The Elite 8 - Final Bracket Breakdown

After the dust had settled in pool play, the top 8 teams would compete for those distinguished championship robes. Let us look at how it all went down.

Opening Round

Dynasty vs. Oklahoma Black Ops

At the top of the bracket Dynasty would pull the number 1 seed, with Powa drawing number 2. Dynasty would take on the Oklahoma Black Ops in round 1. Dynasty would win the first six matches, with five being by tech fall. 100 pounds to 132 pounds. Caleb Noble (Dynasty) defeated Kole Davidheiser (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 9-2 decision, Caden Correll (Dynasty) tech falled Will Atkinson (Oklahoma Black Ops) 16-1, Dom Munaretto (Dynasty) tech falled Madden Skidmore (Oklahoma Black Ops) TF 20-4, Seth Mendoza (Dynasty) tech falled Devon Miller (Oklahoma Black Ops) TF 20-3, Jax Forrest (Dynasty) tech falled Vince Luttrell (Oklahoma Black Ops) TF 21-3, and Bo Bassett (Dynasty) tech falled Javris Little (Oklahoma Black Ops) TF 28-13 to give Dynasty a huge 28-0 lead entering the 138 pound matchup. The Oklahoma Black Ops would pick up wins at 138 and 145 pounds to bring the score to 28-8 when Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma Black Ops) tech falled Tyler Harrill (Dynasty) TF 17-0, and Beau Hickman (Oklahoma Black Ops) defeated Lorenzo Alston (Dynasty) via 2-0 decision. From 152 to 285 pounds, Dynasty would once again dominate to pull out the dual win. Andrew Barbosa (Dynasty) defeated Layton Schneider (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 5-1 decision, Riley Johnson (Dynasty) pinned Devan Carter (Oklahoma Black Ops), Carson Thomas (Dynasty) defeated Andre Reyes (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 8-5 decision, Cade Ziola (Dynasty) pinned Talon McCollom (Oklahoma Black Ops), Eugenio Franco (Dynasty) defeated Ronan Wunsch (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 6-3 decision, Noah Wenzel (Dynasty) defeated Jaylen Ignacio (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 8-1 decision, and Parker Ferrell (Dynasty) defeated Ricky Thomas (Oklahoma Black Ops) via 8-3 decision. With a dominant round one victory, Dynasty would move on to face the winner of Team Carnage and Minion Legends. Dynasty defeated the Oklahoma Black Ops 55-8.

Team Carnage vs. Minion Legends

With the winner facing Dynasty in the semifinals, Carnage would strike first with back-to-back decision wins at 100 and 106 pounds. Carson Craft (Team Carnage) defeated Gabe Swann (Minion Legends) via 6-0 decision, and Henry Aslikyan (Team Carnage) defeated Axel Ritchie (Minion Legends) via 4-1 decision. JoJo Uhorchuk (Minion Legends) would bring Minion within one after techfalling Abram Cline (Team Carnage) 19-2, but Carnage would extend their lead at 120 and 126 pounds. Gauge Botero (Team Carnage) defeated Ethan Uhorchuk (Minion Legends) via 6-2 decision, and Kake Hockaday (Team Carnage) would pin John Stewart (Minion Legends) to bring the score to 15-5. Minion would respond at 132 and 138 pounds with back-to-back major decisions when Cooper Hilton (Minion Legends) majored Dawson Johnson (Team Carnage) 13-3, and Landon Robideau (Minion Legends) majored Tyler Guerra (Team Carnage) 10-1 to tighten the score at 15-13 still in favor of Carnage. Carnage would grab six points at 145 pounds when Gabriel Bouyssou (Team Carnage) picked up the forfeit, before Minion grabbed three after Leo Contino (Minion Legends) defeated Jason Mara (Team Carnage) via 5-1 decision at 152 pounds. Collin Guffey (Team Carnage) defeated Latrell Schafer (Minion Legends) via 8-3 decision at 160 pounds to bring the score to 24-16. Minion would bring the score to 24-22 with a Gunner Holland (Minion Legends) forfeit win at 170 pounds, before grabbing the lead at 182 pounds when Jake Stacy (Minion Legends) defeated Braidon Woodward (Team Carnage) via sudden victory 4-1. Minion would lead 25-24 going into the 195-pound match. Karson Tompkins (Team Carnage) majored Landon Jones (Minion Legends) 10-2 to give Carnage the lead once again, before extending their lead with a Brenan Morgan (Team Carnage) forfeit win at 220 pounds. Aden Attao (Minion Legends) defeated Mark Effendian (Team Carnage) via sudden victory 4-1 at 285 pounds, but it wouldn’t be enough for Minion. Carnage defeated Minion Legends 34-28. Carnage will meet Dynasty in the semifinals at the top of the bracket.

