Unrivaled's highly anticipated 1-on-1 tournament concluded Friday night with No. 1 seed Napheesa Collier ending No. 8 seed Aaliyah Edwards' Cinderella run in the final. Edwards actually took Game 1 of the best-of-three series, but Collier bounced back to take Games 2 and 3 and earn the $200,000 grand prize.
In the semifinals, Edwards made easy work of Arike Ogunbowale, while Collier did the same against Azura Stevens. Both players won their respective matchups, 11-2.
After a short break, it was time for the final. While the first four rounds were single elimination played to 11, the final was a best-of-three series, with games played to nine. Edwards won Game 1, 9-6, but Collier bounced back to take Game 2, 9-4. That set up a winner-take-all Game 3, but it turned out to be anticlimactic. Collier cruised to a shutout win, 9-0.
The 1-on-1 tournament had a $350,000 prize pool with $200,000 going to the champion. In addition, the winning player's teammates received $10,000, which means every member of Lunar Owls BC got to cash in on Collier's victory. Meanwhile the runner-up got $50,000 and the semi-finalists earned $25,000.
To create the bracket, the players were first separated into four pods, then ranked 1-8 (or 1-7 in the case of Pods A and D). Pods A and B are on the left side of the bracket, while Pods C and D are on the right side. The No. 1 seed in Pod A (Jewell Loyd) and the No. 1 seed in Pod D (Arike Ogunbowale) received a first-round bye.
Here's a look at the bracket and results:
Pod A
First round
- No. 1 Jewell Loyd advances with bye
- No. 7 Shakira Austin def. No. 2 Chelsea Gray, 12-2
- No. 3 Alyssa Thomas (OUT) vs. No. 6 Azura Stevens -- Stevens advances in walkover
- No. 4 Rae Burrell vs. No. 5 Natasha Cloud (OUT) -- Burrell advances in walkover
Second round
- No. 4 Rae Burrell def. No. 1 Jewell Loyd, 11-4
- No. 6 Azura Stevens def. No. 7 Shakira Austin, 11-4
Quarterfinal
- No. 6 Azura Stevens def. No. 4 Rae Burrell, 12-2
Pod B
First round
- No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 8 Katie Lou Samuelson, 12-6
- No. 2 Rhyne Howard def. No. 7 Lexie Hull, 12-7
- No. 3 Tiffany Hayes (OUT) vs. No. 6 Courtney Williams -- Williams advances in walkover
- No. 5 Rickea Jackson def. No. 4 Jackie Young, 11-3
Second round
- No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 5 Rickea Jackson, 12-5
- No. 6 Courtney Williams def. No. 2 Rhyne Howard, 11-9
Quarterfinal
- No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 6 Courtney Williams, 12-4
Pod C
First round
- No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards def. No. 1 Breanna Stewart, 12-0
- No. 2 Kahleah Copper def. No. 7 Aliyah Boston, 11-6
- No. 3 Allisha Gray def. No. 6 Jordin Canada, 11-4
- No. 4 Marina Mabrey (OUT) vs. No. 5 Kate Martin (OUT) -- Game cancelled
Second round
- No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards advances with bye
- No. 3 Allisha Gray def. No. 2 Kahleah Copper, 11-5
Quarterfinal
- No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards def. No. 3 Allisha Gray, 12-6
Pod D
First round
- No. 1 Arike Ogunbowale advances with bye
- No. 2 Kayla McBride (OUT) vs. No. 7 DiJonai Carrington -- Carrington advances in walkover
- No. 3 Satou Sabally vs. No. 6 Brittney Sykes (OUT) -- Sabally advances in walkover
- No. 4 Skylar Diggins-Smith def. No. 5 Dearica Hamby, 11-3
Second round
- No. 1 Arike Ogunbowale def. No. 4 Skylar Diggins-Smith, 12-8
- No. 3 Satou Sabally def. No. 7 DiJonai Carrington, 11-4
Quarterfinal
- No. 1 Arike Ogunbowale def. No. 3 Satou Sabally, 12-8
Final Four
- No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 6 Azura Stevens, 11-2
- No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards def. No. 1 Arike Ogunbowale, 11-2
Final
- Game 1: No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards def. No. 1 Napheesa Collier, 9-6
- Game 2: No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards, 9-4
- Game 3: No. 1 Napheesa Collier def. No. 8 Aaliyah Edwards, 9-0
