News

Elisa Roner downs world number one to take World Series title

5 February 2023

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Real name:

Elisa Roner shoots at the Indoor World Series Finals.

Italian 21-year-old Elisa Roner beat reigning world number one Ella Gibson, 147-146, to the compound women’s title in Las Vegas and join Steve Wijler, Lim Duna and Bodie Turner as the new Indoor Archery World Series Champions.

“I feel really great. In the past, I used to shoot very good but always get away with a fifth place or something like that, so this is great comeback for me,” said Roner.

“I wasn’t focusing on my opponent. I just thought, ‘I have to shoot a 10’.”

Roner finished fifth at both the last two stages of the circuit – in Nimes and Vegas - before beating reigning Vegas Shoot Champion Liko Arreola and former world number one Tanja Gellenthien in the bracket.

She shot a perfect 30 points in the first end of the final to take a one-point lead over Gibson that she never relinquished.

Gibson has now finished second in her second straight international circuit final, having lost to Sara Lopez in the title bout at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final last October.

Steve Wijler became the first archer to win the Indoor World Series twice since it was renamed in 2019. (The international 18-metre circuit was launched in 2011 as the Indoor Challenge and then the Indoor World Cup.)

Wijler beat Brady Ellison to the title in a tiebreak in 2019.

He beat Korea’s Kim Pil-Joong in the title match this time, in yet another shoot-off.

“I felt good tonight. I’ve struggled a lot recently but I feel really good that I’ve pushed through and won it again, and won it again with a shoot-off,” said Wijler after the match.

“This whole indoor season has been rolling and I’m really happy to finish it off this way.”

Lim Duna’s victory over Elia Canales in the recurve women’s final, while still going the full five regulation sets, was the clearest win of them all at 7-3.

But it was the grand finale to Saturday’s schedule in Vegas that captured the crowd’s attention.

Bodie Turner shoots against Kyle Douglas in the compound men’s final on Saturday night in Vegas.

Turner looks up at the megatron to spot an uncomfortable arrow.

Douglas was back-to-back Vegas Shoot Champion in 2020 and 2021.

Fifteen-year-old Turner fist-bumps after delivering a final 10.

The Indoor Archery World Series title is Turner’s first major trophy in World Archery competition.

The compound men’s trophy match at these Indoor Archery World Series featured the winners of the last two Vegas Shoots, the massive open-participation event at which the indoor circuit concludes its run annually.

Bodie Turner won last year’s Vegas Shoot at the age of 15, while Kyle Douglas was back-to-back champion in 2020 and 2021.

Neither had much experience in the sphere of World Archery rules, both finding the majority of their previous success at US-centric events like the ATA, NFAA and other professional 3D and indoor tournaments. With the spotlight – and cameras – firmly pinned on their faces and the rapid pace of the format, cracks start to appear…

…but not many.

Only by the last shot of the fourth end did Turner (one day off his 16th birthday) manage to pull ahead by a point. A fourth nine from Douglas in the fifth handed the youngster additional breathing room – and Bodie took advantage, drilling a last-gasp perfect series to win, 148-146.

“It’s an awesome feeling. I’ve watched this for a long time and it was super awesome to be able to compete in it,” said Bodie, who will also look to defend his Vegas Shoot tomorrow in Sin City.

The Indoor Archery World Series visited Luxembourg, Taipei and Nimes before concluding in Las Vegas in 2023. The indoor circuit will return in 2024 with at least five events.