Champion among nationalists turned nuts (6)

I believe the answer is:

pecans

'nuts' is the definition.
(pecan is a kind of nut)

'champion among nationalists turned' is the wordplay.
'champion' becomes 'ace' (I've seen this before).
'among' indicates putting letters inside.
'nationalists' becomes 'snp' (Scottish National Party).
'turned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'ace' inserted within 'snp' is 'snacep'.
'snacep' reversed gives 'PECANS'.

(Another definition for pecans that I've seen is " nuts".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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