Ramzi Tayba vs Vladyslav Dzisiak 0:3

The competitors were rather unknown to the public. A quick and easy victory for the much older Vladyslav. Once again the saying „Old man strength” turned out to be true.

Anna Grönlund vs Angie Rose 1:3

Very strong ladies had a good fight, they fought till the very end. Anna seemed to have a stronger arm but Angie had a hand advantage. The duels usually ended up in straps where after a good fight, the American pressed the Dane against the pillow.

Jonathan Breda vs Zurab Tavberidze 0:3

Here we have a rather unpopular American competitor. When I was looking for some of his duels, I found his loss after a tough fight with Ron Bath in a hook. This time, Zurab was much stronger this time. The duel with not much story to it was won by Tavberidze in seconds after each round.

Ron Bath vs Efe Kömek 0:3

Another match without much to talk about, Efe beat Ron after a quick top roll, sometimes the American resisted a little. A solid victory for the Turkish athlete.

Sandris Sedis vs Chance Shaw 3:0

The result might be a little misleading because the fight was rather even. Moreover, Chance almost won in the first round because Sandris went for the tricep but the American caught him rather easily and almost brought him to the pillow. There was a fault in the last seconds, though. Next thing you knew, the Latvian changed his strategy and fought through the top where you could see he had control over the American’s hand; though Chance had a strong side pressure and Sandris had to struggle a lot to win. The final result was 3:0 but it was much more event than one could expect.

Artyom Morozov vs Tobias Sporrong 3:1

A big unknown, two young athletes with big strength and posture. The Swede was very quick and almost won over Artyom in the first fight but he eventually lost to the competitor from Kazachstan. In straps we could see clear domination from Morozov and a finish in a hook. Tobias managed to win one round with a quick hit but the other ones were dominated by Morozov in the hook and he won easily.

Fia Risek vs Rebecca Martinkovicova 3:0

Not much going on in this one. Each round was a slip with Rebecca in the lead. But in straps it was a completely different story and a quick win for the Swede.

Yusuf Yildizoglu vs Oleg Cherkasov 1:3

Many saw the Russian as the favorite of the match. But in the first round, quite unexpectedly, the Turkish competitor won. In the second round we had one of the best comebacks of the night. Oleg kept Yusuf inches from the pillow, you could see from his face he was giving his absolute best to this fight and after 20-30 seconds he managed to win over Yusuf. After this round you could tell the Turkish athlete was much more tired than the Russian and so Oleg managed to win the next fights in seconds but not without problems. The result was 3:1 and the second round was one of the best comebacks I’ve ever seen.

Ron Bath vs Zurab Tavberidze 2:3

An absolute showstopper, one of the best matches in history!

How much of their hearts the competitors left on stage is hard to describe with words. There were many resumptions, fauls and slips. Zurab managed to turn the tables and while losing 2:0, he came back to win 2:3. It’s hard to put into words what happened there, there was a lot of drama, fighting till the very end. The fight was about 40 minutes long. I can’t wait to see replays from this duel.

By the way, the Georgian ahtlete’s right arm was so pumped that it looked straight out of a cartoon.

Schoolboy vs Herman Stevens 3:1

A big unknown, it was hard to tell who’d win. Schoolboy turned out to be a winner but he was forced to use the hook since Herman had an advantage when he tried the top. You could see the Russian’s advantage but in the last round the American fought really hard and afterall had a very good duel with Schoolboy.

Artyom Morozov vs Evgenii Prudnik 2:0

Another unknown but after the first round it was all clear. The referee intervention resulted in Prudnik putting Artyom in a hook where he’s left without a chance. In the next round we have straps where Prudnik manages to get to the top. Morozov is forced to fight without his wrist, tugs a few times and gets a chest injury. He approaches the fight one more time but gives the match up eventually. Prudnik wins 2:0, you could tell the younger athlete lacked experience and strength to fight with the Ukrainian competitor.

Todd Hutchings vs Jordan Tsonev 3:0

I have to say I was ready for a war in a hook but I was very disappointed. Todd got on stage in a hoodie and with a backpack, took off the hoodie quickly and simply gave Jordan a wacking. The first two rounds were held in the middle with Tsonev fighting for 2-3 seconds but to no avail. In the third round Jordan tried to go for the top but it also didn’t give much results. A complete domination from the American.

Oleg Zhogh vs Betkili Oniani 3:1

Another mystery, the Georgian, despite his petite figure, proved that he has very strong ligaments. He even managed to win the first round when Oleg was a little late to start. But the next 3 rounds were in straps and Oleg controlled Betkili’s hand, pinning him to the pillow after a long fight. A round of applause for Oniani for fighting till the very end.

Arif Ertem vs Ermes Gasparini 0:3

On one hand, Ermes has been on a roll these days, on the other, Arif is a World Champion with a weight of 154 kg. We have a slip and straps, where Ermes turns out to be too good of an opponent. Arif’s wrist doesn’t take the pressure well and he’s pinned to the pillow three times.

Genadi Kvikvinia vs Michael Todd 3:0

Not many of us expected such a result but Genadi won over Todd with great style. In the first round Michael went into his signature king’s move but Genadi climbed with his fingers and gains control over their hands. In the end he managed to get into a great position and shouted to Todd that it’s the end, and then proceeded to pin the American in one strong move. In the second round Todd tried to get into the tricep but he bumped into a wall and lost again. In the third round we had a fight for hand control again, won by Genadi. He then went into the tricep and pinned Todd to the pillow. A great fight, both of them made a spectacular show.

John Brzenk vs Khadzimurat Zoloev 3:0

The fight of the night was left for the end. John showed us once again why he’s the best armwrestler in history. The first round was a complete hand control in straps and an easy pin. In the second round, John’s grip strength was decisive and Zoloev couldn’t even break out so we had a 2:0. The third one was John’s masterpiece. The competitors got into a hook and after a long fight, John performed the well-known “can opener” and finished Zoloev in good style. A perfect finish for this great armwrestling night!