AUGUST 07, 2021, was the date set for another edition of the Polaris Squads professional show, a well-known competitive jiu-jitsu format based on a team versus team scenario. This time the promotion made the best of the more lenient travel guidelines of the past 18 months to bring forth a team of American talent to face the local British and Irish contingent.
Although with many last-minute changes to their line-up, Team USA came in as the clear favorites to win the show, a favoritism they managed to uphold during the event. That said, Team United Kindom & Ireland was a much harder puzzle to crack than previously assumed, particularly during the first round of the show.
Much of the disparity of the scoreboard (7×0) came down to the end of the first round when Team UK + IRE saw themselves at the wrong end of a 3 point deficit. The strength of that score is owed to the innovative ruleset as, when a lightweight athlete submits a heavyweight opponent 3 points are awarded for the winning team – as opposed to same weight competitors, whose victories only award 1 point to the winner). This scenario was played out during the end of the aforementioned first round when lightweight Nathan Orchard submitted Kieran Davern with a beautiful neck crank from a triangle back control body lock.
The scoreboard forced team UK to push the pace of the matches as they entered the second round. This change in dynamics truly opened up the event with many very fun clashes on display. Sadly, the scoreboard chase did not work well for the Islanders, who only saw the gap between the two teams only grow wider, with a final score of 7×0.
POLARIS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
During the halfway rest time, Polaris also set a title match between 10th Planet’s Kyle Boehm and Silviu Nastasa, a Romanian athlete who resides in London. There was a clear gap between the two grapplers in accolades and high level experience, which translated to the mats with Boehm taking the submission win in under a minute via heel hook.
ROUND 1
– 0x0 Jon Blank [USA] DREW with Dan Strauss [UK-I]
– 0x0 Adam Benayoun [USA] DREW with Kieran Davern [UK-I]
– 0x0 Roberto Jimenez [USA] DREW with Jed Hue [UK-I]
– 0x0 Nick Ronan [USA] DREW with Ross Nicholls [UK-I]
– 0x0 Richie Martinez [USA] DREW with Ben Dyson [UK-I]
– 0x0 Nathan Orchard [USA] DREW with Darragh O’Conaill [UK-I]
– 0x0 Geo Martinez [USA] DREW with Bradley Hill [UK-I]
– 0x0 Hunter Colvin [USA] DREW with Ellis Younger [UK-I]
– 3×0 Nathan Orchard [USA] DEF. Kieran Davern via Spine crank (twister variation)
– 3×0 Roberto Jimenez [USA] DREW with Ben Dyson [UK-I]
– 3×0 Jon Blank [USA] DREW with Dan Strauss [UK-I]
– 3×0 Hunter Colvin [USA] DREW with Jed Hue [UK-I]
– 3×0 Geo Martinez [USA] DREW with Bradley Hill [UK-I]
ROUND 2
– 0x0 Nathan Orchard [USA] DREW with Ross Nicholls [UK-I]
– 0x0 Nick Ronan [USA] DREW with Ellis Younger [UK-I]
– 0x0 Adam Benayoun [USA] DREW with Bradley Hill [UK-I]
– 0x0 Richie Martinez [USA] DREW with Dan Strauss [UK-I]
– 0x0 Geo Martinez [USA] DREW with Darragh O’Conaill [UK-I]
– 0x0 Hunter Colvin [USA] DREW with Jed Hue [UK-I]
– 0x0 Roberto Jimenez [USA] DREW with Kieran Davern [UK-I]
– 0x0 Nick Ronan [USA] DREW with Ross Nicholls [UK-I]
– 1×0 Roberto Jimenez [USA] DEF. Bradley Hill [UK-I] via short choke
– 1×0 Roberto Jimenez [USA] DREW with Ellis Younger [UK-I]
– 4×0 Geo Martinez [USA] DEF. Dan Strauss [UK-I] via injury
– 4×0 Adam Benayoun [USA] DREW with Jed Hue [UK-I]
– 4×0 Richie Martinez [USA] DREW with Ben Dyson [UK-I]
TOTAL SCORE: 7X0 for Team USA.
Kyle Boehm DEF. Silviu Nastasa via inside heel hook
