Only one day remains in the regular season. As promised, the day 3 of PGF World Season 6 has revealed an extra sense of urgency from competitors. Fans could see the strain on competitors’ faces as they strained to finish submissions, hoping to increase their chances of making the playoffs and their team’s chances at winning the $100,000 team prize.
Click here to see our full preview of PGF World Season 6 before finding out the results of Day 3!
PGF World Season 6: Day 3 Recap
The Top Performers
Elijah “The Jabroni” Carlton
The face of the PGF, Elijah Carlton won PGF Season 1, was runner-up in PGF Season 2. He won the regular season in Season 3 before bowing out of the playoffs with an injury. Carlton returned for Season 5 and won in convincing fashion. But he had a slow start in PGF World Season 6. Like many other top competitors, it took until Day 2 before he got a submission. Still, Carlton has the most experience of any competitor in the PGF ruleset and he knows how to win.
Carlton got two submissions in Day 2 to climb to tied for fifth place. Elijah remained consistent on Day 3 of PGF World Season 6, securing two submissions again. Elijah used his best weapon and the most dangerous submission in PGF History, his triangle, to score six points for a Kill. Elijah now claims the second position, right behind XMartial teammate Davis Asare. If these rankings remain, fans could see the rubber-match between these current teammates, but normal rivals in the PGF World finale.
Davis Asare
Speaking of Elijah Carlton’s top-ranked teammate, Asare had some tough matches on Day 3. He wasn’t able to put away always tough Handsome Kevin Sherrill or Adama black belt Max Hanson. But he’s a top performer because he won a match with serious playoff implications. In his second match of Day 3, Asare faced Atos black belt Daniel Sathler. At the time, Sathler was the second-leading scorer. Asare constantly attacked and found a way to secure a leg lock within one minute, getting the Break with the extra Elbow Genie bonus point for the quick sub. These four points kept him at the top of the leader board as Day 3 ended. He also might have knocked Sathler out of the competition as Sathler had to yell out tap and left the building. As of publication of this article, Sathler’s status is unknown.
PJ Barch
PJ Barch found himself either the top-ranked or second-ranked grappler, depending on the source, coming into PGF World Season 6. Like many of the high-ranked competitors, Barch didn’t get on the scoreboard until Day 2. Despite the slow start, Barch remains in striking distance of the playoffs. Barch not only kept his playoff chances alive on Day 3, but he showed if he gets to the playoffs, he could win it all. On Day 3 of PGF World Season 6, Barch was able to heel hook both Kevin Beuhring (currently the last person in the playoffs) and second-ranked Elijah Carlton. Heading into the final day of the PGF World 6 season, Barch is only 3 points out of the playoffs – only one Break could get him tied for 8th.
For that matter, in this relatively low-scoring season, Barch is only 16 points out of first place which would only take three Kills. On the final day of the regular season, Barch will face Renato Canuto in a battle of big name competitors fighting for their chance at the playoffs. Barch also faces two PGF veterans in Handsome Kevin Sherrill and either Dane Leak or David Evers if Evers can return from an injury sustained on Day 2. Rest assured, Barch’s playoff hopes are still very much alive.
Teams Matter
Epic Roll captain Andy Varela finds himself in fifth place after the third day. He has three Kills to his name for 18 points. Varela has been the only Epic Roll team member to put points on the board. While not mathematically eliminated, Epic Roll will have a very hard time overcoming their current 50-point deficit to catch up to XMartial if they want a shot at the team title and the $100,000. But more importantly for a competitor like Varela, they have not won any blocks this season. Every day of the regular season has three blocks of 10 matches (consisting of two five-match duels between teams). The team who accumulates the most points in the block wins a team point for each of their members.
Since Epic Roll has not won any blocks, Varela has not received any team points. While Varela is ranked fifth, the competitors ranked second, third, and fourth all actually have scored less points themselves than Varela. But those competitors ranked above Varela have team points which have boosted their standings. Perhaps more importantly, PJ Barch and Max Hanson are currently on the outside looking in for the post-season finale tournament. If they had the six XMartial team points or even the four 1st Phorm team points, they would be solidly in the top eight and in the playoffs.
How Will Replacements Effect The Game?
Fans familiar with the gauntlet that is the PGF have warned competitors. Day 3 breaks competitors, mentally and physically. Four different replacements had to come in for injured grapplers on Day 3. Some of those replacements came in and were on the wrong end of Kills. Replacement Dane Leak actually scored a Kill himself, helping push Team XMartial further in the lead. Heading into the final day of the PGF regular season, look for those competitors in the playoff hunt to target the replacement players. These matches could have both serious playoff implications and implications for which team wins the $100,000.
Team Standings: The Hunt For $100,000
Team XMartial currently leads all teams with 68 points. Team 1st Phorm finds themselves 13 points behind with 55 points. Team Black Rifle Coffee Company and Team Epic Roll find themselves in a distant third and fourth with 21 points, and 18 points, respectively. It’s a sprint to the finish on the final day of the PGF World regular season. Only 30 matches remain total remain. 15 matches for each team to find a way to win the $100,000. Three matches for each competitor to find a way to make the playoffs and their chance at the $20,000 individual prize for being the overall PGF World 6 Champion. Tune in tonight at 4pm Pacific Time to watch as the $100,000 team championship prize is awarded and the playoff tournament roster is finalized.
Fans can watch via YouTube, Caffeine, or a host of other platforms. Fans wanting to catch up on the previous matches or watch them while watching the live stream can check out Smoothcomp.tv. All sports fans will enjoy the non-stop action and the storylines as the PGF World regular season comes to an end. After all, the Professional Grappling Federation is everything you love about sports, plus Jiu-Jitsu.
