Big Cat and PFT chase a repeat at the Barstool Bass Classic

The Barstool Bass Classic is back, and this year it's got a title defense storyline. Big Cat and PFT are the reigning champs heading into the Mountain Dew-sponsored tournament, and Barstool Outdoors is hyping the rematch as the marquee subplot of the event.

Barstool Outdoors

@StoolOutdoors

Tune into the @MountainDew Barstool Bass Classic to see if Big Cat and PFT can defend their title! #mountaindew_partner

That's the promo pitch: two guys with a title to protect, cracking Dews on a boat with a city skyline behind them. But the Bass Classic wouldn't be a Barstool event without a heel, and that role belongs to an angler named Nick, who spent the day looking for whatever edge he could find.

Barstool Sports posted video of Nick working a long-handled net off the side of an inflatable boat, trying to scoop up a fish by any means necessary. The caption jokes that "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying" — it's a bit, not an actual rules controversy, but it's clearly part of the tournament's running gag.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying Nick was looking for any advantage he could get to win the Barstool Bass Classic. @mountaindew #MountainDew_Partner

Viva La Stool piled on with a second angle of the same energy, framing Nick as the guy ready to exploit an honor-system tournament the second nobody's looking. Whether that's a real dig at his tactics or just Barstool building a villain for content purposes, it's working — Nick's netting attempts are becoming as much a part of the Bass Classic narrative as the actual fishing.

For now the story is simple: Big Cat and PFT are out to prove last year's win wasn't a fluke, Mountain Dew is footing the bill and slapping its branding on every can in sight, and Nick is the wildcard trying to muscle his way into contention with a net and zero shame. Barstool Outdoors will keep the clips coming as the tournament plays out — whether the champs hold the belt or Nick's extracurriculars pay off is the thing to watch.