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Drummer's World Cup Winner Crowned!

By Chris Burke
published 20 December 2012

See who's been voted Champion!

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Drummer's World Cup
The champion has been crowned!

Drummer's World Cup

It's been a long, hard road to the Final, and now the Champ has been decided. Check out these highlights and see who's won!

Page 1 of 24
Page 1 of 24
Classic Rock
First Round
(Image credit: Brian Patterson/Corbis)

Classic Rock

John Bonham unsurprisingly aced the first round, with The Who’s Keith Moon also qualifying.

Page 2 of 24
Page 2 of 24
Reggae, Ska & Funk
First Round
(Image credit: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis)

Reggae, Ska & Funk

Stewart Copeland topped the Reggae, Ska and Funk group comfortably, with the Chili Peppers Chad Smith a worthy runner up.

Page 3 of 24
Page 3 of 24
Metal & Prog Metal
First round

Metal & Prog Metal

Slipknot’s masked metal drum god Joey Jordison polled an insanely huge number of votes to ace the group, with the late Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan coming in second in a very tough group.

Page 4 of 24
Page 4 of 24
Modern Rock/Punk/Indie
First Round

Modern Rock/Punk/Indie

Mike Miley of groove rockers Rival Sons got the popular vote here, with You Me At Six’s Dan Flint putting in a surprisingly good performance to qualify automatically.

Page 5 of 24
Page 5 of 24
Jazz, Bebop & Big Band
First Round
(Image credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis)

Jazz, Bebop & Big Band

No surprises as Jazz and Big Band master Buddy Rich topped the group. Fusion great Billy Cobham also qualified automatically.

Page 6 of 24
Page 6 of 24
Pop/Session/R'n'B/Gospel
First Round

Pop/Session/R'n'B/Gospel

Session star Steve Gadd topped the group with fusion/session master Vinnie Colaiuta coming a very close second.

Page 7 of 24
Page 7 of 24
Next most votes...
First Round
(Image credit: Rick Nederstigt/epa/Corbis)

Next most votes...

Dave Grohl, Matt Halpern, Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart all qualified on our ‘next most votes’ rule, having polled well in very tough groups.

Page 8 of 24
Page 8 of 24
Chad Smith v Stewart Copeland
Last 16
(Image credit: Billy Tompkins/Retna Ltd/Corbis)

Chad Smith v Stewart Copeland

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ funky monk Chad Smith beat Stewart Copeland comfortably with over 700 more votes than The Police man.

Page 9 of 24
Page 9 of 24
Keith Moon v Steve Gadd
Last 16
(Image credit: Jacques Haillot/Apis/Sygma/Corbis)

Keith Moon v Steve Gadd

In a very close match, Keith Moon triumphed against session star Steve Gadd, despite Gadd taking an early lead.

Page 10 of 24
Page 10 of 24
Joey Jordison v Billy Cobham
Last 16
(Image credit: Derick A Thomas/Dat's Jazz/Corbis)

Joey Jordison v Billy Cobham

Despite a good amount of support at the beginning for fusion great Billy Cobham, The Slipknot massive were out in force again to deny Cobham a place in the Quarter Finals. Joey Jordison went through comfortably.

Page 11 of 24
Page 11 of 24
Matt Halpern v Michael Miley
Last 16
(Image credit: Alex Solca/Rhythm)

Matt Halpern v Michael Miley

A very hotly contested match saw Matt Halpern of tech metallers periphery end Rival Son’s Michael Miley’s impressive tournament run.

Page 12 of 24
Page 12 of 24
The Rev v Dan Flint
Last 16
(Image credit: Corbis)

The Rev v Dan Flint

No real contest as the late Avenged Sevenfold drum genius Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan beat You Me At Six’s Dan Flint to progress to the Quarter Final.

Page 13 of 24
Page 13 of 24
Buddy Rich v Mike Portnoy
Last 16
(Image credit: Scott D Smith/Retna/Retna Ltd/Corbis)

Buddy Rich v Mike Portnoy

Even the great Buddy Rich proved no match in popularity for Dream Theater founder Mike Portnoy, who won the poll comfortably.

Page 14 of 24
Page 14 of 24
Neil Peart v Dave Grohl
Last 16
(Image credit: Neal Preston/Corbis)

Neil Peart v Dave Grohl

A massive number of votes cast by Neil Peart fans saw the Rush man oust Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

Page 15 of 24
Page 15 of 24
John Bonham v Vinnie Colaiuta
Last 16
(Image credit: Mandy Hall/Creative Commons)

John Bonham v Vinnie Colaiuta

A tough call for many people, ultimatelychopsy session super-drummer Vinnie Colaiuta failed to out-pollLed Zeppelin’s John Bonham.

Page 16 of 24
Page 16 of 24
Neil Peart v Chad Smith
Quarter Final
(Image credit: Neal Preston/Corbis)

Neil Peart v Chad Smith

Neil Peart was triumphant in his Quarter Final against the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith to go into the final four.

Page 17 of 24
Page 17 of 24
Mike Portnoy v The Rev
Quarter Final
(Image credit: David Atlas/Retna Ltd/Corbis)

Mike Portnoy v The Rev

A huge number of votes cast for both drummers ultimately saw Dream Theater prog metal legend Mike Portnoy beat A7X’s The Rev.

Page 18 of 24
Page 18 of 24
John Bonham v Keith Moon
Quarter Final
(Image credit: Henry Diltz/Corbis)

John Bonham v Keith Moon

A battle of titans, this, but in the end John Bonham edged the battle against The Who’s Keith Moon.

Page 19 of 24
Page 19 of 24
Joey Jordison v Matt Halpern
Quarter Final
(Image credit: Jared Milgrim/Corbis)

Joey Jordison v Matt Halpern

A shock result, this. The favourite to win, Slipknot's Joey Jordison – who was crowned the Greatest Drummer Of The Last 25 Years by Rhythm two years ago – was ousted by Periphery’s Matt Halpern.

Page 20 of 24
Page 20 of 24
Matt Halpern v Mike Portnoy
Semi Final
(Image credit: Alex Solca/Rhythm)

Matt Halpern v Mike Portnoy

Matt Halpern marches on, even managing to beat MikePortnoy by a couple of thousand votes in a hotly contested Semi.

Page 21 of 24
Page 21 of 24
Neil Peart v John Bonham
Semi Final
(Image credit: Neal Preston/Corbis)

Neil Peart v John Bonham

The mighty John Bonham proved no match for the Rush sticksman as Peart put in an impressive performance in the penultimate poll.

Page 22 of 24
Page 22 of 24
Neil Peart v Matt Halpern
Final

Neil Peart v Matt Halpern

And so to the final, with Periphery’s Matt Halpern the form player in the competition. Neil Peart had performed consistently well, seeing off all others on his way to the final. But in the end, with over 4,000 votes cast, who would be crowned Champ?

Page 23 of 24
Page 23 of 24
And the winner is…
Matt Halpern
(Image credit: Alex Solca/Rhythm)

And the winner is…

Matt Halpern seized 83% of the vote to beat the Rush legend and be crowned champion.

Remember, although this is not a ‘best of’ competition, Matt’s deserved popularity has seen him beat all comers, despite beginning as an outsider and failing to automatically qualify from the tough Metal and Prog Metal group.

If you’re in any doubt about Matt’s credentials as a world-class player –not just in terms of metal drumming – check him out on YouTube, including this video of Matt improvising some awe-inspiring grooves.

Page 24 of 24
Page 24 of 24
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Chris Burke
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