Britain’s most well-known professional jiu-jitsu promotion is back with an exciting new project, an extension of the brand based on a Team-Versus-Team concept that will differentiate itself from other team-based events through its fresh new approach to the original TVT idea.
This new extension of the Polaris Jiu-Jitsu Invitational will be named “Squads” and will feature a Team UK & Ireland against Team Europe for its first edition, and as per usual, this first Polaris Squads event will broadcast on UFC Fight Pass exclusively, on Sunday 27 September. The event itself being held in Southampton, England.
As aforementioned, the uniqueness of Polaris Squads lies in its rule set, a submission-only style approach which we will explain below:
– Each team will bring forth 8 squad members – 4 athletes weighing up to 75 kilograms (165 lbs) and 4 up to 95 kilograms (209 lbs), who will battle each other in one single open-weight class.
– The team cash will have two, 40-minute halves, each half split in 5-minute matches with 30-second intervals in between each of them, where the winner will stay on the mat. In case of loss or draw, the athlete(s) becomes ‘inactive’.
– The inactive athlete will only become ‘active’ again (and thus eligible to step on the mat) once his whole team has been used.
– The matches will keep rolling, circling through all athletes for 40 mins, each win (submission-only) will earn the team 3 points, the team with the most points after the end of the event wins the contest.
RULESET BULLET POINTS
– Two teams per event
– Event split in two halves of 40 minutes
– Each team brings a squad of 8 (4 members of 75kg and 4 members of 95kg)
– One single open-weight division
– 5-minute matches
– Winner stays, loser leaves and in case of a draw, both leave
– Each team can use a 2-minute long “Time-Out” to reassess and change the athlete who walks on the mat next
– Win achieved by submission-only
– 1 point awarded to team per submission, 3 points if a 75kg athlete submits a 95kg athlete.
– The winning team is decided by how many points it has by the end of the event.
To start the show, the Polaris match-makers have selected a card featuring the top jiu-jitsu athletes from the British Isles, who will be paired up against a selection of European athletes from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia.
The card will also offer an exciting fight between Wales featherweight super-star Ffion Davies and Poland’s heavyweight Magdalena Loska, a great style clash, and another top challenge for Davies, who will grapple a heavier and stronger savvy guard player and current European Open silver medal.
TEAM UK & IRELAND
Team UK + IRE will have in Darragh O’Conaill and Ash Williams its most familiar faces, two athletes who have competed in an array of submission-only events, particularly the head of EBJJ, Ireland’s Darragh, a Polaris and EBI veteran.
The UK + IRE team will also have two of the hottest prospects on the British scene, namely Jed Hue and Taylor Pearman. Pearman who will be making his black belt debut in the Squards event, after a superb career in the colored belt divisions.
Hue was referenced by BJJ Heroes last year as one of the rising purple belts on the European circuit. Now a brown belt, we expect the student of Ross Nicholls to be a handful and an important ace in the hole for the team.
Under 75kg:
– Tom Halpin
– Jed Hue
– Dominic Dillon
– Ash Williams
Under 95kg:
– Taylor Pearman
– Bradley Hill
– Kieran Davern
– Darragh O’Conaill (Team Captain)
TEAM EUROPE
If team UK+IRE will have in Jed Hue its most feared heel-hook specialist, Team Europe will not be far behind in heel hooking prowess with veteran Polish no-gi specialist Kamil Wilk. A clash between these two would certainly be an interesting battle.
But team EU’s best-known players come from further north, namely Scandinavia, with the legendary Frontline founder Eduardo Teta leading the team, alongside his dynamic Norwegian student, Tarik Hopstok, and veteran Finnish grappler Santeri Lilius.
Under 75kg:
– Mateusz Szczecinski
– Tommi Pulkkanen
– Kamil Wilk
– Dinu Bucalet
Under 95kg:
– Tarik Hopstock
– Santeri Lilius
– Marcin Held
– Eduardo ‘Teta’ Rios – Team Captain
SUPER-FIGHT
Ffion Davies X Magdalena Loska
Overall a solid card, with enough fire-power to give us all a fun night of jiu-jitsu entertainment. This first show will be a launching platform for plenty more TVT shows in the future, once the COVID19 flight restrictions ease off.
