Up north, great winner (8)
I believe the answer is:
champion
This clue could be a double definition.
'up north great' is the first definition.
'champion' can be an answer for 'great' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'up north' bit.
'winner' is the second definition.
(I know that champion is a type of winner)
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for champion that I've seen before include "hero" , "1st place winner" , "Winner; defender" , "Champ" , "Competitor who has defeated all others" .)