 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (8) Konstantine Janashia Mateusz Kieliszkowski
North American Open [47]
Town Square, Martinsville		 Outdoor Sunday, 10 June 2018 Laurence Shahlaei (4) Trey Mitchell III Kevin Faires
Giants Live Finals [48]
Manchester Arena, Manchester		 Indoor Saturday, 15 September 2018 Mateusz Kieliszkowski Martins Licis Adam Bishop
2019
Britain's Strongest Man [49]
FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield		 Indoor Saturday, 19 January 2019 Graham Hicks Adam Bishop Tom Stoltman
Europe's Strongest Man [50]
First Direct Arena, Leeds		 Indoor Saturday, 6 April 2019 Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (9) Mateusz Kieliszkowski Konstantine Janashia
Giants Live Wembley [51]
Wembley Arena, London		 Indoor Saturday, 6 July 2019 Mateusz Kieliszkowski (2) Jerry Pritchett Martins Licis
North American Open [52]
Town Square, Martinsville		 Outdoor Saturday, 10 August 2019 Evan Singleton Kevin Faires Mark Felix
Giants Live Finals [53]
Manchester Arena, Manchester		 Indoor Saturday, 7 September 2019 Mateusz Kieliszkowski (3) Ben Brunning Oleksii Novikov
Official Strongman Games - Men's Open [54]
Ocean Center, Daytona Beach		 Indoor Sunday, 3 November 2019 Luke Richardson Ben Brunning Jacob Fincher
2020
Britain's Strongest Man
FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield		 Indoor Saturday, 18 January 2020 Adam Bishop Tom Stoltman Luke Stoltman
Europe's Strongest Man
Allerton Castle, Harrogate		 Outdoor Sunday, 6 September 2020 Luke Richardson (2) Adam Bishop Ervin Toots

Most wins
Champion Country Wins Podiums
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Iceland910
Žydrūnas Savickas Lithuania67
Eddie Hall England58
Laurence Shahlaei England410
Juha-Matti Järvi Finland45
Johannes Årsjö Sweden39
Mateusz Kieliszkowski Poland35
Brian Shaw United States35
Derek Poundstone United States33

References
  1. "GIANTS LIVE NAMED OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TOUR FOR WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN COMPETITION". Archived from the original on 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  2. Strossen, Randall J. (23 April 2009). "Strongman Champions League: Season Starting at FIBO ... Feeding into WSM". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. "Official Results". Archived from the original on 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  4. Strossen, Randall J. (7 June 2009). "Travis Ortmayer Wins Giants Live - Viking Power Challenge". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. Strossen, Randall J. (6 August 2009). "Dymek, Felix and Petursson: Looking Good at Giants Live ... Ready for WSM". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. Strossen, Randall J. (13 April 2010). "Brian Shaw Wins Giants Live-World's Strongest Man Qualifier in South Africa". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. Strossen, Randall J. (31 May 2010). "Giant Live-Kiev: Derek Poundstone, Laurence Shahlaei and Johnannes Arsjo Qualify for World's Strongest Man 2010". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. Strossen, Randall J. (9 August 2010). "Vitautas Lalas Wins Giant Live - Poland, Qualifies for World's Strongest Man". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  9. Strossen, Randall J. (22 October 2010). "Giants Live: Savickas and Shahlaei Attack the Apollon's Axle". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  10. Strossen, Randall J. (20 March 2011). "Giant Live - London: Brian "The Evolution" Shaw Wins the Title, WSM Invitation". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  11. Strossen, Randall J. (16 May 2011). "Juha Matti Jarvi Wins First Finnish Strongman Qualifier". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  12. Strossen, Randall J. (23 May 2011). "Juha Matti Jarvi Wins Again in Finland". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  13. Strossen, Randall J. (29 May 2011). "Juha Matti Jarvi: Three Contests, Three Wins". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  14. Strossen, Randall J. (14 June 2011). "Juha Matti Jarvi Wins Fourth Giants Live Finnish National Qualifier". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  15. Strossen, Randall J. (7 August 2011). "Radzikowski Wins Giants Live Poland, Jenkins is Second". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  16. Strossen, Randall J. (17 August 2011). "Martin Wildauer Wins Giants Live Finland". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  17. Strossen, Randall J. (27 August 2011). "Sergii Romanchuk Wins Giants Live–Ukraine". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  18. Strossen, Randall J. (19 March 2012). "Mike Jenkins Wins Giants Live–FitX Melbourne 2012". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  19. Strossen, Randall J. (10 June 2012). "Laurence Shahlaei Wins Giants Live–Finland". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  20. Strossen, Randall J. (18 June 2012). "Akos Nagy Wins Giants Live–Hungary". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  21. Strossen, Randall J. (23 June 2012). "Zydrunas Savickas Wins Europe's Strongest Man". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  22. Strossen, Randall J. (23 July 2012). "Polish Sweep at Giants Live, WSM Update". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  23. Strossen, Randall J. (12 March 2013). "Giants Live–Melbourne FitX: Poundstone Wins with One Arm". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  24. Strossen, Randall J. (27 June 2013). "Giants Live-Budapest: Burke, Hall and Solvang Qualify for WSM". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  25. "The Worlds Strongest Man Qualifying Tour". Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
  26. Giants Live – Poland
  27. Giants battle it out in Gateshead to be crowned World’s Strongest Man
  28. World’s Strongest Man 2014 – Giants Live Qualifier 1
  29. World’s Strongest Man 2014 – Giants Live Qualifier 4
  30. World’s Strongest Man 2014 – Giants Live Qualifier 3
  31. World’s Strongest Man 2014 – Giants Live Qualifier 5
  32. Strossen, Randall J. (27 January 2015). "Giants Live-Sweden: Top 3 to World's Strongest Man 2015". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  33. Strossen, Randall J. (10 June 2015). "Bjornsson, Felix and Licis Qualify for World's Strongest Man 2016". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  34. Europe's Strongest Man + World Deadlift Championships 2015 Results
  35. World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Giants Live 1
  36. World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Giants Live 2
  37. World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Giants Live 3
  38. World’s Strongest Man 2016 – Giants Live 5
  39. World’s Strongest Man 2017 – Giants Live 2
  40. World’s Strongest Man 2017 – Giants Live 3
  41. World’s Strongest Man 2017 – Giants Live 1
  42. World’s Strongest Man 2017 – Giants Live 4
  43. World’s Strongest Man 2017 – Giants Live 5
  44. World’s Strongest Man, Eddie Hall, secures fifth consecutive Britain’s Strongest Man title
  45. World’s Strongest Man 2018 – Giants Live 2
  46. World’s Strongest Man 2018 – Giants Live 3
  47. 2018 Giants Live North America Results
  48. World’s Strongest Man Tour Finals 2018
  49. A New Britain’s Strongest Man is Crowned – Britain’s Strongest Man 2019 Results
  50. Europe’s Strongest Man 2019 results and event round up
  51. Giants Live Wembley 2019 – full results and show round up
  52. Giants Live North America 2019 Results
  53. A strong finish! World Tour Finals 2019 full results and round-up
  54. OSG 2019 Results after Day 3
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