The SPYDER Invitational officially has it’s lineup set for their Championship bracket in July. The last of three qualifying events wrapped up last weekend from Seoul Korea and the event delivered some of the most action packed matches of the year so far. 

In the under 76kg weight class it was Hugo Marques who walked away with the gold medal but it wasn’t easy for the Soul Fighters black belt. 

Marques had a back and forth battle with Atos brown belt Jonnatas Gracie in the semi-finals that saw him barely fight off two deep submission threats. The match wowed the Korean fans in attendance and had them chanting by the end. This is an early contender for best match of the year. 

Watch: Hugo Marques vs Jonnatas Gracie

Much to everyone’s surprise Marques fought surging purple belt Victor Nathiel in the finals and was able squeak by with a narrow referee’s decision. Club Feijao’s Nathiel played a perfect game after unexpectedly scoring off a foot sweep and then tying up the more explosive fighter in 50/50. 

However in that last minute Marques was able to score a sweep and an advantage to tie the match. Two out of three referees gave him the decision victory and a cash prize of $6,000 to take back to Brazil with him!

The -76kg 8 man championships bracket now includes; Hugo Marques, Jonnatas Gracie, Victor Nathiel, Shane Hill, Joao Miyao, & Wanki Chae. The quarter finals will take place in July.

The +76kg bracket was just as exciting, it featured some quick submissions but ultimately was dominated by quite possibly the best brown belt in the world, Kaynan Duarte.

After a narrow victory over another Club Feijao purple belt it was all Kaynan from there. He secured a slick kneeler victory in the semi’s and won a dominated 2-0 victory in the finals over 2017 brown belt World Champion Vinicius Ferreira. After only a few tournaments at brown belt Kaynan has cemented himself as the competitor to beat in the brown belt division. 

Watch: Kaynan Duarte vs Sanghyeon Lee

The impressive run earned Kaynan $6,000 and trip back to Seoul in July for the first round of matches.

Other impressive performances included Victor Hugo who had a stellar match with Korean fighter Sanghyeon Lee in the third place match. 

After making short work of his quarter final opponent Hugo was out pointed by Alliance’s Ferreira. It was his third place match thought that had the crowd on their feet.

Lee surprised Hugo with a pressure heavy game and was able to rack up 6 advantages by getting razor close to passes, back takes and chokes.

It wasn’t enough to take the win though. Hugo showed his heart and experience by weathering the storm for 6 and half minutes only to sweep and take the back in the dying seconds of the match. It was one of the most entertaining contests of the night and also earned Hugo a trip back in July.

SPYDER is surging in the jiu-jitsu space as not only the premiere invite only tournament in Asia but also one of the most exciting formats in the world. With only two weight classes and no belted divisions the tournament puts together some extremely exciting matchups that otherwise wouldn’t be seen. 

Be on the lookout for another prestigious tournament in July featuring some lethal grapplers from all over the world.