Jackson Gore Wins First Singles Title Of His Career

December 17th, 2024 Jake Brannon

Player Features

Jackson Gore became the second junior player of the 2024-2025 season to win Pro & Elite Singles after a dominating performance in Richmond, VA. Gore was far and away the best player in the building, boasting a 10.31 PPR over the 10 games he played, allowing only 11.1 points per game.

Gore narrowly avoided the dreaded double-dip by Logan Chamberlain, then had to play nine-year-old stud Cash Chamness in the semifinals before defeating powerhouse Mark Richards in the overall finals.

This was Gore’s third career title, but his first on the Singles side, claiming it as the most exciting win of his young career.

“I was super excited. I knew as soon as I let my last bag go, it was in the hole,” Gore said. “It’s my first Singles title and I’ve been close multiple times, so it felt good to get over the hump and take one down.”

The 15-year-old from Concord, NC is now tied with Devon Harbaugh and Mark Richards for first place in Pro Singles standings. Gore also won his Singles bracket at the very first ACL Open of the year in Rock Hill, but finished second overall behind Harbaugh.

Gore says nerves were never a factor throughout the day and his ability to keep his confidence high was a driving factor to his win.

“I wasn’t nervous at all, even when I lost my only game to Logan Chamberlain in game one of the bracket final,” Gore shared. “I knew the first game I threw was terrible, so I told myself that it’s a new game. You got to reset and I know I can win, and that’s what I did.”

One of the biggest changes for Gore this season was his bag sponsorship, transitioning from BG Cornhole to AAR Cornhole. Brad Kurth, owner of AAR Cornhole, asserts that Jackson Gore was one of his best pickups during the off-season for the company.

“We’ve loved his energy,” Kurth mused. “To me, [the Gores] were family, so if they ever needed a sponsor. I was always going to be there for them.” Kurth added that signing Jackson and his twin brother, Jakob, felt like he was bringing them home.

This season has already been drastically different for Gore compared to last year. He finished 84th in Pro Singles standings and contemplated taking a step back from cornhole altogether. Ultimately, it was his parents that kept pushing him to be where he is now. Gore cites them as his biggest motivators.

“I want to win for my parents, mainly because they’re the whole reason that I’m honestly still playing cornhole. The past couple years haven’t been great and I’ve thought about giving up, but they pushed me and talked to me a lot. I had a little bit of success and it made me want to play again.”

Kurth stayed until the very end to watch Gore in his final game, brimming with pride as he watched him slide his final bag in the hole for the win. “It was honestly like watching my own son play.”

Kurth is known for being vocal while watching his sponsored players compete, but this time was different. “I was so into the game and I just wanted him to win so bad for himself that I was just quiet… I had chills watching him play and I was emotional inside. I was holding back tears when he won.”

Gore is both part of and a great supporter of the youth movement we’re currently witnessing in the sport of cornhole. “I love seeing all the [kids] younger than me succeed and take down all of these big tournaments.”

Gore was met with nine-year-old Cash Chamness in the overall Pro & Elite Singles finals. He spoke highly of his younger counterpart, expressing how impressive it was to see Chamness there.

“When I played Cash in the [finals], I was rooting for him more than I was rooting for myself. He’s so good and he’s worked his butt off to get where he is at now. It’s just so cool to see someone younger than me or anybody under 11 years old playing well. It amazes me.”

With this win, Jackson Gore was able to cross off an item on his freshly-made list of season goals. Some other objectives on his list include winning: