We’re halfway through the PGF World 6 regular season as day 2 comes to an end! We’ve seen some great grappling and some crazy action near the edges, in the couches, and backstage. But the best Jiu-Jitsu is to come as every competitor takes their shot at making the post-season finale tournament and the PGF World 6 Championship Title and the $20,000 that goes along with it. But every competitor, even those who may look unlikely to make the finale tournament will be selling out for submissions until the end, because they can still help their team win the regular season team title which earns their team $100,000. Let’s look at some of the standouts from Day 2.
Click here to see our full preview of PGF World Season 6 before finding out the results of Day 2!
PGF World Season 6: Day 2 Recap
The Top Performers
Jett “The Kid” Thompson
Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for 17 years! While Jett “The Kid” Thompson is too young to get the previous line’s LL Cool J reference, his parents will. The young man from Oklahoma wowed fans on the first day of PGF World Season 6 when he secured a leg lock against John Combs, then held his own against PJ Barch. On the second day of the PGF World 6 regular season, Jett decided it was time to put some serious points on the board. First, he scored an Elbow Genie worthy armbar against one of the most experienced PGF veterans in Matt Elkins. The submission earned Jett four points (three for the Break and one for the under one minute submission). Later, Jett forced a draw against another high performing young man, and competitor currently in first place, Davis Asare.
Finally, Jett constantly attacked PGF veteran Samson Phommabout until Jett could secure a Ruotolotine (arm-in rear-naked choke). No one expected Jett Thompson to be tied for first place after day 2 of the PGF World Season 6. Well, Jett did… and maybe his friends and family. Regardless of one’s expectations of Jett Thompson heading into PGF World 6, you have to believe in the young man now. PGF World has a number of fan favorites and it’s easy to see Jett Thompson has already joined their ranks after just two days of PGF World competition. As Egghead said on day one: “I thought we’d be saying ‘Welcome to the Show, kid,’ but we have to say ‘Welcome to the Kid, show!’”
Elijah “The Jabroni” Carlton
Regression to the mean – it’s the phenomenon that explains “the Madden curse. “ Essentially, to be put on the cover of a Madden football video game cover, a player has to have a breakout/world-beating season. Regression to the mean, says that after an especially outstanding or underwhelming performance, a player’s will normally adjust back towards their average. Even though Elijah Carlton won PGF World 5, he likewise started off slow – with only one break on the first day. Of course, he went on to score three submissions on the second day, eventually placing first in PGF World 5’s regular season and winning PGF World 5 overall. In PGF World 6, Elijah Carlton found himself, likemany of the other highly touted competitors, still looking for his first submission after the first day.
On day 2, Elijah made sure to put points on the board. He came out and sunk in two breaks, both within one minute – earning the Elbow Genie bonus points. Elijah even invoked the Elbow Genie’s name when everyone was unsure whether he hit the submission in less than one minute. After Elijah told everyone to ask Jonathon Roberts, the Elbow Genie, if his submission on Matt Elkins was within one minute, the Commissioner confirmed Elijah had hit the submission with one second to spare. Now that Elijah has returned to his scoring ways, can he also return to his normal spot atop the PGF World standing? Even with the slow start, Elijah is tied for fifth place and only eight points behind the frontrunner, Davis Asare, who is Elijah’s XMartial teammate. Elijah doesn’t have an easy schedule ahead for the rest of the season, to be fair no one in PGF World 6 has an easy schedule, but Elijah still has opportunities and the skill to make the post-season, finale tournament.
Nathan Haddad
If it wasn’t for Day 1 standouts Daniel Sathler, Jett “The Kid” Thompson, and Davis Asare, everyone would have been talking about Nathan Haddad’s performance. The Helio Soneca Jiu-Jitsu black belt impressed everyone with his gritty, resilient style. Though Haddad didn’t put any points on the board the first day, but he threatened top-seeded PJ Barch with a scary triangle and gave John Combs and Jett “the Kid” Thompson everything they could handle. PGF World Commissioner, Brandon Mccaghren told everyone on Day 1 that Haddad’s style would pay dividends as the season progressed.
Haddad proved the Commish correct on Day 2. In his first match, Haddad used his patented slide by to reach Jamie Carnall’s back quickly, sinking in the rear-naked choke in less than one minute, gaining the Elbow Genie bonus point. Haddad’s other two matches on Day 2 didn’t help him get any points, but his toughness shined when he took on Daniel Sathler and Andy Varela. Even though he only has one submission on the board, Haddad made it count. He’s currently ranked 8th , meaning he’s the last one in for the post-season finale tournament, as of now. Haddad has the faith of the Commish and now many fans that if he keeps playing his game, he will make the playoffs.
Ben Eddy
Heading into the last block of PGF World Day 2, the best rubber-guard playing competitor in the world had not gotten any opponent into his closed guard. Ben Eddy proved the efficacy of his guard against fellow 10th Planet member Sam Schwatzapfel. Schwartzapfel had to replace John Combs after Combs injured himself in an earlier match on Day 2. After being pushed around by Sam on the feet a few times, Eddy started pulling Sam into his guard. Sam escaped the first time, but Eddy found a way to his rubber guard.
Once Eddy found his rubber guard, he locked in a wrong-side triangle from bottom and used his fist to finish the choke. With this Kill, the DQ from Sathler jumping guard on Day 1, and the four XMartial team points, Ben Eddy found himself tied for 5th place with 12 points halfway through the regular season. Eddy still has six matches to get the four hindulotines (guillotine from rubber guard) that he promised the Commissioner before the season started. Looking at his upcoming schedule, he might just do it.
Big Names Finally on the Board
Elijah Carlton and Ben Eddy were not the only highly touted competitors to rack up their first submissions of the season on PGF World Season 6 Day 2. Team Adama black belt, Max Hanson got his first submission with a heel hook in the second block of the day. First round picks PJ Barch and Renato Canuto both had to wait until the last block of Day 2 for their first submission of the season. Barch got a heel hook, but Canuto stole the show with the submission of the season with a flying armbar in the first minute. If the season ended today, both first round picks would not make the playoffs, but we’re only halfway through the season. Now that Barch and Canuto have put points on the board, one has to imagine they’ll continue to do so. As long as they can score enough points to make the playoffs, both can still definitely win PGF World 6.
Team Standings: The Hunt For $100,000
On day 1, the Black Rifle Coffee Company team put zero points on the board. On day 2, they got back in the hunt, hitting double digits with 10 points. This day, it was Team Epic Roll’s turn to put up a goose egg. Still, with their good start on day 1, Epic Roll was still in third place with 12 points. Team 1st Phorm almost doubled their day 1 totals, putting up 22 points on day 2. Before the final block, they only had added nine points. But three Team 1st Phorm members secured submissions in their last matches of the day, adding another 13 points to their team totals. Team 1st Phorm finished the first half of the season with 35 points. But the story of the season has been Team XMartial. After putting up 22 points on day 1, they put up even more points on day 2 – scoring a league high 27 points. At the end of the first half of PGF World 6, Team XMartial still has a commanding lead with 49 points. Still, Team XMartial will need to continue putting points on the board because it would only take two matches, with Kills within the first minute, for Team 1st Phorm to catch up to Team XMartial. As fans have seen continuously through the six seasons of PGF World, fortunes can change very quickly. With $100,000 on the line for each team, every competitor has to push for the finish in every match.
Tune in tonight as we start the second half of the PGF World 6 regular season. Fans can watch it free on YouTube, Caffeine, or a host of other platforms. With the conclusion of every match, the competitors’ sense of urgency will only rise. With this urgency, grapplers will open up their games, as they realize a draw gets them the same amount of points as a loss. And as competitors open up their games, searching for submissions, they open up themselves to get submitted. The first half of the season had lots of action, but more draws than normal in the PGF. As they approach the finish line, fans should expect many more submissions as competitors on the bubble seek to secure their chance at the finale tournament.
Tensions will rise as competitors realize they might not make the playoffs; tensions will rise as Teams realize they have less and less chances to take over the top ranking to win the $100,000. Just as so many other sports, drama will naturally occur as the hunt for the team title and the overall PGF World 6 Championship draws to an end. But every fan should expect these things. After all, the Professional Grappling Federation is everything you love about sports, plus Jiu-Jitsu.
