Where winner might be to begin with (2,3,5,5)
I believe the answer is:
in the first place
'to begin with' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'where winner' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'winner' could be 'ace' and 'ace' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'might be' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for in the first place that I've seen before include "Where the winner would be" , "Where Adam and Eve lived" , "for a start" , "Meriting gold" , "Where Adam and Eve sinned" .)