Grand Champion All England Koi Show 2025 in Maidstone: Andy Corrie wins with Dainichi Showa with very impressive head indeed.
On September 27 and 28, 2025, the annual All England Koi Show took place at the Kent County Showground near Maidstone, England. This show, organized by the South East Koi Association, is known as one of the better Koi shows in Europe. After David Gardner’s victory in 2024, this year it was an exciting battle in which Andrew Corrie – who appears on the competition form as Andy – managed to take the top honor: the Grand Champion Award with an impressive Showa from breeder Dainichi.
A young powerhouse of stature
The winning Showa is now five years old and falls in size 7. The most striking feature is the massive head with a beautiful
British sizes versus European sizes
An interesting detail that became apparent this year is the difference in size distribution between England and continental Europe. Whereas in Europe size 7 usually runs from 70 to 79 cm, England uses a division of 76 to 85 cm. Because of this, a fish that would fall into size 8 in Europe can still end up in size 7 in England. This was clearly visible in this year’s Mature Champion, which swam in the same vessel as the Grand Champion, but was formally only classified in size 6.
A barrel of champions
Andy Corrie not only presented the winning Showa, but also put together a barrel of very high standard. Among the entries was also a beautiful Sanke, demonstrating Corrie’s ability not only to select his fish at top level, but also to prepare them excellently for the show. His efforts resulted in several awards and an overall very strong impression.
“This Showa is already impressive, but the real power is yet to come.”
Historic change of scepter
So after the victory of a male Koi from Momotaro in 2024, this year’s title goes to Dainichi. It once again marks the influence of these two top Japanese breeders on the international competition stage. For hobbyists and professionals alike, it is a valuable moment of inspiration to see how bloodline, care and presentation come together in a show like this.
Word of thanks and personal note
As photographers of the All England Koi Show – alongside Liam Bess – it was an honor to capture this event. Special thanks to Bernie Woollands for the warm welcome. It was a special moment to continue koi photography with my son abroad. We only had a total of three hours for all the Major Awards and we did manage it!
The judges of the 2025 All England Koi Show
- Niko Bellens – Belgium
- Gary Hazely – Northern Ireland
- Mark Kleijkers – The Netherlands
- Carol McCall – England
- Gary Pritchard – England
- Tony Sheffield – England
- Yuko Shirako – Japan
- Allan Tait – England
- Dirk De Witte – Belgium
- Aaron Eden – Wales
- David Edge – England
- Laurence Harvey – England
