Scott White from Great Britain has been crowned Liebherr’s Game of Cranes winner.
At the end of November, the international final of the Game of Cranes took place at the Liebherr plant in Ehingen.
The five best mobile crane operators from North America, South America, Europe, Australia as well as the region Africa/Middle East/Asia competed against each other in demanding disciplines and fought for the Game of Cranes throne.
After two days of competition, the winner was finally announced: Scott White from City Lifting in Great Britain secured the World Crane Champion title with 898 points. He has already been invited to defend his title in 2027.
“It was a fantastic competition and great fun – I’m over the moon that I did it! The S-course was the biggest challenge, the hot wire was the best station,” White said.
During the finals, competitors faced off in five practical and theoretical tasks. Over two days, they had to calculate load capacities and rigging conditions, configure cranes and transport loads – all under the eye of a strict jury.
The crane operators rotated from one stage to the next. In the training centre, they had to correctly attach various loads such as concrete buckets and blocks to an indoor crane, while outside they had to manoeuvre a container around an obstacle.
“At the next stages, the finalists calculated the wind load on a steel plate and lifted it over an obstacle using a single hook before pouring a bottle precisely into a beer glass using two hooks,” said Michaela Gogeißl, Sales Manager Customer Training.
The last two stages tasked the operators with picking up a 5-tonne load and guide it through an S-shaped course with simultaneous movements – lifting, luffing, turning – without bumping into the obstacles.
“Last but not least, the ‘hot wire’ awaited our professionals. They had to guide a slewing ring over a pipe construction using two hooks without touching it,” Gogeißl said.
Alongside White, the finalists included:
- 2nd place: Joey Fisher (Johnson and Young Cranes, Australia) – 861 points
- 3rd place: Kirk Smith (Titan Cranes, New Zealand) – 811 points
- 4th place: Nick Jackman (Mountain Crane Service, USA) – 756 points
- 5th place: Leonardo Navarro (WWN Guindastes, Brazil) – 690 points
Liebherr received about 200 applications from mobile crane operators around the world to take part in the Game of Cranes.
“The performances we saw in the final were impressive. All participants demonstrated how demanding and professional crane operation is today,” said Christoph Behmüller, Head of Training and Development at Liebherr in Ehingen.