Team Thunder vs. Kansas Marshals

At the bottom of the bracket, Team Thunder faces off against the Kansas Marshals with the winner facing the winner of the Roundtree/Powa dual. The Kansas Marshals would take the early lead with three straight wins at 100 to 113 pounds. Jarrett Smith (Kansas Marshals) pinned PJ Terranova (Team Thunder), Ezekiel Witt (Kansas Marshals) defeated John McGinty (Team Thunder) via sudden victory 4-1, and Aydan Thomas (Kansas Marshals) defeated Matt O`Niel (Team Thunder) via 6-4 decision to take the 9-0 lead. Team Thunder would then win three straight of their own at 120 to 132 pounds. Keanu Dillard (Team Thunder) defeated Hunter Taylor (Kansas Marshals) via 6-0 decision, Eren Sement (Team Thunder) majored Cannon Acklin (Kansas Marshals) 11-2, and Nick O`Niel (Team Thunder) defeated Noah Nininger (Kansas Marshals) via 5-3 decision to bring the score to 12-10 still in favor of the Kansas Marshals. The Marshals would extend their lead at 138 pounds when Gavin Linsman (Kansas Marshals) defeated Tahir Perkins (Team Thunder) via 9-5 decision. Team Thunder would bring the score to 15-13 after a August Hibler (Team Thunder) 4-1 decision win over Christopher Coats (Kansas Marshals) at 145 pounds. The Kansas Marshals would grab six points at 152 pounds when Clayton Giddens (Kansas Marshals) pinned Jaydon Robinson (Team Thunder). This would be the last win of the dual for the Kansas Marshals. Team Thunder would win 160 to 285 pounds to close out the dual win. Darious Marines (Team Thunder) defeated Max Norman (Kansas Marshals) via 9-5 decision, Ryan Burton (Team Thunder) defeated Elijah Penton (Kansas Marshals) via 7-1 decision, Cole Han Lindemeyer (Team Thunder) defeated Peyton Westphal (Kansas Marshals) via 11-6 decision, Ryland Whitworth (Team Thunder) defeated Landon Jobber-Spence (Kansas Marshals) via 7-3 decision, Bryce Phillips (Team Thunder) pinned Christian Bell (Kansas Marshals), and Spencer Lanosga (Team Thunder) would pick up the forfeit at 285 pounds. With the round one win, Team Thunder will face the winner of Roundtree and Powa. Team Thunder defeated the Kansas Marshals 36-21.

