Orange Beach, Ala. — (OBA) —  A Work of Art of Orange Beach won the 2026 Blue Marlin Grand Championship at The Wharf. The team became the first three-time winner in tournament history and caught the event’s heaviest blue marlin. The victory came during a tournament that set records for both fleet size and prize money.

The 2026 Blue Marlin Grand Championship featured a record 75 competing teams. The tournament awarded $2,115,343, the largest prize total for a Gulf-based tournament, according to the release. The event was held at The Wharf in Orange Beach.

Brandon Farve caught the winning 641.2-pound blue marlin. The release said he caught the fish on the same date he had landed his first blue marlin seven years earlier on his grandfather’s boat. A Work of Art previously won the tournament in 2012 and 2023.

Boat owner Art Farve said the tournament victory included three generations of his family. “He has fished with us a lot, but this is the first time he’s been with us for a tournament win. It’s a priceless memory for me to have my son Scott and his son be a part of this amazing experience here at The Wharf,” said Art Farve.

“He is now the third generation of our family now fishing with us and his generation is the future of our sport,” Art Farve said. The team’s combined blue marlin and catch-and-release winnings totaled a record $785,556.00, the largest payout in Blue Marlin Grand Championship history.

Captain Jason Buck and the A Work of Art crew also finished second in catch-and-release with 3,507 points. The crew released seven blue marlin and caught eight of the 66 blue marlin recorded in the tournament. The team also secured its second Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship in three years.

Buck became a five-time Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship captain, according to the release. “It’s been an incredible tournament season,” Buck said. “We were pretty confident we had the right one shortly after we hooked it.”

“Our crew did a great job, Brandon did a great job in the chair, and we were able to get the fish boat-side in a short amount of time to get good confirmation measurement, because you can’t afford to make a mistake in a tournament like this,” Buck said.

C’Mon Man of Orange Beach placed second in the weighed blue marlin category with a 509-pound fish and won $383,436.00. Gunnslinger of Destin, Florida, was third with a 447.6-pound blue marlin. Four blue marlin were weighed during the tournament.

It Just Takes Time of Orange Beach won the catch-and-release division with 3,555 points. Captain Myles Colley’s team released five blue marlin, six sailfish and one white marlin. The team won $264,735 and earned the top Junior Angler award for George Pratt.

The final standings listed A Work of Art second in catch-and-release. Brittney Marie of Destin finished third with 2,505 points after five blue marlin releases. The release’s final standings spelled the team name Brittany Marie.

Tournament participants caught 66 blue marlin, 35 white marlin, and 17 sailfish. Rising Sons won the tuna division with a 124-pound yellowfin tuna. Lady D finished second for the second consecutive year with a 105-pound tuna, and Presley Jane II was third at 94 pounds.

Annie Cooper caught the largest dolphin, a 31.2-pound fish, on CE. Miss Remy placed second with a 27.8-pound dolphin, followed by Relentless Pursuit at 24.4 pounds. Easy Trigger won the wahoo category with a 41.8-pound fish.

Now or Never placed second in the Wahoo at 37.8 pounds. Miss Remy finished third with a 36.8-pound Wahoo. The tournament’s record fleet, prize purse and winning payout marked another year of expanded competition at The Wharf.