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The title of world champion pumpkin will remain in Minnesota for another year.

Travis Gienger from Anoka County successfully defended his title on Monday at the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Gienger’s pumpkin weighed in at 2,471 pounds. That wasn’t enough to beat the world record he set last year — that pumpkin was 2,749 pounds — but it was enough to win this year’s title by just six pounds over the runner-up.

Gienger told the crowd it was a tough start to the growing season, so he named his pumpkin “Rudy” — a nod to the underdog in the famous football movie.

“If you would have talked to me in June, I didn’t think I’d even be here,” he said, during a livestream of the weigh-in. “So being on this stage, with family and friends gathered in this crowd — I mean, you can’t ask for anything more.”

It’s the fourth time Gienger has won the world championship. The secret to growing a champion pumpkin?

“Focus on soil biology and soil health, and the rest should take its course,” he said.

Gienger earns $9 a pound for the win — and he said the winning pumpkin will be carved by professionals in Los Angeles. The theme of that carving is yet to be announced.