Thousands of spectators gathered in the Bronze Lot at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and thousands more watched live online, as the 18th annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship (See Photos) took center stage at the World of Concrete expo. It’s a battle of skill, speed and stamina as masons and tenders from across North America put their reputations on the line for a chance to win serious prizes. The concept is simple, each team has one hour to build a 26-foot-long brick wall as large as they can with as few errors as possible.

Mason Fred Campbell and mason tender Tony Shelton of Creative Masonry in Greeneville, TN took home top honors, claiming the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer.” With a brick count of 756. Campbell is now the proud owner of a new Ford F-250 XLT 4x4 truck, an Essick Pro 12 mortar mixer plus an additional $10,000 in cash and prizes.

This marks the third time Fred Campbell has won the World Championship title, the first mason to claim that honor.

The 47-year-old mason was excited to win again saying, “It’s great to be back on the podium. We put in a lot of work this year to make sure we came out on top.”

Mason Darian Douthit of Providence Masonry of Miami, OK took home the title SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN®, which goes to the mason whose wall was voted “most sellable,” by a 30-judge panel. For this honor Douthit is taking home a ROXOR Off-Road side-by-side sport utility vehicle.

Douthit is a repeat SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN winner, and took top honors with 550 qualifying brick laid with no deductions. “My goal was to take home the ROXOR, I’m going up against such tough competitors, it’s great to be considered one of the best.”

Standing beside first place and craftsman in the winners’ circle, second place honors went to last year’s World Champion, Mario Alves and tender Michael Alves of A&M Masonry in Hamilton, ON. Alves laid 735 brick to win
$4,000 and over $1,500 in sponsor prizes.

Commonly referred to as the “Super Bowl of Masonry,” the bricklaying battle took place on Wednesday, Feb. 5th in the heart of the Masonry Madness® Day arena at the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas. Before a
bricklayer is eligible to compete in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship, they must first qualify by winning one of 24 Regional Series competions held across North America. This earns them a shot at taking down the returning World Champion or SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN® title holders.

Four additional events were held in the Bronze Lot during Masonry Madness Day, rounding out 6 hours of masonry competitions. The MCAA’s Masonry Skills Challenge, MCAA’s Fastest Trowel on the Block, the SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER and the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500.

The SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship Event is renowned as the top attraction for the World of Concrete trade show. The competion arena was filled with a crowd of over 6,000 spectators who witnessed an intense battle between 26 bricklayer and mason tender teams that raced against a 60-minute clock to build a 26 foot long brick wall.

Representing the the best of North America, the duos worked at a tirelessly to install as many brick as possible while following strict quality workmanship standards. The bricklayer’s walls were judged by 30 highly experienced masonry experts, enforcing 10 sets of craftsmanship requirements. The SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is recognized as the masonry industry’s only true test of skill, speed and stamina that annually awards the title “World’s Best Bricklayer” and total purse of over $125,000 in cash and prizes including a new Ford F-250 4x4 XLT Super Duty truck and a ROXOR Off-Road Side by Side Sport Utility Vehicle.

To see the full list of top ten finishers, visit: WWW.SPECMIX.COM

1st Place:
Mason: Fred Campbell
Tender: Tony Shelton
City: Greeneville, TN
Company: CreaOve Masonry
Brick Count: 756

2nd Place:
Mason: Mario Alves
Tender: Michael Alves
City: Hamilton, ON
Company: A&M Masonry
Brick Count: 735

3rd Place:
Mason: Jacob Ramirez
Tender: Miguel Contreras
City: Houston, TX
Company: Ranch Masonry
Brick Count: 719

The SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN® Award is the second most coveted title and prize package for the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 and is given to the bricklayer who builds what judges deem the “most sellable wall” with over 500 brick and zero quality deductions.

Mason: Darian Douthit
Tender: Andy Zepeda
City: Miami, OK
Company: Providence Masonry
Brick Count: 550