It’s often the case that a simple retelling of the podium results fails to explain the whole story of an event.  

Champions get their shine, but those who have an excellent performance yet just can’t put together the points when they need them most, see their performances lost in the digital wasteland. And given the multitude of excellent showing's at ADCC Trials, we thought it would be a travesty to not include some of the best showings form athletes who didn't reach the top of the mountain. 

Let's kick things off Muslim Patsarigov, a Chechen athlete based in Norway who looked fantastic up until the final where he lost by a lone penalty point. Patrsarigov scored two submissions under a minute, including a 10-second ankle lock over Max Bickerton in the semi-final.  

On the whole, Patsarigov's powerful wrestling proved to be a key factor for Patsarigov, enabling him to dictate when and where the fights when to the ground.

Mateusz Szczecinski immediately jumped to our attention when he earned the quickest submission of the event in his very first match – an inside heelhook set up from a flying scissor takedown.  Szczecinski demonstrated throughout the event that he is a very advanced leglocker and has a bright future in upcoming no-gi events.

Despite taking fourth place, Bartosz Luukaszewicz definitely deserves an honorable mention for his performance at trials, including two lighting quick submissions. Another 10-second submission, Luukaszewicz proved throughout the event that he is a well-rounded grappler who takes whatever openings his opponents give him.  

Vegard Randeberg, a Norweigan athlete and OXY / WULFING team member, also had a very strong showing at ADDC trials, despite not being a no-gi specialist. Vegard's approach could be considered that of a bruiser: he wears his opponents down through a war of grinding attrition and prefers to be on top, enabling heavy passing pressure and a relentless pace. Vegard looked particularly nimble and was able to avoid all leg entanglements until he met Ross Nicholls, the eventual 77kg champion in the quarter-final and succumbed to a heel hook.