Derek Lunsford was victorious in the first ever Open Division bodybuilding contest held at the Pittsburgh Pro on May 10-11, taking home a cool $100,000 in prize money and building momentum towards the 2025 Mr Olympia and a potential second title. This competition also marked the return of “The Mutant” Nick Walker, who came in at a close second place after the two behemoths initially tied on the scorecards, leading to a nerve-shredding tiebreaker round. But while many people thought that Walker should have won, Phil Heath explained why the result is a net positive for bodybuilding.
Many within the packed David L. Lawrence Convention Center voiced their support for Walker, who had shown great improvement after taking several months out to reset himself physically, but the night would ultimately belong to Lunsford. The history making event will no doubt be debated for eons to come, but Heath explained why he thought Lunsford beat Walker.
“I never thought I’d ever see a so-called sudden death overtime in bodybuilding,” commented the seven-time Mr Olympia while speaking as a guest on the RxMuscle YouTube channel. Hosts Dave Palumbo and Chris Aceto were also surprised by the sudden heath scenario, because they both felt that Lunsford was cruising to victory. Many of the fans disagreed, however. “Nick won… I was there in person as well… everyone has Nick winning,” wrote one YouTube user. “Nick was clearly better.” added another.
“The crowd was very Nick friendly,” observed Heath. “Which is great for the sport. But look, there’s been years where I competed, where they’d cheer for Ramy, they would cheer for other guys, and you know when you’re polished, as the athlete which Derek is, right? Derek was able to hold himself composed and make sure that he did not fade, that he still improved on some areas, and I thought he was the most consistent.”
What Phil Heath Said To Nick Walker After the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro?
Nick Walker returned to action following his surprise withdrawal from the 2024 Olympia, an event he missed due to a desire to give his body a break and is now firmly in the mix as one of the top contenders in the Open Division.
“I spoke to Nick,” revealed Heath. “And I said, ‘look, there’s times where you have to understand that you may feel like you were robbed. You may feel that way, because the outcome was undesirable (for Walker), but you go there next week, you go to New York, you prove that you are mentally tough, that you’re emotionally conscious of what you can bring, and you bring that in New York, you handle your business there, and if you wanna get some real get-back, you go to Vegas after you get that qualification, and you run it back.’”
Heath explained that Walker should keep his chin up and look at the next few months as a chance for Walker to recreate a rematch between the two Pittsburgh Pro finalists at the 2025 Olympia, where “The Mutant” could potentially avenge his loss on the grandest bodybuilding stage of them all, creating a thrilling rivalry in the process. “If I’m Nick Walker, I would say ‘look, I pushed Derek to his limits,’” shared Heath.
The panel was then joined by Lunsford himself, and Heath gifted the champ with some sage advice too. “Your story is gonna be remembered because of the fact that you had peaks and valleys,” he explained. And, as for the mixed crowd reaction: “You cannot go out there assuming that everyone’s going to love you,” said Heath. “You can assume that they are going to respect you because of what you put out there.”
Derek Lunsford is now focused on winning his second Mr Olympia title in October, while Nick Walker is expected to compete at the 2025 New York Pro as he chases qualification to tread the boards in Las Vegas for that much anticipated rematch.
