Teams Finishers and Checkmat will face off tomorrow for a chance to compete in the final of the AIGA US Qualifier. Both teams defeated team Legion on the first day of the two-day US Qualifier round robin tournament, meaning that whichever team wins the final team vs team duel will advance to the final for Group A in the two-side round robin.

Alan Sanchez, Isaac Cordova and Sid Tavolaro each earned first round submissions for Finishers in their series opener against Legion, guaranteeing victory for the squad, as Legion could not produce an athlete in the -60kg division.

In their second appearance against Checkmat, Team Legion was further hamstrung by a lack of depth.

Adam Bradley and Tyler Brown were both sidelined due to injuries sustained in the first team duel, leaving Legion without representatives in three of the seven weight categories. That helped Checkmat to a complete shutout. Francisco Lo picked up the only submission victory for Checkmat, a crafty armbar off of a lumberjack sweep against Bobby Winther. Alex Filho, Matheus Luna and Michael Esquivias also picked up wins towards Checkmat's shutout in the team duel.

Both 1-0 in the round robin series on the Group A, Checkmat and Finishers will face off tomorrow in the third of three duels. The winner will advance to the final at the end of the day.

Team Vanguard's fate hangs in the balance, as the squad went 1-1 on the first day with a narrow victory over 10th Planet, then a narrow loss to team Fight Sports.

Fight Sports and 10th Planet will face off tomorrow, and the result will decide which team from Group B will advance to the US Qualifier final.

If team Fight Sports wins, it will automatically advance. If team 10th Planet wins, the team to advance from Group B will be determined by a series of tie breaker conditions including number of wins and number of submissions in the group stage. 

In Group B on Day 1, David Stoilescu racked up two submission wins for Vanguard, both via inside heel hook, which included a 38-second finish against his Fight Sports counterpart, Bernardo Delibero. Nick Ronan and Josh Saunders also scored submissions for Vanguard.

10th Planet and Fight Sports only had one appearance each on the first day of competition, and each managed two submission victories against Vanguard opposition. Ryan Aitken and Kyle Chambers earned submissions for 10th Planet, while Enrique March and Enrico Said secured submissions for Fight Sports.

About AIGA

AIGA is a team-vs-team duel competition. Each team produces athletes in seven different weight categories who compete head to head. The first team to secure four victories wins the duel.

Matches are fought in three five minute rounds. Points do not accumulate across rounds. So, regardless of score, each round is tallied as a win for one side or the other, otherwise called a draw. In each head to head matchup, the best of three rounds wins. If a head to head matchup goes to a draw, the winner is decided by the judges. A submission wins the head to head match automatically.

The US Qualifier is one of four qualifiers slated in the 2024 season. Each of the four teams which win the qualifiers will advance to the 2025 Champions League. There, the teams will square off for a grand prize of $500,000 for first place, with $500,000 in additional prizes awarded.

Team Euro Trash won the European Qualfier in Turkey at the beginning of 2024, and Team Kasai won the Brazil Qualfier in the Spring of this year. Both teams have earned a spot in the 2025 Champions League.

Full Results From Day 1 of AIGA Champions League US Qualifier

Group A

Finishers def Legion

-76kg: Alan Sanchez (Finishers) def Scott Boehler via anaconda choke (2:15 R1)

-65kg: Isaac Cordova (Finishers) def Tu Dang via no-gi ezekiel choke (5:00 R1)

-83kg: Bobby Winther (Legion) def Rene Sousa via points (R1: 0-0, R2: 2-0, R3: 0-0)

-70kg: Sid Tavolaro (Finishers) def Tyler Brown via inside heel hook (0:47 R1)

+91kg: Braylor Grout (Legion) def Connor Dixon via darce choke (4:32 R1)

-91kg: Adam Bradley (Legion) def Andrew Dyer via ankle lock (3:45 R2)

-60kg: Legion did not produce a -60kg athlete. Finishers wins by walkover

Checkmat def Legion

+91kg: Alex Filho def Ian Daube via points (R1: 0-0, R2: penalties against Daube, R3: penalties against Daube)

-76kg: Matheus Luna def Scott Boehler via points (R1: 4-2, R2: 3-0, R3: 6-0)

-91kg: Adam Bradley withdrew from competition. Checkmat wins by walkover.

-83kg: Francisco Lo def Bobby Winther via armbar (4:26 R1)

-65kg: Michael Esquivias def Tu Dang via points (R1: penalties against Esquivias, R2: penalties against Dang, R3: 3-0)

-60kg: Legion did not produce a -60kg athlete. Checkmat wins by walkover

-70kg: Tyler Brown suffered an injury and could not make it to his second match. Checkmat wins by walkover

Group B

Vanguard def 10th Planet

-76kg: Nick Ronan (Vanguard) def Sam Schwartzapkel via rear naked choke (3:01 R2)

-91kg: Ryan Aitken (10th Planet) def Anthony Poliseno via katagatame (1:23 R2)

+91kg: Josh Saunders (Vanguard) def Kevin Berberich via points (R1: 0-0, R2: 3-0, R3: 6-0)

-65kg: Geo Martinez (10th Planet) def Dylan Garofalo via points (R1: 2-0, R2: 0-0, R3: 2-0)

-60kg: Fabian Ramirez (Vanguard) def Chris Crawford via points (R1: 2-0, R2: 2-0, R3: 0-0)

-70kg: David Stoilescu (Vanguard) def Ben Eddy via lateral kneebar (1:39 R2)

-83kg: Kyle Chambers (10th Planet) def Luke Martin via outside heel hook (3:11 R1)

Fight Sports def Vanguard

-83kg: Enrique March (Fight Sports) vs Luke Martin via outside heel hook (3:15 R1)

-91kg: Enrico Said (Fight Sports) def Anthony Poliseno via toe hold (4:57 R2)

-60kg: Victor Delibero (Fight Sports) def Fabian Ramirez via judges decision

-70kg: David Stoilescu (Vanguard) vs Bernardo Delibero via inside heel hook (0:38 R1)

+91kg: Josh Saunders (Vanguard) def Joao Costa via rear naked choke (1:25 R3)

-76kg: Nick Ronan (Vanguard) def Rodrigo Francioni via decision

-65kg: Angel Morales (Fight Sports) def Dylan Garofolo via points (R1: penalties against Garofolo, R2: 0-2, R3: penalties against Garofolo)

Schedule for Day 2 of AIGA Champions League US Qualifiers on Sunday, Oct 20 at 6pm CDT

Finishers vs Checkmat (Group A duel no. 3)

10th Planet vs Fight Sports (Group B duel no. 3)

Finals (Winner of Group A round robin vs winner of Group B round robin)

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