Let the Mölkky Bar Kids inspire your sporting dreams and friendship goals

The popular 90s film Cool Runnings told the tale of the unlikely heroes of Jamaica’s bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics. By swapping Jamaica for West Yorkshire and bobsleigh for a Finnish skittles game, we have a 2026 equivalent in The Fall and Rise of The Mölkky Bar Kids.

If you haven’t heard of Mölkky you won’t be alone. Without diving too deeply into the details, it is a game of throwing wooden sticks at other wooden sticks.

It is a pursuit that people in their fifties with little sporting pedigree can pick up pretty easily and that is where our heroes come in.

The Mölkky Bar Kids, as they come to be known, are school pals who remain close decades after meeting, bonded by their love of sport.

Really this is the heart-warming highlight of the book as these guys are clearly so fond of each other and their shared interest that you quickly fancy having a pint with them and getting schooled on sporting knowledge.

Seriously, if you think you are handy in a pub quiz sports round, it seems like the Mölkky Bar Kids could and would still comfortably get the better of you.

But it would be done with charm and even when a new character is brought in to join the crew, the warmth of the group shines through and rooting for them is very easy.

Support is what they need as the team takes on an unlikely journey from discovering Mölkky to representing Great Britain at World Championship level in Japan in an incredibly short space of time.

It really is a remarkable rise from learning the rules to taking on the finest other nations have to offer on the other side of the planet.

That ambitious shot at glory against the odds is not only great fun to follow but proves to be a genuinely inspirational and motivational story.

Opening the batting for England or walking out onto Centre Court at Wimbledon may be reserved for the elite, but there are paths less trodden to the top of more niche sporting endeavours.

Whether our unlikely underdogs can achieve Mölkky glory is the plot we’re following here, but it is the journey rather than the destination that leaves the lasting impact.

It’s the story of old friends, who have dealt with varying examples of personal adversity, coming together to go on an unlikely adventure and chase an unexpected dream, despite edging towards retirement age.

The mission is taken on with great humour, but also with the competitive edge that is required to make four rookies fly from Yorkshire to Tokyo.

Come for the absurd quest for sporting immortality, stay for the moving bonds of friendship and the experiences that are out there if you are willing to roll the dice. Or throw the tikku.

The Fall and Rise of the Mölkky Bar Kids has been selected on the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2026 Longlist.