Evaldas Karosas has won the 16th annual Beat The Frog World Series competition at the Frog And Bucket Comedy Club.

The new act stand-up competition final took place last night (Monday 4th November) at the Manchester venue.

Originally from Lithuania, Karosas moved to the UK to develop his comedy. Described by the club as a "cheeky charmer", he works part time in a hotel and devotes the rest of his time to stand-up.

Runner-up

The runner-up was Kuan-wen Huang, a "gloriously silly accountant" from Taiwan. Huang first started performing comedy five years ago whilst living in Berlin. When not performing comedy, he's a chartered accountant and tax advisor.

Panel Prize

Meanwhile the panel prize, voted for by comedy industry representatives in the audience, was given to Lewisham-based absurdist Toussaint Douglass. The club says: "Douglass mixes the personal with the political while adding his very own absurdist slant. He's also somewhat bemused as to what his day job actually entails..."

The other finalists to make it through the heats were Lewis Coleman, Erika Ehler, Sally Firth, Ola Labib, Karl Porter and Amy Webber.

Speaking about the diversity shown in the final, the club says: "The acts this year ranged wildly in backgrounds and style. A doctor of education, a vegan goth, an opera singer, parents, podcasters and Salford University comedy course graduates.

"Some had their ethnic origins in Sudan and Taiwan, some were Australian and Canadian. Others were local, some national and there are a few Scots in the mix. A myriad of life experiences were on show with diverse sexualities plus transgender folk and those who are non-binary. Style wise they were musical, drily deadpan, absurdist, confessional, confrontational and mischievous."

Frog And Bucket's competition has been running since 1994. Originally called the Raw Night, it transformed into Beat The Frog in 2004. The competition's rounds see the acts trying to stay on stage for five minutes. However, three audience members are issued with cards that they hold up when they decide they've had enough. When all three are in the air, the act is 'croaked' off the stage.

Previous winners of the competition include Brennan Reece, Rob Mulholland and Carl Hutchinson. Last year "fearless Australian comedian" Anna Spark won. She is now working on her debut Edinburgh Fringe show.