HALLSVILLE, Mo. – During the 2023 Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Bianchi Cup International Pistol Tournament, Bruce Piatt, 62, of Damascus, Pennsylvania, made history by winning the title of overall National Champion and his seventh Bianchi Cup, 30 years after he obtained his first. His 2023 win marked Piatt as the winningest competitor in Bianchi Cup existence, though surpassed by hands-on open event winner Douglas Koenig, 54, of Deland, FL, who has 19 wins in his career.
The CMP Bianchi Cup International Pistol Tournament, the second oldest pistol championship in the world, was held May 23-26, 2023 at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Missouri. Although the CMP Bianchi Cup has been an annual event since 1979, this year was the first time the CMP had organized the match.
Title sponsor MidwayUSA and many other generous sponsors provided tremendous support as more than 135 people participated in the CMP Bianchi Cup, including several international competitors from Australia, Barbados, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.
“The CMP Bianchi Cup 2023 was great!” said CMP pistol coordinator Jim Henderson. “It was a privilege for me to be a part of the work behind the scenes of this incredible event! Darren Maher and the entire staff at Green Valley R&P were the best team I have had the pleasure to work with in a long time. Pat Cooper and his army of volunteers did an absolutely fantastic job, and this event would not have happened if it weren’t for those two incredible groups of people.”
The CMP Bianchi Cup is made up of four events: the practical event, the moving target (move) event, the barricade event, and the falling plates event. Competitors shoot both standing up and prone and must also shoot with strong and weak hands in various stages. There are no recovery shots in the CMP Bianchi Cup, which increases its difficulty. Competitors shoot in the Open, Metal, Production, and Production Optics classes within each event.
Mark Blake, 52, traveled across the globe from Huon Creek in Australia to win the Open Championship title and take overall victory in the Moving Target event. Special congratulations also to Roman Hauber, 57, who traveled from Regensburg, Germany to claim victory for Mover Metallic. SFC Ryan Franks, 35, of the US Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) from Ellerslie, GA, won the Metal category in the Practice and Barricade events.
Leading the Production class was USAMU teammate SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, of Columbus, GA, who claimed victories in all four events, while teammate SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, of Fort Benning, GA, won the Production Optic title. Through their talented athletes (SSG Hudock, SFC Franks, SSG Heinauer, and SSG Walter Johnson), USAMU claimed the 4-man tag team match.
Benito Martinez, 44, of Albuquerque, NM, took home the Open victory in the Falling Plates match, while the Optical Production classes were led by Simon Golob, 48, of Kearney, MO (Practical) , SSG Heinauer (Move) and Seiichi Ishikawa. , 52, of Montebello, CA (Barricade).
“I would like to thank all the competitors for coming to the 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup,” added Henderson. “I know there are a few little things we can polish for next year, and I really appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we move into a new era for this historic event. I can safely say that the CMP and I look forward to many more years of this great championship!”
Other featured athletes at the 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup included SFC Sally Talbott, 46, of Columbia, SC, who was the overall women’s champion, Troy Mattheyer, 60, of Ellis, KS, who won the title John Cameron Memorial Senior and Vance Schmid, 72, of Marion, IL, who was the Senior Grand Champion.
Overall winners of the CMP Bianchi Cup 2023:
Practical results:
Open: Douglas Koenig, 54, Deland, FL – 480-47X
Metallic: SFC Ryan Franks, 35, Ellerslie, GA – 480-34X
Production: SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, Columbus, GA – 469-26X
Production Optics: Simon Golob, 48, Kearney, MO – 480-33X
Engine results:
Open: Mark Blake, 52, Huon Creek, Australia – 480-39X
Metallic: Roman Hauber, 57, Regensburg, Germany – 476-27X
Production: SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, Columbus, GA – 478-23X
Production Optics: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, Fort Benning, GA – 480-32X
Barricade Results:
1street: SSG Walter Johnson, 29, of Pine Mountain, GA – 480-48X
2North Dakota: Brett Foster, 46, Bundabert, Queensland, Australia – 480-48X
3rd: Stephen Stewart, 50, Carlock, IL – 480-48X
Results of falling plates:
1street: Benito Martinez, 44, Albuquerque, NM – 480-48X
2North Dakota: SSG Walter Johnson, 29, of Pine Mountain, GA – 480-48X
3rd: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, of Fort Benning, GA – 480-48X
2 man team:
Metallic: BDMP – 1848-121X
Production Optics: DHS Team – 1887-118X
International Team: Australia 1 Gun – 1920-180X
4 man team: USAMU Blue (SSG Christopher Hudock, SFC Ryan Franks, SSG Anthony Heinauer, SSG Walter Johnson) – 1916-143X
special categories:
Veteran Military Champion: Mark Blake, 1920-178X
Law Enforcement Champion: Bruce Piatt, 1920-178X
Active Duty Champion – SSG Walter Johnson, 1918-172X
Revolver Champion: Steve Weathersby, 1914-154X
International Champion – Mark Blake, 1920-178X
International Championship Prizes:
Senior Grand Champion: Vance Schmid, 1918-157X
John Cameron Memorial Senior Champion: Troy Mattheyer, 1916-154X
Roger E. Hawkins Memorial Junior National Champion: Malcolm Itzstein, 1892-142X
Women’s National Champion: Sally Talbot, 1889-152X
National Metal Champion: SFC Ryan Franks, USA, 1914-141X
National Production Champion: SSG Christopher Hudock, USA, 1901-128X
National Production Optics Champion: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 1916-146X
Open National National Champion: Mark Blake, 1920-178X
National Championship Action Pistol National Champion: Bruce Piatt, 1920-178X
Find out more about the CMP Bianchi Cup at https://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-pistol-program/cmp-bianchi-cup/. See a complete list of results on the CMP Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/2023CMPBianchiCupResults. See photos of the event, available for free download, at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f340694381.
If you are interested in sponsoring the 2024 CMP Bianchi Cup, please contact Jim Henderson at [email protected].
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearms safety and marksmanship training and the promotion of marksmanship competition for United States citizens. To learn more about the CMP and its programs, log on to www.TheCMP.org.