Roundtree vs. Powa

With Team Thunder waiting in the semifinals, Roundtree and Powa would clash. Case Bell (POWA) defeated Brandon Bickerton (Roundtree) via 4-0 decision at 100 pounds, and Rocco Cassioppi (POWA) would tech fall Austin Bickerton (Roundtree) 16-0 at 106 pounds to give Powa the early 8-0 lead. At 113 pounds DJ Clark (Roundtree) would grab the forfeit to bring the score to 8-6, before Powa would grab two close decision wins at 120 and 126 pounds. Moses Mendoza (POWA) defeated Antonio Mills (Roundtree) via 5-3 decision, and Sebastian Degennaro (POWA) defeated Jake Crapps (Roundtree) via 17-16 decision to bring the score to 14-6. Logan Swenson (Roundtree) would pick up a forfeit at 132 pounds, before would once again grab back-to-back decision wins at 138 and 145 pounds. Alex Braun (POWA) defeated Blue Stiffler (Roundtree) 9-2, and Pierson Manville (POWA) defeated Jaxon Joy (Roundtree) 10-5 to bring the score to 20-12 still in favor of Powa. Roundtree would bring the score to 20-15 with a Ty Wilson (Roundtree) decision win over Kael Voinovich (POWA) 7-4 at 152 pounds. At 160 pounds, Powa would extend their lead to 25-15 when Ethan Birden (POWA) tech falled Kendrick Hodge (Roundtree) 19-3. Roundtree would respond again at 170 pounds when Dominic Bambinelli (Roundtree) defeated Connor McCloskey (POWA) via 9-5 decision, but Powa would grab 182 and 195 pounds. Harvey Ludington (POWA) would pin Konlin Weaver (Roundtree), and Anthony Harris (POWA) defeated Gunner Henry (Roundtree) via sudden victory 4-1. Roundtree would grab six points at 220 pounds with an Aaron Riner (Roundtree) forfeit win. John Prado (POWA) tech falled Jesse Batten (Roundtree) 21-5 at 285 pounds to close out the dual win for Powa. With the round one win, Powa will face Team Thunder in the semifinals. Powa defeated Roundtree 39-24.

Semifinals

Dynasty vs. Team Carnage

Dynasty would go up 5-0 early at 100 pounds when Caleb Noble (Dynasty) tech falled Carson Craft (Team Carnage) 20-5. Carnage would respond at 106 pounds with a Henry Aslikyan (Team Carnage) major decision over Caden Correll (Dynasty) 10-2 bringing the score to 5-4. Dynasty would win the next four matches. 113 to 132 pounds. Dom Munaretto (Dynasty) pinned Abram Cline (Team Carnage), Seth Mendoza (Dynasty) pinned Gauge Botero (Team Carnage), Jax Forrest (Dynasty) tech falled Kake Hockaday (Team Carnage) 16-1, Bo Bassett (Dynasty) defeated Dawson Johnson (Team Carnage) via injury to give Dynasty the 28-4 lead. Carnage would battle back with back-to-back pins at 138 and 145 pounds. Tyler Guerra (Team Carnage) would pin Tyler Harrill (Dynasty), and Gabriel Bouyssou (Team Carnage) would pin Lorenzo Alston (Dynasty) to bring the score to 28-16. Andrew Barbosa (Dynasty) would extend the Dynasty lead to 32-16 at 152 pounds with a major decision over Jason Mara (Team Carnage) 12-1. Carnage would bring the score to 32-22 when Collin Guffey (Team Carnage) pinned Riley Johnson (Dynasty) at 160 pounds. Dynasty would pick up six points at 170 pounds with a Carson Thomas (Dynasty) forfeit win, before Cade Ziola (Dynasty) defeated Braidon Woodward (Team Carnage) via 3-1 decision at 182 pounds. Carnage would win the remaining weights 195 to 285 pounds, but it wouldn’t be enough. Karson Tompkins (Team Carnage) defeated Eugenio Franco (Dynasty) via 9-4 decision, Brenan Morgan (Team Carnage) would pin Noah Wenzel (Dynasty), and Mark Effendian (Team Carnage) defeated Parker Ferrell (Dynasty) via 5-4 decision. Dynasty will go to the finals to face the winner of the Powa and Team Thunder dual. Dynasty defeated Team Carnage 41-34.

