Steven Beacom

When Michael O'Neill - the man with the Midas touch who inspired the nation to the Euro 2016 finals - agreed a new deal to return in charge of Northern Ireland’s national football team, it was Steven Beacom who delivered the world exclusive, days before it was officially announced. The article was just one of Beacom’s numerous football exclusives across the year, including new managerial appointments in the Irish League, dramatic takeovers, and the introduction of drug testing in the men’s and women’s top divisions. 

For the judges, Beacom’s range of stories and his “ability to turn his hand so expertly to different genres” was outstanding. He took on the LIV Golf controversy, in which the PGA and DPA World Tours merged with a series funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) despite initially lambasting it. Following Rory McIlroy’s press conference, Beacom’s fearless and fun comment piece about the hypocrisy in golf showed an understanding of how sport can sometimes score an own goal. 

But Beacom also celebrated sporting achievement, as seen in his piece on the enduring and inspirational success of the Belfast Giants ice hockey team. It told the uplifting story of how a sport with no history in Northern Ireland captured the nation’s imagination.