British comedian Adam Greene has been crowned the first Joke Thieves World Champion, taking home the championship belt, the World Championship title and £1,500 cash.

In a Fringe packed with competitions celebrating the best jokes and best shows, Joke Thieves bucks the trend by awarding its prize to the comedian who proves they are best at telling other comedians' jokes.

The inaugural competition, staged throughout the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, saw comedians battle through heats, quarter-finals and semi-finals before the final three were decided: Adam Greene (UK), Jamie Wolf (USA) and Eli Matthewson (New Zealand).

The Grand Final was played out across two packed shows at The Three Sisters on Cowgate, with the three finalists performing their own material before taking on jokes written by their opponents — the unique format that gives Joke Thieves its name.

The morning final saw Jamie Wolf take first place, with Adam Greene second and Eli Matthewson third.

But the evening show produced a dramatic reversal, with Eli Matthewson taking first place, Adam Greene second and Jamie Wolf third.

When the votes from both shows were combined, just THREE VOTES separated the three finalists.

Despite the incredibly close result, it was Adam Greene who emerged victorious and became the first comedian to claim the Joke Thieves World Championship.

Joke Thieves was created by comedian and producer Will Mars around a deliberately unusual premise: comedians perform their own jokes, before attempting to perform each other's material.

Rather than rewarding the comedian with the best original material, the competition asks a very different question:

Who is the best comedian at stealing — and telling — someone else's jokes?

After weeks of competition involving comedians from the UK and around the world, Adam Greene proved himself the ultimate Joke Thief.