The ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials 2024 is scheduled for May 11th, 2024 and we’ve put together a full preview of all 8 divisions taking place at the event. This the final chance for anyone to earn a place at ADCC 2024 and after the dust has settled on this tournament, all that’s left is to announce the final invites for each weight class. Some of the brackets are going to be pretty small, as Asia and Oceania is historically the smallest edition of Trials every year. Even with the addition of a third women’s weight class, there are still only a total of 44 female competitors who have entered. There will still be some fun matches regardless and whoever emerges victorious will set themselves up for a life-changing opportunity at ADCC later this year.
ADCC Asia And Oceania Trials 2024 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Under 66kg
Favorites – David Stoilescu is a perennial contender in this division and he’s stood on the podium several times in the past, with the most recent instance being in 2023 when he left with a bronze medal. He’s been right on the verge of winning an invite and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he does, but he has Daiki Yonekura to contend with here. Yonekura has been flying under the radar for a while but he’s made some huge improvements over the last few years and may well be able to reach the podium here.
Dark Horse – Jakob Brooks might be a familiar face to fans of Pedigo Submission Fighting and the ‘Daisy Fresh’ series, and he’s traveled all the way to Thailand to make a run at glory. He’s had some mixed results on the ADCC Open circuit lately but he’s a tough opponent not to be overlooked, and he might be able to cause some upsets here.
Under 77kg
Favorites – This is the biggest division at the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials 2024, with 80 competitors up for consideration in this preview. There are two men who stand out as the obvious favorites regardless, although it is tough to really separate them. Jeremy Skinner is a former ADCC Trials winner from 2022 and he definitely has what it takes to win again, but he’s moved up from under 66kg and may it difficult to deal with the size of his opponents. Levi Jones-Leary on the other hand is relatively new to no gi competition but his unique game and wealth of high-level gi experience might be enough to see him to victory here instead.
Dark Horse – Tomoshige Sera came very close last time around and ended up with a bronze medal for his efforts, so a few improvements could see him coming out with a gold medal instead. He will have tough challenges from both Skinner and Jones-Leary though, so he may have to settle for silver or even bronze again.
Under 88kg
Favorites – Roberto Frias should be seen as the top contender in the under 88kg division even though he’s also one of the oldest competitors in the bracket. He won ADCC Trials in 2022 and earned a silver medal in 2023, but without the winner in the bracket then he should have a clear path to gold again. One thing that’s tough to predict is how the young Kaya Rudolph has developed over the past two years, as he won a bronze medal in both of those tournaments. This might be the year he can improve his position, but it’s tough to tell for sure until he actually stands across from Frias.
Dark Horse – There’s only 35 competitors in this division so there’s not much room for surprises, and Frias and Rudolph have proven multiple times that they’re on a different level to most of their potential opposition. One of the biggest challenges they’ll face will be Lucas Kanard and although he’s not one of the favorites, he does have the ability to go far if things go his way.
Under 99kg
Favorites – Anton Minenko is the favorite to win the under 99kg division after a pair of silver medals in both 2022 and 2023. Neither of the men who beat him in those finals are competing so he should have a pretty clear path to the invite, but ADCC veteran Ben Hodgkinson will likely be his biggest opposition. Not only did Hodgkinson win the bronze medal last year but he also won a silver medal at under 88kg in 2022, and in a division of just 21 competitors he has a great chance of winning if he can beat Minenko.
Dark Horse – Daniel Schuardt is one of the top grapplers in Australia but in such a small bracket it will be tough for him to make it to the top of the podium. There’s a very good chance he stands on it somewhere, but he would need a flawless performance against both Minenko and Hodgkinson to win the whole bracket.
Over 99kg
Favorite – This is the smallest men’s division with just 10 competitors and as such, we’re only picking a single favorite in this preview of the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials 2024. Tito Carle is just 23 years old but he’s already established himself as one of the top contenders in Australia, and he’ll be very tough to beat in this tournament.
Dark Horse – Given that Carle will only have to win 3 or 4 matches depending on how the bracket is laid out, it’s unlikely anyone stops him from running to gold. The next youngest competitor in the division is 25 year-old Tim Moore and although it’ll be a real uphill battle for him, it’ll be interesting to see just how far he can make it.
Women’s Divisions
Under 55kg
Favorite – This is the biggest women’s division but there’s a very clear favorite in Adele Fornarino, who has won both of the last two editions of this tournament. Fornarino is unlikely to have much trouble dispatching most of her opponents, and she clean-swept the division last time by submitting every single one of her opponents.
Dark Horse – Kanae Yamada is the returning silver medalist and she put in a great performance to get that medal, but she was submitted by Fornarino in the final. It’s unlikely that she’s made enough improvements to change that outcome if they meet again, and if she can get past everyone else then a meeting with Fornarino is virtually guaranteed.
Under 65kg
Favorite – Nadia Frankland is our pick as the favorite in this division, and she last won a silver medal in the under 60kg division in 2022. Although the weight classes have shifted and Frankland might be smaller than some of her opposition, she’s skilled enough to make up for it.
Dark Horse – Hillary Loh won the over 65kg division at this tournament last year, and now that she’s moving down in weight she will be an even tougher opponent. There’s only 15 women in the division so the odds are that her and Franklin will end up meeting at some point, and she’ll have to do something special to win that match if she wants to earn an invite.
Over 65kg
Favorite – There are only 5 women competing in this division and unfortunately for the rest, Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths is one of them. She won the over 60kg division back in 2022 and with so few opponents waiting for her, she’ll only have to win 2 or 3 matches to repeat that success. She’s probably the biggest favorite of the entire tournament in fact, and it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping her from winning here.
Dark Horse – Jyssica Lian won a bronze medal in the over 65kg division last time around and she’s the only woman from the podium who will be returning, so she should comfortably be able to win another. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her win a silver medal, but there’s an inevitable match with Lloyd-Griffiths waiting for her if she wants to leave with an invite.
The full ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials 2024 event, including all of the above divisions in this preview, will be available to watch live on May 11th, 2024 on FloGrappling.
