St Thomas-based sound system Five Star General emerged the winner of the first round of the Magnum All Star Sound Clash last Friday at All Star HQ in St Andrew.

The sound, which comprises Andrew Pang, Craig Genius and Worl Blacks (other members are based in London) were given the edge over competitor Unruly Stumpy by the panel of judges which comprised veteran deejay Admiral Bailey, Oral Tracey and DJ Banka.

According to Pang, the sound came prepared to win.

“We came well prepared and we had one thing in mind — to win. It was a good experience and this is our first clash on that kind of stage. When we heard the DJ from the other sound screaming over the mic, I believe that gave us the edge over them. We just put our plan in motion and executed.”

The winner was determined by several factors including crowd response, creativity, and presentation.

The sound won all three rounds.

Chieftin Campbell, co-promoter of Magnum All Star Sound Clash, said: “We had a good turnout for the first night, roughly over 400 patrons. This first play-off kicked off the preliminary rounds. It will be 11 weeks of competition, but the knockout rounds will begin in the fifth week.”

He said patrons can expect a lot for the duration of the competition.

“You can expect a lot of entertainment. It’s a clash like no other. It’s literally dancehall’s biggest sport,” Campbell added.

The contest, which is aimed at highlighting sound systems in the dancehall culture, will see sounds competing for a cash prize of $1 million.