A flurry of activity sounded off over the radio in the final minutes of this year’s HMY Lowcountry Cup, the third leg in the 2026 Series. Several boats reported sailfish releases in those dwindling moments, but none yet had affected the leaderboard. That was until the voice of Capt. Bubba Roof, the owner of the 68-foot Bayliss Game On, crackled through the tension on the airwaves. With just two minutes left to fish in the tournament, Roof and his team released their fourth blue marlin of the day, sliding right to the top for first place.

It was an epic finish for the popular tournament hosted at Toler’s Cove Marina. The HMY Lowcountry Cup typically boasts a great bite, and this year’s edition at the end of May was no exception. The event hosted 42 boats, a new tournament participation record, and in three days of fishing, the fleet released a whopping 42 blue marlin, 1 white marlin, and 75 sailfish.

Although Game On’s first day of fishing was undoubtedly a promising start, with one blue marlin (the first in the boat’s history as the Game On) and a sailfish, the team’s second day would become something of a Palmetto State masterpiece. By noon, Game On had already released three blue marlin and a sailfish.

The team, which includes Roof, Capt. Bennett Griffin, Devin Silas, Will Thornhill, Mario Aviles, Rudy Arguedas, Jim Carr, Andy Young, and Bryson Jennings, will surely never forget those final minutes on that cloudy Saturday afternoon. They needed at least two sailfish or a blue marlin to overtake the lead, and the unforgiving clock busily ticked on without concern. “My prayer right before that last fish was, ‘Lord, let me take care of these boys’,” Roof recalls. 

They stayed on the hunt, looking for that final game-changing bite. When the right fish suddenly came into the spread, the crew didn’t even realize what species had entered the mix. “We thought it was a sail at first,” Roof says. “It was real dark and small, just like a sailfish would be.”

With another mark also on the sonar, Roof put the boat into a turn, hoping to pick up another bite. Then the team got their first real glimpse of the fish on the other end of the line, a bonafide blue marlin. They went right to work on getting that critical release, and the small, cooperative blue proved easy work for angler Bryson Jennings. 

Roof called in the release at 3:28 PM and the grown men scattered about Game On’s cockpit, bridge and tower erupted in screams of pure joy. “It was pretty special,” Roof says. “The boys did so great and I was just so proud of them.”

The captain’s prayer had been realized, and although he was beaming with immeasurable pride, gratitude and excitement, the avid fisherman couldn’t help but also feel a familiar melancholy, the lingering sting of someone missing.

The Game On program first got its start in the early 2000s when Roof and his beloved father, Vic, purchased a 55-foot Hatteras. The pair’s partnership in sport fishing was just the tip of the iceberg. They also worked together, founding Sea Hunt Boat Company in 1995. The duo ran the boatbuilding operation as a team for decades. 

The Roofs fished the Hatteras until they opted for a larger, more modern build. They bought a Viking, and later a Spencer. Over the years, the Roofs established a program that racked up too many accolades to count. Their boats split time between Bermuda, Costa Rica, Mexico, and various ports along the East Coast. Family members, friends, employees and business partners enjoyed countless days on the water with them. And several notable, girthy blue marlin put up their final fights against anglers seated in a Game On fighting chair. Alongside a lineup of talented captains and mates, the father-son duo developed a program known around the world.

Roof’s father sadly passed away last year. Today, Roof still runs the company that he and his father built. “He was a great man,” Roof remembers. “I was fortunate enough to eat lunch with him every day for 18 years until he retired. I miss him.”

Sea Hunt is a hugely popular brand and has even been recognized as the number one selling saltwater center console in the country for 21 years straight.

On days he’s not working, Roof stays busy fishing aboard Game On. The program currently operates on multiple builds which split time between Costa Rica and South Carolina. The Bayliss arrived in Charleston earlier this spring after extensive work in the boatyard. “I love this boat,” Roof says. “It’s truly my dream boat, my forever boat.”

Prior to the start of this year’s Series, Roof determined that he was ready for a new challenge and decided to run the boat during tournaments throughout the summer season. He’s certainly captained Game On boats before, but this run marks the first time in years that he’s consistently been at the helm.

When Roof realized what his team had accomplished on that final day of the tournament, that he and his boys had just won the HMY Lowcountry Cup and a healthy check of over $280,000, he wanted nothing more than to share the news with his father, his greatest mentor. “Dad would have loved it,” he says with subtle but palpable grief. “Wish I could have made that phone call.”

We take comfort in the thought that Mr. Vic got to see that buzzer beater bite for himself. We trust that the patriarch already knows what his son and his longstanding program accomplished that fateful day. 

Congratulations to the entire Game On team for winning this year’s HMY Lowcountry Cup after releasing five blue marlin and two sailfish! 

Claytime, captained by Phillip Fender and owned by Jon Clay, finished in second place with four blue marlin and three sailfish releases. Capt. Mark Rogers and Foster McKissick’s Rascal, the current Series leader, clinched third with two blue marlin, 1 white marlin, and seven sailfish releases.

Next we head to the Carolina Billfish Classic at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina for the fourth leg of the 2026 Series. We can’t wait to see what happens next!