QUINTET is set to make its return this weekend, streaming live on FloGrappling in North and South America. Four teams will make up the relay elimination style tournament, including 10th Planet, B-Team, Polaris and Sakuraba.

While the first two teams on that list feature a litany of athletes well-known to the western audience, the later two teams, composed largely of European and Asian talents, also deserve considerable recognition. Here are the athletes who make up Team Polaris and Team Sakuraba.

Team Polaris

Team Polaris is made of grapplers who have competed several times in the prestigious submission grappling event of the same name based out of the UK and they are the returning champions of QUINTET.

Gregor Gracie is the only member of the original winning team and the captain of the team Polaris. He is an experienced grappler with solid fundamentals, with the highlights of his career being achieving third place at ADCC and second at No-Gi Worlds.

Owen Livesey is relatively new to the submission grappling world, but it is safe to say that he has taken the sport by storm. He is a Commonwealth Judo champion, an ADCC veteran, and he holds a win over Josh Hinger.

Santeri Lilius is another ADCC vet with lots of competitive experience. In 2022 he won to win ADCC Trials and No-Gi Euros, and he took third place at No-Gi Worlds. The Finnish grappler appears comfortable wherever the match takes place with good wrestling to the back and leglocks.

Tarik Hopstock is arguably the most well-known in the team with his signature submission and heaps of competitive accolades. The Norwegian is mostly known for his Gi game, but he has medaled a few times at No-Gi Worlds and ADCC Trials, with wins over opponents such as Kaynan Duarte & Eoghan O'Flanagan in no-gi competition.

Jed Hue is a UK grappler mostly known for his competitive success in the submission only circuit. Hue has dangerous submissions and holds wins over Oliver Taza, Kody Steele & AJ Agazarm.

Team Sakuraba

Team Sakuraba on the other hand, is a team which includes mainly grapplers who are either from or based in Japan. The team is led by grappling icon Kazushi Sakuraba.

Kazushi Sakuraba is a living legend in the world of grappling and MMA. At 54 years old, he refuses to back up from a challenge and he is ready to rumble with all the young guns.

Haisam Rida is finally back on the platform where he first earned worldwide recognition. A returning member of team Sakuraba who once defeated four black belts in a row as a brown belt in his QUINTET debut, Haisam is now sharper and more experienced, and should be a favorite in many potential head-to-head matchups.

Tomoshige Sera is a Japanese black belt out of the prestigious Carpe Diem gym in Tokyo. The Japanese black belt is best known for his dangerous modern guard.

Harry Grech is an Australian catch-wrestler turned MMA fighter who has trained with Josh Barnett. The Aussie athlete is renowned for having a dangerous Kimura lock and vicious heel hooks. His heel hook prowess may not translate, as the submission is banned at QUINTET.

Daisuke Nakamura is another legend of jiu-jitsu in Japan with plenty of experience in both grappling and MMA. He will be one of the older competitors on Quintet, at 44 years old. He is mostly known for his very strong positional game and his solid fundamentals.