Entering its 14th season, the Gulf Coast Triple Crown has only seen two multi-time winners, but two teams have a good chance to join them this weekend at The Wharf in Orange Beach.

A Work Of Art from Orange Beach hoisted its first Triple Crown trophy in 2022 and Team Supreme from Destin, Florida did the same last year. Going into this weekend’s fourth and final billfish tournament of the event, they’re the top-two ranked teams with respective leads of 350 and 250 points over the two teams tied for third place.

Their final battle will come at the Blue Marlin Grand Championship that is set to take over The Wharf for the 12th summer. The “Greatest Show in Sportfishing” will bring top angler teams to Orange Beach and host Jim Cox explained that’s part of what makes being a repeat winner so challenging.

“When you listen to the captains and the owners when they win the Triple Crown or a tournament, whether it's for the first time or multiple times, the competition is so, so strong because we have really some of the best fishing teams in the world here in the Gulf,” Cox said in a July 9 interview. “It's really an accomplishment that these guys love, but then also you're respected so much by your peers for winning a tournament or winning the Triple Crown, because they all know how hard it is to do.”

It won’t get any easier with one of the biggest fleets seen in Blue Marlin Grand Championship history. Cox estimated that the number of boats that will take off from the Perdido Pass on Thursday at noon will be over 70.

“I think the biggest thing that has everybody excited is that we're going to have really great weather, and it's going to be a big fleet,” Cox said. “When you have more boats fishing, that means more tournament prize money is on the line and it’s a chance for teams to win more money.”

With more boats fishing, there are likely to be plenty of fish weighed in on the scales of Marlin Circle with all the pyrotechnics and production that make the anglers feel like rockstars.

“If you're showing up for the first time, one, seeing those fish up close is always something that especially makes kids eyes get really wide. But just the show. We always say, it's not just a slogan — The Greatest Show in Sportfishing — it’s what we really pride ourselves on,” Cox said. “It's the sporting event element, it's the concert, it's the live broadcast; it's just everything. The show is what we what we do, and it's really what makes the teams love this tournament so much because of the fans and the support and the atmosphere where they all say, ‘We feel like we're walking out on stage at a rock concert when we come to weigh our fish.’”

Speaking of those fire-breathing marlins, Cox said there could be some added height on this year’s flames.

“I think we've increased the size of our flames. We've made the flames even bigger,” Cox said. “I don't know if they'll go all the way to the top of the condos, but it’ll be pretty close.”

It will all go down once again at The Wharf with weigh-ins scheduled for Friday morning and evening before the grand finale on Saturday night. Cox said the City of Orange Beach has been the perfect backdrop for it all to happen.

“It really feels like a perfect culmination to get everything started here and then to wrap it up here at The Wharf,” Cox said. “To have it here in Orange Beach to start and finish, it's what the Triple Crown has been really based on for the past dozen or so years. We think Orange Beach is the home of blue marlin fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and it's the perfect way to start and end the season here.”

Find “Blue Marlin Grand Championship” on Facebook for fish updates and weigh-in times. Follow @GCMSportsAL on social media for sights and sounds from the weekend and stay tuned to gulfcoastmedia.com for full coverage.