The 6th edition of the Emerald City Invitational, taking place this weekend is set to feature tow 135 lb tournaments: a 32-athlete male bracket and a 16-athlete female bracket in the EBI rules format.

In the men's bracket, one name stands out ahead of the pack: the Giant Slayer, Estevan Martinez. The no-gi world and No-Gi Pans champion has proven difficult to control and even more difficult to finish, which comes in handy in the EBI ruleset. His ability to scramble has made him a puzzle for his opponents, and his backflip passing and unorthodox techniques have allowed him to take control of the match in an instant.

Also in the bracket is Cameron Mellott, who has history with the Giant Slayer. Their last encounter at ECI was a nominee for match of the year in 2021, an epic bout which went to triple-overtime. Since then, Mellott has evolved winning No-Gi Pans at purple belt and medalled at No-Gi Worlds at brown belt. It’s a rematch everyone is hoping for, but the bracket may well make this match a potential final.

Keep your eyes on the newly promoted black belt from Movement Art, Valor Ulysses. The submission specialist has won No-Gi Euros and Pans at brown belt and will be tasked with showing that his skills transfer well to the EBI tournament format.

The wildcard of this bracket is Andrew DeGraff. The 17-year-old purple belt prodigy has been making noise, submitting opponents left and right with his dangerous leg lock game. He’s coming off an impressive victory at Rise Invitational.

In the women's division, Peyton Letcher may well be the favorite, after winning the Rise Invitational bracket earlier this month. The South African grappler has shown that she is more than comfortable competing in the EBI OT ruleset. She'll have a target on her back this time around. That should be no surprise; Letcher is an ADCC Trials winner, with dozens of high profile EBI-rules matches under her belt.

Dynamic teenager Trinity Pun will be looking for a rematch against Letcher. She lost to her in the semis of Rise Invitational earlier this month. Pun has a dangerous, flexible guard and can find submissions from everywhere.

The dark horse for the women's bracket however has to be Meg Cleanser. Making her return to the ECI after successful appearances in the past, she is now a purple belt and a Worlds and Pans champion at blue belt. She may go unnoticed by her cohorts in this division, but this is an opportunity for her to become a household name.

135lb tournament lineup:

Men's bracket

• Max Greenberg (Montgomery BJJ) 
• #20 ranked Adam DeGraff (nova jiu jitsu)
• #9 ranked Estevan Martinez (ZR Team HM)
• Adrian Cordova (element jiu jitsu)
• Devin Nelson (Jay Page’s Jiu Jitsu)
• Brandon Neiford (GritGrizzlies)
• Tomas Garcia (ECJJ)
• Kaleb Watts (MidWorld Martial Arts)
• Chase Sosa (Alvarez BJJ) 
• Alex Rykowski (Renzo Warwick)
• Gustavo Esteban (ZRTeam Apex)
• Zak Elfernani (Pedigo)
• Mustafa Sadiq (Atos ATL)
• DanthonyMuniz(303TrainingCenter)
• Valor Boyer (Movement Art) 
• Alex Harrell (ATT)
• Harberth Gonidez (10p)
• Dylan Cameron (Gracie Bradenton)
• #16 ranked Manny Vasquez (10p Greenville)
• Pat Cherf (10p Gulf Shores)
• Damian Maver (Renzo Warwick)
• Dennis Pressey (Atos Logic)
• Jake Anderson (Secor BJJ)
• Isaih Calderon (Art Of Jiu Jitsu)
• #10 ranked David Terao (50/50)
• Jacob Norton (10p ATX)
• Ricky Wetherell (kingdom jiujitsu)
• Yuki Takahashi (Imanari jj)
• Austin Daffron (Kindred BJJ)
• #5 ranked Cam Mellot (OCBJJ)
• #6 ranked Sebastian Oyervidez (UrbanJungle)
• Kevin Dantzler (Webb MMA)

Female bracket

• Beatrice Jin (Kogaiun Academy)
• Alex Degraff (nova jiujitsu)
• UFC star Miranda Maverick (Easton BJJ)
• #18 ranked Trinity Pun (OrangeCounty FightClub)
• Melanie Iverson (Serafin BJJ)
• #17 ranked Payton Letcher (Renzo Gracie) 
• #16 ranked Claire North (Tipping Point)
• Meg Gleasner (Flow BJJ)
• Keren Fedida (Vault)
• Raisa Radford (FreestyleMMAVegas) 
• Adelina Alvarez (Vault)
• Geneviéve Button (Homa)
• Alexandra Corbeil (Homa)
• Karina Anguiano (Guardian BJJ)
• Chrissy Briggs (Precision JJ)
• Nicole Mathews (Method Jiu Jitsu)