i've never won a match, but i did win one for my dad, fishing a few lakes near lincoln, the lake owner wanted to move the perch from one of his lakes to another and was having a perch only match.
i'd been fishing with my 7 year old daughter the previous day she'd been using the 3m whip and had caught loads of perch, so i lent my dad my whip and a few rigs for the day, while i spent the day stalking carp.
he won the match and used the winnings to buy his first pole.
the funniest day i ever had was fishing a school match where my best mate caught 54 (i think) boot lace eels but he was using a gudgeon mesh keep net and they all escaped.