Powa vs. Team Thunder

Team Thunder and Powa would trade decision wins at 100 and 106 pounds to begin the dual. PJ Terranova (Team Thunder) defeated Case Bell (POWA) via 4-3 decision, and Rocco Cassioppi (POWA) defeated John McGinty (Team Thunder) via 2-0 decision to be tied 3-3 early. Matt O`Niel (Team Thunder) would grab a fofeit at 113 pounds to give Team Thunder the 9-3 lead. Powa would close the gap at 120 pounds when Moses Mendoza (POWA) majored Keanu Dillard (Team Thunder) 13-5 to bring the score to 9-7. Team Thunder would extend their lead at 126 and 132 pounds when Eren Sement (Team Thunder) majored Sebastian Degennaro (POWA) 12-0, and Nick O`Niel (Team Thunder) grabbed a forfeit win. Powa would then go on a run, winning the next four matches at 138 to 160 pounds. Alex Braun (POWA) picked up the forfeit win, Pierson Manville (POWA) defeated August Hibler (Team Thunder) via 5-1 decision, Kael Voinovich (POWA) majored Jaydon Robinson (Team Thunder) 8-0, and Ethan Birden (POWA) defeated Darious Marines (Team Thunder) via 5-2 decision to bring the score to 23-19 in favor of Powa. Ryan Burton (Team Thunder) would tech fall Connor McCloskey (POWA) 18-2 at 170 pounds to give Team Thunder a one-point lead, but Powa would immediately respond. Picking up wins at 182 pounds to 220 pounds by either techfall or pin. Harvey Ludington (POWA) tech falled Cole Han Lindemeyer (Team Thunder) TF 17-0, Anthony Harris (POWA) tech falled Ryland Whitworth (Team Thunder) TF 17-0, and Trevyn Gates (POWA) pinned Bryce Phillips (Team Thunder) to lock up the dual win for Powa. Team Thunder would end on a high note when Spencer Lanosga (Team Thunder) pinned John Prado (POWA) at 285 pounds to close out the dual. Powa will face Dynasty in the finals. Powa defeated Team Thunder 39-30.

Finals

Dynasty vs. Powa

After hundreds of matches and upsets, here we are. The battle for the distinguished elite 8 robes. Caleb Noble (Dynasty) would put Dynasty ahead early 3-0 after a 5-2 decision win over Case Bell (POWA) at 100 pounds. Powa would take the lead right back 4-3 when Rocco Cassioppi (POWA) majored Caden Correll (Dynasty) 17-6 at 106 pounds. Dom Munaretto (Dynasty) would pick up the forfeit win at 113 pounds to retake the lead 9-4. Dynasty would then build on their lead at 120 to 132 pounds when Seth Mendoza (Dynasty) defeated Moses Mendoza (POWA) via 5-3 decision, and with Jax Forrest (Dynasty) and Bo Bassett (Dynasty) picking up forfeit wins. Powa would then grab back-to-back pins at 138 and 145 pounds after Alex Braun (POWA) pinned Tyler Harrill (Dynasty), and Pierson Manville (POWA) pinned Lorenzo Alston (Dynasty) to bring the score to 24-16 still in favor of Dynasty. Andrew Barbosa (Dynasty) defeated Kael Voinovich (POWA) via 12-5 decision at 152 pounds to extend the Dynasty lead to 27-16. Powa would then win the next four matches at 160 to 195 pounds when Ethan Birden (POWA) tech falled Riley Johnson (Dynasty) 21-5, Connor McCloskey (POWA) majored Carson Thomas (Dynasty) 11-2, Harvey Ludington (POWA) majored Cade Ziola (Dynasty) 18-6, and Anthony Harris (POWA) tech falled Eugenio Franco (Dynasty) 17-1 giving Powa the 34-27 lead going into the 220-pound match. Dynasty would then grab back-to-back tech falls to win the elite 8 duals when Noah Wenzel (Dynasty) tech falled Trevyn Gates (POWA) 18-3, and Parker Ferrell (Dynasty) tech falled John Prado (POWA) 17-0. This was a great way to wrap up the elite 8 duals. Both teams were in contention until the last whistle. Congratulations Dynasty! Enjoy those robes! Dynasty defeated Powa 37-34.

Jason FulmoreSeptember 21, 2023Comment